Duke (Fuqua) 2013 - Calling All Applicants

yes i got it last night, subj line "Incoming Student Website Invitation"

Not sure how I missed that email...turns out I got that too and didn't notice it.

Thanks

So did you get some "additional information" from admissions??? We're sitting on the edge of our seats...

Lol! I called her back twice but couldn't catch her. Based on the time of day i'm guessing we won't get to touch base until Monday. I know exactly who the woman is though, I've met her a few times over the years, so I'm really anxious to speak with her!

and of course this will probably more than make up for my earlier grumbles about not getting a phone call on decision day. :-X

Bummer. Well, fingers are crossed for good news on Monday!

Hi all,

Every morning since the decision was released, I've woken up thinking that I dreamt the whole thing up. I've logged into the site a couple of times since just to confirm that the decision is still an admit.

I haven't suffered from lackofcontactitis because I've called the local alums who helped me through the process, and their excited reactions at my success was just the icing on the cake. Well, the first layer of icing. The second layer of icing was when I received a phone call from Megan around mid-day EST on Friday to tell me that they were going to help me out with some $$$.

My feet haven't touched the ground since. So blessed...

I am hoping I could get some of your advice on a perhaps unique situation I'm currently in with respect to Duke.

I work at a relatively small firm. Other than myself, there are two other guys (guy A and guy B) from my firm who are applying to b-schools this year (Duke and others).
It turns out we are applying to almost exactly the same schools in the same round.A

Guy A and myself have not gotten recommendation letters from our current supervisors at the firm because they would be upset if we stated our intentions to leave. So we have gotten letters from clients, former firm, etc.

But Guy B has gotten letters from current supervisors at the firm. The reason he was able to do this is because he quit last fall, then asked for the letters. However, despite the fact that his employment has ended and he has not come to work for the last few months, on his application he stated that he is still employed at the firm and will be employed until the spring of this year. The current supervisors who wrote the letters agreed to keep this a secret from adcoms.
He even sent around an email on the last day telling us to basically to lie if adcoms or background checkers called.

Basically what he's been doing since fall is sitting at home exclusively working on his MBA apps, retaking the GMATs, going on campus visits, etc.

I truly think what Guy B is doing is really really unethical and it also damages my and Guy A's chances because we're applying to the same schools. I don't dislike Guy B and generally wish him well, but I really think what he is doing is cheating adcoms, me, fellow students, etc.

Please let me know what I should do? Should I inform the adcoms about this?

You are in a really tight corner. But for virtually the whole company to agree to back his lie then sorry to say it but the integrity of your company is questionable. If you really feel strongly about reporting it, you can always call adcom to report it anonymously. But the downside of doing it anonymously is that, the school will just blacklist the company and you will also be affected so i think the best thing to do is to call and identify yourself before reporting it so they dont mix you up with the bunch or another route may be to tell them the name of that applicant who is doing that so they can single him out.

This a tough spot to be in and is really two pieces 1) Getting a recommender other than your current supervisor 2) Facing an unethical situation. For 1) It isn't a requirement to get a recommendation from a current supervisor and I don't think it's a big deal for the adcoms to not get current recommenders--they know the deal and don't want you to jeopardize your employment. This is something you can easily explain in the optional essay--which I did. The important piece is to get people who can speak to your personal and professional growth. I personally did not get one for the reason you mentioned above "firm is upset if you tell them you are applying to get your MBA" and they were only my supervisor for a few months. Instead, I got one recommendation from a former supervisor and a more senior mentor who I had a good relationship with over the years. For 2) I'm not sure you want to open up that can of worms. While it's clearly very unethical what he is doing the two of you both work/worked for the same company and it will only raise eyebrows even if you have the best intentions. Focus on making sure you have the best app possible. Finally, is the HR group at your company in on it as well? The reason I ask is that they (Duke's Third Party verification provider) will call HR to verify his employment if he is admitted. If they are not if will quickly become evident that he is not being truthful.

Does anyone know what percentage of the students get scholarships?

Also, how do they give these scholarships? Do they have a set budget of money to give away or do they try to enroll the best students with minimal amount of scholarships? What happens to the money when a student awarded with that money decides to go to another school?

Can some current student/alumni comment on the career management center at Duke? Thanks.

Two or three years ago the career management center (CMC) wasn't so great. They were lacking in the number of staff needed and the quality of staff was so-so. Over the past couple of years there has been major changes however, especially in light of some of the lower rankings Fuqua received on the CMC side. To improve things, they hired 10 additional staff members to bring the CMC to 30 full time employees and did a major reorg so staff was better aligned with student needs. If you're concerned about job placement, you can take a look at the most recent Fuqua employment report here: https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/mba_recruitin ... tatistics/

has anyone else received an email from the fuqua buddy program?

Yes, just got mine. Am meeting with a local alumnus on Tuesday anyway, so hopefully that'll help with the first round of questions...

Just got mine as well

I am an international candidate and have been contacted by my fuqua buddy over email. Still no call from the adcom about any scholarship. Any idea whether the adcom will still be calling for $$ this week or is it the end of my dream to get any dollars?

PS: Not disappointed at all. I would love to be a Dukie, whether I am paid for it or not