Meet Dartmouth Tuck’s MBA Class Of 2027

TRIPOD HOCKEY & SMALL GROUP DINNERS

That’s not to say you need to be a nature-loving survivalist to fit in at Tuck, adds Berk Atillasoy. “The true enjoyment of Tuck (in my opinion) comes from the community, not just the surroundings. Many people, myself included, came to Tuck with limited outdoor interests. However, we were able to build meaningful relationships through the variety of social and professional activities the school offers, both indoors and out. The tight-knit culture and on-campus events ensure you’ll find your place and love it here, outdoor enthusiast or not.”

That’s particularly true of one of Tuck’s most hallowed traditions: Tripod Hockey. No one expects their classmates to turn into the next Connor McDavid or Wayne Gretzky (let alone stay on their feet). Reality is, the real joy isn’t learning how to wield a stick or navigate the ice. Instead, tripod hockey is a way for MBAs to step out of their comfort zones and share a few hours of laughs.

“It’s the biggest (and dare I say most important) club at Tuck, observes Ottawa native Olivia Merritt. “I love playing sports, and I love strong community. Getting a chance to play hockey with new friends from all over the world—many of whom have never put on skates before—is an incredible opportunity to connect, show leadership, and let loose after a stressful day of exams.”

Another popular Tuck tradition is Small Group Dinners. Organized by various clubs, the dinners randomly pair first- and second-year students (along with faculty members) for an evening of conversation, chuckles, and connection.

“I had my first when I attended the Women in Business Conference,” says Margaret Palko. “It’s warm and meaningful tradition where someone invites you into their home and cooks you a meal. Very few of us have family out here, and a result, this is our home away from home. I recently had the ability to host my first one with my partner for the Discover Tuck: Prospectives admissions event, and I can’t wait to do another.”

Beyond Small Group Dinners, there is always Grillington, adds Berk Atillasoy. “Over a hundred Tuckies descend upon the Killington Ski Resort to tear up the slopes and wash down parking-lot hot dogs with locally brewed IPAs from the Upper Valley. Grillington perfectly captures the essence of Tuck – it’s community-oriented, welcoming, and all about embracing new experiences together. The event is often sponsored through a collaboration between the Ski and Snowboard Club, the John Barleycorn Society (our beer enthusiasts), and Tuck South (students representing Southern roots who know how to use a smoker). It’s a blast of an event where first-year students blend with second-years, novice skiers can find their tribe for the upcoming ski season, and new friendships are made on the mountain as groups of skiers intermingle.”

HIGH RANKINGS & HIGH SATISFACTION

Rankings rarely agree, but Tuck consistently comes up as a Top 10 American MBA program. Over the past year, Tuck has ranked 6th with Bloomberg Businessweek, 8th on LinkedIn, 7th for Fortune, and 9th according to U.S. News & World Report. When Poets&Quants pulled together a composite ranking last December, Tuck placed 4th overall. However, it is the underlying data that speaks even louder. Bloomberg Businessweek, for example, gave Tuck its second-highest score for Networking. In The Princeton Review’s survey of MBA students and alumni, Tuck placed 2nd for its Consulting programming, while finishing 3rd and 5th in Management and Finance respectively. In a 2026 alumni survey conducted by The Financial Times, the school boasted the #1 Alumni Network and the #5 Career Services Center. On top of that, on a 10-point scale, Tuck alumni gave their alma mater a 9.132 satisfaction score – one of the highest in the world.

In terms of programming, Tuck includes two offerings that help explain these numbers. The first is Tuck Sprints, short electives on timely topics like managerial writing and digital regulation. In addition, the school is entering the fourth year of its Tuck Compass program, where students are paired with a Personal Board of Advisors that include a leadership coach, alumni member, and a career services adviser. Not only does the board provide one-on-one coaching, but holds students accountable for achieving various benchmarks in their career plan.

Gardner Nash is looking to transition into venture capital. He has found that Tuck offers a “full stack of support” to help him pursue this path. “Tuck pairs world class career services with the Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital, which helps you find the right people and timing. On top of that, I can shape a First-Year Project around a live diligence or portfolio need, so I can show firms I already know how to work their problems.”

A CLASS PROFILE

This year’s class includes 304 students, with applications increasing by 19.5% over the 2023-2024 cycle. Broken down, 44% of the class are women and 30% are students of color. International students make up 22% of the class and hail from 46 countries. Another 26% of the Class of 2027 brought their partners to Hanover (with 4% adding their children to the mix). 13% of the class were the first students to complete a college degree. LGBTQ students represent another 9% of the class.

This year’s GMAT average again held at 727, with the GRE coming in at 162 (Verbal) and 160 (Quant). The average undergraduate GPA also remained at 3.6. As undergraduates, the class attended 180 different institutions and majored in 85 different disciplines. In this class, Liberal Arts majors were favored. Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences majors constitute 48% of the class, nearly double both Business (25%) and STEM (22%) majors. Another 10% of the class already hold advanced degrees.

Professionally, the class has worked for 252 different employers. At 19% shares, Finance and Consulting professionals represent the largest segments of the class.  Nonprofits and Government (14%), Technology (11%), Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotechnology (9%), and Consumer Goods and Retail (6%) also account for sizable shares of the class.

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE SENIOR ASSOCIATE DEAN

What’s next on the docket at the Tuck School? In February, P&Q reached out to Joe Hall, senior associate dean for teaching and learning, to learn about new developments in the program. Here is our Q&A with Hall, where he also discusses the school’s support for first-year, alumni, and international students.  

P&Q: What have been the two most important developments in your MBA program over the past year? What type of impact will they have on current and future MBAs?

Hall: “AI continues to be a major point of emphasis, and our approach has really come into focus over the last year. At Tuck, AI is integrated, not specialized. Everyone in the Tuck community is empowered to harness AI with confidence, agility, and judgment. AI surfaces in all MBA courses, we have numerous electives dedicated to the technology, and our entire community has access ChatGPT, Claude, M365 Copilot, and more AI tools. The result of this approach is an AI-rich environment that prepares MBA candidates for a world shaped by AI, not a fragmented climate where some keep pace and others fall behind.

We have also added numerous talented scholar-teachers in the last several years—Mark DesJardine, Sonya Misha, James Siderius, Tianna Barnes, Bryan Bollinger, Anais Galdin, and many more. Their vibrancy and fresh ideas have already had a tremendous impact on our entire community, in and out of the classroom, and will continue to for years to come.”

P&Q: What do you see as the main differentiator that distinguishes your MBA program from other schools? How does it enhance the student experience and make them more attractive to employers?

Hall: “Tuck is the most trust-based and transformative learning environment in the world. Our immersive location and supportive community allow us to cultivate a setting where everyone is empowered to take risks, thrive, and lead. This results in graduates who are adept at leading teams and building spaces where everyone can succeed. Tuck MBAs have the expertise and analytical skills to develop and defend points of view and the empathy to understand and work effectively with others.

As one top hiring company of Tuck graduates recently put it: there are people who know how to collaborate and then there are “the Tuck people” who truly understand what it means to trust, work together, and get things done.”

P&Q: What types of services do you provide to first-year MBAs to ease their transition into business school?

Hall: “We provide our first-year MBAs ample opportunity to acclimate to their new lives as Tuck students. The best way to prepare students is through a structured orientation that provides the right mix of opportunity and reflection, allowing MBA candidates to find their bearings. Tuck Launch does just that. The two-week orientation program acquaints first-year students with the rigor of the Tuck curriculum and the immersive environment that typifies academic life in Hanover.

In addition to Tuck Launch, we offer numerous other resources for first-year students including a Pre-Enrollment Program for students who want to refresh their quantitative skills, pre-term trips that give students a chance to connect with their new classmates, and Ecosystem Deep Dives that offer an experiential learning opportunity in a specific industry, sector, or geography.

Thanks to Tuck Launch and our other pre-MBA offerings, students are not simply jumping in the deep end and trying to keep their heads above water but are set on a path to success from day one.”

P&Q: What types of support do you provide to international students before and during business school to enable them to better acclimate to your country?

Hall: “International students are a vital component of the Tuck community, providing tremendous perspective that enhances every facet of our school—from study groups and class discussions to culture chats and community events. Tuck supports its international students in numerous ways. First, at the beginning of their time in Hanover, we provide an optional International Orientation that helps familiarize them with the academic and business culture of the United States. The program offers academic preparation, career workshops, community building, and much more. It also introduces students to the world’s best alumni network, connecting them with international Tuck alumni around the globe.

Throughout the rest of their time at Tuck, they have access to cultural affinity clubs, Career Services coaches specifically for international students and tailored recruiting panels, events that allow them to share their culture and experiences with the Tuck community, and more. All of our students, of course, get tremendous support from our world class MBA Program Office and Tuck’s Office of Community, Culture, and Engagement and we also work closely with colleagues at Dartmouth—particularly the Office of Visa and Immigration Services—to help our international students with anything they might need.”

P&Q: How does your program integrate other disciplines, such as the liberal arts and STEM, across your curriculum to provide students with a more interdisciplinary experience in business school?

Hall: “Dartmouth is one of the premier liberal arts institutions in the world, so there is a liberal arts sensibility to a lot of what we do at Tuck. From a wide angle perspective, the Tuck curriculum is structured similarly to liberal arts schooling, offering a holistic approach to business education. Instead of training our MBA candidates to master a single discipline, we intentionally have a required core curriculum that ensures all Tuck MBAs will graduate with a well-rounded business toolkit and be prepared to succeed in any industry. Beyond that structure, we also emphasize to our students the importance of developing a wide range of skills and we offer a slew of courses to help them build those skills. A great example is Communicating with Presence, a course taught by James Goodwin Rice, a Dartmouth lecturer of acting and voice. The course teaches actor skills and behaviors, giving students a strong foundation to communicate with energy, confidence, and clarity of thought.

As for STEM, we continue to offer the Management Science and Quantitative Methods Option for students interested in a STEM-designated MBA and have bolstered the portfolio of courses available to students. Our AI offerings have steadily advanced, as mentioned above, and we continue to refine our approach each academic year. The Glassmeyer/McNamee Center for Digital Strategies remains a central resource for students interested in any tech path, providing a wealth of co-curricular opportunities.”

P&Q: What are two ways that your program is incorporating Artificial Intelligence into your programming? How do they better prepare students for the future world of work?

Hall: “We’re integrating AI across Tuck in a holistic way that ensures our graduates will be proficient with the technology in their post-MBA careers. AI surfaces in every Tuck class and we also offer a number of electives that are specifically centered on AI. This means that students get to explore hands-on practical applications in a variety of settings while they are in business school. A course like AI for Managers gives students broad exposure to how AI is used for different business tasks, from marketing to revenue management, and explores different AI tools and techniques and how they can be applied to the challenges and opportunities firms face.

Tuck faculty have opened a world of opportunity and uncovered a host of interesting pedagogical applications, too. One great example is in Tuck’s Entrepreneurial Thinking course, which was updated this academic year to give students the opportunity to see how AI can be used as a tool to advance entrepreneurial goals. Students used AI to help shape and accelerate new business ideas through facilitating market research, perfecting sales pitches, and more.”

© Copyright 2026 Poets & Quants. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Poets & Quants, please submit your request HERE.