The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College runs a two-year, full-time-only MBA in Hanover, New Hampshire, and it is ranked No. 9 in the U.S. News 2026 Best Business Schools list. For fall 2027 entry, the Tuck MBA Round 2 deadline is 5 January 2027 and Round 3 closes on 24 March 2027. You will write three essays of up to 2,000 characters each, send two references, pay a $250 fee and submit a GMAT or GRE score (or ask for a waiver).
Tuck admitted 28.3% of applicants for fall 2025 entry, according to U.S. News data reported by Poets&Quants. The Class of 2028, which arrived in August 2026, has 282 students with an average GMAT Focus score of 682 and 39% international students. First-year costs come to about $135,331, and the Class of 2025 earned a median base salary of $175,000. Every figure in this Tuck MBA guide was checked against Tuck’s own pages on 29 October 2026, unless I say otherwise.
Tuck MBA ranking
U.S. News published its 2026 Best Business Schools ranking on 7 April 2026. Tuck placed No. 9 for the full-time MBA, one place ahead of Berkeley Haas, according to the ranking tables published by Poets&Quants on 6 April 2026 and Clear Admit on 9 April 2026. Tuck is much smaller than most schools in the top 10, with fewer than 300 students in each MBA class. Its graduates lean heavily toward consulting and finance, as the employment section below shows.
Tuck acceptance rate and class profile
Tuck does not print an acceptance rate on its class profile. Poets&Quants, using U.S. News data, put it at 28.3% for the class that entered in fall 2025. That makes Tuck less selective than NYU Stern (23.6%) or Berkeley Haas (21.4%) on paper, but its applicant pool is self-selecting: people who apply have usually visited, spoken to students and decided they want a small school in a rural town.
| Class of 2028 (entered August 2026) | Figure |
|---|---|
| Class size | 282 |
| Average GMAT Focus | 682 (middle 80%: 635 to 735) |
| Average GRE Verbal / Quant | 161 / 161 |
| Tests submitted | GRE 59%, GMAT Focus 27%, older GMAT 6% |
| Average GPA (US schools) | 3.5 (middle 80%: 3.14 to 3.87) |
| Average work experience | 6 years (middle 80%: 4 to 9 years) |
| International (incl. dual citizens and permanent residents) | 39% |
| Foreign nationals only | 29% |
| Citizens of the Middle East and Africa | 3% |
| Countries represented | 53 |
| Women | 46% |
The Class of 2027, now in its second year, was bigger at 304 students, with an average of 727 on the older GMAT, 671 on GMAT Focus, a 3.6 GPA, 5.75 years of work experience and 34% international students, according to Clear Admit’s report of Tuck’s figures. Two things stand out for international applicants. First, more than half of the new class sent a GRE score, so you do not need to switch tests if you are already preparing for the GRE. Second, only 3% of students hold citizenship from the Middle East and Africa, so a strong African applicant will stand out, but will also be measured against a small number of peers the committee knows well.
Pre-MBA backgrounds in the Class of 2028: financial services 21%, consulting 18%, nonprofit and government 18%, technology 10% and health care 7%. Half the class studied arts, humanities or social sciences, a quarter studied STEM and a quarter business.
Tuck MBA requirements for international students
These come from Tuck’s official Applying to Tuck page.
- Online application and fee: $250.
- Transcripts: from every degree-granting programme you attended.
- Resume.
- Essays: three required, each up to 2,000 characters, plus an optional essay and a reapplicant essay (2,000 characters each).
- Two letters of reference: Tuck uses the GMAC Common Letter of Recommendation format, with one short question of about 50 words and two longer questions of about 500 words each.
- Test: GMAT (either edition) or GRE. There is no minimum score and Tuck does not superscore. You can request a waiver.
- English test: TOEFL iBT, IELTS Academic, PTE Academic or Duolingo English Test for non-native speakers, unless exempt.
- Interview.
Test waiver
Tuck considers test waiver requests, and its application page ties eligibility to having at least two years of post-graduate work experience. Waiver requests have their own deadlines: 12 August 2026 for Round 1 (passed), 9 November 2026 for Round 2 and 5 March 2027 for Round 3. If you want to skip the test for Round 2, you have only days left to ask. My own view: if you studied in a system US readers know less well, a test score removes doubt faster than a waiver request does.
English language requirement
Non-native English speakers send one of the four accepted tests. You can self-declare a waiver if your bachelor’s degree was taught in English, which covers most Nigerian, Ghanaian, Kenyan and South African graduates. Tuck’s application page does not state a minimum score for any of the four tests, so aim for a strong score.
Tuck MBA deadlines 2026-2027
All deadlines are 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Round 1 closed on 24 September 2026.
| Round | Application deadline | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Round 2 | 5 January 2027 | 18 March 2027 (deposit due 19 April 2027) |
| Round 3 | 24 March 2027 | 29 April 2027 |
| Consortium (Round 2 equivalent) | 5 January 2027 | Same as Round 2 |
Interview guarantee for Round 2
Tuck guarantees an interview to Round 2 applicants whose application is complete by 1 December 2026, including test scores and both references. Finish early and you take the interview question off the table. Round 3 also leaves little time for an I-20 and a US visa before an August start, so international applicants should aim for Round 2.
Tuck MBA essays and how to answer them
Tuck counts characters, not words. Two thousand characters including spaces is roughly 300 to 350 words, so each essay is short.
| Essay | What it asks | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Essay 1 | Your path to your professional goals, why you need to grow through an MBA, and why Tuck | 2,000 characters |
| Essay 2 | An aspect of who you are that is not on your resume, and how it will enrich the Tuck community | 2,000 characters |
| Essay 3 | A time when supporting another person was difficult, how you responded and what you learned | 2,000 characters |
| Optional | Anything else the committee should know, such as a gap or a grade issue | 2,000 characters |
| Reapplicant | How your candidacy has changed since you last applied | 2,000 characters |
Essay 1: goals, growth and why Tuck
Give the short-term goal in the first two sentences: role, industry and a type of company. Then name the gap between where you are and where you are going, and explain how Tuck in particular fills it. Generic praise of “a close-knit community” is what every applicant writes. Name a course, a centre or a club, and say what you will do there. Admissions officers at small schools read for fit, so tie your plan to something Tuck does well, such as general management or consulting recruiting.
Sample opening, for illustration: “After five years running distribution for a Lagos fast-moving consumer goods company, I want to join a strategy consulting firm’s consumer practice and, within ten years, lead a regional consumer business in West Africa.”
Essay 2: who you are beyond the resume
Pick one thing: a family responsibility, a craft, a community you built, a belief you act on. Tell a short story, then spend the second half on what you will bring to classmates in Hanover. Avoid repeating anything in your resume or recommendations.
Essay 3: supporting another person
This prompt tests whether you can help someone when it costs you something. Choose a case where the support was genuinely hard, such as backing a struggling team member while your own targets suffered, and show what you would do differently. A story where you were simply kind will read as thin.
Sample opening, for illustration: “When my junior analyst missed a regulator’s filing deadline for the second time, my manager asked me to document it for her dismissal; I asked for two weeks to coach her first.”
Tuck interview format
Tuck offers two routes to an interview, and you can read about both on its admissions pages. Round 2 applicants who complete their file by 1 December 2026 are guaranteed one. Otherwise interviews are by invitation after the committee reviews your file. Tuck’s current admissions page does not describe the format beyond that. A 2018 post on the Tuck admissions blog explained the system as it then worked: candidates could book an on-campus interview themselves, invited candidates could interview in Hanover or online, most interviews were run by second-year students called Tuck Admissions Associates, and the interviewer saw only your resume. Check the current interview page when you register, because the details may have changed. Either way, prepare a two-minute walk through your career, your goals and why Tuck, plus one or two stories about helping a colleague.
What the Tuck admissions committee looks for
Tuck names four admissions criteria: smart, accomplished, aware and encouraging. Its application page says transcripts and test scores show the first, the resume shows the second, the essays show the last two, and references should give evidence of all four.
- Smart: a test score or academic record showing you can handle the core courses, plus clear thinking in Essay 1.
- Accomplished: real results at work, with numbers, in your resume and references.
- Aware: honesty about what you still need to learn, which Essay 1 asks for directly.
- Encouraging: evidence that you invest in other people, which is what Essay 3 is for.
- Interest in Tuck specifically. A school of under 300 students wants people who will stay involved, and a campus visit or conversations with students are the easiest proof.
Tuck tuition and cost of attendance
Tuck charges every MBA student the same tuition, whatever their nationality. Its official 2026-27 cost of attendance for a single student is below. First-year students are budgeted for on-campus housing.
| Item (2026-27) | First year (Class of 2028) | Second year (Class of 2027) |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | $87,536 | $87,536 |
| Programme fee | $6,150 | $5,440 |
| Housing | $16,700 (on campus) | $20,475 (off campus) |
| Food | $10,910 | $10,910 |
| Health insurance | $5,216 | $5,216 |
| Books and course materials | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Personal expenses (includes local travel) | $7,319 | $8,675 |
| Total | $135,331 | $139,752 |
Add the two years and you get roughly $275,000 before any scholarship, assuming fees rise a little for your second year. Once you enrol, Tuck asks you to show proof of funding for the full two years, which is also what the I-20 for your student visa will require.
Tuck scholarships for international students
Tuck says admission decisions are made without regard to your finances, and there is no separate scholarship application: you are considered when you apply, and scholarship decisions arrive with your admission decision. Tuck describes its scholarships as going to students who will make significant contributions to its learning community, and its financial aid FAQ does not exclude international students. It does not publish a list of named fellowships with amounts on its main aid pages, nor the share of students who receive an award. If you do not receive a scholarship in your first year, do not count on one in the second; the only exception Tuck mentions is an award for first-year academic excellence.
For outside funding, start with our list of scholarships for African students and our recommendation letter guide.
Loans without a US cosigner
Tuck says international students have several loan options that do not need a US cosigner. Two are named on its loan programmes page:
- Tuck 5% Loan: up to $10,000 a year for students with the highest demonstrated need. You are considered automatically when you submit the International Application for Financial Aid. No interest accrues while you are enrolled; after that, interest is fixed at 5%, with a three-month grace period.
- Private education loans: up to the cost of attendance minus other aid. Tuck has no preferred lender list, so you choose the lender and Tuck certifies the amount. Tuck points students to ELMSelect for lenders international students have used before. It notes that a US cosigner with good credit widens your choices.
Tuck does not name Prodigy Finance or MPOWER on that page. Federal Direct loans are only for US citizens and permanent residents.
Is the Tuck MBA STEM designated?
Partly. The Tuck MBA as a whole is not STEM designated. Instead, Tuck offers a Management Science and Quantitative Methods Option, which it calls a STEM-designated MBA. To earn it you pass or place out of the core Analytics 1 and 2 courses and complete at least 15 elective credits from an approved list of quantitative courses over the two years. Tuck says the option may give F-1 students an extra 24 months of Optional Practical Training, and tells students to confirm details with the registrar. If you want three years of US work authorisation, plan your electives from the first term.
Tuck MBA salary and employment
Tuck’s employment statistics page covers the Class of 2025, which graduated on 15 June 2025, with data as of October 2025.
| Class of 2025 outcome | Figure |
|---|---|
| Graduates seeking jobs | 268 of 292 (92%) |
| Received an offer within 3 months | 90% |
| Accepted an offer within 3 months | 87% |
| International graduates (no permanent US work authorisation): offers / accepted | 92% / 88% |
| Median base salary | $175,000 |
| Median signing bonus | $30,000 (83% received one) |
| Consulting | 41% (median base $190,000) |
| Financial services | 27% (median base $175,000) |
| Technology | 13% (median base $145,000) |
| Health care, pharma and biotech | 7% (median base $140,000) |
| Jobs outside the US | 4% (median base $105,160) |
The international numbers are the ones to notice. Graduates without permanent US work authorisation received offers at a higher rate than US graduates. Employers that hired Class of 2025 graduates included McKinsey, Bain, Boston Consulting Group, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citi, Bank of America, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, Nike and General Mills. More than half took jobs in the US Northeast, with New York and Boston each taking 27%.
Costs not covered by the budget
- The $250 application fee, test fees and extra score reports.
- Credential evaluation, translation and courier fees for transcripts.
- The SEVIS I-901 fee and the US visa application fee.
- Flights to the US and back for recruiting or holidays.
- Transport for recruiting events. Hanover is a small town in rural New Hampshire, so trips to Boston or New York for interviews and networking add up.
- Winter clothing if you are coming from a warm climate.
- Recruiting trips to consulting and banking offices, club fees and global study trips.
Common mistakes international applicants make
- Treating the 2,000-character limit like a 2,000-word limit. Count characters with spaces before you paste.
- Writing Essay 1 about why an MBA in general, with nothing that only Tuck offers.
- Missing the test waiver deadline, which comes weeks before the application deadline.
- Submitting late in Round 2 and losing the guaranteed interview that comes with a file completed by 1 December.
- Choosing a senior recommender who barely knows your work over a direct supervisor who does.
- Applying in Round 3 and then running short of time for visa paperwork.
Who should apply to Tuck
Tuck suits you if you want consulting or finance on the US East Coast, you like a small class where everyone knows everyone, and you are comfortable living in a rural town for two years. It is also a fair choice for GRE takers, since most of the new class submitted the GRE. It suits you less if you want to work on the US West Coast in technology, where Haas or Foster place more graduates, or if you need a big city for a partner’s career.
Tuck compared with similar MBA programs
| School | U.S. News 2026 rank | Average or median GMAT Focus | Acceptance rate (fall 2025 entry) | First-year cost (2026-27) | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dartmouth Tuck | No. 9 | 682 average (Class of 2028) | 28.3% | $135,331 | 5 Jan 2027 |
| NYU Stern | No. 7 (tie) | 682 average | 23.6% | $140,668 | 15 Jan 2027 |
| Berkeley Haas | No. 10 | 675 median | 21.4% | $138,921 | 7 Jan 2027 |
| Columbia Business School | No. 7 (tie) | 690 average | 25.7% | $143,030 | 5 Jan 2027 |
| MIT Sloan | No. 6 | 675 median | 18.8% | $144,325 | 12 Jan 2027 |
Acceptance rates and first-year costs are from Poets&Quants’ 2026 analyses of U.S. News data and school budgets. Dartmouth College’s undergraduate guide is not part of our US college series yet; for undergraduate funding, see our guide to the Dartmouth King Scholars Program, and for wider options our list of American scholarships open to international students.
FAQ on the Tuck MBA for international students
What is the Tuck MBA acceptance rate?
About 28.3% for fall 2025 entry, according to U.S. News data reported by Poets&Quants. Tuck itself does not publish an acceptance rate.
What GMAT score do I need for Tuck?
There is no minimum. The Class of 2028 averaged 682 on GMAT Focus, with the middle 80% between 635 and 735, and 59% of the class submitted the GRE instead.
When is the Tuck MBA deadline for 2027 entry?
Round 2 closes on 5 January 2027 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, with decisions on 18 March 2027. Round 3 closes on 24 March 2027.
Does Tuck require TOEFL or IELTS from international students?
Yes, if English is not your native language, unless your bachelor’s degree was taught in English. Tuck accepts TOEFL iBT, IELTS Academic, PTE Academic and the Duolingo English Test.
Sources and updates
Checked on 29 October 2026. Ranking: U.S. News 2026 Best Business Schools (released 7 April 2026), as tabulated by Poets&Quants (6 April 2026) and Clear Admit (9 April 2026). Deadlines, essays, references, tests, English rules, interview guarantee and admissions criteria: Tuck’s Applying to Tuck page. Class of 2028 figures: Tuck class profile. Class of 2027 figures: Clear Admit’s Tuck Class of 2027 profile (November 2025). Acceptance rate and peer costs: Poets&Quants analyses of U.S. News data and school budgets (2026). Costs, scholarships and loans: Tuck’s cost of attendance, financial aid FAQ and loan programmes pages. STEM: Tuck’s Management Science and Quantitative Methods Option page. Interview background: Tuck admissions blog, “Interviewing at Tuck” (31 July 2018). Employment: Tuck employment statistics for the Class of 2025. We will update this guide when Tuck posts its 2026 employment report or changes its 2027-28 application.
I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.
