myice

Early Action / On-campus / Second Year Student / Mid-September (Published December 4, 2009)

It was very laid back, as expected. My interviewer was a 2nd year student who was very friendly. We chatted on the walk from the admissions office to the interview room. It was relaxed and cordial. He started with the disclaimer that he would be taking notes, and not to let it throw me off, because he was listening. Questions he asked:

Walk me through you resume
I see experience in country XX, tell me about that.
Why MBA? Why now?
Why Tuck?
Talk about a time you worked in a team.
Talk about a time you disgreed with your boss/supervisor and how it was resolved.
Imagine you are selling yourself to the adcom. What are the three things about yourself you would want them to know?
Any questions for interviewer.
In general, the interview was exactly what I had expected based on my research of Tuck. Laid back, not much in the way of behavioral questions, and a focus on teamwork. I'd say prepare thoroughly for the Why Tuck question and have a solid idea of how you want to walk through your resume.

myice

Nov. Round / Applicant-initiated / 2 yr student / On-campus / Nov 12, 2008 (Published February 5th, 2009)

To have my interview done before the deadline, I scheduled the interview on the last day and submitted the application right after the interview in the lounge.

The interview was very generic, 30 mins, same as what was published on clearadmit. It was a blind interview by a second year student, who had already got a offer from Merill Lynch. The interview itself was very laid back. He had not seen my resume until I handed it to him. The interviewer was excited to tell me that all members of his band got into the same firm, and they will rock together... I noticed he's quite engaged in his band practice, as he grabbed his guitar right after our interview to join the practice. Seems these guys were really having a great time at Tuck.

Here are the Questions asked:

Walk me thru your resume, let's start from undergraduate.
Why MBA? Why Now? Why Tuck?
Tell us about a experience of team work?
Any failure stories so far? (I answered very badly)
any international experience?
What do you think you can bring to Tuck?
Any additional info that you’d like admissions-committee to know. ( I just said no. that was stupid!)
any questions you have regarding Tuck?
Since this was my first interview during the MBA quest, I did not so weel. I didn't prepare well and failed to build a strategy regarding the ways to answer each question. And my essays was also completed in a rush, so I think I might have failed.

myice

Early Decision (Waitlisted) / Telephone (Published February 4th, 2009)

Just completed a telephonic interview with Tuck. (I apped in EA round, was waitlisted and then they wrote back saying that they would like to interview me)

The interview was very generic. There were no surprises. It wasn’t a blind interview. I believe she had my full application in front of her or at least, had gone through that in full.

Here are the Qs asked in the exact order that they were asked:

Tell me something about yourself covering your education, work-ex and your motivation for an MBA. (Answered as usual, but while covering work-ex, mentioned the switch from company X to company Y and underlined that company Y is very selective. (This was a lesson from Goizueta Interview ) )
You mentioned company Y is very selective. Why do you think so? And why did they select you? (Explained the rigorous process. As expected, she was impressed. Then, mentioned my traits like technical excellence, problem solving skills and teamwork)
Tell us about a work-related team-story. (Told)
What do your colleagues admire most about you? ( Quoted some qualities, with example. got appreciation)
Motivation for an MBA now. (Told, she sounded convinced)
Why Tuck? (Explained in detail, Clubs, courses, reputation; connected with my goals; she liked my homework)
How did you get to know about Tuck? (Told the whole story starting with the first time I saw the name in one of the rankings to the alum-hosted admission event. Mentioned how I loved the way their alum stood for them once they needed to postpone the visit. Told them how even I am connected strongly with my alma-mater. She liked this.)
Tell us tour involvement with Toastmasters. (Explained in detail how TM made me a better speaker, better leader and a better person. Mentioned that I’d like to rejuvenate Tuckmasters, the now defunct TM club of Tuck. She complimented me on that saying that TM is really a gr8 organization to be involved with.)
Any additional info that you’d like admissions-committee to know. ( Told about recent updates from work-front. She again sounded impressed and asked me to send a detailed note for this.)
Next, she asked if i have any specific Qs related to the WL process or anything else. Here r the Qs i asked:

Next step for WL candidates. (Nothing. It’s a long wait and all the waitlisted candidates would be evaluated at the end of last round. )
What about internationals? Don’t you encourage internationals to apply early to avoid Visa-hassles?? ( Yup, They are seeing to it that if possible, international candidates are notified a bit earlier. But that too will take at least a couple of months.)
Any chance of school/finaid for us. (School: no chances, all decisions with admit-decisions; finaid: chances are there.)
Possibility of a no-cosigner loan? (Tuck is still looking, but the last she knew, there was no improvement in situation.)
Overall, the interview went very well. I was very confident this time. (Goizueta effect maybe) I guess it was the kind that would have got me a seat at Tuck, had it been a regular interview. Even now i guess it may fetch me a seat some time in May.

myice

Round 2 / Admission-Initiated interview (Published February 4th, 2009)

We met in his office. Pleasant and laid back interview. He told me the interviews were casual and I did not need to wear a suit. He already had my resume printed, but I brought a resume binder & resume just in case.

Tell me about yourself and why you are applying for an MBA
Why did you choose your firm
Tell me about a team member that was difficult to deal with
Tell me about your involvement in your community service
Tell me about a failure or weakness
What do you think you can bring to Tuck, given that the students are so close and many have a lot more experience than you
What type of classes would you want to take at Tuck
Where is your favorite place you traveled
I asked what clubs / activities he did and what advice he would give to me for activities to join.

Right at ~60 minutes.

myice

Early Action / Second-Year Student / on-campus / Accepted! (Published January 28th, 2009)

I was an EA Tuck accepted Tuck applicant and did my interview about two weeks before the application was due. I would definitely recommend everyone to sign up for the on-campus interview if you can. Visiting the school you get the opportunity to see the campus and also explain a little bit more about why you think you'd be a good fit. Also, since Tuck is a unique place it is important that you feel a connection to a place that is pretty isolated but team oriented.

The interview itself was very laidb ack with a second year student. She had not seen my resume until I handed it to her so it was really a "blind" interview. She asked very general questions:

Walk me through your resume
Tell me about an experience where you led a team
Tell me about a difficult experience that you faced
Why Tuck and why now?
Those were really the only direct questions and the conversation flowed from there. It was a very good interview in that it gave you a sense of how Tuck approaches things: casually and with a focus on teamwork. She talked quite a bit about her own experiences at Tuck which was interesting but made me nervous that I was not contributing to my own case but since I was accepted I suppose it all worked out in the end.

myice

Round 2 / Adcom / On-Campus (Published December 9th, 2008)

Tuck invites all applicants to come visit the school and interview before (or right after) you apply. I scheduled my interview for the end of the day, so that I could participate in all the events they line up for applicants before my interview. At the beginning of the day, I was paired up with a current student and went to class and lunch with him. Then, there was a campus tour, followed by a brief Q&A with an AdCom. I think it is wise to schedule your interview for the end of the day because the interviewer really wants to find out why you want to go to Tuck and the events of the day can help you decide for yourself whether Tuck is right for you.

Questions:

Walk-through of my resume, starting from undergrad. Wanted to know what I was involved in outside of class in undergrad.
Why MBA? Which led to discussion of what my goals were after school and what my dream goal is.
Why Tuck? (This is very important to them and it seems they ask everyone this)
Tell about a time / how I work in teams.
Tell about a time / how I lead.
How will I get involved in Tuck, outside of class? (what groups and activities?)
I felt prepared for each of these questions, except the last one because based on talks I’ve had with current students and alumni, it seems that between course-work and recruiting, students have little time for extra-curriculars, especially in the demanding Fall Term. Anyway, in general, I’d like to say that people were extremely friendly here and that they really are looking for fit and people who know what they’re getting into in terms of the location of the school.

myice

Round 1 / 2nd year student /On-campus (Published December 4th, 2008)

This was a quite basic interview. We started talking on our way from the admissions office to the interview room so it set a really conversational format for the interview.

Once we arrived he asked (I am formalizing the questions but again, it really sounded conversational)

Walk me through your resume
Why MBA and why Tuck/Goals short term and long term?
What's your experience working in teams?
What are your strengths? Weaknesses?
3 months down the road in the MBA program, what will your teammates say about you?
Tell me about a team failure.
What will you bring to the community at Tuck?
Do you have any questions for me?
Honestly, it was exactly what the essays were about-the interview is blind so the interviewer has not seen your essays. I think they like to check your story for consistency and make sure you are not a psycho. The interviewer was really friendly and he took a significant amount of notes during the interview, and even when I asked questions he took some notes about what the aspects of the MBA program I was asking about... One piece of advice: do your homework!

myice

Tuck Interview Early Action / Second Year Student / On-campus / Admitted! (Published January 31st, 2008)

Wonderful experience, Tuck's strategy of bringing everyone in definitely ensures that students know the environment they will be in should they choose to go there. The interviewer was extremely friendly, I got the impression he had never done any interviewing before, whether for school or professionally.

Started off focusing on my educational background, specifically my minor and why I chose that - talked about this much longer than I would have expected
Why MBA
Why Tuck
Career plans
Then we went into extracurriculars, which was another lengthy sidetrack. Was concerned that I was spending too much time here, but he and I had some similar and genuine interests.
Then we switched, so I got to ask about what he enjoyed most about Tuck, and specifically his experience coming with a partner as I was in the same boat.

myice

Tuck Interview Early Action. Student interview. On campus. (Published November 14, 2007)

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.

myice

Tuck Interview Early Action. (Published September 16, 2007)

Why MBA at this point
Why Tuck
Example of a Failure
Example of how I was able to convince people (kinda like an outsider question)
What do you not like about your job?
What do you do for fun?
What do you cook? (seriously)