Calling All Duke Fuqua MBA Applicants: 2024 Intake Class of 2026

Makes sense!

I sure hope so But on a serious note, I believe it is. 9th Street (where most of the students live) is around 35 mins walking distance from the school. So, some days you walk, some days you car pool, some days you take a bus, and some days you take a cab. Tons of options

Getting out of a waitlist that too with a scholarship..Maan . Must have been some next level relief!!

in addition to what Ankit mentioned, here’s something from a fuqua FAQ:

" I would definitely recommend a car. Many students come from New York or California and have not had a car in years, so when they get to Durham, they purchase a car. There are buses around campus, but personally, it’s easier for me to have my car to get up and go when I please. Plus, you’ll probably get involved in some off-campus activities around the area, so you may want your own transportation to get around. If you decide to go without a car, however, you’ll find that your classmates are pretty nice, and are usually willing to give you a ride to and from class! Luckily, all business students get parking passes that are fairly close to Fuqua."

it’s all about personal preference, having a car is always good, but Durham is definitely more manageable than a lot of other B-School towns, if you don’t have your own means of transport!

thanks!

You’ve no idea. But the excitement fades away once the news settles in. Then you’ve to get excited about networking, pre-mba recruiting events, pre-mba summer course work, visa arrangements, travel and accommodation arrangements, finances. It never stops

Dream. Come. True. I will never forget that moment when I got my admit call.


hahahha yes! I was so wrong to think that once you get the admit call, everything is sorted.

There’s so much to do! It’s hectic and intense, but fun in its own way!

Curious what pre-mba summer course is Fuqua offering?


I’m sure that was quite a heavy lift. Mind shedding some light on things that helped your augment your profile during WL?

Um, so you start of with MBA Math. Then there are events hosted by CMC, there’s resume work, etc. - all of it happens in the summer. There’s something called the BCA, which is basically a very detailed course to make everyone adept in excel. Then there’s BCC for some. We have a detailed to-do list that we need to keep a track of. It’s hectic, but as Tejas said, it’s fun in its own way

off*

Fantastic. It seems to be very structured.

And outside of Fuqua, if you’re recruiting for consulting or IB, you have pre-mba events which basically allow you to gather as much detail and intel as you can so that you can customize your cover letter once the recruitment starts

also network with other people from the firms you’re targeting

How did you approach conversations with adcom to best introduce yourself and get your questions answered?

I shared 2 updates with the adcom post my waitlist decision:

Update 1) I informed them about a fast-track promotion and international award that I received. Along with this, I updated them about some Product Management Certifications that I had undertaken and some updates from my extracurricular work.

Update 2) This one was very specific to WHY fuqua continued to be my top choice. Here I shared a picture of a Fuqua Tshirt that my parents had gifted me because, in their words they were "100% sure that the call would come!". I spoke about my experience of interacting with the Fuqua students, admissions committee, faculty and how it stood out from other schools giving personal stories from a few of these interactions.

Just be real. Don’t network for the sake of it. Have genuine questions about the school and try to learn about the school as much as you can. Do your research in advance and make the most of the 15 minutes you get!

Very cool - thanks.

Thanks!

I missed this question, but unlike Tejas, I had zero chill. I sent in 10-11 updates ranging from an updated test score, to professional accomplishments, to new volunteering projects that I started, to MBA Math, to additional recommendation, to an updated resume. After every update, I used to schedule a coffee chat with the admissions officer I connected the most with and gave them a quick summary of the updates that I had submitted after which I asked "what would the adcom like to see next that would help them extinguish any concerns they might have pertaining to my candidacy".

Another relevant advice: DO NOT be restricted by your geography’s admission advisor. I tried connecting with Morgan but I never felt that connect with her unfortunately (and that’s okay). So, I reached out to Meghan Pollard and she was literally my advocate and cheerleader throughout the process.

Fun fact: I gave this "have zero chill" advice to two other waitlisted applicants and they got admitted 5 and 10 days after my admit respectively. Being optimistic and demonstrating interest works - at least for Fuqua.