Tuck courses are paced in such a way that students can succeed if they have the necessary foundation.
Some incoming students have sufficient academic background to succeed in the first-year curriculum with only minimal additional preparation. However, the majority have some gaps in their academic background.
It is important to understand that your academic preparation during the spring and summer before you arrive at Tuck should focus on basic skills, not on the material that will be covered in the Tuck courses themselves. Completing additional MBA Math lessons, exploring think-cell, and an advanced PowerPoint add-in, are just some additional ways that you can prepare.
We also recommend that you develop a habit of reading the business press regularly. Read a newspaper such as The Wall Street Journal or The Financial Times every day, as well as a business magazine such as The Economist every week. This will help you to learn the language of business and will make you more comfortable discussing business issues. Note that when you have your NetID, which will be provided in early May, you will have free access to these and a multitude of additional resources. You can find information on how to access these resources in the business guide and are welcome to reach out to our Feldberg librarians with any questions.
MBA Math
In addition to the eight required MBA Math lessons, we strongly recommend that you complete the remaining lessons.
A note for Pre-Enrollment Program (PEP) participants: If you are a PEP participant, you will want to add Tuck PEP credentials to your Tuck-sponsored MBA Math account so you see the expanded required lesson guidance.
- Go to My Account | My Schools
- Click "Add School w/ School-Provided Code"
- Enter the code c4c32dfd
- Click "Add Code"
- Ensure the Default box is checked for the Dartmouth PEP 2025 entry
Area |
Topic |
mbamath.com |
Pre-Enrollment
|
| Excel | Excel Basics | Required | Prerequisite |
| Finance | Time Value of Money (Annual) | Required | Prerequisite |
| Time Value of Money (SubAnnual) | Optional | Prerequisite | |
| Annuity & Perpetuity (Constant) | Required | Prerequisite | |
| Annuity & Perpetuity (Growing) | Optional | Prerequisite | |
| Bonds | Optional | Covered | |
| Net Present Value | Optional | Covered | |
| Accounting | Balance Sheet Basics | Required | Prerequisite |
| Balance Sheet Intermediate | Required | Prerequisite | |
| Income Statement | Required | Prerequisite | |
| Statement of Cash Flows | Required | Prerequisite | |
| Transaction Recording Template | Optional | Covered | |
| Revenue Recognition & Expense Matching | Optional | Covered | |
| Statement Connections | Optional | ||
| Economics | Marginal Analysis (Tables) | Optional | Covered |
| Marginal Analysis (Calculus) | Optional | Covered | |
| Supply & Demand | Optional | Covered | |
| Statistics | Basic Descriptive | Required | Prerequisite |
| Linear Combinations (Portfolios) | Optional | Covered | |
| Probability Basics | Optional | Prerequisite | |
| Linear Regression | Optional | Prerequisite | |
| Normal Distribution | Optional | Covered | |
| Sampling | Optional | ||
| Inference | Optional | ||
| Decision Science | Spreadsheet Modeling | Optional | Covered |
Beyond PowerPoint
Interested in a PowerPoint add-in that simplifies the translation from your Excel analysis into professional graphics? think-cell is a powerful add-in for PowerPoint that can be used for quickly creating presentation charts directly from data. This tool is used by many leading professional services firms and corporations.
Mekko Graphics add-in is also available through Tuck: Mekko Graphics is another powerful add-in for PowerPoint. For 15 years, Mekko Graphics has been offering this tool that turns Excel data into charts. The company claims that Mekko Graphics is being used by 50% of Fortune 100 companies, seven of the ten top consulting firms, and over 75% of the top 25 private equity firms.
For more information on Mekko Graphics’ features and capabilities, please visit their Getting Started page.
All virtual desktop environments are outfitted with the think-cell® and Mekko Graphics add-ins.
