Ivy App Success

Tuck Admitted School Weekend (ASW)

I just returned from Tuck’s Admitted Student Weekend and these are my takeaways from the Tuck experience:

• Students don’t like Tuck, they love it
• Tuck has a very diverse student body (over 30%)
• The outdoor opportunities are amazing. If you like the outdoors, Tuck should be #1 on your list by a long-shot
• Professors are very accessible during the year to students but take a vacation during ASW
• Alumnae support – in the form of giving and helping current students find jobs – is probably the best of any MBA program. 60% + of the alumnae give back to Tuck, which is #1 in % of giving (Stanford is 2nd)
• The core curriculum is very hard and required in the first year (only 2 electives in your first year)
• Most single students live in the dorms their first year
• The facilities are sooo nice. There are fire places within the buildings

Starting the application early, if done correctly, can be a huge advantage towards getting accepted into your top MBA program. For instance, when I applied to schools I was already talking to admissions people in June. This helped me establish myself as a candidate who really wants to go to business school, who was proactive about his life’s next steps, and who was really interested in a particular school.

Since there are approximately 8 months until the first rounds of 2010, I thought I would share some advice on how to proceed with such ample amount of time:

1. Score over 720 on the GMAT.
   • A 720 or better will give you a shot at any school. A 710 on your first try, although impressive, is NOT a place to stop studying if you want to get accepted into the top 5 MBA programs. If you’re in this situation and you want to chat further about why you should take it again, email me directly at brett (at) ivyappsuccess (dot) com.
2. Go through the application today as if you’re applying tomorrow
   • Make up a mock Gmail acount and log into the application for the school you would like to get accepted in 8 months. Then bullet out your potential answers to find out where you might need a few more stories. For example, HBS’s first essay question is, “What are your three greatest accomplishments?”. Do you have three greatest accomplishments? If not, you might want to run an ultra-marathon (marathons were so 1990), start a non-profit or win an Olympic Gold medal. Check to see what other areas, such as extra curricular activities, that you might need to strengthen over the next 8 months.
3. Connect with the schools
   • Once the third round applications are over, which is around May, start connecting with the schools. You can do this by contacting the admissions officers, emailing student ambassadors, visiting the school campuses and attending global events. This will establish that you are really interested in going to business school and particularly that school. It will also give you stuff to talk about in your, “Why do you wan to go to this school” essay question, which is always a tricky one.
4. Step it up at work
   • You will most likely be asking your manager at work for a recommendation. If this is the case, then you will want to be your best at work so that they write you top-notch recommendations. If you can, focus on demonstrating leadership as this is a big component to an admitted application.
5. Create a timeline
   • If you’re not careful, 8 months can be a curse more than a blessing. If you’re not carefully, you could spend the next four months thinking, “I have plenty of time” and all of a sudden you won’t have plenty of time. If you’re worried about this happening, we have an online application management system to make sure you get everything done on time. It outlines your schedule, milestones and tasks as well as backing up your files. Feel free to email me directly if are interested in this service.

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