Fuqua (Duke) Class of 2016: Calling all applicants!

I want to plan a school visit soon. Can I visit the school during the summer, or should I wait until classes are on session?

it depends... will you be able to visit more than once in this process?? I feel that visiting while classes are in session will give you a better understanding of what being part of team fuqua is all about... plus, if it's during the open interview season you could get that out of the way too.

If you'll be able to visit more than once, or if the summer if your only opportunity to go, then I'd say go for it.

Still deciding if will apply at EA or R1.
As an international applicant (brazilian) and with Fuqua as my first choice, which round should I apply?

If it is your first choice, apply EA.

I agree with highwyre237. Unless you only want to see the Duke/Fuqua campus and buildings, visiting during the summer doesn't add much value. I would recommend visiting on a Friday and on/after October (if time allows). Friday, so you can experience Fuqua Friday and talk with more students. October, so that things are settling a bit for the FYs. Your tour guide will likely be a FY. S/he will be acclimating to the new experience prior, same with the classroom experience. The FYs are still warming up to case classroom discussions, and to each other.

I agree with asimov that visiting in October allows you to capture a more accurate picture of all that Team Fuqua can offer. Keep in mind that EA applicants must self initiate the interview and that will happen before October. Visiting in September however was still a fantastic experience so you can't go wrong visiting during any of those two time periods.

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Thank you all for the good advice. Ideally i'd like to visit campus before the application deadline, so I can asses my fit and have a solid background on the school to write the essays. So my window would be between the first week of September (academic session begins) and late October (application due).

This seems definitely doable, but if what if I'm also considering another 3 schools. Should I only visit one school? any other ideas about how to get a good feel about different schools besides the school visits?

Thank you,

I'm looking at possibly reapplying next year since I only have WL's at this point...

As a reapplicant, I need to decide between EA and R1...

What do you guys suggest I do? I REALLY liked Duke and interviewed on campus last Fall in September (did a class visit, lunch, tour and interview in one day).

Remember that EA at Duke is binding, so only apply EA if you would choose Duke over any other school you're applying to. Personally, I feel like reapplicants should apply EA or R1 at any/all schools you're reapplying to so you show adcom that you're really committed to their school.

Did we change the policy? I thought we still send out invite for EA.
If you are applying EA, then it would be beneficial to visit early, since the application is due so early. If you visit afterward, it probably won't affect your application.

Since there are lots of questions on EA or R1, here's a simple decision diagram.

The scholarship decision is controversial. Although there has been EA folks who got scholarships. I would say, at minimum, your bargaining power on scholarship is reduced by applying EA.

The official word from adcom is that applying in EA doesn't weigh on your scholarship considerations... but... I agree with you. The question is, does the increased likelihood of getting in during EA outweigh the potential for a scholarship

I’m not even sure if you get a boost in admission chances compared to R1. At EA, the AdCom has no idea what the applicants next year will look like. If they used last year’s applicant pool as a proxy, you only get better odds, if this year is more competitive than last year. That doesn’t seem to be the trend right now. Another reason is that I’ve seen/known quite a few EA WLs getting admitted in later rounds in the last couple of years. This may be an indication that AdCom is using past applicant stats to approximate incoming applicants. Since there is a downward trend in stats with the economic recovery, EA WL admits are occurring more frequently. I’ve followed GC since 2008 application year, I don’t recall people getting off EA WL, 2008 & 2009.

I see the benefit of EA from the adcom side (boost yield) but from an applicant side you get slighty better admissions odds (we assume) at the expense of scholarship opportunities (there is an inherent adcom conflict of interest) and school choice (my perspective on schools really changed after I was admitted).

Hi all. I am interested in applying to fuqua but am in somewhat of a conundrum. My longtime girlfriend will be accompanying me to b-school, but she is apprehensive about moving to a "college town" vs a big city. Her happiness is very important to me, so its a huge factor for me. She is a teacher and thinks finding a job and having a quality social life is much harder at a place like fuqua vs new York or dc or any other city. Can any current students comment on this? Has anyone"s partner particularly enjoyed their time in Durham? Thanks in advance for everyone's input!

I can tell you this, out of all of the schools I was looking at, Fuqua's partner's club was the most impressive. My wife was actually excited to move from a city to NC... Will if be more difficult to find work, of course, but the Fuqua partners will do everything they can to help. Lets, compare Stern to Fuqua....

Stern - easier to find work, will have her own life and her own friends, will not be a big part of the stern community

Fuqua - will find it harder to find work, will be more involved in Fuqua, and the community.

So... is she coming to also be part of the b-school experience, or is she coming more to experience a new place? From a partners perspective, I can see why she'd rather be in a city... considering how busy you'll be, but at fuqua she'll end up building relationships as strong as they ones you'll be building. Plus, there's their motto, "All the fuqua fun without the homework."

When you visit, bring her, and have her meet the partners club... If she doesn't changed her tune from that, then I doubt Duke is the place for her.

[quote="jpd5044"]Hi all. I am interested in applying to fuqua but am in somewhat of a conundrum. My longtime girlfriend will be accompanying me to b-school, but she is apprehensive about moving to a "college town" vs a big city. Her happiness is very important to me, so its a huge factor for me. She is a teacher and thinks finding a job and having a quality social life is much harder at a place like fuqua vs new York or dc or any other city. Can any current students comment on this? Has anyone"s partner particularly enjoyed their time in Durham? Thanks in advance for everyone's input!


I can't really speak for Fuqua but I did go to Duke. Overall, I think Durham surprises people. I wouldnt consider it a 'college town' like Chapel Hill, but I wouldnt define it as a major hub either. I thought it was a nice balance. Socially, I think you'll both have a good time. The Duke community at large was very welcoming and from what I hear community is a focus at Fuqua.

In terms of the job market for your partner, I'd expect wages to be a little bit less, but the cost of living is pretty low especially if you are considering places such New York. You might want to reach out to the partners club to see if they have any type of program to help partners secure positions prior to bschool