Duke Fuqua 2010 MBA Essay Questions

My comments are in red.

Three essay questions must be completed before submitting your application. Prepare your essays carefully. The Admissions Committee considers your responses to the following questions important in the selection process. Please respond fully and concisely using 1.5 line spacing. Your response to each question should be no more than 2 pages in length, with a font size not smaller than 10-point.

Candidates who applied to The Duke MBA between September 2008 and April 2009 are considered re-applicants. All re-applicants are required to complete the Re-applicant Essay in addition to the Applicant Essays.

All applicants have the opportunity to submit an optional essay to explain any extenuating circumstances of which the Admissions Committee should be aware.

Duke is very proud of its community: Team Fuqua. Consequently, it carefully chooses team members. The questions below are an opportunity for you to introduce yourself as an individual, a member of your community or team, and a professional and future leader. As the questions show, all facets are important to Fuqua.

Duke has once again re-shuffled the essay deck this year. It is asking for three long essays (as opposed to one last year) and no short essays (as opposed to three last year). Last year's long essay question introduction is now the introduction for the three required questions.

Applicant Essays: Answer all 3 essay questions.

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. Thus, Duke is in the midst of an ambitious global venture that will embed and connect us around the world, and we are seeking future leaders of consequence, those who value diversity and collaborative leadership, and who aspire to impact the companies and communities of which they are a part in a lasting and positive way.

In an effort to identify, engage, and foster the development of future leaders of consequence, the Admissions Committee would like to get to know our applicants in a more holistic manner. We would like to know who you are, what has shaped you into the person you are today, and how you hope to impact both Duke and the communities of which you will be a part in the future. The essays are your opportunity to convey that to us. Please be open, genuine, and passionate. Share with us what makes you a dynamic, multi-dimensional person. 

What role in the world would you like to assume? Where would you like to have impact? What cause is important to you? Where have you contributed in the past? When answering the essays below, keep in mind that this is more about vision, values, and life goals than strictly professional goals. Also keep in mind Duke's "globally distributed" campus and its emphasis on the connections between business and non-business disciplines.

1. Describe your vision for your career, your inspiration for pursuing this career path, and the role of The Duke MBA in achieving your goals. If you are interested in a specific concentration or joint degree program, please discuss in this essay.

Similar to last year's first short question, Duke is asking you to connect the dots between your past experiences your future goals and show how their MBA program will bridge the gap between the two. (For different ideas on structuring goals essays, click on the link).

I don't think I can overemphasize the importance of this essay in establishing your credibility as a serious candidate. I know I have harangued you regularly about the importance of goals in MBA admissions, and I am doing it again. Just keep in mind that this essay will reveal whether you have done your homework -- personal introspection, career networking, and school research -- or not, as the case may be.

2. Discuss a person, event, or experience that has significantly shaped your life and explain why.

Almost identical to last year's 3rd short essay question, but now you have more room to elaborate. What or who has had profound, lasting impact on you? Describe the person or event and its impact. Please don't limit your description of impact to the emotional or intellectual. How does this person or event influence your behavior?

This essay probably will reflect a non-professional facet of your life. Although not specified this year, the question originally appeared with the following caveat: The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are, rather than what you have achieved professionally.

3. Individuals choose a business school for many different reasons. Through your research, what attributes or characteristics of The Duke MBA program have most resonated with you and why? How do you plan to contribute to the strengthening and enhancement of those attributes and characteristics during your time at Duke and beyond?

This is a more detailed version of last years 2nd essay with the added request regarding your research on Duke.  Based on your research, what are you going to add to Team Fuqua? Is it an enthusiastic commitment to Habitat for Humanity, a local environmental cause, your church, or a hobby, sport, or art form? Is it an unusual personal background? Perhaps, overcoming distinctive challenges? And then how will this unique facet cause you to contribute at Duke? Will it lead to involvement in a specific club or Fuqua project? Interest in a particular program? Again show your knowledge of Fuqua as well as fit between you and the program.

Optional Essay (not required)

If you feel there are extenuating circumstances of which the Admissions Committee should be aware, please explain them here (e.g., unexplained gaps in work, choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, significant weakness in your application) 

Why isn't your current supervisor writing your rec? Why did your grades dip during the first semester of your senior year? Why is there a six-month gap on your resume? What are your responsibilities while working for a family business after having left a prestigious investment bank and why did you make the change? Answering any of those questions (but not all) could be the topic of your optional essay. And of course an infinite number of similar subjects could be worthwhile discussing in the optional essay.

Re-applicant Essay

All re-applicants are required to complete the Re-applicant Essay. Please limit your response to two pages. Write an essay describing how you are now a stronger candidate for admission compared to the application you submitted the previous year.

This is the question that adcoms want MBA reapplicants to answer. It is self-explanatory and critical.

If you would like help with your Duke Fuqua MBA application, please consider Accepted.com's MBA essay editing and admissions consulting or a Duke Fuqua Comprehensive Package. Purchase before August 31, 2009 to take advantage of our August MBA special.

Duke Fuqua 2010 MBA Deadlines

*The Duke MBA Early Action option is ideal for applicants who have completed their MBA research and have decided that The Duke MBA is the best program for them. Applicants admitted in the Early Action round must submit the non-refundable $3,000 tuition deposit along with official transcript(s) by December 10, 2009. In addition, any applications submitted to other schools must be withdrawn upon an offer of admission from The Duke MBA.

**Scholarship and Visa Recipients must deposit by April 16, 2010.

Ahembeea, author of the MBA Beckons blog, writes in"Lessons From My Journey," the lessons he has learned while applying to several top business schools and ultimately gaining acceptance to Emory's Goizueta Business School with a full tuition scholarship. Congratulations!

Although the entire post is worthwhile, I want to highlight Ahembeea's #1 lesson, "I want to do an MBA. Full stop." At the beginning of his MBA application process and school research he writes, "I had a burning desire for an MBA for years before I started looking at schools abroad last year. Like it usually happens, there was no structure to that desire. The motivation had always been extremely strong, but all I knew was that I HAD to do an MBA come what may. "  

Ahembeea's takeaway today: 

Lesson # 1 - A larger part of the time I spent researching B Schools after my GMAT should have been spent on first answering the basic questions. I should have been clearer from the beginning, and not now when the game is almost up.

The key basic question: "What do you want to do after your MBA?" As many of you know, I have responded to thousands of MBA admissions questions on the Internet -- going back to AOL and Compuserve in the 1990's. For years my practice has been not to recommend schools without knowing the applicant's post-MBA goal.

Like Ahembeea today, I don't see how you can intelligently choose your target programs without knowing your post-MBA goals. Choosing your target programs without knowing why you want an MBA, what you to extract from your the experience, or what you want to do after your MBA is akin to aiming darts at a US News or BusinessWeek list of business schools and applying to the ones pierced by the darts. The MBA experience is too expensive and has the potential to be such a growth experience that you should do your basic research ahead of time so that you can apply to and ultimately attend the schools that really are best for you.

Yes, your qualifications are a critical element in determining where to apply. However, frequently so much emphasis is placed on what you need to get into a top MBA program, that what you want to get out of the MBA is given short shrift. Spend time now clarifying your reasons for wanting to pursue an MBA. An incoherent, amorphous, burning desire to earn an MBA is insufficient. A honed, researched, thoughtful basis for you application decision will help you in admissions and also in your job search. (Please listen to MBA Podcaster's  "Landing Your Ideal Summer Internship: The First Step in a Successful Post-MBA Career," specifically Ross's Al Cotrone's comments for further thoughts on this point.)

I recommend "Lessons From My Journey."

And the envelope please... Oh that's for the Academy Awards on Sunday. I'm too early. :-/

But not too early to start helping you with next fall's applications. In any case, the questions are :

1. What are your post-MBA goals? It may seem a premature question at first glance, but think about it:  Why are you going for an MBA? To earn a higher salary doesn't usually cut it. To ride out the recession won't work either. Solid candidates know in detail what their goals are for their career in the years immediately after the MBA. They understand the MBA is a specific tool to get them there, and that different programs have different strengths.
2. What are your qualifications? Are your background and achievements, both professional and academic, similar to those of current students at your target programs? If not, what can you do to improve your profile and become similar to successful applicants?
3. What kind of curriculum are you looking for and which schools have it? Do you want a flexible or structured curriculum?  Depending on your previous experience—and post-MBA goals—this is a critical question.
4. What focus & methodology do you prefer in your MBA program?  What is the program style that will best suit your needs?  Is it a case-method program like Harvard’s, or a project-oriented one like Michigan’s? Do you know the advantages and disadvantages of each type of program?

Ideally you will know the answers to all these critical questions by the time the applications are published in the late spring and summer. However, I would like to focus on question #2 at this point for one simple reason: If you evaluate your qualifications now and find some are lacking, you can do something about it. If you evaluate them in six months, your options will have shrunk considerably.

To help you in the evaluation process, Accepted is hosting an MBA Admissions Telethon on March 4. During the telethon you can obtain a free, private, MBA admissions mini-consultation with a member of our stellar staff. See what it is like to ask your most important MBA admissions questions to someone knowledgeable, objective, and experienced. Free. Sign up for the MBA Admissions Telethon to have your consultation.

Here are a few more resources we offer to applicants planning to apply next fall or winter: 

• Start Smart MBA Admissions Consulting
• Best Practices for MBA Admissions, an ebook.
• "Low Stats"
• "The GMAT in MBA Admissions"

Oh yes, and congratulations on starting early! You will be so glad you started in the "wee hours" of the 2010 application season.

UPDATE- THE TIPS FOR NOTRE DAME MENDOZA'S 2010 MBA APPLICATION ARE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE. PLEASE POST QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS TO THE NEW POST.

Notre Dame Mendoza 2009 Deadlines

 *Applications completed or received after March 16 will be considered on a space-available basis.

**Applications completed or received after April 6 will be considered on a space available basis.

***The May 11 deadline is for two-year applicants only and applicants will be evaluated on a space available basis.

Notre Dame Mendoza 2009 MBA Essay Questions

My comments are below in red. Since this year's application is identical to last year's, my comments are virtually identical as well.

Your responses to the essay questions are extremely important in the selection process. Please use separate sheets of paper for each essay question and include your name on each sheet. Your essays should be typed and double-spaced.

Each essay should be no longer than 2 double-spaced pages each.

Please complete the following essay.

What are your career plans immediately after graduation? Explain how your past experiences prepare you for your desired position. What are your long-term career aspirations?

Translation: What are you short-term and long-term goals? How have your past experiences prepared you for your short-term goal?

Note: This question does not ask "Why Notre Dame?" You do not need to explicitly answer that question, but the excellent response to this question will reflect Notre Dame's four dimensions of leadership: An integrated mind, broad perspective, heart (a guiding set of core values), and tenacity (the role of communication, motivation and mobilization). In addition, the long-term objective will be much more plausible if it grows organically from the short-term one.

_______________________________________________________________________

Additionally, please complete any two of the following five essay questions.

Choose the two that will allow you to best present yourself as a multi-dimensional human being who shares Notre Dame's focus on ethical general management.

1. Each MBA student at the University of Notre Dame is given the opportunity to contribute to the MBA community. What will you bring to Notre Dame and the MBA family?

Do your homework on Notre Dame. Where will you participate? Where will you contribute? Will it be student government? Professional clubs? Extra-curricular activities? Family activities? Your intended areas of activity should relate both to what you have done in the past and what you intend to do in the future.

2. What inspires you outside of your work environment?

What do you like to do when you are not at work? Do you participate in your church? Do you run? Belong to a band? Are you active in politics?

3. How do you define leadership? Please give an example of someone you feel is a great leader and explain why.

"Leadership" claims many definitions and sub-categories. Connect your definition to a great leader either current or past. Again, keep in mind Notre Dame's focus on integrated leadership and broad perspective guided by a strong sense of right and wrong when you are choosing your example and explaining why you believe he or she is a great leader.

If you can also volunteer a brief example of when you have provided leadership as you define it and as your "great leader" practiced it -- perhaps in your case on a more modest scale -- you wil be using this essay fully to advance the idea that you are a thoughtful leader who belongs at Mendoza.

4. Of which accomplishments are you most proud and why?

If your accomplishment shows the kind of leadership that Notre Dame is interested in, so much the better. If you demonstrate measurable impact, again, your essay and application will be that much stronger.

5. Describe a failure or disappointing experience in your life. How did you react and what did you learn?

Don't fudge on this question. Write about a real failure or disappointment. You can use this essay to bring out another side of you, perhaps a teamwork experience or something that happened a few years ago. Frankly, your response to the situation is probably the most important part of the question. Please see:

• Flaws Make Your Real
  

• Admissions Tip from Dr. Pausch's Last Lecture (Part2)

If you would like help with your Notre Dame MBA application, please consider Accepted.com's MBA essay editing and admissions consulting or one of our Notre Dame Medoza Comprehensive Packages.

(Don't forget to vote!)