I interviewed on campus of Tuck. First of all I would applause the helping nature of the people at dartmouth college. Everyone over there is very helping in nature and you as a prospective candidate are also expected to be so. If you are not the helping kind forget about Tuck. It is a small school with a very vibrant community. If you are thinking to go to Tuck then think of it as another family and talk accordingly. I liked the school and the people very much as expected since I had been in touch with a few alums for a while.
My interview was in the late after noon and I was the last candidate to be interviewed for the day. Avoid being the last candidate it doesnt help in anyway. You would have lost stamina by the end of the day and the same would have happened to your interviewer. And be very careful if it is a student interivew it is not easy as general myth prevails. It is very conversational but the students are a tough game. The school visit included a class on Decision making and a tour by a 2nd year student. You also get a chance to get your doubts clarified by the admissions staff regarding the admissions process. Now here are the questions
- Why MBA and Why now and Why Tuck. (Easy one I guess if you have done your application)
- How was your day at Tuck. What class did you attend. Who was the teacher. and how was the experience. ( Now do remember the teachers name. I couldnt recall the name at all. thanks to my trip due which I had not slept for 36 hours and brain would not respond at all. On my way back from hanover just after 2 hours of interview I even forgot that I was driving a car on a highway. 🙂 luckily i survived to share this weird experience)
- Did you have a tour . Who was the student. ( Gosh! Again I am stuck with the name. I knew everything he talked about from the mail room to the party place and even his interests and his future plans since I asked him loads of questions , infact I was the only one asking questions but damn I dont remember his name)
- Did you have a meeting with the admissions staff. How was it. (Good she didnt ask me the name this time. Bcoz the only name I remembered was Dawna clarke, the admissions director and she wasn’t the one I met. I was wondering I hope she doesnt ask me her name since I didn’t remember that as well. At the end of the interview she gave me her business card and I got to know her name and was able to say goodbye alongwith the name. I am very good at remembering people and names but it just wasnt my day.)
- Did you ever recieve a feedback. ( This led to a conversation which was also one of my essays. I stupidly said tht I dont give feedback though i meant to say something else but realised the mistake very late. Lack of sleep can drive you insane)
- Are you able to work in teams. Tell me something about an experience you had while working in teams. Because at tuck we work in small teams. and how helpful are you. ( this led to my another essay question discussion and wasn’t difficult to handle.)
- What will you bring to the Tuck community. ( Easy one to handle since it was again an essay question)
- Do you have any questions about tuck. ( I had already asked so many since morning that i wasn’t left with many. But still I managed to get a few good ones. But my biggest mistake was that I asked her why would you recommend Tuck to me. I wanted to ask how was your Tuck experience but phrased it in a wrong way. She seemed a bit pissed off at this since the question as itself would make her market Tuck which she didnt like.)
I really don’t know how much weightage interview has because on reflection mine seems to be screwed up. and also I don’t really understand the purpose of the questions I was asked because they were the same one’s of the application. They didnt really give them anymore info about me. My resume and hobbies could have opened up a plethora of interesting stories which were not there in the application. but it seems it just wasn’t my day or to look at it positively i avoided a few more insanse answers.
But I would personally recommend Tuck to everyone because it is a good school for people who need help at tasks and are not one man army. The community is very good but they really need people who are vocal enough.
Best Of luck. And do get a good sleep before interview else you might end up like me.
