In the Admissions Office, we often hear from prospective students who are concerned about the fact that Tuck is located in Hanover, NH (i.e. not New York, Boston, Chicago, London, etc.). Two weeks ago we published a post titled “Why you should get an MBA at Tuck” (a two part series!) and received a comment asking us to elaborate on the advantages of our location. Well, thank you for asking, we would be happy to!
The school’s location in Hanover, NH is one of the best parts of Tuck. Tuck is well-known for its tight-knit student body and great placement record, and those are due in large part to where we are.
There is no shortage of people – recruiters and executives – coming to campus. 160 companies visited campus last year to recruit, and they come more than once. Bain was on campus 20 times. Recruiters value what Tuck students have to offer and are willing to make the trip to see them. In the beginning of November alone, we had representatives from the following companies, on-campus hosting company briefings (and this is just a select sample): LEK Consulting, HubSpot, Hulu, Analogic Corporation, Irving Oil, Microsoft, Thompson Reuters, AthenaHealth, Parthenon, Cabot Corporation, National Park Service, Beacon Capital Partners, Johnson & Johnson, John Deere, Genentech, Deloitte, JP Morgan, Land O’Lakes, Danaher, Bank of America, BCG, Colgate-Palmolive, and Bain. This is basically every week.
But wait, there’s more! It’s not just that are there are lots and lots of people visiting, but because of our location, they don’t just give a speech and head back to the office. Instead, they spend the entire day on campus interacting with the students. They take small groups of students to lunches and dinners. They hold open office hours so you can sit down and speak with them one-on-one. Tuck’s location provides students an incredible amount of personal access to these leading executives.
How does our location impact your social/personal life? Being in a small town like Hanover, away from the distractions of a big city, allows you get to know all of your classmates very quickly and very closely. People either live in dorms on-campus, or very nearby, so they don’t scatter at the end of the school day. They remain on campus interacting with each other all day and into the night. Those free-ranging conversations that happen at 3am in the dorm lounge talking about an accounting assignment, what’s happening in the economy, or just hearing about someone’s experiences growing up in a part of the world you’ve never seen are essential to your learning and create a tight bond with your classmates that is hard to replicate. What’s more, the location allows you to get to know your professors outside of the classroom too. You see them in restaurants downtown, run into them in the grocery store, and have the opportunity to socialize with them. As a result, they become your friends, colleagues, and mentors, not just your teachers.
All of our students are new to the area, and that makes a big difference. If you go to school in the city where you currently live, you already have a network of friends and it’s easy to be pulled back and spend time with them rather than with your new classmates. Or, you might move to a new city for business school where you don’t know a soul, but many of your classmates have been living there and already have their network of friends. At Tuck, no one has been living and working in Hanover. Everyone is starting fresh. No one has a network in place, so everyone is eager to make new friendships and engage with each other.
In terms of living, Hanover is beautiful. Chances are, after business school you will spend most of your life living in a big city. Why not spend two years going to school where your view is tranquil and the air is clear? Follow Tuck on Instagram, and you’ll see what we’re talking about!
If you ski, hike, bike, row or generally love the outdoors, the Upper Valley is an amazing resource. Dartmouth has its own Skiway, and there are major ski resorts within an hour of campus. The Appalachian Trail runs right through town, and we are on the banks of the Connecticut River. If indoor activities are more your thing, Dartmouth’s Hopkins Center brings in internationally acclaimed performers throughout the year.
What are the drawbacks? We do have less variety in our restaurant options, but what you will find is your classmates are really good cooks, and get-togethers like Tuck’s small group dinners, give you a chance to sample their culinary skills and spend quality time getting to know each other. Shopping is a little limited too, but if you can’t find it online you probably don’t need it. And on a lighter note, there’s no sales tax in New Hampshire!
But don’t just listen to us. Kiley T’16 (who was initially just as skeptical as you!), Erica T’15, and Isaac T’15 share their first-hand, transformative, Hanover, NH experience on Tuck 360 too.
Still don’t believe it? Come see us for yourself!