Applying for an MBA: Thoughts from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business

The following is an excerpt from Your MBA Game Plan, Third Edition: Proven Strategies for Getting Into the Top Business Schools, © 2012 Omari Bouknight and Scott Shrum. It is reprinted with permission of the publisher, Career Press, Pompton Plains, NJ.  800-227-3371.  All rights reserved.

A Conversation With Dawna Clarke

Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business is known for innovation in management education, and Tuck’s admissions office is known for innovation in MBA admissions, frequently reaching out to applicants and admissions experts to spread the word about Tuck. Much of the credit for this goes to Dawna Clarke, Tuck’s Director of MBA Admissions. Dawna has worked in the field for more than two decades, also having served in the admissions office at Darden and Kenan-Flagler. We had a chance to talk with Dawna about how the MBA application process is viewed through an admissions director’s eyes.

We hear admissions committee members talk about looking for fit when evaluating applicants. What does that mean to you? What do you look for to determine if an applicant is a good fit with Tuck?

Being a good “fit” is very important at Tuck because we have such a small class size. We look for people who have been involved and who have had an impact on either their company or their community in some way. We look at recommendation letters to see how they work in teams, and we read all the interview comments as well to get an idea of a person’s interpersonal skills. Potential leadership qualities are important here because most of our events are student-led, but we don’t mean by “leadership” that the applicants should have been heading up their company or their division. Leadership occurs in many ways: community service, leading new initiatives at work or in the community, helping others achieve their potential. However, it is impossible to describe the “perfect” Tuck candidate because there are no pigeon holes at Tuck. As a member of this community, each student’s unique qualities are valued in classroom discussions, study group all-nighters, and teamwork negotiations. When we talk about diversity, we use the word in its widest sense: ethnicity, nationality, gender, and also educational and professional background.

What are some of the major mistakes that you see applicants make year after year?

The most common mistake is in choosing a school solely based on rankings. Most applicants, regardless of from where they come, tend to look at the rankings and really don’t consider which school is best for their interests. And most of them really do not understand exactly what the rankings are measuring. We feel it is important for students to do a thorough job of researching the different programs, including talking to current students or alumni. By doing their “due diligence” they will find the school that will be the best option for their career goals.

How important is an applicant’s enthusiasm for the program? Can you tell when an applicant is simply applying to Tuck along with every other top school?

Enthusiasm for Tuck is very important to us. We don’t want people here who will not be able to adjust to the climate or the small-town atmosphere, because they will not be happy. We want everyone to be happy and satisfied with their experience, and I think we’ve done a good job through the years of attracting the sort of student who will thrive here. We realize it is not the right place for everyone and that is fine. Can we tell if they are just applying to a list of top schools? Sometimes yes, but we never ask where they are applying. That’s not important to us. We just want to know why they applied to Tuck and if they don’t know about the program and what we are all about, that tells us something. The best way to get to know more about Tuck is to talk with the people who know it best—our students, our alumni, our faculty, and our staff. We encourage applicants to take every opportunity to connect with us. We have a great campus visit program and the students love to show people around here. Once you have visited, then your essay about “why Tuck?” will be richer and more vibrant because you will have experienced it firsthand.

What advice do you have for less-traditional applicants, such as those coming from nonprofit organizations or more artistic career backgrounds?

We actually like non-traditional applicants. They bring a richness to the classroom because they tend to look at things from a totally different viewpoint. Every year we have students who come from teaching, law, and we are seeing more and more people from the nonprofit world. We have a rich tradition of community service and we work closely with nonprofits in our area through the Allwin Initiative for Corporate Citizenship. Often people who come in with a vague idea of doing something in nonprofit can find a very rewarding internship with one of our partner organizations.

What do you look for in trying to distinguish between applicants with very similar professional backgrounds?

This is probably the hardest part of the job. With two equally qualified candidates, how do you pick one? We rely on a number of things, but specifically on the letters of recommendation and the interview, and also the way the person has crafted the essay answers. I think the best way to differentiate yourself is to look outside of work and talk to us about what really interests you. This is what we are looking for—that spark of passion for something.

What is your take on the GMAT and its importance to an MBA application? For applicants with low GMAT scores, what else can they do to make up for this weakness?

The GMAT is one of those hurdles that everyone has to jump through and it is the one common denominator for every candidate. Based on research done by GMAC, we are convinced that the test is a good predictor of how someone will do in the first year of the program. We do look closely at the scores because our program is very demanding and rigorous in the first year, especially in the quantitative courses. But we do admit people with GMAT scores lower than our average when they have shown us a particular facet of their personality or their professional experience that tips the balance. Sometimes they can prove to us that they can handle the quantitative aspects by the work they do or by their undergraduate grades. I strongly recommend that people take the time to either follow a preparation course or study diligently at least two hours per day using free online or print materials.

What makes a really good essay? What makes a really bad one?

My main advice is to read the question and answer what we are asking. Don’t “cut and paste” your essays written for another school into our application (or into any other schools’ application either!). Each school looks for specific things. For instance, at Tuck, we are looking for leadership potential and we have a specific definition of what we mean by leadership, which does not necessarily mean “ordering other people around.” We also want to know who the applicant is outside of work—do they have special interests that would enrich other students, what will they bring to Tuck? And finally, we look for a clear career path: What have they done? Why? And how will that get them where they want to go? The bad essays are those that skirt the question or that answer the question they wished we had asked but didn’t!

What makes for a successful interview? How do you recommend applicants prepare for their interviews?

The interview is another facet of who the candidate is and an in-person interview is the best opportunity to really shine. We ask about their career choices in the past and their goals for the future, and we also ask random questions to find out more about their personality, how they work with others, what differentiates them from other candidates. We look for their level of comfort, and how they present themselves from a professional standpoint, too. We don’t have a prepared list of questions. Like everything at Tuck, the interview is very personalized, so it is difficult to prepare for it in that sense. Of course, the candidates should be able to talk briefly about their career choices and why they want to come to Tuck, and the rest will follow from what is elicited from these responses.

Anything else you would like to share about Tuck or the MBA admissions process in general?

We realize that the applicants put a lot of time, thought, and energy into their essays and we treat each application with the respect it deserves. We read each application at least two times by two separate readers, and I personally read every single write-up before making a decision. Our decisions are generally by consensus, but, every now and then, we have some hot and heavy discussions! We want the best possible candidates who will leave a positive impact on Tuck, and we want to be sure that our program is the best for them.