Duke (Fuqua) 2013 - Calling All Applicants

Guys' does anyone know anything about Duke's scholarship stats and when do they inform of scholarship decisions?

something like 1/3rd of the class gets some sort of a scholarship. They inform you within a few days of your acceptance by phone call, and also a letter in your admit package.

For those who interviewed in Durham, what was the dress code that you adhered to? Just trousers and dress shirt? No suits, no tie?I know the emails they sent out mentioned business casual, but I'm just taking an informal survey anyway. Appreciate it!

When I was there about 50% were wearing suits and 50% were wearing either shirt/tie or shirt/sports coat. All depends on what you feel more confident in.

ahh don't remind. Is MBA really worth it? Well, I am not going to worry about the tution until I get in somewhere.

When I was there, none of the interviewers were wearing a suit but all of the interviewees were in suits

I think I was probably the last to interview for R2 today at 4:00, I feel like I had a good interview and everyone else I talked to seemed to have a good interview as well, so I have no idea what that means about how they are going to select. There's no question I received during the interview that has not been previously mentioned on this thread. Good luck everyone.

They will review our app again and try to connect it with our interview responses. The countdown begins. I can't wait to put on my Duke T-shirt.

I just had my interview in SF. Very conversational, no curve balls - standard questions. Why MBA? Why Duke? How will you contribute? What do you like to do for fun? Good luck everyone!

Just completed my interview in Shanghai. My interview lasted exactly 45 minutes, and most of the questions (at least early on) were on the list on page 56.

I was a bit surprised that I wasn't asked more about my strengths/weaknesses, though we discussed in some detail the challenges I have faced in my career to date. I could have done a better job of explaining why I am changing industries, and nearly referred to Durham as Darden (oh noes!). Fortunately I caught myself.

My interviewer was a recent alumna, and I was frankly quite impressed. She is in my target industry, so I hope that my explanation of what I expected post-Duke were on-track.

There are a few hours of activities in Shanghai this afternoon, and I hope to gain a bit of further insight/leave a bit of an impression.

Zomba, it was nice meeting you at the Fuqua session today. We'll have many things to share on "how to raise a baby" in the future if we are both lucky enough to make it to Fuqua. Good luck, man.

Likewise, omnivorous. Quite a few impressive folks this afternoon at the networking event. Best of luck!

Of the ~25 applicants that I met today, nearly all would be solid admits. I was more impressed with this group than many of the others I've seen (even from schools that may be more 'prestigious'). The extensive networking time was a nice touch, as I wasn't able to spend time with fellow applicants at other hub interviews. Such an event really gave me a brief glimpse of 'Team Fuqua' in action. We are all stuck in the same waiting game now, I guess. Best of luck to all!

Fuqua has hosted a great info session in Shanghai yesterday; Russell and 6 alumni(first ever pure male team!) presented and shared helpful advice for those who will start their MBA soon. Hope this threat will be helpful to friends who are interested in Fuqua.

1. Enjoy life in Duke. Academic achievement is not the only objective in B-school! They say the ratio of single female to male is 6:4, you know what it means. 2 out of 6 presented alumni got their girl friends during MBA; that's a 'love' concentration of Duke MBA. Those who are married, you can have a 'family' concentration, too. MBA is the best timing to have a baby, one Fuqua alumnus had two baby born in Durham!
2. Choose wisely. A lot will happen in Fuqua and you are going to be overwhelmed if your aim is to be at the top in all aspects. It can be stressful, but as long as you have learned to prioritize, you'll get over it and enjoy.
3. Be active in clubs. Club involvement will not only broaden your network, but also provide you on-the-ground stories that you will need for job interviews. Clubs will also be helpful for those who choose the love concentration.
4. Get parking permit, it will save you a lot of time.
5. Be humble. You are going to study using your second language, the US students will be smarter than you, and their math is as good as yours! Be prepared for the pressure, and stay optimistic.
6. Learn more about classmates. Don't focus only on job hunting, you will find a well-paid job at last; you should spend more time with classmates, those wise people from around the world, they are treasure.
7. Have fun. Chinese students, bring your Tang suit or costumes to Durham, you'll need them in some Fuqua events such as Asian Fuqua Friday. If you are a good singer, dancer, etc, you'll have chance to perform at Fuqua Idol and Fuqua's Got Talent. If you are a good cooker, congratulations, this will make you very popular among classmates!

Everything sounds good except this piece of advice. I know my situation in NYC will be different than somebody at Duke but still... With the stress of classes, clubs, job hunting and massive piles of debt the last thing my wife and I would want right now is to add kids to that mix. Having a baby during b-school would be terrible. Don't get me wrong, we want kids eventually but ~5 years from now sounds much better!

Em.. Sorry for the misleading, the original advice is: well, if you want to have kids, B-school will be a good timing. At least you'll have more flexible schedule to stay with family and take care of them, compared to when you have a full time job. "Best timing" was used to please my wife

There is an added advantage in your case, having a child while at school means your child will get US citizenship. Depending on your long-term plans in life that could be beneficial.

It was funny to see how many people erred on the side of caution with the dress code. I stuck to business casual (a dress), but I would say about 75% of folks wore suits. The other 25% wore shirt/tie/slacks, jacket/shirt/pants (or skirt) or dresses.

The interviewers all were wearing business casual.