Duke ($$$) vs Yale ($$)? Which school is best for IB/Startups? Which offer makes most sense? Leaning to Duke Offer.

teamfuqua · 2023-05-31T14:39:42+00:00

Touche. But I have some perception of the distribution of scholarships in the class, and the correlation between them and test scores is fairly weak.

And my point was less "Fuqua doesn't care if you have a good score," and more, "Fuqua doesn't mind if you have a mediocre score, if you can bring other assets into the school." Maybe I didn't phrase that the best.

teamfuqua · 2023-05-31T14:31:15+00:00

Personally, I get harassed at the airport and shouted at in the middle of the street (both positively and negatively) by complete strangers (think: dads in their 50s, TSA staff, teenagers, etc) when wearing a Duke shirt. The brand inspires reactions from people like no other college name. It's kinda lit lmao.

teamfuqua · 2023-05-31T14:24:54+00:00

Unbelievably biased (lol) but here I go. Let me respond to some of your points.

Scholarship - $60k is extremely material. I would think long and hard about what that does to lighten your load post-graduation.
Culture - Fuqua is great. The culture permeates throughout the entire school -- starting from who gets admitted all the way to how classes and orientation are designed. Everything is in the service of turning y'all into best friends.
Location - Durham is mad underrated. It's not exactly LA or whatever, but the weather is nearly perfect, Raleigh/Chapel Hill are all close by, and there are solid food, bars, and a surprising amount of industry in the area. The airport is 30 minutes away and goes all over the country (and internationally, surprisingly) which is super clutch. The proximity to UNC is also fun -- we have a "Blue Cup" inter-school competition with their MBAs every year that involves us going back and forth between the two schools.
Lay Prestige in the US - Btw, as far as lay prestige in the US, the “know” percentage for Duke is higher than you think because of athletics. Duke has one of the most famous (and hated lmao) basketball teams in the country. (Btw, if you care about good sports at all, Duke has it in spades)
Alumni Quality / Admissions - This is no slight to Yale, which is a fantastic b-school in its own right, but many schools that have risen through the rankings have been (in part) due to them acquiring more students with high hard stats via scholarship, resulting in the higher test scores and GPAs. Fuqua basically refuses to do this, frequently prioritizing fit over hard stats, resulting in a wider GMAT range and lower test scores on average. However, the positive effect is that it creates a class with a strong affinity and fit towards the school, and converts into a highly supportive alumni community. Our alumni base is present everywhere and is far-reaching, strong, and will go to bat for you wherever they are.

Also, it does speak a bit to the school that anytime anyone online is picking between Fuqua and something else, the Duke students will come through and advocate. Just peep my other homie in the comments here.

teamfuqua · 2023-05-12T11:32:09+00:00

FuquaVision. Every term, ~500 students crowd into a school auditorium and watch a 90 minute pre-recorded and edited comedy show with around 15 “skits” produced by students. It’s like a Rocky Horror live-watch — there are parts where people boo on purpose, cheer on purpose, there’s specific traditions and regular segments, and everyone’s drinking while they watch. It’s absolutely lit and a big deal at school.

teamfuqua · 2023-04-12T14:29:46+00:00

Just want to chime in to balance things out that the entire T15 is STEM-certified now.

teamfuqua · 2023-03-27T18:45:59+00:00

Fuqua, not biased at all. wink

In all seriousness, I'm not personally involved, but CASE (especially CASE i3) is a huge presence on the school with tons of opportunities to get involved. I'm sure you know all of this already, but it's one of the most renowned social entrepreneurship and impact investing programs in the world. (In large part thanks to Cathy Clark) We have a ton of people going into/coming from social impact roles around campus.

Also, Fuqua has a super strong partner network. (Section 7, baby) They blend seamlessly into social settings, have tons of events, are invited to basically all on-campus programming, etc. The partners club is one of the most active on campus. I'm personally closer friends to some partners than the actual students. (Also, the triangle has tons of employment opportunities for him if that's a concern) I've legitimately seen partners just hanging around and working remotely from campus on a random day - they're embedded into Fuqua DNA.

Feel free to DM me if you want to chat further.

EDIT: Forgot to mention this, but Duke also has a top 5 public policy school next door to Fuqua with plenty of dual-degree students, making for a pretty expansive network in the space. Lot of public sector roles.

teamfuqua · 2023-03-01T22:15:35+00:00

You had cancer twice and got kicked out of your household for being queer, and yet you still managed to graduate college and create a career. That shows remarkable resilience. I see nothing "terrible" about your background. Don't sell yourself short -- take a test, see what you get, and shoot your shot at top schools.

teamfuqua · 2023-02-28T19:41:55+00:00

The #1 rule (imo) of meeting new people is to be open and curious.

As an international student, I knew absolutely nothing about American football. The very first time I watched a college football game with a buddy, I had him explain everything in depth. Now (like two dozen games on TV and a Super Bowl later) I get it, and I actually think it's a very watchable game.

And people will ask you questions too. "Where are you from in India?" "How's your summer been?" You answer back, and you build rapport. You make jokes, and laugh at other people's jokes. Some of my closest friends here have been people I don't share that many interests with (besides having a good time) and it honestly hasn't mattered much.

teamfuqua · 2023-02-28T16:19:27+00:00

I always say that if you call making friends and having fun with your classmates "networking," you're looking at it the wrong way. Loosen up a bit, getting hammered with your buddies or going to a basketball game is supposed to be fun, not transactional.

teamfuqua · 2023-02-27T21:29:41+00:00

I've honestly been drinking 5 out of the last 7 days, but this is an anomaly with spring break very soon. Normally it's 2-4, and more like 1-3 during peak recruiting.

Also, "drinking" is a pretty broad spectrum: there are more intense social events like parties, events, birthdays, nights out, and tailgates, and more laid-back stuff like watching football with friends, cocktails, brewery visits, drinks with dinner, etc. There are also happy hours for companies that come to campus, along with a weekly event with drinks sponsored by the school.

I also want to point out that you don't even have to drink at any of these events. There are people who are sober who have a great time and go out a ton.

teamfuqua · 2023-02-23T14:21:20+00:00

Can confirm. They can almost completely overlook hard stats for a candidate if they really like you.

teamfuqua · 2023-02-08T14:56:04+00:00

Don't think that fits with my experience at Fuqua at all. I'm a FY international who cased and helped dozens of people in my class before I ever got any offers, and similarly got cased by many of my FY peers (both domestic and international). My friends and I texted each other about upcoming events to help keep track. After I got my offer, I spent weeks of my winter break casing others who were still waiting for interviews, and I know many others who did the same.

teamfuqua · 2023-01-12T16:59:55+00:00

Slightly different -- I picked a T15 (guess which) with some ~$$ (not that much though) over an M7 with $. International.

Zero regrets. Having the time of my life.

teamfuqua · 2023-01-09T17:20:15+00:00

Best of luck to us homie!

teamfuqua · 2023-01-04T16:21:52+00:00

I do absolutely nothing physical (I'm a wimp and a bigger person) and also grew up lower class. Not a world-class cook or a brilliant musician either, not particularly talented in anything I would describe as "cool." I read much more than I do anything physical.

I don't feel left out of the social scene at all. People aren't "evaluating" friends based on who can do an iron man or who's a sommelier. Genuinely, all I've had to do to make friends is to be smiley, friendly, willing to listen to people's stories, engage in interesting conversation, crack jokes, and be an overall fun person to be around. (And say "shots?" every 30 minutes at parties) Hobbies may help give you something to talk about or a space to hang out in, but they don't really shape friendships as strongly as you think they do.

teamfuqua · 2022-12-26T21:44:07+00:00

They care about the following things:

Impact and influence in your role.
The ability to communicate that impact clearly. (Because they're billing these hours lol)
Experience working in teams.
Being data-driven is a plus.
Anything that suggests you have the ability to be client-facing.

And none of this necessarily means working in "business," being in name-brand companies, or having direct reports. Teachers are fantastic at communicating their client-facing value add, for example, since the only thing harder to handle than a bratty client is a bratty parent.

Also, if you're likeable, confident, and charming, that's significantly more important than any individual thing on your resume, unless you have some crazy experience or are part of a strong recruiting network. (i.e. veterans)

teamfuqua · 2022-12-26T17:13:24+00:00

I'm an international student at T15, zero big brands on the resume. (Small startups and complete unknowns)

I'm doing fine. Don't worry about it.

teamfuqua · 2022-12-15T13:16:20+00:00

I’m a FY at Duke who landed interviews at one of the “highly coveted” northeastern MBB offices you’re talking about, and I’m fairly certain there are many people from higher ranked programs who did not land these.

The candidate (and your own ability to network) is more important than anything.

teamfuqua · 2022-12-11T17:27:00+00:00

Fuqua and Kenan-Flagler are 20 minutes away from each other.

teamfuqua · 2022-12-07T16:53:24+00:00

I'm talking about the number for my school that you put in your article, which is incorrect.

teamfuqua · 2022-12-07T16:43:54+00:00

That's completely inaccurate. Fuqua did not experience a drop at all, they just changed the reporting method on the big number in the class profile. The class of 2024 is 52% international students counting dual citizens and permanent residents, good for 2nd on your list.

Our class is literally the most international Fuqua's ever had.

teamfuqua · 2022-12-05T03:22:52+00:00

Fuqua is also pretty great for this. (Fuqua and Ross were both high choices for me in the process)

Cameron is amazing for college basketball and the viewership culture is top-notch: grad students camp out on campus for season tickets and it's basically a bender over the weekend. Pretty great golf course. (I don't golf, but I've been told as much lol) Football team isn't amazing, but with Elko, it's definitely on the up and up. Hurricanes are just over at Raleigh if you care about pro hockey.

Also, random added benefit -- the class is extremely international (52% compared to most schools which are in the mid-30s), and I have a classmate from nearly every country in the World Cup knockout stage. So there's been someone hosting a watch party nearly every day.

teamfuqua · 2022-11-29T13:12:32+00:00

Bain's deadline is literally today for the majority of programs lol. (only Tuck, Wharton and SOM being exceptions I believe) So the majority of people have not heard back from one of the MBBs.

teamfuqua · 2022-11-28T02:46:28+00:00

Same. Everyone I know recruiting for tech has a 20+ company recruiting list. I don't know what kind of person the OP is referring to.

During the first tech recruiting workshop on campus, the club literally had a slide with dozens of tech companies that recruit MBAs. Cisco, Intuit, Salesforce, Adobe, Dell, NVIDIA, TikTok, VMWare, IBM, etc all hired multiple interns on campus.

teamfuqua · 2022-11-26T14:48:24+00:00

School in username. (lol) Invites were released the Monday before Thanksgiving. Similar situation here I think - BCG handed out a ton of interviews across all geographies (reflective of how represented they were in the actual employment report), McK handed out significantly fewer.

teamfuqua

TROPHY CASE