Review: Veritas Prep MBA Essential Guides - Dartmouth Tuck

by Beat The GMAT, Jan 21, 2014

The Essential Guides from Veritas Prep are intended to provide specific actionable insights that one can use to submit a stronger application. In today's article I will be reviewing the MBAEssential Guide toDartmouth Tuck.

OVERVIEW

Updates or major changes since the last edition

There were no major updates since the last edition. Veritas Prep attributes this to fewer changes in the curriculum, admission processes, and program offerings at Tuck. However Veritas Prepdoes a decent job of listing out the changes since last year in the section titled Whats New at Tuck.

Look and feel of the guide

Each essential guide can be downloaded as a PDF file through a link which is provided after purchase.

The Tuck essential guide has close to 40 pages (actually 35 pages, if you do not count the Veritas Prepadvertisements), which means that it is easy to get through. Thus, the guide can be read through in its entirety in about an hour. The font and spacing of the text makes it easier on the eye.

Where to buy/shipping info

All of the 14 Essential Guides are available for free download to BTG members when they sign up for a Veritas Prepcourse through BTG. New and existing BTG members can use the link below to avail of the other course discounts and bonus items offered by Veritas Prepto BTG members.

Veritas Prepis a partner of BTG and offers freebies to BTG members from time to time. Current BTG members can download up to three essential guides of their choice by providing an email address. The guides will be available for download once the email address has been verified. BTG members can select the schools via this link. Note that each guide can be downloaded five times only. If you are contemplating whether to buy any of the Veritas Prep Essential Guides and want to know if the 30$ is worth the investment, this is an excellent offer to try out some of the essential guides for free.

Price

If you dont want to sign up for a course and have already downloaded the three free guides, you can purchase the additional guides here.The price for each essential guide is 30$.

Pros

What did you like about the guide?

1. The embedded hyper-links, which take you the corresponding web page where you can read more about that course, program, club, etc. without having to search for them online.
2. As I mentioned earlier, the Whats New at Tuck outlines the changes and new additions to the Tuck program since last year.
3. The What makes Tuck Different section outlines Tucks unique aspects and strengths that every applicant should be aware of.
4. The Tuck is a Good Fit for You If section outlines few of the attributes the school looks for in applicants.
5. The Similar Programs section lists few of the schools that incorporate different aspects of the Tuck experience namely small size, teamwork etc.
6. Most of the information, especially the essays and the deadlines are up to date. Nothing is more annoying than paying for information that is not latest.
7. The Notable Faculty and Courses section lists the popular courses and faculty members at Tuck.

What is unique about the guide?

I liked that Veritas Prepincluded their analysis of the Tuck essays.

Cons

What can be improved?

1. Tips are few and far between. I was able to spot only two tips from VERITAS.
2. I would have liked to read first hand accounts of the Tuck program from student/alumni. Anecdotes, experiences and interviews from current students and alumni regarding the location, campus, curriculum/academics, clubs, social life, pedagogy, career development/recruitment, facilities etc. would provide applicants with information that is not easily available online.
3. Would like to know more about the school, admission criteria, program fit, application tips etc. straight from the horses mouth i.e. from the perspective of the ad-com.
4. Not enough information regarding the program namely the courses to pursue for specific concentrations/tracks/specializations; facilities, clubs and social and community life.

Final thoughts

The purpose of school guides is to provide applicants who cannot afford consultants a detailed and unique perspective of the school. The Tuck essential guide fails on both counts and ends up giving a skinny about the Tuck School. One could easily glean all the information in this guide from the school website and other B-School websites. For 30$, this is not worth the investment.

Rating: 7/10

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