A Talk with Tuck's Admissions Director
An excerpt from the Q&A:

Q: What can you tell applicants about the admissions interview process? Are admissions interviews by invite only, and what types of questions can people expect?
A: Tuck offers an interview to anybody who comes to campus. We strongly encourage people to visit Tuck. For us, the interview is a critical part of the application. We want to really get to know the person behind the application, and that's why we take so much time to interview each of the applicants. We also offer interviews with alumni all over the world for those who can't make it to the campus.

The interview is very conversational. It's an opportunity for us to learn about the applicant as well as for the applicant to ask us questions about Tuck. One of the most important questions that we ask is about their interest in Tuck. Ultimately, we want to make sure that all applicants understand the level of commitment to the Tuck community.

Q: Are the alumni interviews done blind, or will interviewers have seen the candidate's application?
A: All interviews are done with only the résumé. So none of the interviewers have read the application before the interview. That way, everybody is on a level playing field.

For the full version of this Q&A

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Comments from Student 1:
Scheduling the Interview: The interview was scheduled via an on-line form. It was part of campus visitation, and I had the choice to add an interview to it or not. The exact time of the interview was mailed to me the night before. Unfortunately, at that time I did not have access to my e-mail anymore, and judging from the reaction of other applicants, very few had. This created some confusion.

Location of interview: On campus, in a spare office.

Preparedness of Interviewer: The person doing the interview got my resume only a few minutes before the interview. However, I conducted all my interview before submitting my application materials.

Interviewer University affiliation: A second year student.

Atmosphere: Very relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Questions asked: The main questions revolved around my involvement with team work and leadership. These questions were very specific and repeated themselves. It was evident that the school was looking for people who showed eagerness to work in teams. A significant portion of my interview was my questions about the schools. All of my questions were noted by the interviewer.

Length of interview: About twenty minutes. As I found out, the usual interview takes 30-40 minutes, but my interviewer had a test to take, and had to leave earlier.

Additional comments: The interview was very relaxed, but it was apparent that the school did not put much weight on interviews. I had the feeling that those were mainly for me to learn about the school, as the interviewer wasn't very prepared to ask me questions, and her schedule did not allow her to grant me a full interview.

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Comments from Student 2:
Scheduling the Interview: I went to Dartmouth's website, and it said that in order to apply to the MBA program, it was strongly recommended that a candidate complete an on campus interview. The scheduling process was over the phone, not on the web. I called the number listed on the website, spoke with someone on the admissions committee, and scheduled an interview for October 31st, 2004.

Location of interview: The interview was on campus.

Preparedness of Interviewer: Actually, things were pretty hectic in the admissions office on the day of my interview because Tuck did not have enough interviewers for the number of scheduled applicants. Everyone was given a schedule for the day which included a class visit, interview, campus tour and lunch, and most of the candidate's schedules needed to be altered due to the lack of interviewers.

My interviewer had my resume and GMAT scores in front of her on the computer during the interview, and it was easy to see that she was comfortable with the admissions process and my background. I do not know if I was originally scheduled with her and she had reviewed my application materials ahead of time or if she was simply an excellent interviewer and had just seen the information.

Interviewer University affiliation: I interviewed with Sally Jaeger who was the former admissions director and current assistant dean of the school.

Atmosphere: Other than the interviewer shortage, the atmosphere was very relaxing and collegial. The applicants spent most of the day waiting in the admissions office area which was a very fancy, old room with a fireplace, sofas, magazines and coffee. It was very pleasant and all of the interviewees conversed with each other the entire time.

Questions asked: The interview was very conversational. Sally Jaeger went through my resume in the beginning and asked some basic questions about my AT&T experience; specifically my current position as the Prepaid Card CFO. She asked me to explain how I arrived at the decision to apply to business school and why I was interested in focusing on marketing. She was very interested in any team experiences that I had at work and the successes/ challenges that arose from them. She also wanted to know about my extracurricular interests and any leadership positions that I held in those clubs.

The second half of the interview was spent discussing the Tuck School of Business and why I thought I would be a good fit for the school.

She also asked me if I was satisfied with my GMAT score. I had a 660, and I said that I was happy with it because I had taken a Kaplan course and given the test my best effort. However, in hindsight, I think that she was concerned that I was not in the 70th percentile in math. (This was the feedback that I received when I was told that I had been put on the waitlist.)

Length of interview: The interview lasted about 30 minutes.

Additional comments: Overall, the entire interview day was a pleasant experience and it gave me a great feel for what attending the Tuck School of Business would be like.

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