Fuqua (Duke) Class of 2016: Calling all applicants!

Declining my place, best of luck everyone!

Hello GMATCLUB Members,

GMATClub and Admissionado Consulting are conducting a webinar for the applicants got dinged this year. This is your opportunity to get expert guidance and build a smart strategy for the next application round/season. Webinar will be conducted by Admissionado's Founder and HBS Alum Jon Frank. Jon will share his suggestions followed by a Q&A session - this is your opportunity to ask your specific questions.

One lucky attendee will get the opportunity to have his/her (dinged) profile evaluated by Jon Frank during the session. If you'd like to be chosen for this opportunity, please email info@admissionado.com with the subject line "GMAT Club Webinar - Choose me!". Please include your name, nationality, age, GMAT score and a list of schools where you were dinged. And please also attach your essays + resume + LORs from one of your applications. Winner will be notified via email on April 16th!

Hey all isin't today the last day to receive an interview invitation ? I was wait listed in R2...my wait list letter said I would receive an interview in round 3.

Theoretically, yes. I too am yet to hear anything as of yet.

Duke releases interview decisions for everyone at same time. It's 3:50pm in Durham, so I would have expected to see the email by now, but you never know. Good Luck!

Thanks!

I would have expected it as well, but figure they are in the admissions office until 5. I thought they might do an auto-send post office closure so that they aren't bombarded right after its release. At worst, I'll call tomorrow and hopefully gain some clarification should I hear nothing.

Well, regardless, you will see an updated status online. It will either say "invited" or "not invited". In fact, I think you should check the status online right now. Sometimes it gets updated long before the email comes.

Oh, I've refreshed the site several times this afternoon, but the most recent info is the letter from March 13th saying they would follow-up with an additional email about interviewing during the next round of interviews. Just a bit antsy on my end since Fuqua is my preferred choice!

Yeah, I was waitlisted R2 and my waitlist letter said that I would "receive an emailed invitation to participate in the next round of interviews.... Please refer to our Web site for details on the interview invitation and decision release timeline."

The website (https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/daytime-mba/admissions/) says interview invitations would be sent by April 9. For round 2 they were sent well before close of business in Durham, however it's 6 pm there now and I haven't received any update. What do you all think? Has anyone received an update?

I am in the same boat as you whereishenow. I have received nothing and the forum is quite too! I wonder why...My waitlist letter clearly said ""you will received an emailed invitation to interview..please refer our website for timelines"

I chatted with admissions this morning, and those on the waitlist should receive word this afternoon.

FROM Fuqua Current Student Blogs: If you like ___________, you’ll love Durham!

As a second year with only two months left in Durham (after returning from studying abroad in Singapore), I realize that there are quite a few things about this city that I’m going to miss when I move to Pennsylvania after graduation. Now, if someone would have asked me 2 years ago when I was a prospective student “Why do you want to go to Fuqua?”, living in Durham wouldn’t have been one of my reasons. While it definitely isn’t NYC or Chicago, it’s not trying to be, and that’s what I love about it. Durham (and North Carolina in general) has a culture and a pace all its own, and here are 10 examples of why I’m so glad I chose to live in this part of the country for grad school: Entertainment                    Good Food and Drink                  Action                         Sports Housing Options                Museums                                   Friends                       Relaxing Shopping                           Travel [b]Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) has the best shows Broadway has to offer, and there’s even a student discount! The Carolina Theater is also home to comedy shows and musical acts and is located in the heart of downtown. My classmates and I have had a ton of fun seeing Bon Jovi and Macklemore at PNC Arena in Raleigh, which is where all of the major touring acts go when they’re in town. It is also home to the Carolina Hurricanes, our local NHL team, and an annual rodeo. During the spring, summer, and fall, one of my favorite venues is the Booth Amphitheater in Cary. Coordinating a bus to take you there for a concert should be on every Fuqua student’s bucket list. [b]Mateo’s, Piedmont, and Bull City Burger bring excitement to Durham’s culinary scene and offer a great place to unwind after completing a week of projects and midterms. If you’re looking for more classic dishes and a casual atmosphere, my favorite places are Dain’s Place and Elmo’s Diner on 9th Street, along with Alivia’s Bistro right on Main Street. A great microbrewery scene in Durham is something I didn’t anticipate before starting at Fuqua. Triangle Brewery, Fullsteam (started by a Fuqua alumnus!), Red Oak, and Foothills are all beers brewed within an hour of Durham and are offered at most restaurants around town. [b]American Tobacco Trail, Duke Forest, and Washington Duke Trail give runners and walkers alike green space to decompress after a long night of studying, and with plenty of road races around the area like the Tar Heel 10-miler, Bull City Classic, and Raleigh Rock n’ Roll Marathon, there’s always a reason to get in shape. Business school is the perfect time to perfect (or start working on) your golf swing, and Durham offers courses ranging from beginner to expert, all within minutes from campus, which is something you wouldn’t be able to find near a big city school. Our golf club hosts several events each year at the Washington Duke and Hillandale courses, and my friends and I have played at The Crossings and even UNC’s Finley course. As for hiking, there are several state parks around the area, and the Smoky Mountain foothills in Asheville are only a 3-hour drive. Eno River is a quick day trip on a fall afternoon and high atop my bucket list is William B. Umstead Park, next to the airport. For students and partners that are more into team or individual sports like soccer (or fútbol), softball, football, basketball, and badminton, the Duke Rec Center always has intermural leagues taking place. I was on a softball team last year and it was a great way to meet more of my classmates, spend some time outside, and use the glove I’ve had since 1st grade! Fuqua teams always do well in these leagues, and our basketball team just traveled to Harvard and took 2nd place in their business school tournament. [b]Duke sporting events are free with your Duke ID, so if the past two years have been any indication, coming to Fuqua means that you’ll have a front-row seat to one of the ACC’s finest football, lacrosse, soccer, and basketball teams. If those sports don’t keep you busy, you can always catch the beginning or end of the Durham Bulls’ season in their newly renovated stadium. There are student discounts, but buy your tickets early unless you enjoy sitting on the steep grassy hill in the outfield (I’m speaking from experience here). For those of you interested in watching highly paid individuals play sports, you can do that in Raleigh and Charlotte, which is only a 2-hour drive. Raleigh is home to the Carolina Hurricanes, our NHL team, and Charlotte boasts the Carolina Panthers of the NFL and Charlotte Bobcats of the NBA. Charlotte is also home to the NASCAR Hall of Fame and has a race or two each season, which is definitely an experience you don’t want to miss while living in the south. [b]Station Nine, Trinity Commons, West Village, Lofts at Lakeview, and Alden Place) usually has the right mix of features for most students. I have enjoyed knowing where most of my friends live and I like the fact that since most people are near each other, it is easy to arrange team meetings, group dinners, or parties. Not to mention, the convenience of being able to drive from place to place beats waiting around for public transportation, especially in the winter! [b]The Streets at Southpoint, a 15-minute drive from campus. If you’re more creative and more hip than me, you’d definitely be interested in the boutique shops around Durham and Chapel Hill. It seems like there are more popping up each day, so I can’t keep track of them, but some of my personal favorites are Magpie Boutique, STeP, and vert & vogue, all of which are near East Campus or right downtown. It’s customary for our Luxury Brand and Retail Club to have an open house at one of these boutiques where Fuqua students can browse at our own pace and even have a glass of champagne, so make sure to watch out for that event on our internal website, Campus Groups! [b]Nasher Museum of Art located on Duke’s campus. It is free for students and always has interesting special exhibitions (and its café is delicious!). If you have more time, the North Carolina Museum of Art is located in downtown Raleigh. General admission is free (with some exhibits requiring paid admission) and is host to renowned permanent collections. If you’re a science buff when you’re not being a business school student, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science in Raleigh and the Museum of Life and Science in Durham are also great options for a few hours away from finance and operations assignments. They also have adult-only events every month or so, which gives Fuqua students an even bigger excuse to visit. Not interested in art or science? Check out this website to see all of the great museums Fuqua students have at our fingertips. [b]The Retreat at Brightleaf is a popular day spa in downtown Durham along with Bella Trio. For students that choose yoga as their primary form of relaxation, there is no shortage of studios, plus you can even take free classes at the Wilson Rec Center or Brodie Gym on campus! The Durham Yoga Company, Blue Point Yoga Center, and Bikram Yoga Durham all have a large class selection from which to choose that fits into any MBA student’s schedule.

FROM Fuqua Current Student Blogs: Coffee Chats in Latin America – A “Must” in Your Application Process

Prospective students and current MBA students at a Coffee Chat in Montevideo, Uruguay. During January and February, Fuqua students hosted coffee chats throughout cities in Latin America, including Montevideo (Uruguay), Lima (Peru), Santiago (Chile), Mexico City (Mexico), and Buenos Aires (Argentina). The events were organized and led by current students while visiting families and friends in their home countries during Winter Break. Coffee chats are a great resource for applicants to have a first-hand testimony about all aspects of the MBA experience at Fuqua. Usually there is one event per city each year (December-January). In about two hours, a couple of Fuqua students talk to around 10-15 prospects. Everyone interested in knowing more about Fuqua is invited! Buenos Aires, Argentina The purpose of a coffee chat is to provide an opportunity for prospective students to ask questions in a laid-back atmosphere. Francisco Jimenez, a second-year student who led the event in Santiago says: “It was a great event! We had more than 15 applicants and were able to answer more personal questions about everyday student life. You could feel prospective students had the chance to ask all those questions that they probably weren’t daring to do in a formal info session.” Mexico City, Mexico This year there were more Latin America coffee chats than any previous year. Even more remarkable, it was an initiative that came from the students; demonstrating the commitment and enthusiasm of our community to continue developing our network abroad, while reinforcing Fuqua’s vision to be a student-led school. Yonathan Lapchik, Admissions Cabinet Member of the Latin American Student Association (LASA) explains: “We received only good feedback about coffee chats in Latin America. Prospective students found it a very useful step in their application process. Our idea is to continue developing these kinds of events in the future and establish them as another resource for applicants in their pathway to Fuqua.” Next year’s events will be posted on Fuqua’s webpage in December 2014. We hope to see you there!

Did those waiting get the email yesterday and sign up for the interview?

FROM Fuqua Current Student Blogs: Putting the Network to Work

Recruiting season is here! For first-year students, the last 10+ weeks have been a flurry of networking, cover letter revisions, and resume tweaks in preparation for summer internships “drops.” Second-year students have been a huge help by sharing their experiences, providing mock interviews, and giving tough but honest feedback. Keep in mind that all of this has occurred on top of an already demanding schedule of classes and extracurricular activities. Going through this process for the first time, I’m still impressed by the number and variety of companies that recruit on campus at Fuqua. Positions range from the classic MBA jobs like consulting and banking to more niche positions in social impact. Check out the full list of companies here! But in spite of the abundance of options, sometimes your dream company doesn’t recruit on campus. The off-campus recruiting process is difficult, unstructured and rather daunting. Luckily, the Fuqua Career Management Center (CMC) does an excellent job preparing us for off-campus recruiting during our first two terms. The CMC teaches first-year students the most effective ways to find and approach alumni and turn contacts into advocates at our target companies. I’m doing on-campus recruiting, but there are off-campus opportunities that I’m also pursuing. It isn’t easy, but this process has proved something important: network matters. I love the Fuqua network – we’re everywhere! When I search for alumni on LinkedIn, there are almost always Fuqua alums working at my target companies. Many are willing to share their experiences and insights and put me in contact with others in the organization. During this process I’ve been able to speak with alumni at cool tech companies like Airbnb, Twitter, Square, and Facebook as well as traditional CPG companies like Procter & Gamble and Clorox. The access to companies I’ve gained through the Fuqua network is incredible! For many students, the off-campus search may also involve a self-organized Week-In-Cities-style visit to alumni at specific companies. These visits are great chance to get a feel for the company culture while showing dedication and excitement for the summer internship. The recruiting process is quickly winding down. The first students with summer internship offers are the investment bankers and consultants. CPG is next followed by technology, start-ups, and other sectors whose recruiting timelines continue into the spring. I’m taking a fairly broad approach to recruiting, and targeting technology or CPG companies in both marketing and finance roles. Stay tuned for a future post to see how it all turns out!

Any waitlist candidates receive any updates since R2 decisions? Does Fuqua admit international WL candidates in as late as R3?

WL candidates are only admitted on decision release dates, and then on a rolling basis after the last decision date.