Hello
bb,
Thanks for your insights and apologies for the late reply, I was holed up working on my R2 applications and interviews.
I do have an update on my conundrum between Duke and Tuck. Just as I was making up my mind to go to Duke, Tuck has matched the scholarship amount so the difference in COA has halved to $35K and I do believe in the long run $35K shouldn't be too big a factor. So I'm not considering cost any more and am back to square one again!
I've also had the chance to think deeper into other aspects such as the smaller alumni base at Tuck, brand name in my home country, weather, etc., and realized that the only two factors that are actually important to me are:
1. Fit and Culture - Where I like Tuck better, I like the community being close-knit and I interacted with admitted students from both schools over the last 2 months from my country and felt more at ease with the Tuck folks
2. Tech recruiting options - Where I like Fuqua better (And with apple, google opening campuses in the triangle area it seems as if the gap will only widen, I was also surprised to see the sheer number of folks going to Apple from Fuqua, which seems to be more than some M7s too and in some roles exclusive to Fuqua!). One other interesting insight I saw here was that though Tuck doesn't place too many people in Google and Microsoft right out of B-school, there are a good number of people who do MBB and end up in these firms in 3-4 years' time, which seems like a good option too
Essentially my heart's pointing toward Tuck because of the culture and since I believe I'll enjoy the whole experience a little more and I like the peer group better but logically Fuqua seems better since it opens up opportunities at Apple, Google, and Microsoft. (And potentially lose an option to go to Apple if I go to Tuck, If you didn't make it out already, Apple is on my dream company's list
)
Any new insights basis these new updates?? Also, thank you for creating this tool, It has helped me immensely over the last 2 years right from GMAT prep to B-school interviews and everything in between and it is now helping me in choosing the right program for me too!