Duke X Darden X Tuck

Question

Hello everyone,

I've been admitted to both Darden and Duke in the first round and interviewed for Tuck for the November round, expecting the decision on February 7th. Both of my admits had no scolarship offers. Assuming I don't get any money from Tuck either, if admitted, is it better for management consulting than the other two or they could be considered at the same level?

As it stands, I am leaning towards Fuqua.

Also, should I consider Johnson, if invited to interview and admitted?

I visited all the schools, except Johnson which I used as substitute for Ross once I learnt Ross had no loan without cosigner for international students. I really liked the three of them during my visit so the decision should come up to the one that will provide the best opportunities.

Thanks!

PS: I am asking this now because I'll have a short time to decide after receiving Tuck's and Johnson's eventual acceptances.

kingfalcon · Answer

While Fuqua and Darden are both great schools, Tuck places better at McKinsey, Bain, and BCG. In fact, on a per-capita basis, Tuck places right up there with Kellogg and Sloan as the best among the top schools. All three would likely give you an equal shot at say Deloitte.

Regarding Johnson, I would argue it is of the same caliber as Fuqua and Darden, but I believe even fewer Johnson students go into consulting. Assuming you got in everywhere and plan to recruit for consulting, I would rank them as follows: Tuck>Fuqua=Darden>Johnson.

BonzoX85 · Answer

Thanks. I am under the same impression, except that in Brazil it seems that Fuqua is more known than Darden and Johnson. The brazilians at Fuqua have recruited very well for consulting. There are 2-3 from each of the past graduating classes at Mckinsey.

CobraKai · Answer

I wouldn't say fewer students do consulting at Johnson, but fewer definitely land at the coveted MBB than Fuqua. Since you've already got admits from Fuqua and Darden, I'd say it's safe to pick one of those over Johnson w/o any $$.

BonzoX85 · Answer

Thanks for the inputs guys.

One more question: let's say I get dinged by Tuck. Do you think there is any, even if little, advantage to either school, Duke and Darden, regarding recuriting or they are strictly the same and my decision should be based on fit, town environment, and so on?

Ward2012 · Answer

I think they're pretty similar, with maybe Darden having a slightly higher reputation (except maybe during basketball season...kidding.) Here are links to the employment reports for both schools. They may be of help to you. https://www.darden.virginia.edu/web/recr ... t-reports/ https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/mba_recruitin ... tatistics/

BonzoX85 · Answer

Unfortunately Darden does not release the breakdown by company, only by industry. I can't only be sure that MBB recruitment was higher than 2 for each company for the Class of 2013. This is a really tough decision to make, it seemed to me during my visits that the student life around campus is more active at Duke. I hope I get into Tuck to make this decision easier.

Ward2012 · Answer

Ah, got it. Sorry about that. Having friends who graduated at both schools, anecdotally, I can say that management consulting from MBB to boutique groups are well represented at both schools. So I think your choice between the two, if you have to make it, will come down to opportunities that will allow you to shine. For example, are there any experiential learning opportunities at either school that are particularly noteworthy? Does Darden's case method sit well with you? Is there someone in the career services office who used to work at a consulting firm? (For example, Booth, I think, has someone from BCG who is now at their career services office, which is obviously a great resource.) Etc Etc

In terms of life in Charlottesville, I can say some things about that too because I grew up in Cville from preschool to high school. I don't really know about the b school social life, but the town of Cville is fairly cosmopolitan for a small college town and UVA is pretty much right in the middle of Cville. You probably will want to have a car, but it's possible to survive without and depend on friends and the buses. Anyway, there are all types of restaurants and the cost of living is fairly good. I don't know much about Durham, but I would imagine though that the Raleigh-Durham airport is bigger than Charlottesville's airport, so RDU probably has more direct flights.

cheers.

BonzoX85 · Answer

Thanks for the inputs! It seems to me that Fuqua provides more opportunities for hands-on experience. About the former consultants, I'll try to find that out.
But, if everything reamins the same, I am 90% sold on Duke.

sebby05 · Answer

Duke all the way

mgg234 · Answer

Mostly agree with you, but I'd go Tuck>>Fuqua>Darden=Johnson. A lot of the top consulting firms consider Duke an "Ultra-elite" but Darden and Johnson an "Elite", and recruit heavier from Duke. Tuck is definitely in another stratosphere, and is a no brainer to take over the other three schools.

Toews2Kane · Answer

I'm not sure if Fuqua is any better than Darden at placing into the top consulting firms. Darden's employment report data is a bit lacking, admittedly, but if you compare Darden's internships numbers for top consulting firms:

McKinsey: 14
BCG: 11
Bain: 7
Accenture: 7
Deloitte: 8

to Duke

McKinsey: 9
BCG: 10
Bain: 10
Accenture: 4
Deloitte: 19

You see pretty comparable numbers, but then taking into consideration Darden's class size of ~~310 vs Fuqua's class size of ~~420 those numbers definitely get skewed in Darden's favor. Plus, it is worth noting that those Deloitte numbers in all cases don't represent just S&O at Fuqua, but I believe they are just S&O at Darden.

Can't speak about full timei employment, as Darden doesn't go into such detail on its employment report.

BonzoX85 · Answer

From my research, I feel that Fuqua and Darden will provide the same opportunities for MC industry. I feel the performance during the inverviews will be the most important factor instead of the school. We can observe that Fuqua numbers went down this year, but I don't think it is related to the school. Probably Fuquans didn't perform as well as previous years.

So for MC, I believe it will depend a lot more on my performance than which school I attend.

However, the situation is a bit different in Brazil when if I consider/compare the alumni base and brand recognizition. Fuqua seems way ahead of Darden down here. One can see that by attendance to their info session. Darden hosted a cocktail with more GEMBAs than prospectives. Fuqua however, packed a full auditorium - half alumni half prospectives.

In my head it is pretty much decided: Tuck (if admitted), otherwise Fuqua.

Toews2Kane · Answer

I completely agree with you, in that it is all about performance in the interview. I just put the numbers out there to show that they're effectively the same, and no further conclusions can comfortably be drawn from the data.

BonzoX85 · Answer

As an update: I've received the invite to inverview with Johnson, however, I will withdraw my application because, as discussed, I think that Top-tier consulting wise, it is a bit behind the other options. Johnson is the only school from the four that I have not visited and it only entered my list once I discovered Ross didn't have loans for International students without US co-signers anymore.

BonzoX85 · Answer

I've been admitted to Tuck with some $. 
It's become a no-brainer.
Thanks for the help.

DefyingGravity · Answer

You've already heard from Tuck for November round decisions?

BonzoX85 · Answer

Yes. Tuck notified Latin Americans due to an important event they hosted in the region.

DefyingGravity · Answer

wow, congrats. When did you hear?

BonzoX85 · Answer

last wednesday

Duke X Darden X Tuck

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