Calling All Duke Fall 2010 Applicants! (MERGED)

Pino - that's the prof you mean. He's a riot.

Does anyone know if Duke has an "admissions blog" like some of the other schools, in which they give updates on the interview invite, admissions call, etc.?

Oh no! Called out. That was something I was working on last year, but we never got it off the ground. I don't know if my successor has plans to get that going or not.

any thoughts on attacking question 1 vs question 3? of course question 1 is the typical "career goals" but the second part seems to be asking "why Duke" and question 3 is all about fit/why duke. seems like i'm answering the same question twice. should i leave the second part of question 1 more generic and just make it "why an MBA"?

questions posted for reference:
1. Describe your vision for your career, your inspiration for pursuing this career path, and the role of The Duke MBA in achieving your goals (this seems like why Duke). If you are interested in a specific concentration or joint degree program, please discuss in this essay.

3. Individuals choose a business school for many different reasons. Through your research, what attributes or characteristics of The Duke MBA program have most resonated with you and why? (this is definitely why Duke) How do you plan to contribute to the strengthening and enhancement of those attributes and characteristics during your time at Duke and beyond?

Your thoughts on Duke optional questions: those who have already applied how you approached the optional question.

If you don't have any extenuating circumstances to write about, could you still write some new stories that would strengthen the candidacy. Or, it would be better to leave the optional essay. Please share your thoughts.

Anyone else find it odd that Duke hasn't updated its class profile yet? Most business schools wait three months after graduation before publishing stats and employment numbers, so I'd think Duke would have updated its website by now.

I asked an admissions officer after an info session one night when they planned to update the class profile, but she didn't reveal anything (although she did smile really wide at the question). Thought I'd share because I found her reaction interesting... Makes you wonder what she knows that we don't

I just came from Cornell's site and the most recent class profile I came across was for class of 2009 and a 2008 employment report. I also find it odd that certain schools are very delayed in providing the stats applicants care about.

And the whole "apply for only $50" seems a little suspect too...

If you have something substantive that is important - clarification, really specialized info - then share it. Don't think of it as "feel free to write an additional essay just because there is space."

Ok, this is my recollection of a conversation I had with Liz Riley Hargrove last summer:

1. Is about your career. Where are you going, and why? How will Duke get you there?

3. Is about YOU, as a person. How will you fit into our community? Why do you want to be there? How will you contribute? How will you grow?

I can definitey see that there might be some overlap. For example, the very team-oriented, consensus-driven culture of Fuqua resonated on a personal level. At the same time (and in hindsight), I see that that culture really prepared me to succeed in my current job, where the culture is similar to that of Fuqua. Some arbitrary line-drawing is probably necessary.

Does that help?

Is anyone going to the event in NYC on Monday? I assume business casual is acceptable?

Good insight.

For what it's worth, here are how mine shaped up.
1) Was mostly a summary of where I wanted to end up, including various experiences that I've had in my career that led me to that point. Since I am also planning on HSM, most of my why Duke portion of this essay was tailored to HSM, with a few broad Fuqua things as well.
3) I spent half of the essay describing four key areas that I saw at Fuqua and why they made me feel that Duke was the right fit for me. The other half I spent describing the areas that I would get involved in. So I approached it from sort of a why does duke fit me and why do i fit duke aspect - kind of what can you do for me, here's what I can do for you.

In for R1

Realize I stumbled upon the site a little late, but I applied EA. Did an open interview in mid-September.

Applying R1 - didn't make it to EA. If I get in, it will be Duke. I visited several schools last year, but I loved Duke.
Writing essays now, hopefully everything will go well!

In for R2! Good luck to everyone!

Just wondering - has anybody applied EA and already attended an open interview had their app status change from "Submitted?" First time going through this and I submitted at the very tail end of the window, just trying to get a better picture so i can stop checking the app website every 2-3 hours.

Thanks in advance!