{"id":43582,"date":"2018-10-02T19:19:21","date_gmt":"2018-10-03T02:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/avoid-these-5-entries-in-dukes-25-random-things-essay\/"},"modified":"2018-10-07T13:24:09","modified_gmt":"2018-10-07T20:24:09","slug":"avoid-these-5-entries-in-dukes-25-random-things-essay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/avoid-these-5-entries-in-dukes-25-random-things-essay\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoid These 5 Entries in Duke\u2019s \u201c25 Random Things\u201d Essay"},"content":{"rendered":"

Duke Fuqua\u2019s first essay asking for 25 random things about an applicant is meant to cut through boring apps like a hot knife through butter. It is meant to zero in on \u201cdry\u201d candidates and weed them out,\u00a0\u2019cause they\u2019re obviously not the right fit for Fuqua.<\/p>\n

That means you need to give \u2019em the ol\u2019 razzle-dazzle and list something exciting and entertaining! It also means you should absolutely avoid the following 5 blurbs, or at least seriously consider their pitfalls.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite food is X\u201d OR \u201cI like cooking\u201d<\/h3>\n

Alright\u2026 so what? Newsflash, EVERYONE on planet Earth eats food, and the vast majority of us have at least some idea of how to prepare it so that we don\u2019t starve. This means that this topic is THE OPPOSITE of unique, and that\u2019s just not going to work for Duke. That means that if you\u2019re going to include something food related, it MUST say something unique about you, your culture or your personality.<\/p>\n

For instance, \u201cI like cooking Chinese food\u201d is bland \u2013 there are tons of applicants who love cooking Chinese food. On the other hand, \u201cI like slow roasting my village\u2019s signature duck dish \u2013 I find working on getting the skin crisp over 10 hours develops my patience and focus, something that reminds me of the beauty of stillness\u201d is better.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like sports\u201d<\/h3>\n

Once again, big whoop. This extremely common activity does nothing to differentiate you from the other 7 billion people on planet Earth. Worse, unless you\u2019re Tiger, Lebron, Serena, or James, chances are you AREN\u2019T the sportiest candidate applying this year, and your on-field accomplishments will pale in comparison to the guy or girl who was in the actual Olympics.<\/p>\n

So by all means, mention that you captained your school soccer\/basketball\/croquet team, but make sure it says something else about you. Go with \u201cAs captain of my school soccer team, I once injured my hamstring mid championship. Despite the pain, I kept playing in the last half, leading my team for victory. Then, I ran for ice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh, and if you\u2019re going to plug the Blue Devils<\/a>, make sure you\u2019ve actually watched a game \u2013 they can tell if you haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Anything about your parents<\/h3>\n

Repeat after me: this application is about me, the applicant, not my family. <\/em><\/p>\n

This one\u2019s particularly difficult if you\u2019re coming from a family-centric culture, as the urge to bring up mom and dad may be overwhelming. But nothing marks you as someone who hasn\u2019t led a diverse and exciting life quite like padding this essay with your parents\u2019 accomplishments and stories. So instead of \u201cMy dad overcame X hardship when I was a child\u201d go with \u201cWitnessing my family go through X hardship pushed me to overcome this challenge by improving myself through Y, leading me to become a ninja.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anything about working long hours without rest<\/h3>\n

Duke wants someone with a big brain, not the worker ant who can put in 100 hours of manual input before collapsing in a heap. You want to show that you\u2019re working smarter instead of harder, and finding ways to overcome insane amounts of work through innovative strategies, NOT coffee-fueled all-nighters at the office.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the color blue, words that start with the letter M, or carnivorous plants\u2026\u201d without telling us WHY.<\/h3>\n

That\u2019s the big secret to this list: every blurb needs to tell us something about YOU. It isn\u2019t enough to be quirky, we want those quirks to highlight your personality: approachable, dynamic, funny, engaging. You\u2019ll want to make sure the RANDOM things in your list all work in concert to speak to this.<\/p>\n

Find a funny story explaining why you developed that love for Venus flytraps. Tell us how your first love\u2019s name started with M and that inspired you to start a charity. Go deep \u2013 that\u2019s what they\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n

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For some direction on what to actually write in Duke\u2019s 25 Random Things<\/em> essay, dig into our Fuqua Essay Analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHands down the best MBA admissions consulting firm of all-time, and boy, what an incredible founder!<\/em>\u201d \u2013\u2013 Raj Patil, Founder of Admissionado<\/p>\n

Something for everyone:<\/p>\n