The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, also known simply as “Tuck,” is the oldest graduate school of management in the United States. Consistently ranked one of the top ten U.S. MBA programs, Tuck has risen as high as number two in the Bloomberg Businessweek U.S. business school rankings in the past two years, behind only the Stanford Graduate School of Business. It is also one of the smallest business schools in the United States, with fewer than 300 students in the Class of 2023. The combination of its small size and remote location in Hanover, New Hampshire, gives Dartmouth Tuck a distinctive culture; students and alumni alike refer to themselves as “Tuckies” and are passionately loyal to the school, to which an astonishing two-thirds of alumni donate annually. Dartmouth MBA alumni give in other ways as well, with many students reporting having cold-called alumni to discuss job opportunities and having their phone calls eagerly returned the same day.
The close-knit nature of the school’s community also creates a strong sense of teamwork on campus, no doubt contributing to the reputation Tuck alumni have in the workforce for excelling in team-based industries such as consulting. Tuck is located on Dartmouth’s 200-acre campus, and the majority of business school students live in Tuck dorms or residences (Sachem Village or Achtmeyer, Raether, and Pineau-Valencienne Halls, collectively known as the Living and Learning Complex). Numerous activities also help create close bonds—for example, through the Research-to-Practice seminars, small groups of second-year MBA students take a deep dive into a specific topic. The Latin America and Caribbean Council and the Europe, Middle East, and Africa Council bring together Tuck alumni from those regions to recruit top students to Tuck. If you are interested in renewable energy, Tuck’s Revers Center for Energy lets you individualize your course of study to prepare for a career in that field. Because 42% of Dartmouth Tuck students go on to careers in consulting, Tuck offers the OnSite Global Consulting program (formerly Tuck Global Consultancy), which gives second-year students a chance to put their classroom knowledge to practical use. Tuck Community Consulting (formerly Tuck Student Consulting Services) is another excellent resource that students can use to prepare for the field. In 2018, the Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship was divided into two new centers, the Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital and the Center for Entrepreneurship, which recently launched the Startup Incubator, a program that all Dartmouth students can participate in as long as at least one second-year Tuck student is on their team. At Tuck, the case method is heavily used, which makes the classroom experience more interactive and collaborative, as everyone discusses their opinions on a given case. Tuck also offers numerous social opportunities, including TuckBuilds, Tuck Gives, the Tuck Hockey Club, and the wildly popular Winter Carnival. Finally, Hanover is a winter sports paradise, with students taking full advantage of skiing and snowboarding opportunities.
With a class size so small, Tuck is aware of the impact of each student’s personality, which is why it offers all applicants the opportunity to interview. Tuck also wants to ensure that all business school candidates understand its unique environment and can fully articulate why they are a good fit for the school. Fortunately, mbaMission offers a depth of resources and services to help you on your Tuck MBA application journey.
The Tuck School of Business Insider’s Guide
After speaking with Tuck MBA students, admissions committee members, and alumni about their Tuck experiences, we have prepared our Insider’s Guide to the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. We take an in-depth look at life as a Tuckie, highlighting how the business school’s location, class size, curriculum, teaching methods, facilities, alumni involvement, and rankings all affect its culture and MBA experience. Then we delve into Tuck’s faculty and professional student clubs, revealing how they facilitate the careers of Tuck MBA students. Through our guide, you will learn more about the high level of student-faculty collaboration that the school is known for and the intensive teamwork that Tuck fosters. In addition, Tuck prioritizes teaching leadership through opportunities such as the Leadership Fellows program and the Center for Digital Strategies’ MBA Fellows program. You can also read up on the intensely quantitative first semester, which includes required courses such as “Financial Accounting” and “Capital Markets.” First-year students must also take several courses that promote leadership development: “Managing People,” “Managing Organizations,” and “Crafting Strategy.” Through our Insider’s Guide, you can also learn about the “First-Year Project,” a semester-long course that lets small groups of students apply their core academic knowledge to a real-world problem for an external client or entrepreneurial venture. Tuck can best be summed up by a quote from a student mbaMission interviewed: “The students here are very happy with their choice. They chose it because it is outdoorsy, quaint, and they want the kind of experience that it offers.”
The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College Interview Guide
One aspect of Tuck’s admissions process that most applicants find extremely appealing is that candidates can request an interview and, if they submit their MBA application by a certain date, are guaranteed to receive one. This practice ensures that Tuck can make its decisions based on the person, not just the application, and gives applicants a chance to visit campus and determine whether it is in fact a good fit for them. (Note that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, all Tuck interviews are currently virtual.) Tuck’s primary goals in the interview are to gauge a candidate’s fit with the school’s values, approach, and atmosphere and to assess how the individual might perform in a team-based environment. “Why Tuck?” is also a common theme. Our past clients have described Tuck’s interviews as “friendly,” “casual,” “polite,” and “conversational.”
Tuck interviews are “blind,” which means that your interviewer will not have seen your entire application before the interview—just your resume. Your interviewer will therefore not know your GMAT score or GPA (unless this information is on your resume) or the content of your essays. Your interview will be conducted either by a member of the Admissions Office or by a student who has been trained by the MBA Admissions Office to conduct interviews. Such students are known as Tuck Admissions Associates. Your interviewer will generally ask about your past experiences to gain insight into your decision-making abilities and your values. Further, you will need to be ready to share why you are a good fit for the school, offering particular reasons why your post-MBA goals can be best served via the Tuck School of Business’s resources. For sample interview questions and commentary from past students, check out our Tuck School of Business Interview Guide.
Dartmouth Tuck Deadlines (2021–2022)
Round 1 Application Deadline
September 27, 2021
Round 1 Decision Notification
December 9, 2021
Round 2 Application Deadline
January 3, 2022
Round 2 Decision Notification
March 17, 2022
Round 3 Application Deadline
March 28, 2022
Round 3 Decision Notification
May 5, 2022
