01 · Class profile
Who is in the Dartmouth Tuck MBA class
Class of 2028, the newest class profile on Tuck's class-profile page, with results as of 10th Aug 2026. Tuck prints no medians and no average age. The 39% international share includes dual citizens and permanent residents; foreign nationals alone are 29%.
Tuck's pages differ on work experience: the class profile gives an average of 6 years, with a middle 80% range of 4 to 9 years, while its admissions FAQ says five years. This page uses the class profile.
Industry of the most recent employer before Tuck (share of students)
Health Care/Pharma/Biotech
7% Share of the Class of 2028, as Tuck's chart groups it. Tuck's own bucket is called Other.
Citizenship (share of students)
Share of the Class of 2028 by primary and secondary citizenship. Tuck counts dual citizens twice, so the shares add to more than 100%. Tuck lists 53 countries in all, counting citizenship, birth and professional experience together.
Undergraduate background (share of students)
Humanities, social sciences
50% Share of the Class of 2028. Tuck's first bucket is 'arts, humanities, social sciences'. Tuck also shows 82 unique undergraduate majors and says 16% of students hold a previous advanced degree.
Test scores
| Test | Average | Median | Range |
|---|
| GMAT (Tuck does not state the edition) | 682 | Not published | 635 to 735 (middle 80%) |
| GRE Verbal | 161 | Not published | 155 to 166 (middle 80%) |
| GRE Quant | 161 | Not published | 156 to 167 (middle 80%) |
GMAT sub-score averages on Tuck's page: Verbal 85, Quant 85, Data Insights 81. Tuck says it has no minimum score and assigns no particular weight to test scores. It does not publish a GRE total or a Writing score.
Share of the class submitting each test, Class of 2028: GRE 59%, GMAT 27% and GMAT 10th Edition 6%. Tuck says some students submit more than one test type.
Undergraduate GPA
The average is 3.5, with a middle 80% range of 3.14 to 3.87. Tuck counts students from U.S. schools on a 4.0 scale.
Who else is in the class
Tuck shows first-generation graduates at 13%, LGBTQ+ students at 11%, students with partners at 24% and students with children at 3%. The class brings 232 unique employers.
Programme
Tuck's admissions FAQ describes a full-time, two-year programme with summer-term entry only. The campus is in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Where do you sit in this class? Enter your score, experience and profile and see your position and interview risk.
Check my chances02 · Placements
Where Dartmouth Tuck MBA graduates go
Class of 2025, from Tuck's employment statistics page, the newest full-time report (graduated 15th Jun 2025, data as of Oct 2025). Tuck has not posted a Class of 2026 full-time report on the page we read. Pay is self-reported, in U.S. dollars.
Tuck shows base salary and signing bonus separately. Median base salary is $175,000, with a range of $65,955 to $284,000. The median signing bonus is $30,000 (range $3,000 to $110,200), and Tuck says 83% received one.
Tuck's page also states a combined median compensation of $205,000. It does not publish a mean salary.
Tuck says salary data came from 89% of job-seekers who accepted an offer within three months of graduation.
Of 292 full-time MBA graduates, 268 (92%) were seeking employment. The offer rate (242 students, 90%) and acceptance rate (233 students, 87%) are shares of those 268, within three months of graduation.
The 24 not seeking: 15 company-sponsored or already employed, 4 starting a new business, 4 other reasons and 1 continuing education. International (non-permanent work authorisation) job-seekers: 82 of 89 had offers (92%) and 78 accepted (88%).
Industry of the job (share of graduates)
Health Care/Pharma/Biotech
7% Media/Entertainment/Sports
1% Gov't/Nonprofit/Education
1% Share of the Class of 2025 graduates, as Tuck's page shows it (Gov't means government). Within financial services, Tuck shows investment banking at 13%, investment management at 5%, other finance at 4%, private equity and venture capital at 3% and commercial banking at 2%.
Median base salary by industry
| Industry | Median base salary |
|---|
| Consulting | $190,000 |
| Financial Services | $175,000 |
| Energy | $164,100 |
| Technology | $145,000 |
| Health Care/Pharma/Biotech | $140,000 |
| Manufacturing | $140,000 |
| Consumer Goods/Retail | $132,500 |
Class of 2025. Tuck withholds the median for the four 1% industries because the sample is too small.
Function of the job (share of graduates)
Share of the Class of 2025 graduates. Within finance, Tuck shows investment banking at 14%, corporate finance at 4%, private equity and venture capital at 4%, other finance at 3% and investment management at 2%. Median base: consulting $190,000, finance $175,000, marketing $140,000.
Region of the job (share of graduates)
Share of the Class of 2025 graduates; Tuck shows the United States at 96%. Within these, Tuck shows New York 27%, Boston 27%, the San Francisco Bay Area 9%, Seattle 5% and Chicago 4%. Outside the U.S.: Asia 2%, Latin America and the Caribbean 1%, Canada 1%. Tuck's text says the Midwest took 9% of graduates, while its table says 8%; this page uses the table.
Employers
Tuck's page shows 15 'select full-time employers for the Class of 2025' as logos. We read the names from the image text. Tuck does not publish hiring counts per employer on the page we read.
Amazon, Bain & Co, Bank of America, Boston Consulting Group, Citi, Colgate-Palmolive, General Mills, Goldman Sachs, Google, McKinsey & Co, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Nike, nVidia and TikTok.
03 · Fees and scholarships
What it costs, and how to pay less
$135,331
cost of attendance
These are Tuck's 2026-27 figures for the Class of 2028's first year, in U.S. dollars, for a single student. The $135,331 is the on-campus total; the off-campus total is $140,462. Tuck expects tuition to rise 3% to 5% for 2027-28 and publishes no two-year total.
Tuck's 2026-27 cost of attendance, per year
| Cost | On campus | Off campus |
|---|
| Tuition | $87,536 | $87,536 |
| Program fee | $6,150 | $6,150 |
| Housing | $16,700 (on-campus housing) | $20,475 (allowance) |
| Direct costs, Tuck's subtotal | $110,386 | $93,686 |
| Books, materials, supplies, equipment | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Food | $10,910 | $10,910 |
| Miscellaneous personal | $7,319 | $8,675 |
| Health insurance | $5,216 | $5,216 |
| Total cost of attendance | $135,331 | $140,462 |
Tuck's direct-cost subtotal includes on-campus housing but not the off-campus housing allowance. Tuck says the program fee covers course materials, transcripts, student activities, IT services, infrastructure support and an administrative fee. It gives the Class of 2027's second-year program fee as $5,440.
Tuck says the cost of attendance does not include living costs of a partner or dependants (it suggests planning about $5,000 per accompanying spouse and $3,500 per child). The totals above exclude federal loan origination fees; Tuck adds them to the cost of attendance for federal borrowers. Tuck also says students pay their own airfare on the Global Insight Expedition and cover travel costs on a TuckGO term exchange.
Tuck bills tuition and fees in four equal instalments in year one and three in year two. The enrolment deposit is non-refundable and is credited toward the first-term statement. Tuck does not state the amount on the pages we read.
The $250 application fee is non-refundable. Tuck lists automatic one-time waivers for groups that include U.S. military and veterans, first-generation college graduates and citizens of UN Least Developed Countries, and waivers on request with documents for others, such as Fulbright, Peace Corps and Posse recipients.
Scholarships and funding
| Scholarship | What you get and who it is for |
|---|
| Tuck scholarships | No separate application: admissions and financial aid review your admission application. Tuck describes them as merit-based, looking at academic achievement, professional and personal accomplishments, leadership potential and capacity to contribute. Most are awarded at the time of admission, with more offers as the class is assembled. |
| Amounts | Tuck says scholarships range from $10,000 to full tuition, with an average award of $34,679 per academic year. The page does not say which class that average covers. Scholarships renew automatically in year two with a satisfactory academic record. |
| Bollenbach Fund | Two awards for second-year students in the top ten percent of the class at the end of year one. One is on merit alone; the other also requires financial need. Combined awards cannot exceed tuition. |
| Fellowships | Admitted Consortium members become Consortium Fellows and are considered for a Tuck scholarship. Forte Fellows and Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA) Fellows must complete the optional fellowship section of the Tuck application and be selected for a Tuck scholarship. |
| Yellow Ribbon Program | Tuck participates for admitted students who are 100% eligible under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and says there is no cap on the number of eligible veterans. |
| Employer sponsorship | Tuck notes sponsorship can reduce debt and encourages you to review the terms, since not meeting them may require repayment. |
Tuck does not publish the share of students receiving a scholarship on the pages we read.
Loans
| Loan | What you get and who it is for |
|---|
| Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan | For U.S. citizens and permanent residents: $20,500 a year, a 1.057% origination fee, and repayment that starts 6 months after graduation. Tuck says Federal Grad PLUS loans are discontinued for new borrowers from 1st Jul 2026. |
| Tuck 5% Loan | $10,000 a year for those with the highest demonstrated need: no interest while enrolled, a fixed 5% in repayment, a 3-month grace period and a 10-year repayment term for U.S. students. International students can also use it. |
| Private education loans | Tuck has no preferred lender list. You can borrow up to the cost of attendance less other aid. Tuck says international students can improve their options with a U.S. cosigner. |
Tuck's loan page differs with itself on the federal rate: its text gives a fixed 8.07% for 1st Jul 2026 to 30th Jun 2027, while its repayment table uses 7.94% for the same $20,500 loan.
Could your profile earn a scholarship? Check where you stand before you apply.
Check my chances04 · Rounds and deadlines
Which round, and by when
Tuck has three rounds in its 2026-27 cycle, and Round 1 decisions are due on 10th Dec 2026. The cards below show which rounds are still open today.
Round 124th Sep 2026, 5:00 pm ET
- Interviews:
- Invitations late Aug to early Dec 2026
- Decision:
- 10th Dec 2026
Round 25th Jan 2027, 5:00 pm ET
- Interviews:
- Invitations early Dec 2026 to mid-Mar 2027
- Decision:
- 18th Mar 2027
Round 324th Mar 2027, 5:00 pm ET
- Interviews:
- Invitations mid-Mar to late Apr 2027
- Decision:
- 29th Apr 2027
Consortium applicants have their own deadlines: Consortium 1 closed on 15th Oct 2026 (11:59 pm ET) and Consortium 2 closes on 5th Jan 2027 (11:59 pm ET). Their decisions come on the same dates as Round 1 and Round 2.
Tuck guarantees an interview if your complete application, with test scores and recommendations, is in by 5:00 pm ET on 1st Sep 2026 (Round 1 and Consortium 1) or 1st Dec 2026 (Round 2 and Consortium 2). Round 3 has no guaranteed-interview date on the page we read.
Tuck's enrolment deposit deadlines are 1st Feb 2027 for Round 1, 19th Apr 2027 for Round 2 and 14th May 2027 for Round 3. Tuck sends interview invitations on a rolling basis and says most go out at least 1 to 2 weeks before decisions.
Tuck's admissions home page shows a Mar 25 Round 3 date with no year; this page uses the dated deadline table on the Applying to Tuck page (24th Mar 2027, 5:00 pm ET).
Tuck says you can apply as early as you are ready, and that every round gets full and fair consideration. It strongly encourages international applicants to apply in Round 1 or 2 because of visa processing disruption. You cannot be reconsidered in the same cycle after a rejection.
Not sure which round to aim for? We look at your file and tell you.
Check my chances05 · Clubs and activities
Life outside class
Tuck groups its clubs and activities into five categories: career, cultural affinity, event-focused, social, service and special interest, and sports. It does not publish a total on the pages we read.
What some clubs do
| Club | What they do |
|---|
| Consulting Club | A student-run organisation for students pursuing careers in management, strategy, health care and organisation consulting. |
| Entertainment, Sports and Media Club | Career guidance, industry learning opportunities and the annual ESM Conference. |
| Marketing and Brand Management Club | Shapes and complements the marketing curriculum; Tuck links the Tuck Marketing Symposium from its page. |
| Family Business Club | Speaker events, small-group discussions and company treks on succession, governance, impact and legacy of family enterprises. |
| Auto Club | Speakers and experiential learning, and support for the Dartmouth Race Team. |
| Energy Club | Supported and run by the Revers Center for Energy, Sustainability and Innovation Fellows and staff. |
| Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) Club | Guest speakers on Search Funds and entrepreneurship through acquisition. |
| South Asia Business Association (SABA) | Organises some of the most popular cultural events at Tuck, such as Diwali and Holi. |
| International Club | Tuck calls it one of the largest clubs. It has students from more than 30 countries and celebrates international cultures. |
| Tuck Community Consulting | Free consulting to local nonprofits, entrepreneurs and small businesses, entirely student managed and staffed. |
| Tuck Volunteer Club | Two volunteer days each year (fall and spring Tuck Serves), plus involvement with local nonprofits. |
| Tuck Women in Business | Mentoring, networking and career development, an annual event for prospective students and a symposium for students, alumni, faculty and staff. |
| Tuck Student Board | The voice of the student body. It works with administration and manages the student activity budget allocated across student-led clubs. |
| Ski and Snowboard Club | Group ski days, a ski swap and an annual Spring Break Trip. |
| Basketball Club | Competitive and pick-up games, Dartmouth intramural leagues and an annual MBA tournament at HBS. |
| Tripod Hockey | A co-ed fall, winter and spring league. |
Flagship events
| Event | What it is |
|---|
| Tuck Gives | A popular annual auction and gala. Students, faculty and staff donate and bid on items to fund socially and environmentally focused nonprofit internships. |
| Tuck Follies | An annual spring show of student-written live skits, songs and videos, with cameos by faculty and staff. |
| Winter Carnival | An annual event bringing MBA students from over 16 schools to Hanover to enjoy the winter outdoors and make connections. |
Career clubs
Aerospace and Defense Club; Auto Club; Consulting Club; Energy Club; Entertainment, Sports and Media; Entrepreneurship Club; Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) Club; Family Business Club; Finance Club; Food and Agriculture Club; General Management Club; Health Care Club; Investment Club; Marketing and Brand Management Club; Net Impact; Private Equity and Venture Capital Club; Real Estate Club; Retail and Consumer Goods Club; Technology Club.
Cultural affinity clubs
Asia Business Club; Association of Christian Tuck Students (ACTS); Black Students Association at Tuck (BSAT); Hispanic American Student Association (HASA); International Club; Jewish Student Association; Latin American Business Association (LABA); Low Income and First-Generation at Tuck (LIFT); Muslim Student Association; South Asia Business Association (SABA); Tuck Africa Club; Tuck Europe Club; Tuck Pride; Tuck South; Tuck West.
Event-focused
Admitted Students Weekend; Discover Tuck: Perspectives; Small Group Dinners; Tuck Follies; Tuck Gives; TuckTalks; Winter Carnival.
Social, service and special interest
Adam Smith Society; Allies; Artmouth; Business People Mixing (BPM); Career Comeback Counselors; Cheesemongers; Glen Tuck Society; John Barleycorn Society; SafeRides; Tuck Band; Tuck Book Club (Literati); Tuck Community Consulting; Tuck Film Society; Tuck Game Club; Tuck Mentors; Tuck Next50 Fellowship; Tuck Outdoor Club; Tuck Partners; Tuck Student Board; TuckStuff; Tiny Tuckies; Tuck Veterans Club; Tuck Volunteer Club; Tuck Wine Club; Tuck Women in Business.
Sports
Basketball Club; Brazilian Jiu Jitsu; Dance Club; Golf Club; Rugby Club; Sailing Club; Soccer Club; Ski and Snowboard Club; Squash Club; Tennis Club; Tuck A and B Hockey; Tripod Hockey.
Described as Tuck describes them on its Clubs and Activities pages, which list each category on its own page. Clubs change what they run each year.
06 · Process
From application to decision
Submit the application
Complete the online application: form, essays, resume, transcripts, self-reported test scores, two recommendations and the $250 fee, by 5:00 pm ET on the round deadline.
A complete application by the guaranteed-interview date (1st Sep 2026 or 1st Dec 2026) earns a guaranteed interview.
ReviewAfter the deadline
Tuck reviews your application against its four criteria: smart, accomplished, aware and encouraging.
Interview
Applicants who are not guaranteed an interview are invited after review. Tuck sends invitations on a rolling basis. The interview is 30 to 45 minutes.
Tuck puts the interview before the decision.
Decision
Tuck releases decisions online through the application portal, for the whole round on the same day, and sends access instructions one week before. The result is admit, waitlist or not admitted.
Tuck says its waitlist is not ranked and is re-reviewed each round.
DepositBy the round's deposit date
Admitted students pay a non-refundable enrolment deposit by 1st Feb 2027, 19th Apr 2027 or 14th May 2027, depending on the round.
07 · What you need
What goes into the application
1. Eligibility
Tuck requires a bachelor's degree, and says three-year bachelor's degrees receive equal consideration. It typically does not admit applicants who already hold an MBA, and treats the Indian PGDM as equivalent to an MBA. Tuck typically does not admit applicants without full-time work experience, and says most students have at least two years. Its review is age blind.
2. Test score
You need a GMAT or a GRE score, and Tuck has no preference between them. It accepts all versions of the GMAT and of the GRE General Test, but not the GMAT Superscore. Tuck sets no minimum score. You self-report scores in the application, and official scores are needed only at enrolment. Tuck considers your highest total and highest sub-scores across tests, and sub-scores from different tests cannot be combined. The school codes are GMAT Z04-NH-64 and GRE 4887.
If your scores will expire before 1st Aug 2027, release the official report at least 10 days before they expire.
Tuck lets you request a test waiver before applying. You need at least 2 years of post-graduate work experience at the time of the request, be a native English speaker or hold a bachelor's degree from an English-only institution, and not have had a waiver in an earlier cycle. Request deadlines are 12th Aug 2026 (Round 1 and Consortium 1), 9th Nov 2026 (Round 2 and Consortium 2) and 5th Mar 2027 (Round 3), and Tuck responds within 12 business days. Tuck says a waiver may disadvantage your admission and scholarship chances.
3. English test
Non-native speakers submit the Duolingo English Test, IELTS Academic, PTE Academic or TOEFL iBT, unless their bachelor's degree is from an institution where English is the sole language of instruction. A master's degree or time in an English-speaking country does not qualify. Tuck accepts online and at-home versions. Scores are self-reported at application, with official scores at enrolment. The Duolingo test must be certified through Duolingo before you submit, because of its video interview section.
4. Essays
These are Tuck's prompts for the current cycle. Tuck sets the limits in characters, not words: 2,000 characters for each essay.
Essay 1: Growth and why Tuck (required, 2,000 characters)
Your professional goals are described elsewhere in your application. What led you to those goals and to your understanding of where you need to grow? Why is Tuck the right environment to support that growth and help you achieve your ambitions?
Essay 2: What has shaped you (required, 2,000 characters)
People are often shaped by experiences that are not fully reflected in their resume. Tell us about an important aspect of who you are that has shaped you as a person. How will your perspective enrich the Tuck community?
Essay 3: Supporting another person (required, 2,000 characters)
Describe a time when supporting another person was not easy or straightforward. What made it difficult, how did you respond, and what did you learn?
Reapplicant essay (required for all reapplicants, 2,000 characters)
How have you strengthened your candidacy since you last applied? Reflect on how you have grown personally and professionally and how your understanding of Tuck has developed.
Optional information (optional, 2,000 characters)
Please provide any additional insight or information that you have not addressed elsewhere (e.g., atypical choice of references, factors affecting academic performance, unexplained job gaps or changes). Complete this question only if you feel your candidacy is not fully represented by this application.
Tuck also asks for your short-term and long-term post-MBA goals separately, in 300 characters or less. It says essays must be entirely your own, and that using tools or professional services to create content that is not yours violates its admissions policies.
5. Two recommendations
Two letters of reference are required, and Tuck discourages additional letters. Reapplicants who applied in the most recent cycle submit one new letter from someone who did not write last year. Tuck prefers your current direct supervisor if possible, and discourages professors who did not supervise professional work, friends, family and coaches. You enter the referee's details and Tuck emails a unique link. The referee must be the sole author.
The form follows the GMAC Common Letter of Recommendation: a brief description of the referee's interaction with you and role (50 words), how your performance compares with other well-qualified people in similar roles, with examples (500 words), and the most important constructive feedback given to you, with your response (500 words). A fourth question is optional. Letters must be in by the application deadline or your application moves to the next round.
6. Video or assessment
The Applying to Tuck page we read lists no video essay and no separate written assessment. The live conversation is the interview.
7. Other documents
A resume (Tuck encourages limiting it to one page), your last four employers with compensation and responsibilities, and transcripts for every undergraduate and graduate school, with a certified English translation if not in English. Report your GPA on the awarding institution's scale; Tuck does not convert GPAs. The $250 fee is due on submission.
8. If you need a visa
Tuck makes U.S. visa eligibility forms available after the enrolment deposit and requires verification of financial support for enrolling international students.
08 · What Tuck wants
How Tuck reads your file
Tuck says its students are smart, accomplished, aware and encouraging. It says no two candidates are equally strong across all four, and that you can show different strengths in different ways.
| Tuck looks at | In plain words |
|---|
| Smart, curious and engaged | Your intellectual aptitude, shown by grades, test scores, previous academic performance, communication skills and ability with numbers. Tuck also looks for curiosity, excitement about challenges and a drive to learn from others. |
| Accomplished, impactful and principled | Professional performance, community engagement and personal achievements: your results, progression and endorsements, acting with conviction and in tough moments, and winning the right way. |
| Aware, ambitious and purposeful | Whether you understand how your values and experiences shaped you, connect your past to your future, and have goals that are bold but grounded. You should be able to say how the Tuck MBA advances them and how you add to the community. |
| Encouraging, collaborative and empathetic | Tuck calls this quintessential Tuck: you celebrate and support others, show emotional intelligence, act with respect and integrity, and build relationships based on trust. |
Tuck maps the application to these criteria: the form is your background, transcripts and test scores show you are smart, the resume shows you are accomplished, the essays show you are aware and encouraging, and the recommendations give evidence on all four.
Tuck says it does not assign a particular weight to test scores or any other part of the application.
See how your file reads against these four criteria before you spend weeks on the application.
Check my chances09 · Interview questions
What candidates say Tuck interviewers ask
These are the five types of question candidates say they are asked, based on candidates' own accounts of their Tuck interviews from 2021 to 2026. Nobody gets a fixed list. The tag says how likely that type of question is: high means it comes up in close to half of candidate accounts or more, medium in roughly a quarter to just under half, and low in fewer than a quarter.
| Topic | Chance | How it is usually asked |
|---|
| Why Tuck | HIGH | For example, candidates describe being asked: “Why Tuck, and how will you show up in the community?” Candidates say to prepare this one most carefully, naming specific people, clubs and resources after talking to current students and alumni. |
| Why an MBA, and why now | HIGH | For example, candidates describe being asked: “Why do you need an MBA, and why now?” |
| Walk through your resume | HIGH | For example, candidates describe being asked: “Walk me through your resume and the reasoning behind each move.” Candidates say questions often follow the resume line by line. |
| Giving and receiving feedback | HIGH | For example, candidates describe being asked: “Tell me about a time you received difficult feedback and how you reacted.” It is often paired with a time you gave someone feedback. |
| What you will contribute | HIGH | For example, candidates describe being asked: “What unique voice or perspective will you bring to Tuck?” |
Candidates also report questions on short-term and long-term goals, a challenge or difficult colleague, and a proudest accomplishment, and less often a time you helped someone or leadership in a group. Accounts are recalled from memory by people who chose to share, so treat the tags as a guide.
10 · Interview experience
What the interview is actually like
What Tuck says
| Topic | What to expect |
|---|
| Guaranteed interview | A complete application, with test scores and recommendations, by 5:00 pm ET on 1st Sep 2026 (Round 1) or 1st Dec 2026 (Round 2) guarantees an interview. Other applicants are interviewed by invitation after review. |
| Who interviews | Mostly trained second-year students, who are Tuck Admissions Associates. Tuck's admissions FAQ adds that members of the admissions committee occasionally interview. |
| Length | 30 to 45 minutes. |
| Mode | Virtual, plus a limited number of on-campus interviews in 2026-27. Tuck values guaranteed and invitational, virtual and in-person interviews equally. |
| Questions | Behavioural questions drawn from your resume only. The interviewer does not see your application. |
| Logistics | You get a scheduling link, and the interviewer's name and email 2 hours before. |
| Not published | Tuck does not publish the share of applicants it interviews or admits on the pages we read. |
What candidates report
| Topic | What to expect |
|---|
| Mode | Almost always a video call. Some accounts describe a meeting on campus or off campus with the student. |
| Length | Most accounts describe about 40 to 45 minutes: around 30 minutes of questions, then 10 to 15 minutes for yours. Some ran shorter or longer. |
| Running order | Introductions and small talk, then tell me about yourself or a resume walk-through, why MBA, goals and why Tuck. Then three to five behavioural questions, a chance to add anything, and a long block for your questions. |
| Tone | Warm, relaxed and conversational. Many repeat Tuck's reputation for being nice. Some interviewers read from a list or were new to interviewing, so pauses can be awkward. Interviewers take notes, so some silences are note-taking. |
| Matching | Interviewers are sometimes matched to your background: the same former employer, the same college or similar goals. |
| Your file | Several candidates say the interviewer referred only to the resume and not the essays. One was surprised by an essay-style question about helping someone. |
| Surprises | The common remark is that nothing surprised them. The exceptions: a question on readiness for a small-town campus, and one on which of Tuck's published qualities resonates most with you. |
| Preparing | Candidates advise a clear story structure for behavioural answers, and say it is fine to ask for another question if you cannot think of one. |
Based on candidates' own accounts from 2021 to 2026. The format looks stable across the years, and the latest cycle has the fewest accounts. Check Tuck's visit and interview page for the current format.
11 · FAQs
Questions students ask about Dartmouth Tuck MBA
Is there a minimum GMAT or GRE score?
No. Tuck sets no minimum score and has no preference between the GMAT and the GRE. For the Class of 2028 it gives a GMAT average of 682 (it does not state the edition) and GRE Verbal and Quant averages of 161 each. It publishes no medians, and says it assigns no particular weight to test scores.
How much work experience do I need?
Tuck typically does not admit applicants without full-time work experience, and says most students have at least two years. The Class of 2028 average is 6 years on the class profile; the admissions FAQ says five years. This page uses the class profile.
What are the essay prompts and limits?
Tuck asks three required essays of 2,000 characters each, not words: one on growth and why Tuck, one on an aspect of who you are, and one on supporting another person. Reapplicants add a 2,000-character essay, and optional information is also 2,000 characters. The exact wording is in section 07.
How many recommendations do I need?
Two letters of reference, through the GMAC Common Letter of Recommendation format, ideally from your current direct supervisor. They must be in by the application deadline, or your application moves to the next round.
How does the Tuck interview work?
Tuck guarantees an interview if your complete application is in by 1st Sep 2026 (Round 1) or 1st Dec 2026 (Round 2). Otherwise it invites applicants after review. The interview is 30 to 45 minutes, mostly with trained second-year students, with questions drawn from your resume only.
Is the Tuck interview online?
Tuck says interviews are virtual, plus a limited number of on-campus interviews in 2026-27, and that it values virtual and in-person interviews equally. Candidates' accounts from 2021 to 2026 describe mostly video calls.
Which round should I apply in?
Round 1 closed on 24th Sep 2026, with decisions on 10th Dec 2026. Round 2 closes on 5th Jan 2027 with decisions on 18th Mar 2027, and Round 3 closes on 24th Mar 2027 with decisions on 29th Apr 2027. Tuck says to apply as early as you are ready. The timeline on this page shows which are still open.
How much does the Tuck MBA cost?
For 2026-27, Tuck's first-year tuition is $87,536 and the program fee is $6,150. Its total cost of attendance for a single student is $135,331 on campus and $140,462 off campus. Tuck publishes no two-year total. The application fee is $250.
Can I get a scholarship?
Tuck considers admitted students for merit-based scholarships through its admission review, with no separate application. Scholarships range from $10,000 to full tuition, with an average award of $34,679 per academic year. Tuck does not publish the share of students who receive one on the pages we read.
What are the pay and jobs like after Tuck?
For the Class of 2025, Tuck reports a median base salary of $175,000 and a median signing bonus of $30,000, in U.S. dollars and self-reported. Of the 268 graduates seeking employment, 90% had an offer and 87% had accepted within three months. By industry, 41% of graduates went into consulting, 27% into financial services and 13% into technology.