I reapplied to Tuck for the Jan. round after I got waitlisted/rejected last year (27, Latin Am, 5 yrs WE, international background with Commercial Banking & Corporate Finance, CFA lvl 1, Econ undergrad 3.3 GPA with postgrad year). The feedback I got from the adcom was 1) raise GMAT and 2) add more description to the essays with more explanation of why Tuck (but they felt I was a good fit). My GMAT at the time I applied was 640 Q42 V35 AWA 5.5, I raised it to 730 Q49 V41 AWA 6.0. To improve my application I used a consultant with solid ties to Tuck who seemed very enthusiastic about my chances.

I now sit waiting, everyone I know says I should be in. I am not that convinced.

Should I be doing something extra to secure the spot? I already rang my adcom contact person and informed her of my improved score and app.

Has anyone heard of reapplicants getting admitted straight up without an interview?

Any idea of how many spots left for Jan round??

Scholarships: Anyone admitted got scholarships?? If so how much $$?

Not this year but I live on the other side of the p***t and the adcom told me that there was no real need for me to visit Tuck again as I spent 3 days in Feb last year. I was proactive last year to land the interview, I capitalized on a business trip to visit.

If an interview invite comes I'll do it in my home town with an alum.

Hmmm. I think you have to interview this year also, for this year's application. They should invite you to a phone or alumnus interview... but unfortunately the interview invitations were already sent for the Jan. round :(

Hey Tuckorbust,

I was in similar situation. Had adcom initiated interview last year and then got dinged. So, after having feedback session I improved my GMAT and elaborated in my essay on issues recommended by the adcom during that session.

I applied in EA and got in without having another interview, so if your last year's one was strong, I don't think they will invite you for another one.

I was quite worried frankly as being an international I haven't visited the campus which is really important to show your interest, so in this regard you are in much better situation. The only problem I can see is that they will question why you applied so late - I think they expect all reapplicants to apply in EA although I am not 100% sure about it. So, if you haven't provided explanation in your app. you may want to consider communicating it now (though I am not sure how they will treat it now; it may raise other concerns).

Good Luck,
MBAGETS

Hi MBAGETS, Do you have any idea of acceptance rates for R2 Tuck applicants who received for adcom initiated interview invites? Do most students who did not have a chance to visit the school or schedule an interview before the deadline receive one, or is this a more positive sign?

I am not very familiar with Tuck's process and just trying to get a clearer understanding of my current situation. Any insight you can provide is much appreciated!

Congrats on being accepted!

Hi Everyone,

Is there anyone out there with a GMAT score lower than the average for the schools applied to who has been admitted/ asked to interview?

About half of the students at b-schools have scores under the average for their schools.

- Captain Obvious

I would say that substantially less than half score under the average. One can only score up to 800, but the lower end of the scale goes down to 200. When a top school lets in a 560 they would have to admit several 800s to hit their average. Plus, there will be a very sizeable amount that score the average because many schools round to the nearest 10.

It depends if by "average" one is referring to the Mean or the Median. If one is referring to the Median GMAT score, then yes exactly half of the students in the incoming class scored below the "average". If one is referring to the Mean, then one probably needs to look at the Median as well to determine if a school is admitting nearly equal numbers of students with GMAT scores above and below the "average" or if a school is admitting a just a few very low scores which are suppressing the Mean.

For Harvard: Mean - 713 / Median - 710
For Stanford: Mean - 723 / Median - 730
For Wharton: Mean - 712 / Median - 710

Only for Stanford would the Mean, if rounded to the nearest 10, not equal the Median. I think that this is at least somewhat indicative that at least Harvard and Wharton admit equal proportions of students with GMAT scores above and below their respective Mean GMAT scores. Stanford on the other hand might seem to be admitting the same number of students below the Median (of course - always 50%), but with lower scores at the absolute bottom end of the score spectrum then H or W (which suppresses the mean).

A very simple analysis, and I'm sure full of holes, but hopefully at least somewhat informative.

Comments: 0 Stars: 0


I have been meaning to make an entry ever since last semester but something else always comes up and I forgot making an entry. Finally after 1,000th friendly reminder from Tess I wanted to make an entry. This is my first blog entry so excuse me if it is not a very good one.

Today we had our Leadership Coaching class to prepare for our coaching session with undergraduate students in Paderno. We role played and listed some possible questions to be prepared for the coaching session to make it as beneficial as we can for both the undergraduate students and us.

I am very excited about this opportunity not only because it would be a good opportunity for us to practice what we've learned so far but also for having a chance to help some students to make a better informed decision choosing the right job for them. I wish I had the same opportunity and the tools that are available to them when I was undergraduate student. I just hope that they take advantage of this opportunity and make the most out of it.