MBA Quant Experience

Since I teach the pre-term math camp at Tuck, I'll state that the need is minimal.  I take 15 minutes to explain what problem calculus helps you to solve (e.g., what is the maximum profit?) and to remind students how to take the derivative of a polynomial. This coverage is included in the MBA Math course. Students use this minimally for marginal analysis in microeconomics and some second-year teaching assistants report that it comes up again minimally in finance for bond yields.

Let me add a second-year Tuck student's perspective:

1. Does your program suggest brushing up calculus skills before starting the first year?

Tuck does not emphasize a need to brush up on calculus.

2. Does your program provide any calculus pre-term teaching?  If yes, is it done on campus?

I don’t recall calculus pre-term teaching as a part of the Tuck pre-term program. [Peter: I didn't make a lasting impression in my 15 minutes!!]

3. Have you used calculus in your MBA studies?  If yes, in what classes?

I have not used calculus extensively. I used my past strength in math to understand some of the micro-economic concepts taught using calculus but the class was not taught using a calculus based method.

4. If yes to some of the above, would you recommend that prospective students interested in your program brush up on calculus before starting or just refresh their memories on the fly during their coursework?  If you suggest advance prep, would you give it low, medium, or high priority relative to other pre-MBA preparation needs (e.g., spreadsheets, accounting, finance basics).

I suggest for students who did not take math in undergrad to refresh all of their math skills. I think that algebra is more important than calculus. Algebra is at a high priority and calculus is at a medium priority for students that fit into this category.