I have officially started the Duke application for R2 (due January 7th). I already scheduled my class visit and interview for January 21st. The application seems pretty basic, nothing out of the ordinary. The essays are a mixed bag, however.
The first essay states "What do you hope to gain from The Duke MBA? How does it fit into your short- and long-term goals?" This is the fairly standard goals essay, with a focus on how the Duke experience will help you get where you want to go. One full page should be a decent enough amount of space to get this across.
The second essay, "How will you contribute to the overall experience of your peers?", appears to be a place to state where your characteristics and desires match those of the Duke community and what you will bring to the table. I also get the sense of "Why Duke?" in that question. I've got a lot to say, so hopefully one page is enough.
The last short essay asks you to discuss a person, event or experience that has significantly shaped your life and why, with emphasis on NOT being from the professional world. This one is interesting, something I've seen in UCLA and a few other apps. Picking one person, or one experience as a lynchpin moment in my life is going to be difficult, as I think it's the series of events and people that affect us. There is no one defining moment in my life.
The long essay, at two pages, states "Today, companies must navigate through complex and interdependent issues. They must deal with health and security matters, environmental impact questions, and diversity and cultural concerns. Leaders need adaptability, imagination, emotional intelligence as well as business acumen. Upon graduation, a Duke MBA will be a leader of consequence - able to deal simultaneously with complex matters and engage skillfully with colleagues, clients and community. What impact do you hope to have as a leader of consequence?" Oh boy, that's a mouthful! Leader of consequence...this feels like a fairly idealistic question to me. Something tells me this is the essay where the Adcoms will find must of the BS.
So, any advice on tackling these? What was the hardest for you? Can you actually pronounce the name properly?
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5 comments:
I found the last essay challenging as well. The way I approached it was to cut down a bit on my long-term goals in my career goals essay, focus much more on those goals in this essay and focus a lot on what I would specifically do to have an impact in my chosen role. I'll know next week whether it worked or not.
Mike
PS - It's "Few-qua", although the students I met there told me that the school focuses more on the Duke branding than Fuqua.
I wrote the last essay with an emphasis on leadership, what it means for me, some leadership experiences and learnings, how they've been examples of a leadership of consequence, and how I plan to create an impact in the future.
Yup it's few-qua indeed! (hey the interviewer corrected me on that heh).
The last essay is challenging. Be sure to know what leader of consequences mean. But to be honest, I think all leader is a leader of consequences (making impact on their respective industry, or at least tried to, and be responsible for any actions she took along the way).
I thin "Leadership of Consequence" deals with how you are going to impact the industry you are in with a natural and reality touch to the community. I am applying for the Health Sector Management @ Duke. And my goal is to get into health care consulting. It was very difficult for me to transform my goals and present in this essay.
I am doing a balancing act on how I can impact the health care system with my consulting focus and also help Mother Nature in return. Did it work for others??
I believe it is pronounced FEW-kwa," according to this Fuqua information page. I agree with another poster who said that the school seems to be focusing more on the "Duke" brand now.
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