By Archit Mehta T'17
Archit is an incoming T’17. A chartered accountant and a CPA by background, Archit spent four years in finance consulting with Deloitte India before Tuck. Outside of work and studies, he enjoys soccer, cricket and reading. Archit can be reached at archit.mehta.tu17@tuck.dartmouth.edu.
“Hi Archit. I am calling from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Congratulations! You have been accepted to Tuck’s class of 2017.” It has been over six months since that call, but the feeling is still sinking in.
The primary reason I applied to Tuck was its community. Business school is a place to grow; to grow, you must experiment; and when you experiment, you are bound to falter. At a place like Tuck, I’ll be more than comfortable doing so. Although I didn’t get a chance to visit campus, I made it a point to attend as many admission events in India as possible. Current and past Tuckies thronged these events, which gave me a fantastic sense of Tuck’s welcoming and supportive culture. Additionally, Tuck alumni at my current organization and other alumni sharing my post-MBA career interests enthusiastically mentored me through the application process. I am certain of receiving similar support over the next two years.
Another reason I chose Tuck was global exposure. I was keen to build on the limited pre-MBA work abroad opportunities I had had. Tuck’s First-Year Project and OnSite Global Consulting offer opportunities to travel abroad and work with foreign companies. Global Insight Expeditions offer a chance to understand the overall economic, political and cultural environment of a country. The Center for Business and Society and the Center for Global Business and Government have research travel programs. Most importantly, the residential nature of the program allows complete immersion into a global student community, and the extremely active socio-cultural clubs add to the experience.
As the excitement builds up for what is going to be a two-year roller coaster ride, I have been enjoying a break from work, spending quality time with my family and relishing the best of Indian cuisine! Planning my move to Hanover has been super easy. Tuck’s administrative offices including the MBA Program Office and Financial Aid office have been very responsive and exceptionally helpful. Securing financing, housing, visa etc., which might otherwise have been bothersome, has been absolutely straightforward.
More importantly, I have had the chance to connect with a bunch of Tuckies before school begins. A group of T’15s and T’16s visited India this March as part of the Global Insight Expedition. Incoming T’17s got a chance to attend a Private Equity seminar organized for them as well as mingle with them over drinks and dinner. We got valuable insights into everything from recruiting strategies to the MBA soccer world cup (find me leading Tuck’s defense next year!). Also, our T’17 India WhatsApp group has been buzzing 24x7, with people setting up informal meetups, helping each other sort out post-admission formalities, sharing laptop deal alerts and planning whose place to visit for good Indian food once school starts!
With bags packed with tons of memories from the past and even greater excitement for the future, I am all set for Tuck.