The Decision

Don´t worry, I am not LeBron James, and this is not a special TV show in which I´ll waste your time for 2 hours before sharing what I am going to do next. So here we go:

I have decided to become a member of Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth MBA Class of 2017.

That´s it. It is settled.

It has not been easy and I have taken my time. MIT Sloan, the other remaining contender, is an amazing school (like I need to point that out, right?), and the conversations I´ve had with current students and alumni have not make it any easier for me, as with every conversation I wanted more and more to go there. How couldn´t I? The opportunities are amazing and it´s Boston! And then there is the weight those three letters carry when put together: M-I-T.

«Why Tuck then?»

As I metioned on my last post, and considering my goals ,both schools are mostly on par, and both foster strong and collaborative communities; so it would come down to style points.

Tuck has one of the most loyal, engaging and supportive alumni network, if not the most, and it showed. And that was key for me to make this decision. Indeed, after been admitted, Tuck was by far the school from which I received the most mails or calls: alumni, current students, my interviewer… even the Director of the Healthcare Initiative contacted me to congratulate me and offered to talk about healthcare-related oportunities at Tuck. They showed love, and I was not even a Tuckie yet.

Besides, I like Hanover and its rural setting. Okay, Boston is mindblowing and I love ig citites; but I also think, already coming from a big city, Hanover can provide a different experience, that of a true American college campus and it can also be a friendlier environment (and make for an easier transition) if my girlfriend ends up coming with me.

And then, there is the quite generous scholarship Tuck has offered. While this is not a decision that can be made only thinking about money, getting an MBA is expensive and requires a big effort, even more so when you are coming from Europe. Therefore it would be foolish not to consider a scholarship as a key factor.

I am aware that Sloan would provide me with a great community experience, an amazing and broader alumni network, just as many job opportunites, and even a more powerful brand wordlwide thanks to MIT (I would say both Sloan or Tuck names are not that very well known outside the MBA or business circles). I could have picked Sloan easily and be just as happy. But, beyond the reasons I have mentioned, I also went with my gut, and my gut was saying Tuck.

But we are just at the beginning of the road.

I´ll keep you posted.

Have a great week!

P.S. In a not so related topic… Patriots are Super Bowl Champions again!! It was about time…