Interview type: applicant-initiated, blind
My visit to campus began with my interview with a second-year. Hanover just received 6 inches of snow the day before so the logical first question was ‘how was the trip’? From discussions with students and alumni, this question is more geared to understanding whether you are comfortable coming all the way out to Hanover, so I would advise to answer back accordingly even if there is 20 inches of snow on the ground. The rest of the interview was relaxed, but not quite as relaxing as expected. There were one or two questions thrown out from the interviewers list that were not expected, but the interview ultimately became more of a conversation as we talked about why he decided on Tuck and the impact on his wife and family (I am engaged so the Partners club became a hot topic for us). After the interview, I went into town to grab coffee with my fiancee and we ran into friends of hers from college. After they left, another couple from Tuck asked me if I was visiting campus and how things were going and they were extremely friendly. This was a reoccurring theme through the lunch and student tours as friendly faces met us wherever we went. Overall, it was a wonderful experience, which left me with higher impressions of Tuck than I had anticipated.
List of interview questions
- How was the trip?
- Will your fiancée be coming with you if you attend here?
- Walk me through your resume?
- What do you hope to do with your time here?
- What are your long term goals?
- What are you three greatest strengths and weaknesses?
- It’s 5pm on a Friday, what’s your plan for the weekend?
- What clubs do you hope to participate in?
- If I’m the admissions officer and you can tell me 3 things that you can bring to Tuck, what would they be?
- What questions do you have for me?
I wish I attended the campus tour and student lunch prior to my interview. It would have given me better talking point about connections with the community and the culture of tuck, while giving me the confidence to talk freely about personal interests at Tuck. It was clear that my student was interested in a classmate who wasn’t just in the classroom, but a friend in the community and I found myself wavering on whether to discuss his involvement in things like the Hockey club, or Tuesday nights with the Whiskey club. I feel that these can be traps to see whether you are looking for 2 years off from work, or to really achieve professional growth from your MBA experience, but I definitely got the impression that the social scene at Tuck is a very important part of the experience there and wish I had opened up a bit more.
