Calling all Duke (Fuqua) Applicants (2016 Intake) Class of 2018!!

FROM Fuqua Current Student Blogs: The Fox Center: Fuqua’s Social Hub

A visitor to Fuqua would be forgiven for wondering why the word “fox” is uttered so frequently by students, faculty, and administration alike. A year into my Duke MBA, I could not possibly tell you how many hours I have spent in the Fox Center. It truly is the hub of our business school, and where students meet up to eat lunch, where informal team meetings and coffee chats occur, and where friendly games of table tennis take place on an ostensibly constant basis. During the warmer months, students take advantage of the gorgeous North Carolina sunshine by spending breaks in between classes relaxing or studying on 1 of the 2 outdoor terraces. Professor Shane Dikolli explaining the rules of the faculty vs. student ping pong tournament to a student and Dean Bill Boulding Fox is also, of course, the home of Fuqua Friday. I firmly believe that the opportunity to leverage the informal setting of the Fox Center to kick back and relax with classmates and faculty over a beer is an irreplaceable and unique part of the Duke MBA experience. Lunch in the sun on the front terrace Looking past the ‘daily grind’ of life as an MBA student, the fantastic space plays a critical role in extracurricular life at Fuqua. As one of the co-chairs of Blue Devil Weekend, I was part of the team that organized the club and housing information fair, held in the Kirby Winter Garden—the large open area that is part of the Fox Center. This involved inviting all of the professional, diversity, and activity clubs at Fuqua, as well as numerous Durham housing complexes, to showcase themselves to prospective students over the course of the weekend. Separately, I helped organize a world trivia event in the Fox Center as part of my duties as global awareness representative for the International Business Club. Clearly, a great deal of learning occurs at Fuqua on a daily basis, perhaps most obviously in each of the classrooms that line the main hallway. That said, I’m constantly astounded by the sheer amount of collaboration, knowledge transfer, and enjoyment that takes place in the Fox Center—which is why I genuinely believe it is Fuqua’s social hub. Watch what a relatively quiet day looks like during lunch in the Fox Center: The post The Fox Center: Fuqua’s Social Hub appeared first on Duke Daytime MBA Student Blog.

FROM Fuqua Current Student Blogs: Networking with Alumni: The Career Search in California

I remember looking at the calendar for the first 2 terms of school and thinking how great it was going to be to have fall break between them. But one thing that we learn as we start the MBA journey is the meaning of the word “fulltime.” Literally, there is very little time that is not invested in academic, career, or social activities. The same went for that 10-day break between fall terms 1 and 2, but the experience I had during it could not have been greater. I was fortunate to be able to return home for 3 days to see family, yet still get to experience 2 of Fuqua’s healthcare Week-in-Cities trips to Los Angeles and San Francisco. We have heard about these trips—filled with on-site company visits and networking with alumni and recruiters—all during the first term, and we were finally ready for that experience. Los Angeles Our group of students in L.A. was heavily international, with students from China, Korea, a few Americans, and me (from Argentina). We started the trip by visiting Amgen. We not only had the opportunity to meet with the commercial and finance teams, but we also got to tour the campus, review a business case, and discuss opportunities for MBA internships. On the same the day, we headed to Essia Health (a medical scribe services company) where we met a Fuqua alumnus who was more than open to our questions, and who gave us great career and life advice. The following day, we visited Kaiser Permanente and Medtronic where we had the opportunity to see how medical devices are manufactured and how they work. Both days provided great insights about biotechnology, medical devices, not-for-profit health plans, and the medical scribe business. San Francisco In San Francisco, our 2-day trip started with Genentech where we had the opportunity to learn about the company’s collaborative culture, the emphasis on people, and the opportunities for MBAs. We also got to visit Intuitive Surgical where they surprised us with a unique experience. We got to test their robotic surgery equipment, the Da Vinci Surgical System, and played surgeons for half an hour! The following day had a packed agenda that required getting Ubers, walking, and having a quick lunch. That allowed us to visit Rock Health, Castlight Health, McKesson, and IMS Consulting Group, getting the opportunity to learn about venture funds dedicated to digital health, healthcare IT, medical-surgical supplies, pharmaceutical distribution, and healthcare consulting. The Value of the Experience It is true that the MBA gives us the opportunity to switch careers and/or functions, but this freedom requires introspection. It is easy to lose sight of what we had as our main objective, and follow the path of others. Since you get to choose where you want to go and how many sectors you would like to explore during Week-in-Cities, it gives us a chance to see if a certain industry or multiple industries are of interest. These trips allow us to get to know the companies we would like to work for, and for them to get to know us as well. This might sound familiar—it’s a similar process to  visiting universities when applying for an MBA! And I think in both cases, it is a matter of finding the right fit. Week-in-Cities gave us a unique opportunity to learn from many players and aspects of the healthcare industry. This is helpful when it comes time to narrow our preferences and tailor our recruitment efforts to what interests us the most, and where we see ourselves in the near future. The experience is definitely something that I would recommend for every first-year MBA—it is a chance to discover more about your passions and to determine your future. The post Networking with Alumni: The Career Search in California appeared first on Duke Daytime MBA Student Blog.

Duke Fuqua MBA for a Star Cruise Mariner - An Interesting Success Story

Ever heard of the Star Flyer? It is one of the most popular and well-known cruise ships in the world, and was also extensively featured in a major Bollywood movie in 2001. Now, meet Avinash Deori, who is not just part of the staff that ran the Star Flyer, but also helped extricate the ship after it was stuck in an infamous landing incident. When Avinash began working with GyanOne, he immediately came across as a very focused and diligent professional. He had applied to a few other options the previous year, with little success, and now had his eyes set on a bigger prize – a top 10 admit. As a mariner / Merchant Navy professional, Avinash brought in differentiated work experience, but this also meant that his experience was not directly relevant to operations, the domain he wanted to work in post-MBA.

If Stephen Covey ever decides to write a book on the 7 habits of highly successful applicants, two habits that he should certainly feature are resilience and rigor. Throughout the application process, Avinash showed exceptional resilience and thoroughness. Whether it was contacting Fuqua students, understanding the school culture, or conducting research to see if the school could really help him achieve his aims, he did it all very well. When GyanOne provided feedback on his essays, Avinash did not hesitate to make just slight changes, but even rewrote his entire essays to better express himself and his goals. At each point, he scrupulously understood Duke and Fuqua principles and policies and strictly adhered to them.Entreprenuership At Duke Fuqua MBA

This post was first published on the GyanOne Blog

FROM Fuqua Current Student Blogs: Your Fuqua Classmates are Everything

I’m still learning how meaningful the relationships with my Fuqua classmates are to me. To be fair, I’m one of the older members of my class. At 33, I’ve probably loathed the long hours more than most. And to be honest, I can be grumpy at times. Thankfully, I can lean on my military experience to help my teammates and me through those periods of sleep deprivation and anxiety from academics that we all face in a top MBA program—without being too deeply challenged by the stress. Despite the pressure that surrounds us, I have been profoundly affected by my classmates and I want to tell you a bit about what I’ve learned so far. Anyone reading these blogs doubtlessly knows that Fuqua is all about team culture. Should you be unaware of that, you must have been brought to this blog post by some errant Google search. In that case, feel free to head over to this entry on the principles of ‘Team Fuqua’ to learn more. If you did already know that, then let me share an example of how the Team Fuqua spirit ensures that we are all valued as members of the community. This story begins by saying that institutional portraits are never good enough for everyone—for that matter, sometimes they aren’t good for anyone. Some of my classmates fell into the less than satisfied category after we had our class pictures taken at the beginning of the program. Getting started with the photos Now, I had been a commercial photographer for a while after I left the military. I had served commercial clients such as the University of North Carolina’s career services department, and I thought I would be able to do something to help. The problem was simply that I couldn’t find the time to take photos in the midst of academics, recruiting, and professional club activities. Nonetheless, Facebook posts from classmates told me that there was a need for better headshots—a need that at times that seemed to border on desperate. That’s where my teammates come in. First, there was Michelle Jiang. She got in touch with me after I had mentioned that I’d be willing to do it. She told me, “I need a headshot! But, how can I help you do this for our classmates?” She proceeded to set up a classroom, arranged a signup process, and coordinated the entire event to ensure that we were able to support everyone who was interested. She didn’t think twice about sacrificing her time—she just executed like a great teammate. Then during the photo shoot, every one of my classmates stopped by to ask what we needed: lunch, something to drink, a snack, anything. Some classmates were bringing in changes of business clothes for peers to use, others were helping to give feedback and encouragement. What started as a small effort quickly became a community endeavor with everyone supporting one another. The remarkable thing I noticed is that when the photo shoot was finished, everyone stayed. They stayed to help complete the job and refused to let me bear the burden of packing up and cleaning alone. They stayed because that’s what teammates do. They stayed because we all support each other’s ambitions. This mentality is ingrained in the Fuqua community. A classroom turned into a photo studio   And that would be a great story, if it simply ended there. What I had set about to do for a few classmates instead turned into an incredible community experience. The next day at school, students were sharing stories about the photoshoot and asking what they could do to help me make it happen in the future. The Association of Women in Business (AWIB) reached out to ask what they could do. The Dean of the Daytime MBA program, Russ Morgan, stopped me in the hall to voice support and chat about the good things he had heard about the effort. I was blown away—but I shouldn’t have been because this is Fuqua. This is the community I bought into, it’s the community I’m glad I invested in. But most of all, I’m proud to know that even though I didn’t come from a business background, everyone treats me as a valuable member of the team. The end of this story came a few days later, at Fuqua Friday. Those who signed up for the photo shoot had all secretly coordinated to stage a special “thank you.” You don’t necessarily realize how much your classmates mean to you until you’re confronted with the reality that you’d do pretty much anything to support them, and they would do anything to support you. That’s why I chose to pursue my MBA at Fuqua. The post Your Fuqua Classmates are Everything appeared first on Duke Daytime MBA Student Blog.

I think my recommender might have also written the wrong school name. But it has now been almost 12 days since the deadline. Any recommendations on what I can do? How much does it impact my application?