Hi, all!
I was admitted to Duke and Yale (not pursuing joint degrees as I should be able to take all relevant law, environmental, engineering, and science courses as a part of my daytime MBA).
My ultimate goal is to help lead energy systems transformation on international scale, and I am all in favor of assignments outside the US, although I'd like to be based on the east coast eventually.
I've visited both schools and attended classes at each and this is turning into a very tough decision.
The tightly-knit culture is very important to me and I am excited about warmer weather and beautiful nature, but Yale's cultural arena sounds pretty appealing with all arts and museums and endless variety of events and activities. I also really don't want to invest in a car...

At the moment both programs are quite equal in my eyes... Going to both Admit weekends to see which program feels more like home.

Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks.

Disclaimer: I'm at Fuqua.

Can't say much about Yale, but Duke has a solid Energy program. Quite a few of my friends have been recruiting in that space, and almost all of them have gotten positive results. Academically, as well, there's plenty to chew - there are energy seminars every Wednesday where people from the industry come to campus. Jim Rogers, former CEO of Duke energy (largest utility firm in the world), taught a course on rural electrification this year and often comes for the speaker series as well. All in all, great exposure to the industry and ample opportunities to network.

PM me if you want more info.

I would not sell warm weather and the tight knit culture at Fuqua. I'm presuming that if you got an admit, you know how strong Team Fuqua is. Hint: It is pretty awesome.

Good luck with your decision and hopefully, I'm going to see you at the BDW.

Cheers,
Jum

jumsumtak is spot on about Fuqua, as always, and I'll add my 2 cents about Yale.

The great thing about Yale in this regard is that you don't have to be a joint degree to see how much love students have for the Energy field here. There are a lot of opportunities for you to work with energy/sustainability organizations while you're still a student. There are student clubs that you can take advantage of both at SOM as well as the Forestry school, and you'll no doubt have a ton of engagement with the joint degrees as well.

Someone in my learning team came in like you, with just an interest in energy, and actually ended up applying to Forestry joint degree while he was here ... so if you want to pursue the joint degree later, you could look into that too.

Happy to connect you with folks at SOM interested in energy or any joint degrees. PM me if you want to do that or to chat further.


//Fuqua does have better weather though, sigh.
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