- 1st Congratulations on being accepted to both GSB & Tuck! That's phenomenal...
- 2nd, your username looks familiar, I wonder if we've communicated in the past.
- 3rd... If you can visit GSB, VISIT GSB! As you know from your visit to Tuck, there's nothing like setting foot on campus and being able to take in the atmosphere and speak to current students face to face. There are a couple of things that I would suggest if you aren't able to visit GSB, but actually, even if you are able to visit, you should do these things anyway if you haven't done so already.
- Assuming you've reached out to students at both schools, I would do so again even if you haven't been in touch with them since the initial contact. If you haven't been in touch with anyone, then I applaud you for being accepted without having done so, but my hunch tells me that you have.
Now the walls can come down a bit when you speak with these people since you're no longer an applicant but rather an accepted student. Trust me, they'll be a little bit more candid with you now. One questions I would ask these students is if they themselves, or if they have a classmate who was deciding between GSB & Tuck or vice versa.
So to the GSB student you'd say "Do you have a classmate you could put me in touch with who was also accepted to Tuck?" and the opposite to the Tuckie who was accepted to GSB. Trust me, there will be someone from both schools. And since each school has a small class size, those students know everyone. If it's not a direct connection, they'll ask one of their friends if they know of someone else. I can guarantee that at Tuck they'll even go into the class above or below them to direct you to the right person. If you can find someone who got into both schools (at each school) who also has a military background then that's even better!
- If you have a family, you'll definitely want to put your partner in touch with the partners/wives/spouses at each school. Remember, it's going to be a life-change for him/her too so you want to make sure that they've comfortable. Living in Palo Alto is VASTLY different from living in Hanover....remember, you'll be busy 100% of the time - especially during the 1st year.
- At this point it's not really about the rankings as both schools are ranked well. Now it becomes more about the softer side of things. You'll learn the same hard-skills at each school so don't let that play a factor. Alumni base... job opportunities... connections... quality of life... whether or not you'll actually enjoy your classmates (although both schools vet for this) is a huge factor.
To be honest, I could go on and on about what you should do before you make the decision on where to attend. I miss that part of the process and am truly envious about the journey you're about to embark upon. Although, I am not envious about going through the core again! Shit was brutal...
