Admissions Criteria

Tuck classes are diverse by design, but our students share four common characteristics that form the basis of our admissions criteria. Tuck students are smart, accomplished, aware, and encouraging; no two candidates are equally strong across all criteria, and you may demonstrate different strengths in different ways. 

Tuck students are smart, curious, and engaged. 

Your intellectual aptitude matters. Your grades and test scores reflect previous academic performance, communication skills, and ability with numbers. You also realize you don’t know it all. You’re curious, excited by challenges, and motivated to learn from others’ knowledge and experiences. You continually seek to grow by engaging and exploring the world around you. Your aptitude and curiosity will strengthen your functional expertise, your analytic skills, and your ability to develop and defend points of view in Tuck’s rigorous learning environment.

Tuck students are accomplished, impactful, and principled.

Your professional performance matters, as do community engagement and personal achievements. You are excellent at your job and impactful outside of it. And you have the results, progression, and endorsements to prove it. You also act with conviction, thrive in tough moments, and seek to win the right way. Your principled commitment to these behaviors, in both success and setback, will help you make bold decisions, solve problems, seize opportunities, and take the right risks at Tuck and beyond.

Tuck students are aware, ambitious, and purposeful.

You know who you are, and you understand how your values and experiences have shaped your identity and character. You also connect your past experiences and present motivations with your path forward, and craft a compelling vision for the future. You identify coherent goals, audacious in scope yet grounded in reality, and articulate how the distinctive Tuck MBA will advance your aspirations to better the world through business. You recognize how your individuality will add to the fabric of the Tuck community and make a difference.

Tuck students are encouraging, collaborative, and empathetic.

This is quintessential Tuck, where you actively celebrate and support others. You also exhibit emotional intelligence, layer compassion onto courage, and challenge others tactfully and thoughtfully. You act with respect and integrity, even when it is not convenient or easy. You work effectively with others by empathizing with their diverse experiences and perspectives. You believe that your success and others’ success are interdependent, and generously invest in both. You build trust-based relationships which will endure for life.

Questions? Review our A Closer Look at Tuck’s Admissions Criteria blog series to dive into the details and discover how you may demonstrate the criteria.