Tuck School of Business Admissions Blog

Ask Dawna: An Update on the Current Admissions Cycle

2012-01-27T15:29:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year from all of us at Tuck!

Now that we are back from the holiday break, we find ourselves in the home stretch of the 2011-2012 admissions season. It has been a great pleasure to meet so many of you both on the road at Tuck events and here on campus. We have enjoyed reading your applications and like what we see so far.

As we approach the final application submission deadline on April 2, many of you have asked us for updates on the current application volume. This video provides an update.

As always, if you have any questions, please post them in the comments section of this or any of the previous "Ask Dawna" posts.

Interviews

2012-01-21T09:34:00.000-05:00

So it’s been a busy time here at Tuck since returning from break. Interviews for summer internships are infull-swing so many of my classmates are nicely dressed and nicelystressed. As for myself, I’m veryoptimistic that I will land an internship that I will enjoy thanks to thehard-working people in the Career Development Office who seem to have acomparative advantage at attracting great companies both large and small andmaking sure that the whole process goes as smooth as possible.

I never thought the recruiting process would be thisexhausting. I feel as if there are five forces coming at me from every direction. I’ve even found it difficult to turn on my video game console after along day. If any of my professors arereading this “video game console” means to read the cases for class. On the bright side, the weekend has arrivedand now it’s time to rest and look forward to another week of interviews andanother week of classes. This weekend willgive me the chance to lower my costs of distress.

*Note to my professors: Do you like how I cleverly incorporated some of our class topics? I bet you didn't catch that.

Cool Runnings

2012-01-16T22:40:00.000-05:00

When I go to Tuck I want to learn to... swim?!

This statement did not appear in any of my admissions essays. I have, for all my days on this fair planet, swum like a stone. This has been a source of disappointment to me from time to time but I've always been too busy with something else to set it right. I could say the same for cycling - not my cup of tea, thank you very much.

During my tour of the Tuck campus in 2009, my guide said, "I've never met so many marathon runners and triathletes as there are here at Tuck." I ran a half marathon in Hanover the day before Tuck orientation (my time was reasonable, but I hadn't trained enough and I collapsed at the finish line then spent the entire afternoon throwing up with heat stroke). And that was supposedly my strongest of the three triathlon events. I pretty much ruled out getting involved with the Tuck Tri Club. Then, a year ago, I ruined my knee. My days of participating in contact sports were over.

My rehab in recent months has been focused on the stationary bike in the Dartmouth gym. I was given a road bike for Christmas. Maybe cycling isn't so bad after all.

I have, at the time of writing this evening and against all odds, just arrived home from my first Tuck Tri training session. And I am about to sign up for the New Jersey Devilman sprint triathlon this spring. A sprint triathlon is not a major feat of athletic accomplishment but if I make it over that finish line, I will feel like a king no matter my time. When I celebrate with the 50-or-so other Tuckies who will make the trip down together, I will feel like a soldier amongst fellow soldiers after the battle is won. 11 months ago, in the depths of injury woe, this was unthinkable to me. Tonight, I got in the pool.

When I say I swim like a stone, I am not being modest. Lifeguards earn their keep nervously when I'm in sight, always apparently a half gallon away from drowning. And I started as poorly as I had expected to. Think Cool Runnings. Our coach, Christel Bouvron, is a member of the Tuck Class of 2013. She is also an Olympian, having swum for Singapore in Athens 2004 while a rising junior at Notre Dame. Despite internship interview season starting this week, she took two hours out of her day, as she will do twice per week for the rest of the term, to teach the talented and the talentless (me) how to be better in the pool. Thankfully, I only learned of her pedigree after the session, or I would actually have drowned with the pressure of feeling like a complete idiot. About two-thirds of the way through the session, I made it across the 25 meter pool in 7 strokes, stretching each stroke like I had never done before. By the end, I was back to looking like a two year old in a go-kart, railing from pillar to post. But there was something there. Something to work on. As I left, Christel said, "Ken... bring goggles next time." Good idea.

On your mark, get set... GO!!

2012-01-03T18:01:00.004-05:00

Wait, I wasn't ready! No matter, winter term has begun. Walking into Byrne dining hall at 12:10 this afternoon was an absolute delight - so many friendly faces, such hubbub, so little time (as I was giving a mock consulting interview to a first year in advance of internship recruiting starting, and only had time to pick up a water and say "Happy New Year!" to about 45 people in 60 seconds).

For those of you who haven't discovered Tuck Today, it's a splendid depiction of the Tuck community. The new edition just came out and there is a must-read piece on ice hockey at Tuck. Admitted students, I would highly recommend visiting and downloading from this collection of Tuck wallpaper - a pleasant pause between closing down Excel and opening PowerPoint. For those of you patiently waiting to hear the outcome of your application, or preparing to press 'submit' on the January round, bookmark it!

Tonight, I'm off to start winter workouts for Tuck's other great sport - rugby. After a December of over-indulgence, it's going to be tough. But the camaraderie makes it fun... I must remember that when I think I'm going to collapse.

Finally, news just in: Polar Vision has successfully reached the South Pole! I wonder if it's warmer there than it is in Hanover tonight (-21C/-5F)?

2012, Here We Come!

2011-12-31T16:09:00.003-05:00

I’m back at Tuck and it feels great! I’m amazed by how Hanover has come to feel like home for me after only a few short months. Ken hit the nail on the head with his post below; Staten Island feels a million miles away.

2011 was an amazing year. My acceptance at Tuck was a life-defining moment for me, and I will forever fondly remember the Fall semester. While it will be a tough act to follow, I’m up for the challenge in 2012. There will be no lack of opportunities to improve myself next year as interviews, internships and international travel are all on the schedule. I have my interviewing strategy set, and my plane tickets for the Brazil Trek booked. I’m looking forward to what is sure to be my most successful year yet. The potential for personal improvement within Tuck is mind-boggling. Looking back, applying here may have been the best decision I have ever made.

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you can all look fondly back on the year past, and are ready to tackle the year ahead.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T12:40:00.002-05:00

I'm glad to be back home in snowy Hanover. My trip back to Scotland felt like going back into my childhood bedroom: the quaint familiarity was endearing, yet I wondered how my entire life used to fit in such a small place. I am surprised how much the US feels like home now, even if I have some way to go before flying over baseball fields warms the cockles quite the same as the aerial view of soccer pitches.

The year ahead looms large. New leaders in the US, China, France, Russia and Mexico. Olympics in London. Graduation from Tuck and re-entry into the real world. A trundling global economy, lurching from abyss to precipice with band-aids of minimal political action. The year of the Facebook IPO. The list goes on. As I prepare to sing Auld Lang Syne, my usual New Year's resolutions are in place: fatten the bank account and slim the waist. This year, I'm starting from a sufficiently troublesome position on both fronts that my goals ought to be within easy reach. In addition, 2012 will be the year when I get my golf game in shape. Here's a wee treat for you all to wish you a happy and successful new year. The presenter, the Reverend I. M. Jolly, used to be an annual fixture in Scotland at "Hogmanay" - utterly magnificent. As they say in Scotland, "Lang may yer lum reek!"

Priority #1

2011-12-26T14:44:00.002-05:00

Always remember your primary goal and prioritize it. How could something seemingly so simple be so difficult? This past year, from acceptance to the writing of this blog post, has been jam packed with responsibilities, events and commitments that have all in some way or another challenged my ability to prioritize and focus on my goals. I figured now would be a good time to reflect on my year-long march towards the end-game, the primary reason I applied to Tuck in the first place: to become a consultant.

During the application process, there was significant temptation to skew my priorities. So what if my goal was to switch careers? All I need to do is get into Tuck, right? Shouldn’t that be on top of the list? I spent significant time thinking about how I should write my essays. What can I say to get me in? Luckily, two weeks into the drafting process, I had an epiphany: Tuck isn’t an end. Business school doesn’t guarantee me anything. Indeed, business school significantly improves my ability to achieve my goals, but in reality it is a stepping stone. After this realization, I “tore up” all my old essays (deleted!) and started fresh with this new perspective. My essays genuinely reflected my goals, which no doubt was key to my acceptance. This soul-searching was also extremely beneficial: not only was I sincere in my essays, but I was reassured that Tuck was the school that was going to get me where I needed to go.

Fast forward to Fall A/B (there wasn’t much opportunity for me to do anything but strategize in the time between acceptance and attendance). Class. Homework. Recruiting. Networking. Hockey. Rugby. Eat. Sleep. Rinse. Repeat. Tuck can be an extremely challenging place because of the wealth of opportunities you’re given access to, which is a very good thing. Once again, prioritizing is KEY to success here. Keeping a singular focus is the difference between being overwhelmed and being successful. Through reminding myself on a daily basis not to lose focus (I wrote “Priority #1” on a whiteboard and attached it to my door), I was able to keep myself energized throughout the recruiting process and Fall A/B.

The Winter break has been a great opportunity for me to prepare for interviews (all on-campus interviews happen a couple of weeks into the Winter term). I’m more confident than ever that I’ll achieve a successful career transition. Tuck has played an extremely important role in the process, as I knew it would from the beginning. Whether you’re currently applying or already accepted: always remember your goal and prioritize it. Everything else will fall into place.

White Christmas

2011-12-24T06:40:00.003-05:00

Here in Scotland it's going to be a decidedly grey Christmas. For a brief period yesterday afternoon, there was a spot of pale blue in the sky. Alas, it didn't last long - the ceiling of 150 meter high cloud is back to stay.

Wherever you are this holiday season, spare a thought for a team of young MBAs, including Richard Smith (T'11), who are currently walking from the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole. Richard is currently employed by Bain in Boston, where his out of office automatic reply reads: "I will be out of the office until February with no access to emails. I will respond when I return." - a great demonstration of British understatement.

The leader of the expedition is a Berkeley/Haas MBA who has a degenerative eye disease and is technically blind. He has a GPS system that speaks to him because his eyes can't reliably read it. They are raising money for blindness charities. You can read about their heroic journey here.

Wherever you are (hopefully, somewhere warmer than Antarctica and sunnier than Scotland) Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

The only thing to fear is fear itself!

2011-12-21T14:00:00.003-05:00

I am sure I am not too different from a lot of other first year students in the fact that the two classes I feared the most coming to Tuck were Statistics and Accounting. I was terrified. The topics did not interest me and I thought the classes would be terribly boring. However, I am not embarrassed to say that two of my favorite classes have been Statistics and Accounting. How could this possibly happen? I am much more interested in strategy, decision making, finance and leadership. Well I know exactly how it happened . . . two amazing professors.

Professor Neslin looks like the quintessential statistics professor. He walks in with pens in his pockets, a boring tie, and white pressed shirt. On the first day of class, I thought to myself, “What a nerd!” However, Scott was a brilliant teacher. I couldn’t even count the amount of times I almost fell out of my chair laughing. He incorporated his love for music, marketing and New Jersey into class. I will never forget his final class speech when he once again brought statistics to life. He explained how we didn’t just do regressions, we did business analysis for a tractor manufacturer and we didn’t just do confidence intervals, we did marketing for an advertising agency. We didn’t do statistics, we did statistics for managers!

Professor Robinson loves accounting (which is just weird) and she will let you know it. She is young, full of life, and her unique sense of humor made accounting a class I actually looked forward to at 8:30 in the morning. Leslie makes accounting fun and enjoyable. She has a passion for learning and wants her students to succeed. She is available at just about any time and will sit down to teach you accounting or just talk about life. Her genuine love for Tuck and the Tuck community was apparent during the last class as well. She was overwhelmed when my entire section brought her a cup of coffee (that is 65 coffees) and sang her a song. She started to choke up and said, “I could never imagine a better job. I love this school, this town, this community, and my students. Tuck is magical!”

I will never be an accountant or a statistician, but I will always remember these two classes during the fall. I believe my fear turning into my enjoyment of Stats and Accounting is proof that the professors at Tuck are just one of the many reasons this place is so special.

PS- Blogging about academics at Tuck, I thought I should mention that during undergrad I was one of the guys that would find any reason to skip classes, while at Tuck I have not missed a single class!

Financial Ratios

2011-12-19T22:44:00.001-05:00

Fall term ended about a week ago but I still have trouble getting the ratios I learned in Financial Measurement, Analysis, and Reporting out of my head. Now with the holiday season in full swing, I can’t help but apply these ratios throughout my two-week break, which is usually filled with family time, sports, and holiday meals.

Quick Ratio – How quickly until the Dallas Cowboys lose another game = days between football games / games remaining

Interest Coverage Ratio – Apparently the basketball lockout has ended so this ratio = games on TV / games I’m interested in watching. This is undefined since the denominator typically equals zero

Payout Ratio I hope this ratio is high = total gifts received / family members + friends

Price to Book – Price to book a flight. Assumption: this does not include baggage fees.

Capitalization Ratio– Emails sent to during holiday season / emails where I bothered capitalizing the first letter of every sentence

PE Ratio – Pizzas Eaten Ratio = tota lpizzas eaten / average number of vacation days, which usually leads to the next ratio.

EPS – Extra Pounds to Shed

ROA - Rhubarb Or Apple pie ratio. I think the denominator is usually higher.

ROE - Resting Or Exercising ratio. This ratio is very high and = total hours resting / total hours exercising

ROIC – Relief Of Incessant Commercials – please stop any commercial that involves people receiving cars with a big bow on top.

Retained Earnings – after the holiday season I expect this to be zero

EBIT – Evenings Before I Travel measures the time until I start the next term at Tuck.

Food, glorious food

2011-12-19T07:57:00.002-05:00

Today, I'm heading home for Christmas. It's the first time I've been back to Glasgow since I arrived in Hanover 18 months ago and it's hard to overstate my excitement about the trip.

I was thinking about attempting a post involving profound introspection about how I've changed as a person since I arrived in Hanover. Whatever. Here is a much more fun topic - also relevant in light of my plans for Rab Ha style gluttony in the coming week - my top five favorite foods on the Hanover dining circuit. I thoroughly recommend trying them all, multiple times!

1) Lou's chocolate milkshake
Picture the scene: you are in a diner in the 1950s. The aproned waitress brings you a tall steel beaker, bigger than your head, with a silver spoon sticking out the top and an empty clear plastic cup with a straw. Your eyes open wider than an early Disney cartoon as you observe the chocolately loveliness in the steel beaker for the first time. You pour it into the plastic cup - thwump, lump, dlump - and fire your straw in there as quickly as a rat darting up a drainpipe. You have to suck pretty hard to get the viscous contents through the straw, but you've never tasted anything so incredible in your life. Just don't plan anything for the rest of the day, as you'll want to leave at least five hours to digest it.

2) Molly's bread
Warm. Slightly cheese encrusted. As white as snow, with many more calories and similar nutritional value. Heavenly. Served as standard with any food at this establishment, or even just drinks, including the $2 margarita. I am going there for lunch today to fill up before my trip home. Hanging next to the bar is a picture of Barack Obama eating there. Ask him how the bread is next time you two are shooting the breeze.

3) Murphy's kalamari salad
This seasonal dish has fallen victim to the great Hanover freeze. I guess the squid in the Connecticut River and Occum Pond die off when it gets cold. But, I dearly hope this makes a return to the menu in the spring. It was delicious and substantial - and all for $10! For winter, the famous Murph Burger is perfectly adequate even for the discerning connoisseur. Nigel, the owner of Murphy's, is a Kiwi and sponsors the Tuck Rugby Club. This spring, he will open a Memphis-style (dry-rubbed) barbeque joint in town. I'm excited. Murphy's had a letter of gratitude on display from presidential patron Bill Clinton. Maybe Willard will be hanging in the new establishment during his campaign visits to campus?

4) Yama II's maki combo
I'm not a great fan of most of the ethnic restaurants in Hanover, but Yama is a resounding exception. I have great memories of getting the maki combo to go and sitting in Norwich Green or Essex Junction watching live bluegrass. Who knew there was good sushi in New Hampshire?! The original Yama is in West Lebanon, so the Hanover restaurant is officially called Yama II.

5) Byrne's turkey dinner
The two places in town I eat most often are my home and Byrne Dining Hall. As I won't be inviting every blog reader to my home, I won't get your taste buds going with talk of the delicious venison and ostrich burgers from Norwich Farmer's market. OK, I just did. But Byrne is open to you all! Now and again, the turkey dinner makes an appearance on the menu. My advice: eat it. It's a good thing its appearance is infrequent, or my belly would be as round as the man in the red suit's.

Summing up last four months

2011-12-17T18:22:00.006-05:00

As the results of Early Action round are coming out, I still remember the emotions that I went through exactly one year back. I was not one of the fortunate ones to receive the phone call and completely lost hope that I would get a call. However, it was the phone network that kept me away from getting this wonderful news. Finally, after refreshing my browser for the 10oth time, I got the coveted result that I was hoping for and my mind started wandering in the enchanted forest (just remember this term; you will understand once you take classes from PK).

It’s been one year since that date and that moment is still fresh in my memory. I can’t believe I have completed more than four months in Hanover. I started with Outward Bound exploring the wilderness and getting to know those wonderful seven Kayakers, who have become part of my life at Tuck. Our instructors were like role models and I learned invaluable lessons about teamwork and leading a team in an unfavorable environment.

Orientation week gave us glimpse of how life at Tuck would be. For me, the highlight of the orientation week was the work that my group did for David’s house; without properly knowing one another it was the time for us to perform as a single unit. It was really heart touching story to learn how Mr. Cyr started the idea of David’s house and how they received the initial funding. Our main job was to solve the problem that David’s house was facing and we did a great job in suggesting the solution that we, as a group, came up with.

Fall A was like lightning strike (before you realize anything it was over) and Fall B was as excruciating as you could imagine (details to follow), but once Fall term is over you know that you have accomplished something.

Congratulations to those who got in and those could not, just hang in there, you will get your moment.

World War III?

2011-12-16T11:33:00.005-05:00

Fall B is officially over, but it ended with a BANG! BANG! BANG! Yes, there was a War at Tuck . . . Section Wars! People from all over the world battling it out in Hanover, NH! Section Wars was a blast and although the best section did not win (my section won the Silver Medal), the entire T’13 class won! Section Wars started in Fall A and essentially was a combination of battles throughout Fall B. Each section accumulated points throughout the fall by filling out course evaluations, dressing up on theme days, attending the Hockey Finals (see earlier post), playing Trivia at Salt Hill Pub, etc. etc. Section Wars culminated with “The Ultimate Battle” on a Thursday evening. Jess and Tory organized a night full of crazy competitions. We competed in all sorts of different competitions including limbo, a dance-off, a male and female push up contest, and a variety of other random activities (watch the show “Minute To Win It” and you get the idea).

The highlight of the Ultimate Battle for me was the dance off. I was shocked when a 6’5” former Division II collegiate track star busted out these ridiculous ballet moves that brought down the house. Although I had heard he performed ballet in his younger days, I didn’t believe it until I saw him gracefully leap in the air and land in the splits. Luckily his section went last because we
would have needed Cirque Du Soleil to top that. All in all, the night was a huge success. Section 3 won the coveted trophy, but the list of Winter sections came out the other day and let’s just say Section 1 is STACKED and ready to battle!!

Picture is Section 2 representing Tuck loud and proud!

Decision Day

2011-12-16T09:08:00.001-05:00

Good luck to all applicants today and I hope to see you at Tuck. I remember getting plenty of advice from students at the time and other applicants prior to decision day such as “stay relaxed” or “go do something fun” or “don’t worry”. The reality is, um, yeah, that’s not easy to do. So my advice is to feel how you want to feel today but always keep a positive attitude regardless of the outcome. I think Ken’s advice, see blog post below, is great so there is no need to repeat what he said. I do offer one piece of advice for those of you who do not get accepted and have your hearts set on Tuck: reapply. Put the time frame of your career in perspective. The retirement age is sure to increase sometime before we retire. Let’s say it goes to 70. This means that afterbusiness school most people will work another 30-35 years and perhaps even 40years. Reapplying means waiting another year but in the grand scheme of things an extra year is not that big of a deal, in my opinion. Sometimes achieving a goal has to wait longer than we think.

Good luck to everyone and I hope to see everyone at Tuck next year. I forgot to add that there is a tradition here that a first-year student has to buy my second-year books and must buy me lunch once a week. Traditions are important so let’s respect them. Just don’t mention this to anyone because next year will be the first year it's implemented. Okay, I’m just kidding. I won’t turn down any offers though.

The great wait

2011-12-15T12:32:00.005-05:00

If I remember correctly, Early Action round applicants are due to hear tomorrow. I wanted to take a quick second to wish you all the very best of luck.

The day I got "The Call" is so clear in my memory. As my face lit up at the news and I tried to remain composed, my wife excitedly bounced around the room, arms aloft, silently shrieking with happiness. She had already been accepted to the pediatric residency program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock and we were so emotionally committed to coming to Tuck. My advice for those of you who get accepted to Tuck is two-fold: i) savor the moment, ii) ACCEPT THE OFFER! I have not a moment's doubt that coming here was a great decision.

For those not lucky enough to be admitted, don't lose heart. There are many of my classmates who were waitlisted and/or are re-applicants to the school. You might get into other programs that work well for you. And if you are absolutely determined that Tuck is the right place, try to learn as much as you can from this application experience, seek and internalize feedback, get back on the horse, and come back fully loaded to reapply next year.

My fingers are crossed for you all!!

Fall term in quotes

2011-12-14T12:50:00.002-05:00

We live in a world where being able to express yourself in fewer than 160 characters is becoming ever more important. Feel about this how you may, snap shots and sound bites will rule. Here is a group of quotes, one from each of my professors for the Fall 2011 term, my best yet at Tuck academically both in enjoyment and achievement. The quotes demonstrate the virtues and vices of brevity - they're snappy, but lacking in context. I enjoyed reminiscing about the messages imbedded in them. Make of them what you will...

"Change as little as you have to, not as much as you can." - Howard Anderson, sales

"No good ever comes of drinking shots of tequila." - Kevin Keller, strategic brand management

"Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." - Ken French, investments

"VCs look to find winners; PE investors just want to avoid losers." - guest speaker, private equity finance

"No matter what they throw at you, you can diagnose and change the game." - Jeff Weiss, negotiations

"If you don't have enough beer at the party, no one is going to stay." - Ron Adner, entrepreneurship and innovation strategy

"It's difficult to get a horse to give birth to a penguin." - Chris Trimble, innovation execution

"You are probably going to make more money than you think." - Rick Shreeve, ethics in action

Slaughter Tuesday

2011-12-13T16:21:00.002-05:00

I'm writing this by the fire in Raether hall, looking out through the woods towards Vermont. Hanover has been majestic this December - a light dump of snow at the start, and persistent crisp, clear skies to ensure the white festive carpet has remained intact. Glorious!

My day has been pretty glorious, too. In our penultimate Ethics in Action class, our guest speaker was Dean Matt Slaughter. Yesterday morning, he was on CNBC's Squawk Box. This morning, he was discussing with a class of 18 or so Tuck students how the US tax code should be adapted to deal with the enormous national debt. He asked us to tell him what ethical frameworks we thought should guide policy, then propose precise policies (sources of revenue to be included, rates, and exceptions) that would move us forward. "Take positions. Be precise. Quantify outcomes." Any generalizations or sweeping statements were crushed. Boundaries of thought were pushed, biases challenged.

After class, Dean Slaughter hosted a lunch with seven students to discuss geopolitical developments in the past week. Talk about a privilege! There were three Americans, an Indian, a Russian, a Japanese student and a Brit (me). We spent most of the time discussing the 'Merkozy' proposal in Europe and the UK's decision to veto it, and also discussed the Indian U-turn over opening retail to foreign direct investment, the riots in Moscow, and the climate change 'agreement' in Durban. This intimate, well-informed and intelligent debate was enthralling - none of us wanted it to end, but Dean Slaughter had to leave for meetings in Washington, D.C.

My day highlights two big benefits of being at business school at Tuck. First, most people in the world spend most of their time doing - producing or consuming goods with a focus on the immediate and the personal. The opportunity to consider, in an enlightening way and surrounded by great minds, the major issues in our world, is rare and we are enormously fortunate. And being given the chance to sit in a room with six smart classmates and a professor like Matt Slaughter - well, good luck finding that elsewhere.

Next stop: reading a case for my Innovation Execution class with Professor Chris Trimble tomorrow. It's been another big academic highlight of Tuck - a class of 15 students and a rock star professor? Yes, please. We're trying out a new format whereby we can each post our thoughts on a web board as we're reading the case before class to get the debate started. In theory, this will save time going over details of the case and enable us to dive into the most interesting parts of the case quicker. Sounds good to me!

Footnote: Let me clarify something that confuses some people. (This came up today.) The UK's full title is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain encompasses Scotland, England and Wales. The UK's flag is the Union Jack, though each country within the UK also has its own flag (England's is a red "St George's" cross on a white background - Scotland's is a white "St Andrew's" cross on a blue background - the UK is a combination of each, with another layer of red thrown in on top to represent the others). London is the capital of both England and the UK and Westminster is the parliament for the whole country (though there are devolved parliaments and assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and some decisions taken at Westminster affect England alone, or England and Wales alone, giving rise to the West Lothian question). In short, the terms "England", "UK" and "Britain" are not interchangeable. In fact, two of the last three Prime Ministers (Brown and Blair) were born and schooled in Scotland.

Community

2011-12-11T11:55:00.002-05:00

Here's a response to another emailed question... "Can you tell me more about the famous Tuck community?"

There are too few superlatives in the English language, and too many of them cliched, to tackle this one in general terms. Let me throw out a few examples from the top of my head that illustrate what it means to be a part of the Tuck community.

SafeRides
Each Thursday-Saturday night, two Tuck students volunteer to drive classmates around the Upper Valley to avoid the temptation to drink and drive (hailing cabs doesn't work too well in Hanover). Finding volunteers for SafeRides is never an issue.

Need a Job?
I would not have my post-graduation job if it was not for the generosity of my classmates in donating their time and resources (expertise, cover letter templates, advice, books, constructive criticism) to make sure I was well-prepared for something I started thinking about far later than I should have. In the interview suite for my second round interviews, there were students from many top schools. The only group who were chatting freely were the Tuckies. Others seemed nervous and didn't know the people, even from their own school, who were applying. People root for each other on the job front even when chasing the same role. It feels insanely collaborative, to the extent that one's disappointment for unsuccessful classmates is at least as great as the pleasure in one's own success. The great thing is that pretty much everyone lands in great spots in the end.

While in first year, a classmate had networked hard looking for private equity jobs. Having already secured an internship, but not one that was likely to lead to a full-time role, he got a call from a firm looking to hire an intern that could turn into a full-time role. Rather than hoard it, he made a strong recommendation for the recruiter to talk to the classmate he thought best qualified for the position. That classmate got the internship, nailed it, and is going back there full-time. My classmate who made the recommendation secured two full-time private equity offers in second year, and took the same approach with the firm he turned down, passing it on to other Tuckies.

Knee Trouble
When I busted my knee back in February, I needed rides to and from school, home and the hospital multiple times per day. The captain of the soccer team sent out an email with a link to a Google doc and before you could say, "MCL, PCL, ACL, meniscus", the spreadsheet was full of volunteers - all with incredibly busy schedules, but all eager to help. I got a barrage of emails from classmates saying, "the spreadsheet is full already but if you ever need rides anywhere, at any time, just let me know." My wife had to work a night shift the day I had my first surgery - a good friend from Tuck hosted and nursed me, and a group of other classmates came to listen to my drug-induced drivel to take my mind off things.

Reunion Weekend
I was speaking to an alumna who was recently back at Tuck for her 20 year reunion. One of her classmates - an Australian - had sadly passed away only a few years after graduation. His widow and children had come to Tuck for the reunion weekend, all the way from Sydney, because the Tuck community was so important to them as a family.

Alumni Responsiveness
I have made extensive use of the alumni network - both Tuck and Dartmouth. My record: all but two Tuck alums have responded to me within 48 hours, most within 24 hours, and many within minutes. I have only had two non-responses from across the entire Tuck/Dartmouth network, from countless outbound emails. A classmate recently accepted a job in Philadelphia. He emailed a Tuck alum at another firm there who is a prominent donor to the arts in the area, to ask whether the alum could put his wife (who worked in the arts in New York prior to school) in touch with some people. Within a few hours - literally - she had warm introductions to some of the most influential people in Philadelphia arts.

Cars and Ducks
Last year, an American classmate helped his study-group mate from China through the process of buying a second-hand car in the US. A couple of months later, the car broke down. The American classmate got a call and immediately went to help out. A few days later, my Chinese classmate turned up at his door with a whole roast duck as thanks. This example, though extreme, is typical of the respect and care people have for each other in the Tuck community.

Embracing Cultures
My classmate, Torlisa, took the initiative to start a Tuck dance group and had the drive and leadership skills to make it a great success. She pulled together a diverse group of male and female classmates and they put on a Bhangra show for Diwali in November. To my delight, they were every bit as enthusiastic about embracing my culture and took the time to learn Scottish country dances, then teach them to the whole Tuck community (faculty, staff, students, partners and families) when we had a Scottish "Burns Night" party on campus.

Helping Hands
One of my classmates got fairly seriously ill last spring. A neighbor from Sachem (the graduate student family housing estate near campus) sent an email to the Tuck Partners network and the next day more casserole dishes full of lovely food arrived at their house than you could imagine. His wife suddenly had one less thing to worry about at a very stressful time. A similar thing happens when Tiny Tuckies are born - there have been a few recently and at least three Tuck Partners are due in January alone! (We have a long winter here.)

I could go on and on but, in the interests of semi-brevity, I'll stop here. Suffice it to say, Tuck is a special place. You can't make this stuff up and you certainly don't find it everywhere. Dean Danos was recently talking about a group of Latin American students who, a couple of days after graduation, sat in a circle on the living room floor in their empty Hanover home after packing the last box, and laughed and cried as they reminisced about all the times they had spent together at Tuck. Those memories don't fade quickly and that, I believe, is why Tuck has by far and away the most loyal and generous alumni network of any business school in the world.

True North

2011-12-10T08:25:00.002-05:00

It's official. My recruiting days at Tuck are over. Yesterday, I signed up to go to Bain & Company in Boston!

The decision wasn't as easy as you might think. As diligent and long-suffering readers of this blog may recall, my focus to date has been strongly weighted towards private equity recruiting. But Bain turned my head. It has a truly unique and impressive culture - I've yet to meet someone who has worked there and does not advocate strongly for the place. Its people are remarkably smart, and also very entertaining. And its private equity practice is by far the best in the world, meaning I'll have access to and work with some of the best funds around. Bain has an emphasis on results, not reports; this addresses one of my biggest concerns about the consulting industry and Bain lives by the mantra (a surprisingly high number of its projects incorporate tied economics and it co-invests with clients on PE deals).

On top of all of that, I look at the trend in private equity towards generating returns through earnings growth (rather than increasingly commoditized financial engineering or increasingly elusive multiple expansion) and I recognize that Bain is the best possible place for me to develop that skill set. What's more, I'm attracted to the intellectual challenge of tackling some of the toughest strategic, marketing and operational challenges faced by the world's top companies - and by putting into practice what I've been exposed to in an academic setting here at Tuck. So, it was the only "on campus" job I applied for.

All of that notwithstanding, when I had put so much effort into generating offers and warm employment conversations with private equity firms, turning those down and ending them, respectively, was not easy to do. I had a period of soul searching and took a lot of advice from many classmates, alumni, former colleagues and others in the industry. On balance, when a firm like Bain comes knocking, you answer the door!

I was genuinely surprised when they made me an offer. Am I really good enough for this? I applied to the firm in 2006 (before having all the weight of the Tuck CDO and my classmates to support me through the process) and was flatly rejected. I am certain I would have been in a similar position this time without the generous help of my classmates in preparing me for the cover letter and interview process. For that support, I am eternally grateful.

Now that the decision is made, I could not be more excited to join Bain. First, it's going to be a lot of fun working with the highly intelligent, motivated people there. Second, I will learn an enormous amount and have the opportunity to shape my career to focus on the industries I'm most interested in. Third, the experience will open many doors and will stand me in good stead whatever direction I take in my career, inside the firm or beyond. And fourth, I will be in Boston, close to my wife (who is in a three year residency program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center) and alongside the majority of my close friends at Tuck. It's a nice early Christmas present!

"Ask Dawna": Tackling the International Experience Mini Essay

2011-12-09T09:11:00.005-05:00

An increasingly global economy plays a critical role in effective business leadership. Tuck endeavors to be at the forefront of business education by equipping future business leaders with the skills, experience, and knowledge necessary to effectively maneuver this complex landscape. One of the critical learning components in the Tuck classroom is students learning from one another; this is at the heart of why we ask applicants to share their international experience. We take a broad view of what that means for each individual, so hopefully my latest video provides some valuable tips.

Do you have a question for me? Be sure to post your questions to this or any "Ask Dawna" vlog post. Yours might be the topic in a future post!

Sample Cover Letter

2011-12-06T21:19:00.002-05:00

Dear Sir/Madam or filter that looks for keywords:

I am a current student at Tuck and I am very interested in working for your company. I believe I possess many of the attributes your company seeks.

Leadership: I have become adept at taking leadership roles and delegating various roles. As a leader, I would love to delegate the writing of this letter to someone else. Yes, there are plenty of companies looking to hire Tuckies and that’s definitely a great thing. However, each company requires a resume, a cover letter, and an online application. Frankly, I’m exhausted from Decision Science and I would like more time to figure out what a Poissant distribution means.

Proven Experience: I am a multi-talented Tuck student. We have had two snowfalls and in my opinion I can shovel snow faster than anyone applying to your company. Please tell me this is the peak snowfall season. Wait, we are not even close to peak season? I also consider myself efficient. I have cut down my commute to school from 6minutes to 4 minutes. When I'm feeling adventurous, I tackle the three traffic lights on Main St. and take a nice drive around the Dartmouth green.

Analytical Skills: Thanks to Capital Markets, I can hedge anything. I can hedge a Byrne dining hall bagel with a muffin. I can also find arbitrage opportunities throughout Hanover. For example, a chocolate croissant at the bakery is selling for 20 cents less than the chocolate croissant in the Baker library cafe. Well, not really but if it were I would know what to do. I will buy chocolate croissants at the less expensive location until the arbitrage opportunity no longer exists. I had never had a chocolate croissant prior to attending Tuck so trust me this something everyone needs to know. Additionally, I consider my quantitative skills top-notch, but in Leading Organizations I learned that 4 + 2 does not equal 6.

Time-Management Skills: A few weeks ago, Tuck hosted an international party where students serve dishes from their respective country. The Tuck community is so diverse that there were many tables. After twenty minutes of making my way through half of the tables and sampling the cuisine, I was no longer hungry but still had the other half to visit. I learned that I must pace myself. Since, my time-management and pacing skills have improved and now I feel better prepared for the next international party in 2012.

In summary, I would like to work for your company and I believe what I have learned in Fall A and B will be assets to your company. Fall A and B have been great and I look forward to the winter term. We have finals coming up so it would help if you could give me the job before Monday because that will certainly ease the burden. Finally, please hire me so I don’t have to write another cover letter.

Sincerely,

Tuck Student

Time for a change

2011-12-06T19:33:00.002-05:00

First up, I'd like to welcome Pete (a.k.a. J.P.) G to the Admissions Blog. Pete is a big character on campus and is a very funny man. (At the recent student board meeting, someone questioned the last meeting's minutes: "I was marked as both present and absent." Without missing a beat, JP fired back, "Yeah, the former, physically; the latter, mentally." Tres bien.) You blog readers have a lot to look forward to from this delightful gentleman.

Now, I'd like to answer an email I got today from a reader of the blog. "What is the one thing you would change about the Tuck program?"

I've come up with two things:

Sharpen classroom conduct
By and large, classroom behavior is exemplary. However, from time to time people straggle in late, open their laptops, leave to go to the bathroom, hide in the back because they've been too busy with recruiting to read the case. And students are so incredibly polite to each other in classroom debates that sometimes the discussion becomes less entertaining and engaging. I am somewhat of a stickler for this stuff. I think professors should lock doors at the start of class, eject laptop users, talk after class to anyone who has left more than once in the term to go to the bathroom to understand if there's a reason, cold call frequently and ruthlessly, and encourage conflicting opinions and student-to-student challenge. Yes, we're all adults; yes, my views are extreme; no, I'm not innocent on all accounts. But I think a stronger focus on classroom mores would only serve to build the collaborative, close-knit community at Tuck.

Core case study
I would introduce a 48-hour individual case study at the end of first year to pull together all the material of the core. The protagonist would be a recent MBA graduate in a general management role who was faced with a business undergoing strategic, operational, marketing, and finance challenges. The student would have to apply multi-disciplinary concepts from across the core all at once. I qualified as a Chartered Accountant in Scotland in 2007 and the final exam to qualify took this approach. The scope of the case was limited to finance, accounting and taxation issues, so it was a shorter, 6-hour exam. But the requirement to know the entire breadth of material covered and to be able to synthesize it worked wonders for the effectiveness of my learning. As far as I am aware, no top MBA program deploys this system. By being first, I think Tuck could gain a distinctive advantage in the MBA marketplace. What's more, the strength of our core curriculum and focus on general management makes me think we would be a great place to try this out. The FYP (First Year Project) is set up for this purpose, andis really useful, but this would be a great (if incredibly challenging) complement to it

Little Cabin in the Woods . . .

2011-12-06T17:04:00.004-05:00

One thing many people don’t know about (or at least I didn’t prior to Tuck), is that Dartmouth offers cabins throughout the state of New Hampshire and Maine for students to rent for dirt cheap. They range from 4 person cabins with no heat to 90 person campsites with a staff of undergrads that cook for guests and passing hikers.

Every year, the Tuck Outdoors Club hosts members of each class at Moosilauke Cabin (the large 90 person campsite). The T’13s took over the cabins and an amazing time was had by all who attended. The day started off with volleyball, soccer, Frisbee, etc. as people made the drive up to the mountain from Hanover. We then had a delicious dinner which included a contest
for extra food where people performed a human pyramid and a Staten Island booty dance. This was followed by the ULTIMATE dance party!!!

Some people woke up in the morning and went for a morning hike. I on the other hand valued my sleep, took some Advil and went to the main lodge for some breakfast. It is the third Dartmouth cabin I have been to and something I highly recommend all Tuckies take advantage of. It is just a good time and a way to enjoy the beautiful state of New Hampshire. Only at Tuck!!!

We are the Champions!!!

2011-12-06T16:52:00.007-05:00

First, I must say that my first blog post is long overdue. I don’t have a real excuse
except that I have been living the dream at Tuck and finding time to sit down
and write about it has been tough.

Just as a little background . . . I grew up in Texas, and except for a one year
stint in San Francisco after undergrad, have lived my life below the Mason
Dixon line. I may have gone ice skating once or twice as a kid for a birthday
party, but never actually remember being on the ice. However, I joined the Tuck
Tripod League (just like most Tuckies). I didn’t know what to expect stepping
foot on the ice, but after that first step and subsequent fall, I have never
looked back.

I was drafted by a second-year captain for team Lubrano. We were a team with a lot of
personality, but not a lot of talent. In fact, we started off the season 0-4.
We didn’t have a super-star like many of the other teams, and we were basically
the “easy win” for other teams in the league. However, what the other teams did
not know is that we were starting to gel as a team. Our learning curve was
steep and things just started to come together. We finished the season with
only 2 wins (2-5-3) which placed us in one of the two bottom seeds for the
playoffs (everybody makes the playoffs).

Heading into the playoffs we had a BBQ at the Captain’s house and were now more than
just teammates, we were a TEAM. We came into the playoffs hoping to win, but
knowing that with only two wins all season, it was going to be tough to
advance. Well, we came together and won our first two games and made it to the
finals. No one could believe it. We were the David up against Goliath. They had
the best player in the league along with a roster of talent.

I must admit I was nervous. A couple of hundred Tuckies came out to the rink to
watch the big game. I will say the fans were rooting for us (everyone loves a
good underdog story). With 3 minutes left I scored the game tying goal (my
first goal ever). We went into OT and then in a shootout the Lubrano’s were
victorious. It was a Disney movie set in Hanover, New Hampshire. It was one of
the most amazing nights ever and something you can only find at Tuck!

Gaufres belges et de la bière! (Belgian Waffles and Beer!)

2011-12-06T14:42:00.004-05:00

Many of us 2nd years really have a tough life. We come back from our summer internships, excited like a kid on Christmas to see each other again after a long hiatus from our beloved Tuck and Tuckies. We do strenuous things like play hockey twice a week, go to cabin trips, and partake in such events like Glen Tuck. We even get a 6 week break from Thanksgiving to New Years! Some of my classmates have chosen to experience our South American friends' life on a trek to South America through Peru, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. Others, like myself, have chosen to take on a task called Field Study in International Business (FSIB) that takes you on a consulting project abroad for a client.

Mine just happens to be in Belgium.
It just so happens to deal with professional sports.
Belgium just so happens to have the best waffles and beer.
I like waffles and beer. I am a former college athlete and play rugby & hockey at Tuck.

CAN LIFE GET ANY BETTER!??!?!

A team of 6 (including myself) have been in Brussels for the past week - we have two more to go. We have got to travel around Belgium to Antwerp (anyone seen...),
Bruges, Leuven (to see a professional football match; not American football, but football football), Ghent, Koksijde (to see a cycling race - if you haven't watched one, DO IT, it's amazing). All this for field research for our project - it's not called FIELD STUDY in International Business for nothing. By far one of the most incredible experiences ever. Seriously. I love Tuck, and I love everything about it, but this has been pretty sweet.

So what have I learned from it?

1) Interviewing participants in a professional sporting ecosystem is a really cool thing to do. However, doing business in a country that is not yours can be challenging. Understand the customary ways of doing business outside the US.
2) Problem solving is not easy. That's why it is called a problem.
3) If you have a chance to do FSIB while at Tuck, I would highly recommend it. Great way to get business experience abroad on a challenging issue with Tuckies.

That being said, I have to go and find some more of the title of this piece...

Au revoir from Brussels!

Deese

Romance is dead

2011-12-04T12:26:00.002-05:00

I read this morning about the sad passing of the Brazilian soccer legend Socrates, aged 57. It follows the tragic suicide of 42 year-old Wales soccer manager, Gary Speed, last weekend.

Socrates embodied the flair and romance of soccer yesteryear, before supreme athleticism was a prerequisite for soccer success. He was cut from a similar cloth as players like George Best, who would have a cigarette before the game and a brandy at half-time. While his death (caused by food poisoning) appears unrelated to his lifestyle, he will forever be remembered for his unkempt looks and wiry frame, the result of habitual alcoholism and heavy smoking (and, of course, for his footballing brilliance). Gary Speed, by comparison, was a leader in the generation of players who dedicated their bodies to the sport and professionalized soccer, changing the game forever. As a result of players like Speed, Socrates would never get close to the current Brazilian squad.

What lessons can we learn from this?

In 1982, when Socrates was at his peak, excellence and dedication to one's field were less homogeneous in soccer. The same might be said about business. Passion and individual flair allowed for stand-out performances but - in part induced by the efficiency revolution brought about by the advent of private equity and in part by globalization - the world is now more competitive. Competence and diligence are no longer points of differentiation in business; they are points of parity, required for survival. Romance is dead.

The value of the MBA becomes greater in this new world of efficiency and hyper-competition. Perhaps it, too, becomes a point of parity for business leaders. What I would call the three-pronged academic offering of a top MBA program - intelligent understanding of global economics and capital markets, comfort in decision making across a breadth of internal business functions, and deep understanding of oneself as a leader - is needed just to get into the squad. Industry-specific expertise (the equivalent of mastering a position on the soccer field) also needs to be developed over time in a business professional's career, before and after business school.

Of course, natural ability still has an important role to play. If you have two left feet, it matters not a jot that you train all day, every day; you won't make the starting XI for Brazil. But, in today's world, widespread mastery of the basics means that David and Goliath stories are less common. If you want to play in the big leagues, you have to train like the big leagues. Some people lament this development (for example, those who prefer college basketball to the NBA) but the efficiency train has sounded its horn and will shortly have left the station.

One Friday in December

2011-12-03T12:10:00.002-05:00

What does one do in Hanover on a Friday in early December? As second year Fall term has ended, many of my classmates are in far-flung corners of the earth on Tuck Global Consultancy projects, or simply exploring new countries (blog postings to follow from them). Some of us have stayed in Hanover for December and are taking additional classes here. For the most part, classes are filled with the "MMIB" (married men in business) crowd, whose partners are working in the Upper Valley. Should you feel sorry for us? Is there anything to do in frigid New Hampshire when most of your classmates are gone?

Well, some of my classmates hit the coast yesterday morning to surf in 45F water.

Some of the less hardy of us had class in the morning (Chris Trimble's magnificent Innovation Execution elective) then hit the bowling alley in White River Junction, VT. I don't think I'd been to a bowling alley since I entered my teens and it took a while to blow the cobwebs away, but there was a pretty incredible feeling when my scores for the three games went from 65 to 115 to 147. It doesn't take much to get the competitive juices flowing. I still have some way to go to match my classmate from New Jersey, who pulled >200 scores and glided across the floor with all the grace of Jane Torvil. What is it about New Jersey and bowling?

Afterwards, a group of us went to College Green for hot chocolate, cookies and carols, as the 2011 Christmas lights were lit for the first time.

Then, it was off to the Board of Overseers dinner. The Board is a who's who of distinguished members of the Tuck community. At my table were the CEOs of Time Warner Cable and Siemens Corporation, the venerable Professor Eric Johnson, a director of the Alumni Relations Office and his wife, and two students (including me). We had great conversations about changing business models in media and entertainment, and the intersection of government and corporate America. Dean Paul Danos talked about the next 10 year strategic review for the Tuck MBA program (a regular evolutionary process to ensure that Tuck maintains its distinctive identity and traditions, but also its position as a leader in business education) and Professor Paul Argenti reflected on the implications of the Occupy movement for corporate America.

Finally, after dinner, I headed over to a classmate's house for festivities and pong... this is Dartmouth, after all.

Not a bad Friday in December.

The value of grey hair

2011-12-01T11:19:00.005-05:00

It seems to me that there's a pressure towards top MBA programs admitting ever-younger students with ever-less experience. I understand, yet lament, this.

Why do it?
1) Ambitious, smart young minds want to access post-MBA salaries and career trajectories earlier and feel able to do so.
2) Other US grad schools (e.g. law, medicine) tend to admit students closer to or right out of undergraduate programs.
3) Top schools don't want to miss that top talent, so adapt their programs and admissions policies to cater to it.

What are the repercussions?
1) Learning from classmates becomes more limited. Ideas that are good in theory but limited in practice are more likely to be espoused - and accepted - by students whose backsides are yet to be firmly kicked by the harsh realities of the working world. For me, learning from classmates with extensive and diverse prior experiences is a massive part of the MBA experience, and the program would be poorer for its diminishment.
2) Expectations of newly minted MBAs erodes. If employers expect new MBAs to be 25 year-olds, they design roles and responsibilities befitting of that experience level. This limits opportunities for more experienced professionals to use the MBA to move their career in a direction that is closely aligned to their well-informed (by experience) long-term career aspirations.

Of course, there are exceptions. Some people are truly extraordinary or have had incredible experiences for their age. Such people, in my humble opinion, have a great deal to add to their classmates' experience. But such people - even in top business schools, the land where extraordinary is ordinary - should remain the exception.

For me, Tuck has the balance just about spot on. It has not had to admit younger students en masse to find quality applicants. My class had an average age on matriculation of 27, with a little over 5 years' work experience. There are some unbelievable people who were a couple of years younger than that, and a handful of highly accomplished professionals who were quite a bit older. I learn from them all but, I find, especially from the more experienced. Wisdom is not at odds with dynamism, in my experience. It would be a shame if the trend towards younger MBAs deprived future generations of the wonderful learning experience I am able to enjoy and benefit from now.

Blame Kelsey Grammer

2011-11-29T16:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, second year students had to submit forms setting out how we would like our name printed on our Tuck diploma and how we would like our names to be pronounced by the graduation speaker. A couple of things came to mind:

1) No one cared about students as individuals to anything like this extent at my undergraduate institution. Little touches like this (frequently and thoughtfully delivered by the MBA Program Office) make life sweeter at Tuck.

2) Graduation is frighteningly close! Gee-whizz.

In addition to the above, a now all too familiar rigmarole required explanation. "Please read my name as Kenneth P. Fraser," I wrote. "That's KEN-neth P. FRAY-zer (like Laser)". NOT FRAY-shjier like the TV show. Kelsey Grammar included an "i" (much to my chagrin). Mine is spelled - and pronounced - like the Christmas tree in your house, the River in British Columbia, the island in Australia, etc. etc. I have been consistently amazed by the reliability of this mispronunciation since arriving on these shores. In fact, I even saw "Frasier [stet] fir" scented candles on sale in Hanover at the weekend.
Kelsey Grammer has a lot to answer for. I wonder if he was tired of having his name spelled "Grammar" and decided to make life miserable for another family. As the Reverend I. M. Jolly once sagely remarked, "There's nothing like constant dwelling in the misery of others to keep you feeling happy with your lot." Maybe one day, I'll just let Mr. Grammer win and throw in an "i" for good measure. At the pace the Tuck experience is flying past, I'm unlikely to find time to do so until after graduation.

"Ask Dawna": Standing Out Among Applicants

2011-11-28T16:49:00.002-05:00

I am often asked what an applicant can do to stand out in a very competitive applicant pool. While there are no easy answers to this question (and, in reality, many answers), this video offers some tips.

Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind is to be yourself. It goes without saying that the best thing you can do is walk away from your business school application experience knowing you put your best in front of the admissions committee for consideration. Regardless of the decision outcome, you'll have no regrets and, hopefully, you have learned a little about yourself along the way.

Do you have a question for me? Post them in the comments section of this or any of the "Ask Dawna" Vlog posts.

END BANKING NOW

2011-11-23T19:49:00.006-05:00

Thus read one of many (frequently incoherent and occasionally contradictory) handwritten signs at Occupy Boston this weekend. Something about the intellectual feebleness of the statement made me want to smirk to myself as I walked past Dewey Square on a sunny Sunday morning. I feel a similar urge to smirk at the lone tent in the wilderness on the corner of College Green in Hanover (particularly when its Occupants abandon ship on the arrival of even moderate snowfall.) Yet, smirking is an insufficient response. My fellow MBA students from a peer school were rightly criticized recently for taunting protesters from the Occupy movement (on camera) with chants of, "Get a job!" and "We are the 1%!" For all its many flaws in thought and execution, the Occupy movement lays down an important moral challenge for all aspiring captains of industry, perhaps especially for tomorrow's financiers.

In the last meeting of his Investments class last week, Ken French challenged his students to debate the moral duties and social utility of investors. What became very clear is that little is very clear. My fellow University of Glasgow alumnus Adam Smith is well known for his book "The Wealth of Nations" but less well known for its twin publication "The Theory of Moral Sentiments". His intention was that both be read and acted upon in tandem; that no commercial activity should be conducted without thought for its moral consequences.

I have just watched "When Bankers Were Good", a documentary by the wonderfully witty Ian Hislop that investigates the great tradition of philanthropy in Victorian Britain, particularly amongst its financiers. Hislop quoted Matthew 19:23-24: "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God". Yet the Puritan virtues of diligence, prudence and sobriety are a stable foundation for business success - just ask Mitt Romney - and many folks of good character amass great wealth as a result. Hislop concludes that the avoidance of avarice is paramount: Rev. Giles Fraser (now formerly) of St. Paul's in London says, "Drinking champagne and driving Porsches is corrosive to the soul." And the documentary appears to propose philanthropy as the panacea.

Though there were many notable financier-philanthropists in Victorian times (Edward Tuck, for one!) and Hislop hangs his bowler hat on a few examples, the notion that bankers were once unanimously good is disproved during the documentary. Dickensian characters like Ebenezer Scrooge were not without inspiration, and Hislop catalogues some of the more seedy beasts of the day. What's more, prominent examples of financier-philanthropists can be found today - see Warren Buffet. The notion of a golden era of philanthropy is questionable. As is the notion that philanthropy is a universally and unequivocally positive phenomenon. Once again, it becomes very clear that little is very clear.

While Lloyd Blankfein's claim that he and his colleagues were "doing God's work" was ill advised in the circumstances, the notion of financiers as a societally positive force should not be alien to us. A recent Vanity Fair article espoused the role of banking and taxation in building the world's greatest nation. Efficient capital markets are a vital instrument for economic development, effective resource allocation and fostering of innovation that improves all of our lives. Of course, we cannot simply "END BANKING NOW". (How does the author of that sign expect he or she will collect their next pay - or welfare, and I present the option absent of judgment - check?) Nevertheless, we, as MBA students and expectant leaders of tomorrow, must address the moral and societal questions being posed.

We must consider narrow issues (How should we as individual business leaders act?) and broad issues that receive too little honest, impartial and intellectual consideration (e.g. the role of government). Most areas are gray. The Rothschilds believed passionately in a moral duty to ameliorate the condition of the impoverished masses through charity, yet abhorred the notion of high taxes - effectively, of "nationalized philanthropy". My father would vehemently disagree - "Are you a Tory now?!" he recently asked me when we were discussing such issues.

The conclusion to this (regrettably lengthy) post is that I will have an opportunity to contemplate many of these issues in greater depth and debate them with a diverse group of classmates in the coming weeks. It is a requirement of the Tuck curriculum that all students take at least 1.5 "ethical" credits to graduate, and I will take mine through a business ethics course this December. Little is likely to be very clear - I'm looking forward to navigating the murk of some of the greatest challenges for today's and tomorrow's thoughtful business leaders.

MBAs Need an International Education Plan

2011-11-17T16:11:00.000-05:00

Lisa Miller, Executive Director for Tuck's Center for International Business recently blogged about the importance of an international business plan for MBA students. The post highlights the imperative of building a global mindset and practical experience throughout a student's time at Tuck.

It's not too soon to start thinking about your plan.

Ask Dawna: Tuck's Position on the use of Educational Advisors

2011-11-16T11:22:00.003-05:00

I am excited about the many questions that were posted to my first installment of "Ask Dawna" and have created several videos in response. This video addresses a question regarding the use of educational advisors in the application process. I hope you find the information useful as you complete your b-school application.

Please continue to pose your questions by commenting on this or any "Ask Dawna" post. And be sure to visit the blog often to see if your question is selected to be the subject of a future "Ask Dawna" post.

My best to you.
Dawna

Bring your brain; leave your ego

2011-11-09T18:01:00.005-05:00

Each graduating class at Tuck bestows a parting gift on the school. The gifts range far and wide - I am (now less) secretly hoping that the Class of 2012 donates a tartan carpet for Stell Hall. Wouldn't it just complete the look? (In case you haven't been to Stell Hall, the answer is, "Yes!") Anyway, the Class of 2011 endowed a teaching award, whereupon each year, students from the second year class will vote on their favorite teacher at Tuck. This was somewhat controversial, as there are so many great professors to choose from and they all CARE so much about their teaching. But, the election of Ron Adner as the first of many great Tuck professors to the newly endowed hall of fame is hard to argue against.

Here's my bet: in 30 years, every MBA student at every top school in the world will know who Ron Adner is. He has an amazing mind - his groundbreaking work on ecosystems is world class - and, as shown by the Class of 2011 award, he is incredibly passionate about teaching. (If there is a school where a 'best teacher' award is most meaningful, and probably most difficult to win, this is it.) This term, I'm taking his Entrepreneurship & Innovation Strategy (EIS) class. What does that mean? It means that two afternoons each week, I get my backside kicked intellectually!

EIS is focused on thinking beyond the innovation. You have the greatest new product ever known to the world? That's great, but there are many, many other things you have to get right if you're going to have that product reach its potential and change the world. Every class, I swallow my pride, curse my flawed mind and push myself to think harder, to think differently. Each class, Prof. Adner pulls a rabbit from a hat and it all seems so obvious in the end.

But this is not simply a lesson in frustration. The beauty of the class is that I am now able to think about commercializing innovation in a practical and much more sophisticated way than I was before. As the classes go on, I find myself understanding the magic trick earlier. Through our group projects (one on Bose suspension systems - check those out if you don't know about them - very cool; and one on Gore-Tex fabric) I work with super smart classmates to figure the magic tricks out for ourselves.

In winter term, a group of 14 students will do a research-to-practice seminar with Prof. Adner. The EIS class have been warned that there will be no magic shows - this will be a class of extensive reading, exhausting thinking, and lengthy debate with few, potentially no, tangible outcomes. It sounds fantastic!

Recruiting for an Internship

2011-11-01T14:41:00.000-04:00

Tuck has always had a reputation for attracting greatcompanies across various industries and geographies. Now that I’m going through therecruiting process for a summer internship, the experience has surpassed my expectations. It seems as though most of the sought aftercompanies have a recruiting presence on campus. However, recruiting is not limited to the biggest or most recognizedcompanies. There are companies of all shapes and sizes that choose to recruitTuckies. About two-days into therecruiting season, my plan to visit with most companies was quickly trashed. There are too many companies to visit and thecompanies refuse to consult me about my schedule beforehand.

With that being said, I thought it would be a good idea tostart a series of mini-posts regarding on-campus recruiting at Tuck from afirst year student’s perspective. I willtry to cover different industries and functions over the next few months. I will not give details as far asnumber of hires, salaries, specific names, etc.

Disclaimer: I am not receiving any form ofcompensation. However, I will be happy toaccept one of the prime parking spaces for my contributions. Additionally, reading this may cause severe eye strain and memory loss(computer memory that is). Somepeople have reported fatigue from the myriad of company presentations and evenweight gain from the meals provided by companies. Please consult your physician if youexperience all or any of these symptoms or if you experience happiness fromscoring an internship lasting longer than four hours as this may be a sign of abright future.

Random musings while in Fall B

2011-10-31T21:34:00.006-04:00

Fall B: I am so sorry for not having posted earlier. It has just been incredibly hectic going into Fall B. We have 4 subjects this term - Decision Sciences, Financial Accounting, Capital Markets, Leading Organizations. My favourite so far is the Decision Sciences class. Its a great class to understanding methodical decision making. The approach to the decision making is really new to me and it helps with going from an abstract view of any situation to a step-by-step analysis to get to where we want. Great class for those venturing into consulting as well!! I think this class should be taught in high school and not just in business school.

Admissions: I have been speaking to a few applicants the last couple of weeks. Its unbelievable to realize I was at the exact same situation a year ago. I completely empathize with the anxiety, confusion and the wait of the process. But my advice for applicants is to be patient with the process and stay enthusiastic about their prospects. The fruit (in my case, Tuck) is far more rewarding than the pain that goes with the admission process. My advice to applicants to Tuck is to get to know the school really well. Be comfortable with understanding the various differences that come with Tuck (small school, small town, cold weather, etc). That being said, those are specifically the reasons (maybe not cold weather :-) ) why people have wanted to be here.

Weather: It was 7PM in the evening on Friday as I walked out of the dorms to go out. As I stepped out, two things happened. First, I felt like I was walking into a massive refrigerator. Second, I couldnt see far enough as they were these millions of white particles floating around. It took me a couple of seconds to realize what was happening. I was experiencing my first snow fall! The place had completely changed colour and I could see white in every direction. It's an amazing sight, specially for someone like me who hasnt seen much of snow. The weather has changed so quickly here. This was a photograph I took just a couple of weeks back!

It's Hockey Night Tonight!

2011-10-31T10:25:00.005-04:00

Let me take a moment to set the scene here: its Monday AM. Ahead of me is a full day of Capital Markets, Accounting, Decision Science and recruiting. I leave myself no free time between lunch, recruiting and homework in my schedule. Why do I do this? To make room for my favorite event of the week: TRIPOD. HOCKEY.

No matter where you’re from. No matter how much skating you have done. No matter your gender, height or knowledge of the rules of hockey. Don’t know what a power play is? We’ll teach you. A wrist shot? Get ready to learn. You will have a tough time escaping the far-reaching influence that is Tuck Tripod Hockey. And let me tell you, you will love every second of it. The relationships you will build with your teammates are priceless. Sharing a locker room, bench and a learning experience with both first and second years will be worth the growing pains associated with learning a new sport.

The highlight of my season thus far has been the transition from a forward to a goalie. In the first 4 games of the season, I enjoyed moderate respect for my ability to skate ridiculously hard and fast without any idea as to how I’m going to come to a stop. After my first game in goal, my teammates were amazed that a goalie roughly the size of an adult Oompa Loompa could block so many shots. These moments of sporting glory are common at Tuck, and are a great part of the Tuck experience.

Stay out of my crease!

So get excited. Get pumped. The Women’s and Men’s Tripod draft is just 11 short months away. Think about how awesome it would be to play a tournament in front of your classmates in a Division 1 hockey rink. Get ready to get out there and skate your heart out.

Hunters and meat eaters

2011-10-28T07:57:00.003-04:00

"There are damn few hunters... but everyone likes to eat meat." - Jim Brown, NFL Hall of Fame

So begins the syllabus for Prof. Howard Anderson's selling and sales leadership elective at Tuck. The rest of the class was no less emphatic.

In this week's column (The Economist doesn't make it to Hanover until Saturday!), Schumpeter laments the lack of focus on sales in the business community at large, and in MBA programs, in particular. "Most business schools do not teach sales as a separate subject in an MBA program." Well, I'm pleased to report, Tuck is different.

Selling may not be considered a noble pursuit, nor academic in any traditional sense, but it is essential to success for any business and for any businessperson. Marketing can make the job easier, but without a sharp, focused sales team, all is lost. Similarly, talents and endeavor can support a person's progression in an organization, but without the ability to sell internally and externally, they can forget about the C-suite.

Prof. Anderson is a practitioner who gives students a practical, real world perspective on how to sell and how to manage the sales function within an organization. He has founded multiple businesses, including Battery Ventures, where he helped many small and growing enterprises for whom sales means the difference between world-domination and obliteration. The class focuses on students role-playing scenarios with each other and in front of classmates, and the project is to find and interview a salesperson and sales manager from companies you're interested in.

Schumpeter is right - sales is a crucial and overlooked discipline. If I had my way, it would be a core course. But Tuck stands out from the majority of business schools by giving all students who desire it access to a real-world, practical, dedicated sales class.

Snowflakes

2011-10-26T10:26:00.006-04:00

Perspectives are like snow flakes: you can group them by common traits (powder, sleet, hail, etc.) but no two are ever exactly alike. In this, the week that will see us hardily entering November, and the week when my iPhone first included the negative symbol before the Celsius temperature in the Hanover weather forecast on my iPhone, I thought I would come back in from the blogging cold (oh, the puns are plentiful today!) by sharing a range of perspectives on Tuck I've encountered on my recent travels. Names have been changed, partially to protect the sources, and largely because it is fun to create pseudonyms. Here goes:

JEAN-PIERRE, a T'11 now working as an investor in Silicon Valley
"Tuck felt like living life in parentheses. The whole experience was not real. I went back there last weekend and arriving in Lebanon Airport and seeing all the sights... it was like being in a dream. I loved it."

PERCY, another Tuckie, now working at one of the hottest tech companies in SF
"I use material from classes in my job every day. For example, Neslin's database marketing class: the combination of analytics and intuition that guy taught is incredibly powerful and really allows me to stand out against my peers."

ESMERALDA, a second year at another top-tier business school
"My two biggest frustrations are the weakness of our career development office (they bring a narrow set of companies to campus and you have to plan appointments to meet with CDO team members well in advance) and the fact that we have to take electives in the evening because the Executive and Part-time MBA students are in the same classes."

GOLIATH, another T'11 in the Bay Area
"We all read the Business Week rankings back in Spring and scoffed at how useless rankings were - and now everyone is getting excited about The Economist."

BOB, a prospective Tuckie, now an Associate at a PE firm
"I've heard that Tuck is the place you go when you want a top tier business education and you actually care whether you enjoy the experience of getting it."

Now, please allow me to reflect further on Esmeralda's and Goliath's comments (these are great names, huh?) then finish with a perspective of my own.

Re: Esmeralda. This was an epiphany for me - sometimes it's difficult to appreciate how good something is until you realize how bad it could be. We Tuckies take the CDO for granted, but there's a reason Tuck places more students into jobs within three months of graduation than any other school in the world - and that Tuck graduates' average earnings are amongst the highest around. The CDO works incredibly hard and brings a vast array of top companies across pretty much every industry to campus - they serve great opportunities to students on a warm plate. They are also remarkably available - both because there's a reasonably big team relative to the size of the student body, and because they really care about their jobs and about Tuck students.

Secondly, when Dean Danos talks about the special commitment Tuck has to a single degree - no PhD students to distract professors from MBAs, no part-time or EMBAs to mess up with the schedule nor cheapen the qualification - I failed to appreciate how big a deal that really is. My advice to prospective applicants to any top business school would be to ask current students about their experience in relation to both of Esmeralda's concerns.

Re: Hercules. He has a point. As pleasing as it is to be recognized as the best MBA program in the world by The Economist, it makes sense for prospective students to look at all rankings in aggregate, then to pay little attention to them beyond knowing that a group of schools are consistently ranked in the top 10 or thereabouts. Once you know the school is top tier, the decision becomes a personal one based on fit, geography, etc. I would recommend reading the application materials then visiting at least five campuses (including a mix of city "commuter" schools, and campus-centric schools like Tuck - they have VERY different feels).

FINALLY - my own perspective on Tuck so far. I recorded a video at the end of first year that is now on the Tuck admissions site here. I have found that the MBA has removed much of the mystique of business for me. Never again will I sit in a meeting feeling like the finance guy, afraid to ask a question for fear of lacking knowledge of the basics in other disciplines, such as strategy, operations, marketing. The experience has reduced my arrogance (because I'm consistently humbled by the superior intelligence of my classmates) and concurrently increased my confidence (because I have a broader knowledge base and understand myself better). That is a pretty powerful combination.

Ask Dawna: Director of Admissions Answers Your Questions

2011-10-25T11:15:00.001-04:00

Dawna Clarke, Director of Admissions, at Tuck welcomes you to pose your questions to be considered for an upcoming "Ask Dawna" video blog post.

Have a question for Dawna? Leave a comment on this post with your question---be sure to include your first name and where you're from. Visit the blog often to see if your question becomes the focus of a future Ask Dawna video blog post.

So you're wondering why Tuck...?

2011-10-20T15:31:00.005-04:00

The one question I always get from prospective students is "why did you choose Tuck?" At times, I feel like Tuck is a mythical creature (a reference to an event this week that I can't reveal on this blog) because there are so many myths that seem to arise about it.

Well, today I am here to dispel many of these myths about Tuck and tell why I personally love this place.

First, if you haven't read the news in a few weeks, Tuck was just ranked #1 in the Economist across global MBA programs. Of the reasons mentioned, a few stood out which I totally agree with. The value of the alumni network is real. Tuck alums are a phenomenal bunch, and are always willing to give back to their students. Quality over quantity is something I would mention, while we don't have the numbers of other top schools, I would argue, as evidenced by not only this ranking but also word of mouth from other friends at business school, Tuck's alumni consistently rank among the most active and engaged. Also, nearly all of Tuck students graduated with a job after three months (dispels the myth about companies coming to campus).

Tuck is a special place. I will not be brazen and say that it is for everyone, because it is definitely not. I like to make an analogy of shared experiences and how it relates to Tuck. For example, people who are in fraternities, sororities, the military, secret societies, etc. all typically have very strong bonds with those in the same organization. Why? Because they have a shared experience among each other that is significantly different from others. Many top schools will have similar classes, global opportunities, and networks. However, I feel Tuck is different. We are all in Hanover together - the nearest city is two hours away. We bond HEAVILY while we are here; we have to. We live in one of the most picturesque places in America - we love the outdoors and all it has to offer. We make due with the bars and restaurants we have and have some of the most memorable moments on a random Tuesday evening. We adapt to our surroundings. And all the people who come to Tuck want this type of environment; we thrive in an environment that focuses on BUILDING relationships and keeping them steady for a lifetime. I didn't think it would be like this when I arrived. As a second year, it has been truly amazing to see how these relationships have blossomed, and how I continue to wake up each day thankful that I could partake in one of the best business school environments America has to offer.

Just Another Tuck Weekend

2011-10-20T14:10:00.005-04:00

On the heels of the best (and busiest) weekends I’ve had at Tuck, there is so much to blog about! Let’s start from the beginning…

Friday night was the Fall Formal, and it was a fantastic way to kick off the weekend. It had all the essentials: a great band, great company, fancy clothes and a very Vermont setting. The T’12s and T’13s had a great opportunity to mingle and dance all night under a huge tent on a cool Autumn night. After a few hours of celebrating the start of Fall B, I jumped on a bus back to campus to get some sleep before a big day of driving and rugby.

Saturday morning saw me waking up at 6:30 AM to carpool down to my hometown, New York City, for an Ivy League rugby mini-tournament. The 5 hour ride was a fantastic opportunity to get to know some of my classmates. Once we landed in Queens, I did my classmates a favor and introduced them to some real New York pizza. After filling up on a couple of slices and some garlic knots, we headed over to Randall’s Island for warm-ups. The tournament consisted of teams from the Yale, Cornell and Columbia. We couldn’t have asked for a better location, as the view was absolutely breathtaking.

After a fun tournament, my carmates and I drove back up to Hanover. After arriving at 2AM, I finished up some light reading of the Economist (a fantastic publication, ;-) ) and rested up for a big Sunday.

After a morning full of Decision Science and Capital Markets homework, it was time to head into Vermont for a Barbeque at Professor Fairbrothers’ farm. We were treated to an amazing view of the New England Autumn foliage and some phenomenal BBQ pulled pork. There were Tiny Tuckies running around everywhere and I had the opportunity to meet the families of several of my classmates. It was really the perfect way to wrap up such an eventful and scenic weekend.

So goes another amazing weekend at Tuck, my new home.

Ethics & Integrity @ Tuck Starts with Tuck

2011-10-14T12:34:00.003-04:00

As the application season begins, I sit here (taking a break from reviewing my first dozen applications) thinking about one of the reasons I enjoy working at Tuck. In a Q&A session last week, one prospective applicant asked me about our reading process and how we make decisions. I told him (and the group here that was visiting) that reading applications is at once an individual pursuit (we all read on our own), but that the admission of every single candidate, and yes the lack of admission for all others...is a team effort.

Those of us that work in this industry really enjoy helping people and are driven by a sense of fairness, honesty and dedication to the applicant and (I think) a desire to help shape and improve global industry. I know that sounds hokey, but I know it is true, not (just) because it is what we do at Tuck, but honestly, it is how we believe all of our peer schools behave (we don't think of them as competitors..we believe there's a spot for everyone somewhere). I tell applicants all the time, that if they could peek behind the curtain of most school's admissions process, that they'd be incredibly comforted by the care and integrity that goes into each application evaluation.

I like believing that Tuck admissions as well as all the other admissions teams of the top schools has a process in place that gives the best benefit to the candidate. In a highly subjective process such as B school admissions, it is important to me as a professional that I know at the end of every day, every application cycle and every admissions season that we did what was best for every applicant even if it cost us more time, money or inconvenience. This is a philosopy and approach that is trickled down from our Director of Admissions and of course "People" are the bedrock of our institution and the priority of our Dean.

I would not like to work for the most integritous institution in a slimy industry, and so I appreciate that in an industry that has the propensity for all sorts of nefarious activity, that we work in a peer set that values the time, expense and interest of each applicant, no matter what our final decision may be.

We appreciate the time you take to come visit our campus, the time you take to attend a reception. We acknowledge your partner's and spouse's time and their role in the decision making process. We know that the GMAT is rigrous and expensive, that tracking down recommenders and transcripts is about as much fun as a root canal. Everyone on our team has an advanced degree, and thus we do understand, to some extent, the journey that you are on. For that reason and our general nosey natures, we look at every word of every page of your application. We approach each application with a sense of curiosity and open mindedness. Caffeine helps.

Do I need a car?

2011-10-13T21:09:00.000-04:00

In speaking with prospective students, one question that Ihear frequently is “Do I need a car if I come to Tuck?” The simple answer is: it depends. I have provided a list of reasons to bring acar/buy a car or not to bring a car/not to buy a car.

Reasons to bring a car/buy a car:
1. If youplan on living off-campus and you are not within walking distance to campus.
2. Commuting to and from school will be a loteasier if your study group likes to meet late.
3. The Hanover area is very beautiful and you wantto see the surrounding area on weekends.
4. For trips to New York and Boston to visitcompanies.
5. You love visiting gas stations for the aroma and ambiance.
6. You want to give me a ride to class nextyear.
7. If you own a vehicle that can betermed “exotic”. When I mean exotic thecar has to go really fast and get something like .5 miles to the gallon. If the answer is “yes” then please leave thekeys in my mailbox upon your arrival. Please, fill up the tank.

Reasons to not bring a car/not buy a car:
1. You don’thave a car. I guess I would considerthis an important reason.
2. A good way to meet people who have a car.
3. You don’t want to brush snow off the car.
4. You don’t want to buy snow tires.
5. Physically, you might not be able to drive yourselfhome after playing Tripod Hockey or Rugby.
6. You don’t have a vehicle that meets therequirements of #7 in Reasons to Bring a Car.

Like I said the answer is “depends”. One thing is certain. Fellow Tuckies with avehicle are always eager to help Tuckies without a vehicle. If you don’t have a car, you will always havetransportation options thanks to the great Tuck community.