Calling all Duke (Fuqua) Fall 2009 applicants!

But at the end of the day, it's the call of the individual to market her/him-self as they see fit. If someone is from IT and thinks that it's a good idea put their resume in the PE book, it's their decision. Whether we agree it's a good one or not...that's why they call them opinions

cheers,
ac.

*gasp* I'm actually going to agree with terp06 on that. No harm of course in joining the PE club if you're an IT veteran but I think terp06 was commenting on the short- to medium-term viability of making such a transition.

Despite the fact that a lot of MBA applicants are career changers, switching over to PE/HF/VC or even IB without any kind of prior background in that field is absolutely challenging, as is accomplishing the opposite.

In fact, I was recently speaking to an alumnus who's a Director at a bulge bracket in New York and he was explaining how hard it is for a former banker pursuing an MBA to try and get hired from IB to retail. Recruiting activities begin in earnest within a few months of you starting your first year in b-school and to try and make the argument that you've spent 4 years building models and preparing pitchbooks and now suddenly want to check out a summer internship that focuses on CPG marketing sounds a little weak. If you try to make the argument that you've worked in retail for 4 years and now want to do IB, it's even weaker, I suppose.

Obviously people do end up switching careers - rhyme moved from MC to VC I believe, and pelihu from law to IB - but IIRC they both had significant and somewhat related experience earlier.

I think if you look at it very objectively, the "MBA to facilitate career change" argument actually probably makes you somewhat of a risk in the eyes of the admissions committee, especially if you're talking about transitioning from IT to PE.

I think even I can agree with that aspect of it solaris!

ac.

thanks for providing this information

Is anyone else considering their Health Sector Management (HSM) program?

Although it is highly ranked, I am somewhat skeptical of it. I am sure they have excellent placement into hospital administration, pharma companies, etc. but I am really questioning whether they place any decent numbers into McKinsey healthcare, healthcare banking, etc.

All this discussion really shows (yet again) is that you need to have done the research for yourself and you have to know for certain that the school you apply to is going to be able to offer you what you want from it. In the end, only you know your goals and if you do the research you'll know best if the school you're looking at can fulfill them.

The thing about Duke is that they should room to grow still.

As for the class makeup, I got from chemical engineering degree from one of the top rated programs in the nation and there were some "mediocre" folks there as well. That didn't affect my education at all, nor did it affect the fact that I had access to faculty that were the leading experts in the world in what they studied. Obviously, it's not the same situation in B-school (nor am I claiming Duke's faculty are the best in the world), but you can't make your decision on the class makeup. I'm sure there are some mediocre students everywhere you go. I've run into a few arrogant jerks at some top schools, but that wouldn't cause me to stereotype the entire class and not apply there because of it. And frankly, if you're going to be the worst performer in the best program, you might be better off being the best performer in a top-15 school.

terp's list is a list specific to why he chose not to apply, my list might look very much the same for a school that I've chosen not to apply to, in the end it's a decision you need to make.

Finally, the ethics scandal really means nothing, especially after the latest GMAT scandal, which just goes to prove that Duke was forced to deal with something that unfortunately happens everyday at every school (graduate, professional, or UG).

well put!
cheers,
ac.

Whoa whoa. I'm just saying tongue in cheek. Especially having spoken to ryguy & knowing his background, somewhat, I just didn't picture him applying to Fuqua. I figure he'd stick with the fin powerhouses.

With that said, Fuqua is a damn good school w/good gmatclub representation.

Shooting for round 1.

Deadlines and Essays are up:

103-p496530?t=66319#p496530

Having attended the Diversity Weekend last year, I can say that terp06 does have a point regarding the cookie cutter nature of the student body. During "Fuqua Friday" (the weekly drink beer/socialize with classmates event), I met many current students who rolled their eyes at my sustainable development aspirations (they were, "it's all about banking dude" types), and a lot had the fraternity/sorority feel going on (which is not really my thing, but hey...it IS Duke). That being said, I also met quite a few people that I feel like I could have gotten along with, and to be fair to the people I'm bashing (the banker dudes), after they finished slagging me off for my career goals, they invited me to a party

I must say that the administration did a great job in convincing me about their curriculum (the cross pollination if you will), their committment to team work, and I loved the international aspects of the program as well.

For all those reasons and more...I'm in this Round 1.

How is Fuqua for consulting for career switchers? I see some McK/B/B hires but it's possible they all had previous consulting experience.

It places well, but apparently the only office McK/B/B hires for out of Duke is Atlanta. So you may want to keep that in mind?

dammit! thanks for the info. I'm trying to go west coast post-MBA.

Any thoughts on the Early Action round this year? Especially the binding agreement
"In addition, any applications submitted to other schools must be withdrawn upon an offer of admission from The Duke MBA."

Anyone looking to apply for this round?

Ack, they changed the essay questions...

I had just put the finishing touches on my drafts. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

~Sam