Duke / Fuqua Essay Topic Analysis 2011-2012
Fuqua’s essay topics for the 2011-2012 admissions season remain identical to last year’s, retaining a strong interest in applicants’ interest in and potential contribution to the Duke MBA program and broader community. Moreover, the preamble/introduction that has prefaced the program’s essays for the past several years suggests that the program is seeking students who are both natural leaders and collaborators, able to work with diverse teams of people, and who hope to make a lasting impact through their post-MBA career pursuits. Further, Duke values students who can express themselves in a personable manner through their essays, so applicants should also strive to infuse their writing with personality and passion.
Although there is no specified word limit, Duke does require that all essays be no more than two pages in length, written with 1.5 line spacing and a minimum 10 point font size. Let’s take a closer look at each essay:
Essay 1: Describe your vision for your career and your inspiration for pursuing this career path.
This is a variation of the standard career goals essay. Because Duke is asking about applicants’ career vision, however, this particular question lends itself to a long-term, big picture outlook in addition to the typical description of one’s immediate post-MBA career goals. Responding to the second part of this prompt provides candidates with the perfect opportunity to outline their career histories. Applicants should also consider including information about any academic or extracurricular experiences that have motivated them to pursue their intended careers. With two pages to respond to this prompt, applicants should have ample space to describe both their career visions as well as the factors and experiences that inspired their plans.
It’s important to note that this career vision question does not ask applicants how Fuqua would factor into achieving their professional goals. Therefore, all discussion of applicants’ academic and professional interest in Duke should be reserved for the response to the third prompt.
Essay 2: How will your background, values, and non-work activities enhance the experience of other Duke MBA students and add value to Fuqua’s diverse culture?
This question reflects Duke’s interest in identifying students who are in a position to contribute meaningfully to the diversity of the school’s community. The prompt is fairly broad, covering just about every possible dimension of one’s candidacy, experience and perspective; subsequently, it issues a general invitation for the applicant to imagine how his or her unique characteristics might map onto involvement in ‘Team Fuqua.’ This response is a great place to showcase specific knowledge of the student culture at Duke – even linking aspects of your background to contributions to discussions in specific courses or participation in conferences and campus events – as well as to introduce information that will help you stand out from the applicant pool.
Essay 3: Why Duke? (If you are interested in a specific concentration, joint degree, clubs or activities, please discuss how you would contribute to these in this essay.)
Asking applicants about their interest in the school to which they are applying is standard practice among MBA programs , and Duke’s parenthetical comments provide applicants with a clue as to the topics they should cover in responding to this essay. The important thing to note is that Fuqua asks how applicants would contribute to the school, so in addition to explaining what academic and extracurricular programs you want to become involved in, it’s important to show how this involvement would benefit the Duke community.
One thing to be aware of is that your answer to this question is not merely a reiteration of the points made in your second essay, as both prompts ask applicants to explain how they would contribute to the school. One way in which you can approach this challenge is by using Essay 2 to focus on who you are and how you are unique: with this as your foundation, you can then use specific examples of planned participation to explain what you would bring to Fuqua and how you hope to contribute to the class. Meanwhile, in responding to Essay 3, you might focus on what you hope to get out of Fuqua and why you want to be there. In explaining how you are a cultural fit with the program and how the school would help you achieve your career goals, you should support your argument with specific examples of how you would contribute to, as well as benefit from, specific courses, clubs, and events.
Conclusion
As you prepare to respond to these prompts, remember to do careful research on Duke’s program offerings and integrate your findings. Candidates should consult the program website, Fuqua students and alumni, and Clear Admit School Guide to Fuqua for an in-depth review of the program’s unique features, character, and curriculum. In addition, feel free to contact us for a free consultation, during which one of our Clear Admit Admissions Consultants will help you consider the elements of your profile and determine how to best spread them across these three essays.
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