Dartmouth’s Tuck School vs. Harvard Business School

The most obvious similarities between Dartmouth Tuck School of Business and the Harvard Business School is that they are both in New England, offer a general management approach to the MBA, teach largely on the basis of case study, boast some of the best classroom teachers in business education, and have access to the world’s leading and most prestigious employers of MBAs. They differ in another important aspect as well: both institutions are almost completely focused on full-time MBA education. There’s no part-time MBA program, no Executive MBA program, and no business undergraduates to distract the core mission of delivering the best possible full-time, two-year MBA experience. So the faculty, with the exception of their executive education work, isn’t pulled in as many directions as they are at other B-schools.

Top Ten Reasons to Go to Dartmouth?

  1. You didn’t get into Harvard, but were lucky enough to get into Tuck, one of the five best MBA programs in the world.
  2. The MBA alumni network is arguably the best and most supportive of any business school.
  3. You want a premium MBA experience at a school that is completely focused on the full-time, two-year MBA and not a host of other programs that detract from it.
  4. You thrive in smaller, intimate settings.
  5. You prefer a highly collaborative and supportive student culture.
  6. You want to create important and enduring relationships with fellow students.
  7. You want to create important and lasting relationships with faculty.
  8. You want a general management perspective.
  9. You like small towns and tend to dislike big cities.
  10. You adore the outdoors.

Top Ten Reasons to Go to Harvard?

  1. It’s number one. And if you’re from the U.S. or outside the U.S., you’ll never have to explain why you went there.
  2. It’s number one for lots of reasons: incomparable resources, prestige scale, the status of its alums, and the very best faculty most attuned to real business, not merely academic research.
  3. You want a premium MBA experience at a school that is completely focused on the full-time, two-year MBA and not a host of other programs that detract from it.
  4. You thrive in a large environment and don’t mind being a small fish in a bigger pond.
  5. You think the case method of teaching is the greatest invention ever discovered in education.
  6. You want an MBA with a general management perspective.
  7. You like the idea of competing with people in and outside the classroom for attention, grades, internships, and jobs.
  8. You don’t mind living up to extremely high expectations that are inevitable the moment you say you have a Harvard MBA.
  9. You dislike small towns and enjoy major yet manageable cities.
  10. You love Boston or want to live in Boston and root for the Boston Red Sox.

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