Calling all Duke (Fuqua) Fall 2009 applicants!

I'm in for Round 1!

Count me in for round 1.

ryguy904,

Really? I didn't figure you for a Fuqua student. Hmmm

I am in for Round 1 as well. Have my outlines done for last years questions, here's to hoping they won't change them much!!

~Sam

kd,

What'd you call me?

Lol, just kidding. Always have to have a contingency plan. I'm really gunning for Columbia, but you never know what's going to happen. I'm also taking a strong look at Cornell (their investment management program looks pretty sweet with their trading floor, proprietary quant trading systems, and immersion prgoram. An NYU reapp may be in the picture as well as Chicago and Anderson. My goal is to nail down my shortlist this weekend. Ross and Darden are also in the running. But again, Columbia is the top choice by a wide wide margin.

-ryguy

Ok, and what's the typical Fuqua student like, kidderek? Just curious.

I'm hoping to learn more about Duke in the coming months, the school sounds great on paper but I am yet to meet any current students/alumni to get first hand perspectives on what life there's all about. Not a huge sports fan and I'm not crazy about Durham either, but I do believe Duke is a bit underrated at least in terms of the recruiting opportunities and strong alumni network its graduates enjoy even outside of the South - I'm referring specifically to the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic.

I'm possibly in for R2.

Well I don't necessarily want to bash Duke but I guess it already started. I bashed Duke for 4 years during UG so I guess I'm a pro at this. I was considering adding Duke to my roster, but I have decided against it. There are a few things that keep me away from Duke:

1) I know 2 people who are in the Class of 2010. They are both very mediocre guys and Duke was the only school that accepted them. I would hate to be around them and have them as 2nd years when I am a 1st year.
2) The ethics scandals have brought down my view of the school - even if it may be behind them.
3) The brand name does not hold very much weight on the West Coast.
4) Duke has an astromonically high acceptance rate - this doesn't make for the highest quality student body.
5) It seems more like a marketing/GM school than a finance school. The banks recruit there but they don't seem to take Fuqua students as seriously as students from Columbia/Wharton/Chicago.
6) I'm a TERP.
7) A lot of people despise Duke and Duke students. This applies more to the UG institution than Fuqua, but UG reputations certainly carry forward to the graduate schools as well.

And I leave you with the stereotype:

11.) Duke - Pros: Maybe the best health care management program in the
country. Great brand name, especially in the south. Strong team culture.

Cons: Relatively young MBA program, so alumni network is small. As such, the
brand cache just isn't there yet. People that come here seem very cookie
cutter to me, not in a bad way, just very comfortable and relatively
unambitious.

Office Space Character: Samir (Peter's co-worker and friend). Samir is a
nice guy, very practical and unassuming. You get the feeling that he's happy
as long as he has a job in hand. Won't make waves, won't screw up, and won't
take any risks. But he's a happy guy, and will have a house with 2.2 kids
and a dog in a suburb somewhere (probably Durham).

terp06 - do you want to PM me and tell me more about these two fellows you know in Fuqua's Class of 2010? I promise to take your feedback for what it's worth.

I am interested in what you have to say, but I do think you're overestimating the impact of a somewhat higher acceptance rate. Darden's acceptance rate is probably a point or two higher than Duke's, yet I doubt anyone here will make the argument that its student body is mediocre. Or that Yale's acceptance rate in the low teens suggests that it is on par with the Ultra Elite. Moreover, if I've learnt something from my undergraduate experience it is that a high acceptance rate does not a poor quality student body make.

Will the Fuqua Ambassadors please stand up and be heard - is Aau still around?

I believe the quality of Yale's student body has been climbing as their acceptance rate has been going down.

The 2 guys I know fit the "stereotype" mentioned above. Not very ambitous, very cookie cutter and conformist, won't make waves, and will probably just end up in middle management somewhere.

See below for Darden and Tuck PE resume books. There is a notable difference in quality of candidates, IMO.

https://student.darden.virginia.edu/DPEC ... esumes.pdf

https://student.darden.virginia.edu/DPEC ... esumes.pdf

https://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pecenter/ ... 061208.pdf

Those PE resume books are helpful, terp06. Thanks for posting those.

I must say I'm not a good judge of the quality of work experience, but as far as undergraduate institution "brands" are concerned, I see a range spanning the mediocre, the respectable and the impressive in both Darden and Tuck's books. Please share if something more specific caught your eye.

As I said, your perspective is certainly interesting - hopefully it will spark intelligent debate on this thread - and if nothing else, provide us with fodder for future conversations with Duke alumni.

The most obvious thing that caught my eye is that several of the Tuck students already have private equity experience and/or had private equity internships during their summer. There are very few Darden students that can claim either of those. Also, there seems to be a lot more people from IT in the Darden book. No offense to people from IT, but I'm not sure what they're doing in the private equity club - it's difficult enough as it is for people with finance backgrounds to break in.

Haha, my sister has threatened to disown me if I apply to Duke...I think she's only half kidding, I'm pretty sure if I were to end up at Duke she wouldn't come visit me. In fact, I kind of don't like myself for thinking about going to Duke , but it's a good second choice if Kellogg doesn't work out. Oh well, if I do end up there I guess I'll just cheer against both UNC and Duke in the battle of the blues and I'll feel a little better about myself.

Not to be too rude, but don't you think its bad form to crap on a school in its "calling all applicants" thread? Not saying I agree or disagree with your assessment of the school, just saying this may not be the appropriate place for the commentary.

Regardless of the above comments...I'm in for Round 2! (Maybe R1 if I can get 4 other applications in before the deadline)

Thanks for sharing your opinion terp. Could you elaborate? I'm not sure I understand why people from IT shouldn't be in the PE club? I would think it indicates their efforts towards transitioning from IT to PE...not a bad thing in my book.

It's simply not realistic. PE firms almost exclusively take people who have previous PE or Investment Banking experience. They may take a handful of M/B/B consultants, but that's about it. If someone from IT is interested in breaking into PE in the long-run, they would be wise to get into investment banking in the short-term right after school and make the transition later. Although I see nothing wrong with joining the club, and finding out more about PE, I think it is sort of over-the-top to put your resume in the PE resume book as it is premature for an IT person to be searching for PE opportunities.

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.