Duke (Fuqua) 2013 - Calling All Applicants

Actually I forgot, I visited Duke a couple of months ago. My girlfriend and I stayed at Hotel Indigo, near the airport. It's $75 a night and I had a great experience.

Check out the La Quinta Inn Durham Chapel Hill on Durham Chapel Hill blvd.

You're going to need a rental car anyways to get around so your hotel options don't need to be that close. The place was about 15 minutes away and had a gym (which I worked out in the night before my interview) and free breakfast and coffee (which I ate in my room while I prepped in the morning). It was a great deal at 70 bucks a night and I plan on staying there again the next time I travel out there!

Flying into RDU, but we'll prob rent a car.

Since we're getting in late, the closer to the airport the better.

BTW the millennium is only 99 a night... If thats not considered on the cheaper side, I could really get used to Durham prices

For those planning to interview on-campus and who are not getting a rental car (like me!), I know there are some hotels that have free shuttles to Duke campus. One of them is the Hilton, but I'm sure there are more.

The Washington Duke Inn (WaDuke) is actually on-campus and right down the street from Fuqua; it's on the pricier side though.

i cant find a decent flight from jfk to rdu without breaking the budget. Wonder if I should just make the 8 hour drive instead? Id rather be in my car than cramped in a connecting flight for 3 hours.

Haha. Tell me about it . I live in California and the price difference is stark. I think Jontron and aerien gave great suggestions, but Hotel Indigo is really close to the airport. It's a brand new hotel and I think they have free breakfast (can't remember)

If you have a rental car, the Holiday Inn is a decent place. Its in Durham though, outside of campus. Its about a 5 minute drive to Fuqua. Free breakfast helps too.

I'm coming from logan. Had to do a layover in phili going down... but found a direct coming back. Had to book 2 different airlines, but go it for under 300 total.

I was looking into flying to charlotte and renting a car, 2.5 hour drive... much cheaper flights


BTW La quinta booked

To all those that DO NOT plan on getting a rental car, please remember that that taxicabs from RDU to your hotel (if your hotel does not provide a shuttle) run about 30-40 bucks! And that is each way!

Also, be sure to double check where the hotel shuttles drop you off on the Duke Campus. The campus is HUGE (I gave myself a self-guided tour and regretted not wearing more comfortable shoes) so the dropoff point might not be close to the Fuqua campus. You're going to be in a suit (they say business casual for the interview but everyone I've ever seen interview comes suited) so please consider if you want to be walking around like that around the campus.

Good point -- if you're taking a hotel/airport shuttle, try to get dropped off on West Campus (where Fuqua is). If you get dropped off on East Campus, there are Duke University shuttles that go through campus with various stopping points -- be sure to get on the right one though!

Cabs directly to campus are about $30 as well. The benefit there being you can tell them to take you to West Campus/Fuqua and most cab drivers know where that is, or they'll at least get you to the right section of campus. Landmarks: Fuqua is right next to the Law School and across the street from the School of Public Policy. If you see those signs, you know you're in the right place!

I've been lurking for a while, but this is my first post! Was invited to interview for R1 and will be going to Durham to do so!

I agree that travel/hotels are tricky for this area. Rental cars from the airport look cheap right now, ~$50.

Congrats ~ I found Research Triangle to be a pretty gorgeous place

Californian here. Interviewing in San Francisco next Sat.

Is there a disadvantage (from admissions perspective) of interviewing off campus?

Thanks, man! Glad my story helped. Shoot me a message before BDW so we can meet up. Congrats again!

Hey guys just a bit of advice to those interviewing. I interviewed during the open interview period and had a rental car. I stayed at La Quinta Inn around the airport. My interview was on a Friday, but in my mind it was Saturday (ha weekdays are only for work I guess) so I failed to take into account that there might be traffic going to campus. So if you are staying at airport during the week, I would factor in traffic, wasn't too bad, maybe only 10-15 mins, but every min counts when you are going to something as important as an interview. Then when I got to campus, the visitor lot for Fuqua was closed for an event. Well I drove around looking for any other lot to park temporarily and they were all closed for events! Not sure if this was just horrible bad luck, but I ended up having to park 1/4 mile from the building and running to admissions...in my lady shoes, not comfortable...was 10 mins late and sweating profusely. Not the best first impression, but they were very nice about it! Anyways, just figured I'd let you know to make sure to leave ample time for traffic/parking related issues that might come up.

Good luck!

Great point!

Yes, there is a parking lot for interviewees near the Fuqua building but don't count on it being available since it was always full when I went. Again, Duke is a big campus with tons of events going on at all times so parking can get a bit hectic with certain parking lots on the map completely unavailable when they are reserved for said events. Please factor that in when you plan your schedule.

If you arrive early, you can always grab a coffee from Fox Center or just hang out in the student lounge. There are first-year students that are there as lounge hosts and will chat with everyone, it was one of the clearest ways that you can witness Team Fuqua in action. For those that are work up a bit of sweat before the interview, there are restrooms on the first and second floors near the interview offices. I interviewed in September and it was still a little humid so those restrooms were a life saver!

That parking lot was also full when I went! Such a pain trying to figure out which side street to park on!