Tuesday Tips: Duke MBA Essays and Tips for 2024-2025
Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business is a community-oriented program seeking a diverse class of accomplished students. The Duke MBA essays remain the same this year. As you decide what to write about in your essays, carefully review the application instructions. The Duke Fuqua admissions committee seeks a well-rounded class of MBA students who are motivated and collaborative.
Give serious thought to what you value in an MBA program. Part of your research on Duke Fuqua should include talking to current students and alums. And remember, make sure you let your personality shine through in the application!
Learn all about Team Fuqua on B-Schooled Podcast Episode #84: Spotlight on Fuqua
Duke MBA Essays and Tips
Required Short-Answer Essay Question
Instructions: Answer the following question in 100 words. What are your post-MBA career goals? Share with us your first-choice career plan and your alternate plan.
This is a concise essay asking for your vision for your career. Think big picture and focus on the overall story trajectory. How will your career goals flow from the combination of your MBA and your past experiences? The career goals essay is about your ability to assess your skills and plan for the future. However, it’s not a commitment to a specific path.
Listen as SBC consultant Sherry, former assistant director of admissions at the Fuqua School of Business, explains how to clearly and concisely express your post-MBA career goals.
@stacyblackmanconsulting #sbcyourfuture ? original sound – Stacy Blackman Consulting
To that point, the Duke MBA admissions team wants to know your first and alternate career choices. In response, think about goals that fit with your background and personality. Also, show what you could explore if your first plan doesn’t materialize. Flexibility is helpful in a changing world and valuable for this Duke MBA essay.
For example, say your primary goal is to work in marketing in the consumer packaged goods industry. Therefore, you might be interested in a company like General Mills. If you don’t find the right job in that industry after Duke, maybe you would consider marketing for a retailer like Target. This could be an alternative career path because it allows you to develop a marketing career while remaining flexible about the industry.
Or, you may have two interests and want to consider both. Your Plan A is to join a strategy consulting firm after graduation. However, if you don’t receive a job at your top choice firm, you would consider co-founding a start-up as another possible path. Think about your range of interests and go from there.
Q&A with the Duke Fuqua Associate Director of MBA Admissions
Because you have limited space in this Duke MBA essay, distill your plans into a clear statement. You should support any ideas for an MBA and career goals with the information provided in your resume, recommendations, and other essays. In particular, Duke Fuqua should be the ideal training ground for your future career.
Curious about your chances of getting into a top B-school such as Duke Fuqua? Contact us to talk strategy with a free 15-minute advising session with an SBC Principal Consultant.
First Required Essay: 25 Random Things About Yourself
The ‘Team Fuqua’ spirit and community is one of the things that sets the MBA experience apart, and it is a concept that extends beyond the student body to include faculty, staff, and administration. Please share with us “25 Random Things” about you. The Admissions Committee wants to get to know YOU – beyond the professional and academic achievements listed in your resume and transcript. Share with us important life experiences, your hobbies, achievements, fun facts, or anything that helps us understand what makes you who you are.
Your list will be limited to 2 pages (750 words maximum). Please present your response in list form, numbered 1 to 25. Some points may be brief, while others may be longer.
This Duke MBA essay is entirely open-ended. As a result, you can cover your background, work experiences, values, and hobbies. This is where you tell your most compelling stories and ensure that personal topics are relevant to your Duke Fuqua application.
To help you answer this question, the Duke admissions committee has posted its own 25 Random Things examples. These range from personal (engagement stories) to inspiring (starting a company from nothing). Consider the variety of responses as you draft your list.
Twenty-five random things may seem impossible to come up with at first. Therefore, start your creative process by brainstorming with friends and family. First, ask them what they think is unique and memorable about you. Then, ask them to share the first story that comes to mind when asked about you. Another idea is to keep a notebook handy to record your thoughts as inspiration strikes.
Once you have 25 random things, how do you structure your list? You can structure it chronologically, thematically, or even alphabetically. Also, you could organize the list to build from shorter to longer items. Another idea is to alternate paragraphs of explanations with sets of one-sentence items.
Structure the list to make it easy to read and follow. But resist the urge to package the list too perfectly. Remember, content is always the essential part of these Duke MBA essays. Also, the point of this essay is to show Fuqua your personality. This makes the essay a crucial part of your overall Duke Fuqua application.
Learn more about SBC’s 2-hour strategy engagement, which explores your strengths and weaknesses, target schools, positioning and differentiation AND allows you to test the waters with your consultant before committing to a full package.
Second Required Essay: the Fuqua Community and You
Fuqua prides itself on cultivating a culture of engagement. Our students enjoy a wide range of student-led organizations that provide opportunities for leadership development and personal fulfillment, as well as an outlet for contributing to society. Our student-led government, clubs, centers, and events are an integral part of the student culture and to the development of leaders. Based on your understanding of the Fuqua culture, what are 3 ways you expect to contribute at Fuqua?
Your response will be limited to 1 page (500 words maximum).
For this Duke Fuqua MBA essay, you should be specific about why Team Fuqua is the right place for you. As a result, the best Duke MBA essays will be personal yet informed. Everyone benefits from a diverse alumni network. Therefore, what will you specifically give and receive from your classmates?
To decide on areas to focus on for this short essay, consider your past experiences. First, does Fuqua have clubs that match your interests? Next, what classes are intriguing and would help you build upon your knowledge? Finally, offer specific examples from your past experiences to show your passions.
Fit with the program is crucial. Ideally, you would showcase personal qualities that Duke Fuqua values. For example, Fuqua is especially interested in your role within your community. Community involvement, therefore, has significant weight in your Duke Fuqua application.
This essay can also be a place to discuss how the Duke MBA fits into your career goals. What do you know now that a Fuqua MBA education will further enhance? What skills will you learn at Duke that will benefit your future?
Overall, the main focus should be your contributions to the Duke community. Think about how you plan to improve the experience of others at Duke.
Fuqua School of Business – Keller Center East – Hall of Flags
Fuqua School of Business – Keller Center East – Hall of FlagsOptional Essay: Tell Us More
If you feel there are 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). Note that you should NOT upload additional essays nor additional recommendations in this area. The Optional Information section is intended to provide the admissions committee with insight into your circumstances only. Your response will be limited to 1 page (500 words maximum).
Remember, this essay is only for exceptional circumstances. Therefore, do not use this essay to add new information to your Duke Fuqua application. You should write this essay if you have a low GPA, a gap in work history, or recommender issues. Otherwise, plan to skip this question.
This essay should focus on explanations and future performance. In a factual and positive manner, write that you know there could be questions about your background. Then, describe how you have improved. You aim to show that you have addressed or corrected past issues, are now on a successful trajectory, and can handle Duke Fuqua’s academics. As a result, you are ready to contribute to Duke Fuqua.
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Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your MBA application needs, from our All-In Partnership to hourly help reviewing your MBA resume. Contact us today for a free 15-minute advising session to talk strategy with a Principal SBC consultant.
Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team.
Ashley
Ashley is a former MBA Admissions Board Member for Harvard Business School (HBS), where she interviewed and evaluated thousands of business school applicants for over a six year tenure. Ashley holds an MBA from HBS. During her HBS years, Ashley was the Sports Editor for the Harbus and a member of the B-School Blades Ice Hockey Team. After HBS, she worked in Marketing at the Gillette Company on Male and Female shaving ...
×Kerry
Kerry is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). During her 5+ year tenure at HBS, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a wide range of backgrounds across the globe. She also led marketing and outreach efforts focused on increasing diversity and inclusion, ran the Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP), and launched the 2+2 Program during her time in Admissions. Kerry holds a B.A. from Bates College and ...
×Pauline
A former associate director of admissions at Harvard Business School, Pauline served on the HBS MBA Admissions Board full-time for four years. She evaluated and interviewed HBS applicants, both on-campus and globally. Pauline's career has included sales and marketing management roles with Coca-Cola, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, and IBM. For over 10 years, Pauline has expertly guided MBA applicants, and her clients h ...
×Geri
Geri is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). In her 7 year tenure in HBS Admissions, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a diverse set of academic, geographic, and employment backgrounds. Geri also traveled globally representing the school at outreach events in order to raise awareness for women and international students. In additio ...
×Laura
Laura comes from the MBA Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS) and is an HBS MBA alumnus. In her HBS Admissions role, she evaluated and interviewed hundreds of business school candidates, including internationals, women, military and other applicant pools, for five years. Prior to her time as a student at HBS, Laura began her career in advertising and marketing in Chicago at Leo Burnett where she worked on th ...
×Andrea
Andrea served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years. In this role, she provided strategic direction for student yield-management activities and also served as a full member of the admissions committee. In 2007, Andrea launched the new 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School – a program targeted at college junior applicants to Harvard Business School. Andrea has also served as a Career Coach for Harvard Business School for both cu ...
×Jennifer
Jennifer served as Admissions Officer at the Stanford (GSB) for five years. She holds an MBA from Stanford (GSB) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Jennifer has over 15 years experience in guiding applicants through the increasingly competitive admissions process into top MBA programs. Having read thousands and thousands of essays and applications while at Stanford (GSB) Admiss ...
×Erin K.
Erin served in key roles in MBA Admissions--as Director at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Assistant Director at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB). Erin served on the admissions committee at each school and has read thousands of applications in her career. At Haas, she served for seven years in roles that encompassed evaluation, outreach, and diversity and inclusion. During her tenure in Admissions at GSB, she was responsible for candidate evaluation, applicant outreach, ...
×Susie
Susie comes from the Admissions Office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she reviewed and evaluated hundreds of prospective students’ applications. She holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB and a BA from Stanford in Economics. Prior to advising MBA applicants, Susie held a variety of roles over a 15-year period in capital markets, finance, and real estate, including as partner in one of the nation’s most innovative finance and real estate investment organizations. In that r ...
×Dione
Dione holds an MBA degree from Stanford Business School (GSB) and a BA degree from Stanford University, where she double majored in Economics and Communication with concentrations in journalism and sociology. Dione has served as an Admissions reader and member of the Minority Admissions Advisory Committee at Stanford. Dione is an accomplished and respected advocate and thought leader on education and diversity. She is ...
×Anthony
Anthony served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he dedicated over 10 years of expertise. During his time as a Wharton Admissions Officer, he read and reviewed thousands of applications and helped bring in a class of 800+ students a year. Anthony has traveled both domestically and internationally to recruit a ...
×Meghan
Meghan served as the Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute, a joint degree program combining the Wharton MBA with an MA in International Studies. In her role on the Wharton MBA admissions committee, Meghan advised domestic and international applicants; conducted interviews and information sessions domestically and overseas in Asia, Central and South America, and Europe; and evaluated applicants for admission to the program. Meghan also managed ...
×Amy
Amy comes from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she was Associate Director. Amy devoted 12 years at the Wharton School, working closely with MBA students and supporting the admissions team. During her tenure at Wharton, Amy served as a trusted adviser to prospective applicants as well as admitted and matriculated students. She conducted admissions chats with applicants early in the admissions ...
×Ally
Ally brings six years of admissions experience to the SBC team, most recently as an Assistant Director of Admission for the full-time MBA program at Columbia Business School (CBS). During her time at Columbia, Ally was responsible for reviewing applications, planning recruitment events, and interviewing candidates for both the full-time MBA program and the Executive MBA program. She traveled both internationally and dome ...
×Erin B.
Erin has over seven years of experience working across major institutions, including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School, and NYU's Stern School of Business. At Columbia Business School, Erin was an Assistant Director of Admissions where she evaluated applications for both the full time and executive MBA programs, sat on the admissions and merit scholarship committees and advised applicants on which program might be the best fit for them based on their work experience and pro ...
×Emma
Emma comes from the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School (CBS), where she was Associate Director. Emma conducted dozens of interviews each cycle for the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as coordinating the alumni ambassador interview program. She read and evaluated hundreds of applications each cycle, delivered information sessions to audiences across the globe, and advised countless waitlisted applicants. ×
