Jul 08, 2013
The Power of Tuck - Early Reflections of a T’15
By Blog Guest
Ankit Sood is an incoming T'15 from India, where he worked in human resources and consulting for the previous 4 years. He is raring to start life in Hanover with his fellow Tuckies. Having blogged as an applicant, Ankit now looks to pay it forward to future Tuckies by writing about his Tuck experience through this blog.
Earlier today, I received a call from a prospective T’16 from India. Once our conversation was over, it took me 5 minutes to let what had transpired sink in. I was now on the ‘other side’ offering help to future Tuckies. I had made it!
Before we started speaking about why I chose Tuck, I turned the tables and asked him why he was applying to Tuck. His answer – the amazing sense of community unique to Tuck – made me realize two things: a) that the close knit community is Tuck’s biggest USP and sets it apart the most from other schools, b) that everyone who looks at Tuck sees this aspect. I’m no marketing major, but looking at how well the USP flows to those thinking about applying to Tuck, the school’s brand/marketing team is doing a tremendous job.
I have already felt the warmth of the Tuck community even though I am yet to set foot in Hanover. I had promised myself a EuroTrip if I made it to Tuck, and I reached out to a few Tuck alums in Amsterdam and Munich to see if we could meet while I visit those cities. The Tuckies-reply-within-5-minutes (not literally 5 but that's what it feels like J) folklore is a reality. I received a response from almost everyone and those who wouldn’t be able to meet me apologized for the missed chance but recommended other alums in the area to meet. I also met two wonderful T'13s in Delhi – Ksenia and Kelsey – along with fellow T'15s, and it was a terrific experience.
Application season is about to start once again and I’d like to share some thoughts regarding this. I was a reapplicant at Tuck last fall (thank God I don’t have to live up to the third time lucky adage). To strengthen my candidacy, I retook my GMAT and put in extra effort at work that resulted in a couple of promotions. However, the most important aspect of my application, and the one I felt improved much more than the others, were the essays. Tuck’s essay prompts seem ‘easier’ than those of other schools. However, once you get writing, they stump you. Plainly because they ask for the most fundamental aspects of your personality (which is why the essay prompts seem simple) but these are the ones that require the most introspection. Given the school’s small size – not just class wise but also alumni number – and its location, you’d probably do much more to get to know Tuck than you would most other schools. These aspects, combined with a very warm interview, made the Tuck process stand out as the one that invested the most in getting to know me. As the Tuck admitted students brochure says, I felt ‘wanted’ versus ‘admitted’. And it seems this opinion is widely held – I recently read an article on Poets and Quants that ranked Tuck among the top three schools that got to know their applicants the best.
I had my US Student Visa appointment last week and received the Visa today. I’m now wrapping up my pre MBA assignments (it’s a bit weird reading/studying college material again) before I embark on my EuroTrip on 24th July, before reaching Tuck 7-8 days before Orientation and getting to know fellow classmates during TuckBuilds. Can’t wait!
