Archive : Business School

Hoping to encourage more of its MBA graduates to pursue career in social enterprise, NYU Stern has just announced a new Loan Assistance Program for full-time, part-time and Executive MBA grads. The program, launched with the support of Stern’s Social Enterprise Association MBA club, seeks to ease some of the pain of repaying student loans for those who pursue careers in these important but less lucrative careers.

This program doesn’t only apply to current NYU Stern students. Anyone may apply for the Loan Assistance Program within 10 years of graduation, meaning that people who earned that MBAs from NYU Stern as far back as 2003 are still eligible to apply. So, even if someone decided to embark on a career in social e enterprise a few years after leaving school, they still can apply for help with their loans.

This past Sunday, Penn’s Wharton School crowned another batch of new MBA graduates. Dr. Mehmet Oz, the author and TV personality who dispenses advice on a variety of issues related to health and well being, gave this year’s commencement address. In his speech, he offered Wharton grads his “Top 10 Tips for Success and Happiness.”

We admit that our first reaction upon hearing that a TV personality would deliver Wharton’s commencement address was something like “Huh?” But, the advice he gave in his speech was pretty timeless and universal. While there weren’t many MBA-specific nuggets in his address, these grads have spent most of the last two years having MBA-specific knowledge drummed into their heads. So, perhaps some more general “life balance” advice was just what these graduates needed before heading back to the real world.

Just in the past week two top-ranked business schools announced new plans to add online learning components to their MBA programs. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Dartmouth’s Tuck school will deliver some of its introductory prerequisite classes online, helping students prepare for the school’s core curriculum on their own time, at their own pace.

At the same time, UC Berkeley’s Haas School has announced plans to launch three digital classroom pilots. Haas is also using its first foray into online learning as a way to deliver prerequisite courses for its Evening & Weekend MBA Program.

Every January, we make predictions about the coming year in this space. Our 2012 edition includes predictions for weaker international application volume at U.S. business schools and growth in non-traditional graduate management programs. It’s still far too early to see how those predictions will pan out, but today we want to get a little more down in the weeds and make several predictions about what MBA admissions essays might look like in the coming year.

Every spring Harvard normally leads the charge by releasing its application essays first, firing the symbolic starter pistol for the new application season. In fact, last year HBS released its essays in the second week of May, so we may be just days away from the 2012-2013 admissions season getting underway. With that in mind, here are three predictions for what we’ll see in business school application essays in the coming year:

An article that appeared in yesterday’s edition of The Harvard Crimson described an interesting phenomenon that is happening in the first cohort of students who were admitted to the HBS 2+2 Program back in 2008. Rather than entering Harvard Business School as first-year students last fall, a surprising number decided to keep working and delay their matriculation for another year.

According to the article (which mentions some former Veritas Prep students!), of the 106 students who were accepted in the HBS 2+2 Program’s first year, 65 entered HBS this past fall, 40 postponed matriculation, and one dropped out. And the trend is growing: For the group that is supposed to start at HBS this coming fall, more than half have decided to postpone matriculation.

As different as applicants are from one another, it’s amazing how often we see them make the same mistakes over and over. We recently asked our team of admissions consultants, “What mistakes do you see applicants make most often?” and we frequently heard the same themes: not highlighting extracurricular activities in the right way, using the same applications for multiple schools, and not answering honestly when asked for a personal weakness.

Admissions officers want to get to know applicants and gain an insight into their goals, motivations, values and other personal attributes — what makes them tick and how they might fit into the program. Unfortunately, many applicants lack the self-awareness to give admissions officers what they want.

Just weeks after ending its joint EMBA program with Haas, Columbia Business School has announced it will go it alone with a new executive program called EMBA-Americas. As its name suggests, the new program will serve experienced professionals living in North and South America.

While Columbia previously served EMBA students in New York and in the Bay Area (throughs its partnership with Haas), the school will now offer programs that meet in multiple locations in the Americas. In response to changing market conditions, Columbia will make an effort to bring the EMBA experience to students, in their local markets. According to the school’s website: “Columbia EMBA-Americas is designed for highly accomplished and motivated professionals who are looking to enhance their career with a top executive MBA degree, but whose location or schedule precludes them from attending the traditional alternating weekend format of Columbia’s EMBA New York Program.”

Last week at Veritas Prep HQ we passed around a Harvard Business Review article called “Be Proud of Your Accomplishments, Not Your Affiliations.” That article title could not more perfectly sum up how we feel about so much of what goes into your business school applications. Above all, admissions officers want to know what you’ve done in your career, not just where you have worked.

We say it to our admissions consulting clients so much that some of them get tired of hearing it, but that lesson is too important not to repeat: When business schools are building their incoming classes, and doing it using applications which are no more than mere snapshots of what you’ve achieved by your mid-20s, they need to see strong evidence that you’re someone who makes a lasting, positive impact on those around you. You absolutely must show this in your applications if you want to stand a chance of getting into a top-ranked MBA program.

Our friends at Beat The GMAT (BTG), the world’s largest social network for MBA applicants, will soon stop accepting applications for their seventh annual Beat The GMAT Scholarship Competition. This year, BTG will award scholarship packages for six winners, valued at more than $11,000. Each of the winners will receive one GMAT prep course (even a Veritas Prep course!), an admissions consulting package and a $250 GMAT voucher. BTG will accept applications until tonight (Monday), April 23rd. Winners will be announced on April 30th.

Since 2006, Beat The GMAT has been able to distribute $193,000 in scholarships to MBA applicants. We have gladly given some years’ past winners GMAT prep courses and MBA admissions consulting packages, and we must say that we’ve been incredibly impressed by the caliber of these applicants. If all business school applicants had their act together as much as these find young folks do, then the admissions process would be even more competitive than it already is.

Bloomberg Businessweek recently highlighted some research that suggests that business schools are misguided in preferring (or even requiring) applicants with at least several years of work experience. This admissions preference, the researchers claim, actually does MBAs a disservice.

The argument goes something like this: Since business school significantly boosts most graduates’ pay (comparing their pre- and post-business school bae salaries), then delaying business school will only negatively impact one’s lifetime earnings. If business school helps someone earn more money, then young professionals should attend business school as early in their careers as possible. Several more years of MBA-grade pay will only help make someone better off in the long run.

Getting rejected by your dream business school is not easy. It can be downright soul-crushing, in fact. Making is even more painful is the fact that few MBA programs (or other top graduate schools) give rejected applicants specific feedback on why they didn’t get in. Anyone who gets rejected will inevitably ask, “What did I do wrong? What’s the one thing that kept me out?” But, even when admissions officers do provide feedback, it can seem vagaue and not particularly helpful.

Admissions officers are clearly trying to keep you in the dark so that you can’t game the system, right? They must be scheming to keep you out. Surely your face is posted on a wall in the admissions office somewhere, with “Not enough leadership” or “Weak quant skills” scrawled across it. While that certainly sounds interesting, the truth is that, if you get rejected, it’s often because the school just couldn’t find any great reason to admit you over thousands of other terrific applicants.

The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) recently released data showing that, while the total number of GMATs taken around the world has declined from the peak that occurred several years ago, the real story may be just how much more international the pool of GMAT takers has become. In testing year 2011 (which ran from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011), 55% of GMATs were taken outside the United States, representing the heaviest proportion of non-U.S. activity in the history of the GMAT.

Interestingly, while China has seen tremendous growth in GMAT volume over the past five years, the number of GMATs taken in India actually declined for the second straight year. While more than 30,000 GMATs were taken in India in testing year 2009, in testing year 2011 that number dropped to a little more than 25,00, representing a 17.1% decline.

When perusing the data and seeing the average starting salaries at the top-ranked MBA programs and law schools, it’s easy to get the impression that getting into a top graduate school can turn you from an 80-pound weakling into a money-making, world-beating dynamo. But don’t be fooled. Yes, these schools can significantly improve your earnings power, but to get in you have to demonstrate that you’re already a rockstar.

“Wait a minute,” you might be saying, “If I’m already a rockstar, then why do I need the school?” That’s a good question, but in your question already lies the answer.

The phrase “Return on Investment” (ROI) is essentially shorthand for “what you get out of it.” Estimating ROI requires calculations that you can easily find assistance with from applications online, but in order to obtain meaningful numbers, it is vital to include more than just tuition costs and expected salary benefits. Opportunity costs, cost of living and interest on educational debt should be included, but you should also consider the many benefits of business school which are more difficult to quantify, such as networking opportunities and immersion in an academically and professionally rigorous culture.

How Culture Adds Value
A business school’s culture cannot be reduced to a number that fits cleanly into your ROI calculation, but that does not mean you should ignore this critical factor when deciding whether or where to earn your MBA. Anyone who believes that the business world functions according to quantitative calculations that exclude human elements should read Greg Smith’s recent op-ed in The New York Times. The common values held by members of any community or institution end up influencing all those who attend. The culture at a business school will effect how much you enjoy your time there, what kind of network you form while earning your degree and even how well you learn the material. In other words, those ROI figures that promise to transform your future? They depend on culture, too.

When it comes to getting into the world’s most competitive graduate schools, many applicants have a “I’ll worry about it later” mentality. If they’re fortunate enough to get into a school like Harvard, the thinking goes, then they’ll gladly deal with the question of how to pay for it. While this is somewhat understandable (Why worry about how you’ll pay for a yacht if you won’t ever set foot on one to begin with?), applicants owe it to themselves to consider the true cost and the true reward of the educational opportunity before them.

Many will tell you that borrowing money to pay for school is an investment and not debt, but try telling that to the loan services when they send out the monthly bill. Not only that, but the analysis is rarely about going back to school or not going, but rather about making the best possible choice. It may very well be the case that attending your dream school without the aid of scholarships or grants is the best decision, but it might also be true that a secondary opportunity starts to look a lot better when the calculator comes out.

They say breaking up is hard to do. Don’t tell that to Columbia Business School and UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, which announced that they will exit the Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA Program in February 2013, when the current EMBA class graduates. In a joint announcement, the deans of the two schools said that the breakup was mutual, and was made in recognition of each program’s future plans.

The joint program, which has been around since 2002, was originally hailed as the ultimate “East Meets West” power combination, with Wall Street smart combining with Silicon Valley brains to create the next big thing in executive education. While the program has been a success by virtually any measure, one big thing has changed over the past decade: Both schools have announced or introduced their own in-house executive MBA options, leaving little room for the joint program.

Distance learning programs have long offered students the opportunity to earn an MBA degree at their own pace, on their own schedule and from the convenience of their own home. But an MBA from a top-tier business school entails intangible benefits not easily replicated by watching lecture videos, reading articles online and writing papers.

Studying in isolation has never been enough to conquer the business world, which is why MBA students and faculty tout the benefits of experiential learning, team-building exercises and networking opportunities. Only recently have innovative online programs like Kenan-Flagler’s MBA@UNC and Indiana University’s Kelley Direct found ways to offer the same benefits to distant digitally connected pupils.

Two weeks ago we wrote about three things you should look for in your recommendation writers to ensure that your letters of recommendation include “Pound the Table!” levels of enthusiasm. Your business school recommendation writers need to know you well, they need to care about you, and they need to believe in you. These criteria may seem a bit obvious, but it’s hard for someone to shout, “This is someone you need to admit to your MBA program!” unless these are all true.

For sure, a necessary ingredient is a recommendation writer who’s very willing to write a glowing letter for you. But, even if someone has the best of intentions, how can you be sure he will write a great letter for you? How can you equip them with what they need to help you as much as possible? Today we’ll look at three things you can (no… should!) do to help your recommenders help you as much as possible:

Interview season is well underway for Round 2 business school applicants, which means this is the time of year when we give our MBA admissions consulting clients a great deal of interview coaching. No amount of preparation will guarantee that your interview will go well, but there is plenty that you can do to improve your chances of success.

For one, it helps to know who will conduct your interview. As we have written before, interview styles tend to vary by interviewer type, with admissions officers conducting the most formal, directed interviews and alumni tending to be the most casual. However, no matter who interviews you, a few basic rules of engagement always apply.

Today U.S. News & World Report unveiled its 2013 business school rankings. As we always say, it’s easy to get too caught up in the rankings and obsess over details such as a school “plunging” from 8th to 11th in the rankings or “shooting up” from 14th to 10th. Of course the rankings will have some impact on your school research, but using them as any more than a useful starting point can lead you to apply to schools which don’t fit you as well as they could.

Still, we all love rankings, whether we’re talking about education, fashion at the Oscars, or best bands of all time. And we can’t help but pay attention when U.S. News releases its influential rankings of grad schools.

Last week we wrote about how great letters of recommendation contain “Pound the Table!” levels of enthusiasm. It’s nice for your recommenders to write, “He’s a strong employee who will do well in the future,” but that doesn’t grab an MBA admissions officer by the collar and shout, “This person has ‘it,’ and you would be a fool not to admit him!” And that difference easily makes the difference between an admit and a rejection, or an admit and eternal waitlist purgatory.

“That’s all well and good,” you’re saying, “but how do I actually get my recommenders to convey this kind of enthusiasm in what they write?” There are a couple of things to ask yourself, and a couple of key steps to take to make sure that your recommenders understand the game, and do their utmost to help you get admitted. Today we’ll look at who in your life will be most likely to produce the kind of enthusiastic letters you need to get into a top-ten MBA program.

When working with admissions consulting clients, we coach them on how to select the best people to write their letters of recommendation. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, hopefully by now you know that they need to know you well, more than just as a friend, and must be able to provide specific stories that support the main themes that you want to highlight in your application. That’s “Page One” as we say around Veritas Prep headquarters — those are all of the basic requirements that you need to cover with your recommendation writers, no matter what. If someone doesn’t even meet those criteria, then he or she definitely should not be on your short list of potential recommenders.

But there’s one other rule that you should apply to all of your recommenders, no matter where you know them from or what your relationship is with each of them. This is one thing that MBA admissions officers rarely mention, but not because they want to trick you or hide their intentions. Rather, it’s so blindingly obvious that they normally don’t even bother mentioning it.

Tomorrow, Veritas Prep’s own Scott Shrum will participate in a live online chat hosted by the Wall Street Journal. It’s the perfect opportunity to get all of your business school admissions questions answered. No question is too easy or too obscure… If you want to know something about getting into business school, fire away!

The chat will take place at 1:00 PM EST, and can be accessed here. It will be a moderated live chat, meaning that you can submit questions and the Wall Street Journal’s editors will pick them one at a time, for Scott to answer them. The chat will run for approximately one hour, but Scott will try to stick around for as long as possible, to answer as many questions as he can!

Amid some chatter that American MBA programs have lost their luster among international applicants, more U.S. business schools now offer (or are working on launching) one-year MBA programs. As the Financial Times reports in a recent article, more schools have started to offer accelerated programs in an attempt to draw interest from a wider applicant base.

While these schools are responding to market demand, these moves invite questions about whether or not companies will be as interested in the graduates they produce. While one-year programs tend to attract applicants with more full-time work experience and/or significant business training, as these programs become more common, some wonder if they will start to attract less experienced applicants who ultimately will have a hard time finding the types of high-paying jobs they want to pursue post-MBA.

We work with dozens of Yale School of Management applicants every year. Given the school’s tight-knit culture and its strong reputation in progressive fields of study, it’s no wonder that Yale is popular among our admissions consulting clients. What does surprise us, though, is how many Yale applicants don’t really know whether the school is good fit for them. We always urge these applicants to go back and do their homework a bit more before they start crafting their applications.

Are you thinking about applying to Yale SOM this year? If so, why? How do you know if it’s really is a good fit for you? More importantly, how do you know the Yale admissions team will think you’re a good fit for the school? Today we present four things that make the Yale SOM experience unique:

A very common question we receive at this time of year goes something like this: “I applied to five business schools, and only got into one. I am not super excited about that program, and I feel confident that I can get into one of my preferred schools if I apply again next year. What should I do?” This could be a whole article that asks, “If you’re not that excited about your safety school, then why did you apply in the first place?” but we’ll save that for another day. Today we’ll explore the “Matriculate now or apply later?” question.

It’s a tough spot to be in. If you applied in Round 1, by now you figured you would know your fate. You had hoped you would get into one of your dream schools, and you also knew there was a chance you wouldn’t get in anywhere. But maybe you didn’t spend much time considering the outcome of having one potential date to the prom, but not one about which you’re not terribly excited.

We talk to dozens of applicants about INSEAD every year. Our European clients almost always are interested in the program, and among U.S.-based applicants, INSEAD is almost always their first or second choice if they’re interested in earning an MBA abroad. This makes sense given the terrific international exposure that INSEAD students get at the school’s two campuses. What frequently surprises us, though, is how little applicants really know about the school, beyond that fact that it’s a highly-ranked program with a high profile around the world.

Are you thinking about applying to INSEAD? How do you know if it really is a good fit for you? And how do you know if the INSEAD admissions committee will think you’re a good fit for the program? Today we present six reasons why INSEAD may be the perfect school for you to target for your MBA experience. While not all six of these need to describe you, the more these descriptions sound like you, the more likely you are to thrive at INSEAD:

We are excited to announce today, along with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), that Veritas Prep has awarded American Heroes Scholarships to 50 IAVA Member Veterans. These test preparation and admissions consulting scholarships will allow U.S. Military Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan to pursue a wide variety of interests including business, environmental science, history, law, medicine, museum studies, nutrition, psychology and public administration.

Of the 50 scholarships awarded, 31 IAVA Member Veterans will receive a free Veritas Prep GMAT prep course, either in-person or online, and Veritas Prep’s full suite of 15 GMAT course books and extensive resources; 19 will receive six hours of graduate school admissions consulting with a Veritas Prep admissions expert related to the graduate program of their choice. In addition to the scholarships announced today, Veritas Prep is extending discounts to all qualified IAVA Member Veterans; offering 50 percent off Veritas Prep GMAT courses and 25 percent off admissions consulting services.

Although Wharton has had a presence in San Francisco for more than ten years now, the school’s Bay Area outpost for executive education has had a relatively low profile. Wharton seeks to change that with a recent rebranding and a move to a new space that gives the program significantly more room than it had before. Wharton | San Francisco has relocated to the historic Hills Plaza building on the Embarcadero, taking over a space that feels less like that of an East Coast business school and more like a Bay Area tech startup’s offices.

The first class enrolled at Wharton West (as it was then known) in August, 2001. The dot-com meltdown, which was well under way at that point, surely came at a bad time for the fledgling program, but Wharton persevered. Now, Wharton | San Francisco boasts nearly 1,000 alumni of its executive education programs, and its new space will allow the program to grow: It can now accommodate 150 students at one time.

It must be that time of year again… Ahh, yes, early February. The phone is ringing right now, and there’s a decent chance it’s an applicant calling to ask if he should apply to business school in Round 3, or if he should wait until next year. (Okay, I was wrong… That client called for help in resetting his password for our website. But it will ring again shortly!)

At this time of year, we have the “Round 3 or wait?” discussion with applicants multiple times per day. As usual, the answer we give them is, “It depends,” although we do have some very strong opinions on the matter. Applying in Round 3 is not automatically a bad idea (if it were, then why would schools have a Round 3 deadline at all?), but there is definitely a “buyer beware” aspect that you should consider. In this case, what you’re buying is a few minutes of an admissions officer’s time, and the price you pay is the application fee plus all of the blood, sweat, and tears that will go into your application.

Yesterday the Kellogg School of Management unveiled its new strategic vision for the coming decade, called Envision Kellogg. The plan, announced by Kellogg Dean Sally Blount, contains many moving pieces, including an expanding global footprint and a complete overhaul of the school’s MBA curriculum. Most notably, Kellogg plans to shrink its two-year MBA program class size by as much as 25%, and double or even triple the size of its one-year MBA program.

There are few, if any, American one-year MBA programs as prominent the one Kellogg offers. (Among top-ranked schools, Columbia’s accelerated January-intake class is the most similar.) Recognizing this unique asset and the apparent growing popularity of accelerated MBA programs around the world, Blount is doubling down on the one-year program in an effort to further stand out vs. its U.S. competition. Its two-year full-time enrollment, which currently stands at about 1,115, may drop as low as 850. Meanwhile, the school’s one-year program class size could grow from approximately 80 students to as many as 250.

We get no shortage of inquiries from clients about the Stanford Graduate School of Business, which isn’t surprising given that it sits at or near the top of any significant ranking of MBA programs. What’s not to love about an elite, cozy MBA program in the heart of Silicon Valley? Still, we’re often disappointed by how little these applicants actually know about Stanford before they apply. We always urge these applicants to go back and do their homework a bit more before they begin the application process.

Are you thinking about applying to Stanford? If so, why? How do you know if it’s really is a good fit for you? More importantly, how do you know the Stanford admissions team will think you’re a good fit for the school? Today we present five things that make Stanford GSB unique among top-ranked MBA programs:

The Financial Times has just released its new global MBA rankings for 2012. For the first time in the history of the FT rankings, Stanford grabs the top spot, pushing London Business School and Wharton (Which were tied for #1 in 2011) down to #2. Stanford becomes only the fourth school to sit atop the FT rankings, joining LBS, Wharton, and Harvard for that distinction.

Without further ado, here are the Financial Times’ top ten global MBA programs for 2012:

We are big fans of the UC Berkeley MBA program here at Veritas Prep. The school’s “Confidence Without Attitude” thrust is one we can really get behind, and it’s that ethos (among others) that makes Haas grads so popular among hiring companies. Haas is also popular among Veritas Prep clients, which is no surprise given the school’s location in the Bay Area and progressive reputation. We know other applicants agree — Haas actually has one of the lowest acceptance rates among all MBA programs in the United States.

Are you thinking about applying to Haas? How do you know if the school really is a good fit for you? Today we present six reasons why UC Berkeley may be the perfect school for you to target for your MBA experience:

Are you planning to attend an MBA Admissions event? If you are planning to attend one of The MBA Tour’s upcoming conferences in Washington DC (Feb 2), New York City (Feb 4), San Francisco (Feb 6) or another admissions event in the near future, here’s some advice from The MBA Tour’s CEO, Peter von Loesecke on how to prepare for meeting with Admissions Directors in person:

“The best thing applicants can do is research the schools that are participating in the event and their admissions statistics. I would also recommend coming with a resume to share with admissions representative during the event. Ask pertinent information about the school as it relates to your post MBA goals, be sure to articulate your goals clearly and, finally, I suggest attending in business attire to help make a great first impression.”

Last week INSEAD announced that it will launch an executive MBA (EMBA) program on its Singapore campus, and that it will introduce its own admissions test for the school’s EMBA program. Built in conjunction with test prep company Prep Zone (which was founded by INSEAD alumni), the exam will mark the first time that a top MBA program has created a proprietary entrance exam for its admissions process.

The new exam will keep some elements of the GMAT, such as questions that measure quant- and verbal-related reasoning skills. (“Higher-order thinking,” anyone?) INSEAD will remove some of the more obscure measures of one’s mathematical ability and grasp of more subtle language nuances, and in their place will introduce “mini case studies” and a a personal interview. In this way, the line will be blurred between the entrance exam and the rest of the admissions process.

When clients we ask our admissions consulting clients which MBA programs they’re targeting, NYU’s Stern School of Business is often on the list. Given the school’s New York location, impressive faculty, and strong ties to the finance sector, it’s no wonder that so many people apply to Stern each year.

If NYU Stern isn’t on your list, then perhaps you should take a step back and research the school more closely. It’s a personal favorite of many of us here at Veritas Prep headquarters, and it’s one that we frequently recommend that our clients research in more depth. Today we dig into four things that make NYU Stern unique among top business schools:

Yesterday the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University announced that Soumitra Dutta, a professor of business and technology and founder and faculty director of a new media and technology innovation lab at INSEAD, will become the eleventh dean of the school. Dutta will step into the new role on July 1, 2012, replacing Joseph Thomas, who will return to the classroom after five years of leading the school.

Aside from being news because it’s a leadership change at a top MBA program, Johnson’s announcement is also notable since this marks the first time top-ranked business school in the U.S. has hired a dean from a business school outside the country. Last year INSEAD plucked a graduate management leader from the U.S., when it announced that former Kellogg dean Dipak Jain would run the school. Now, the U.S. has struck back and brought a top business mind to this side of the pond.

What do you know… Another year has already gone by. We’re so full of opinion and points of view here at Veritas Prep that we thought we should commit ourselves to another round of prognosticating about what the coming year will bring in the worlds of standardized tests and grad school admissions. It will be fun to check in at the end of the year to see how we did.

Without further ado, here are six things that we predict will happen in 2012:

Every year we get countless inquiries from applicants about Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business. Given the school’s tight-knit community and its successful track record in placing grads in high-paying careers, it’s no wonder that so many applicants are drawn to Tuck every year. What does surprise us, though, is how many Tuck applicants don’t really know whether the school is good fit for them. We always urge these applicants to go back and do their homework a bit more before they begin the application process.

Are you thinking about applying to Tuck? If so, why? How do you know if it’s really is a good fit for you? More importantly, how do you know the Tuck admissions team will think you’re a good fit for the school? Today we present four things that make the Tuck School of Business unique among top-ranked MBA programs: