Jul 31, 2018

Interviewing at Tuck

By Admissions

At Tuck, we believe that strong interpersonal skills are essential for success as a leader and a team member. Accordingly, admissions interviews play a critical role in the evaluation process and give us a more complete understanding of you as a candidate. We encourage you to guarantee your opportunity to tell your story and interact with an admissions representative by initiating your on-campus interview.

Of course, we recognize that coming to campus is not a viable option for all candidates, so it’s important to note that a campus visit and interview are not required components of the application.

As you prepare for your visit and interview, here’s what you need to know:

• Applicant-initiated interviews must be completed by the deadline that corresponds with your round’s application deadline. The date your application is due and the date by which your applicant-initiated interview must be completed may be different. Make sure you’re aware of these important dates and are noting them on your calendar or application planning spreadsheet.
• If you’re not able to come to Hanover within this timeframe and the Admissions Committee wants to learn more about you after an initial review of your application, you will then be invited to interview. Of course, there's no guarantee so if you can, come to campus.
• If you are invited to interview with Tuck, we encourage you to visit us in Hanover—however, a virtual interview is also an option. We understand that making a trip is not always possible, particularly for international applicants. Hurdles other than distance might include financial restrictions or unexpected circumstances. 
• You cannot initiate a virtual interview.
• Because visits and interviews are dependent on class schedules, we’re only able to post availability so far in advance—but we do the best we can. Keep an eye on it. Make sure you’re receiving (and reading) emails from Tuck. Make tentative plans now so you’ll be able to schedule your visit and interview as soon as we open them for registration. Try to be flexible. Interview slots are first come, first served. Every year, anxious applicants call and tell us that there aren't any more interviews available. Sometimes this is true. Sometimes it means that they waited until the last minute to register and now the one specific Friday they were targeting is full, even though there are several other options to choose from. Avoid this situation.
• It’s possible that you’ll be interviewed by an Admissions Officer, but the large majority of our interviews are conducted by second-year students known as Tuck Admissions Associates, or TAAs. This is true of applicant-initiated interviews, invitational interviews, on-campus interviews, and virtual interviews. 
• TAAs go through a competitive selection process and extensive training. While they won’t ask the exact same questions, they’re all looking for the same characteristics. We take their comments very seriously, but their evaluation of candidates ends at the interview. They don’t have a role in actual selection, nor do they read your application.
• We do not offer alumni interviews and do very few in-person, off-campus interviews. If an interview is done off-campus, it will be by invitation only.
• Your interview is just as “official” regardless of who conducts it or where/how it’s being conducted.
• All interviewers, students and staff, will have only read the resume you submitted upon registration. They have not seen the rest of your application. 
• Along with the opportunity to interview, visiting Tuck’s campus (and those of other schools of interest), is a great way to get a feel for the culture. Tuck’s visit day includes a class visit (most days, but not all—you must select a slot that specifically notes "with class visit"), lunch with current students, a tour led by a current student, and Q&A with an Admissions Officer. Notice how people interact with each other. Can you see yourself as part of this community? We’ve heard many students say that it was during their visit to Tuck when they knew this was the place for them—and also that it was during visits to other schools that helped them rule out those programs.
• If you’re a reapplicant and have already interviewed on campus, we still encourage you to come back and do it again—unless you’ve received specific feedback that it’s not necessary, or if doing so is very difficult.
• Register today! We'll look forward to seeing you soon. 
   

Is there something we missed? Please feel free to ask other interview related questions in the comments below!