The following is a summary of a Duke Fuqua MBA admissions interview provided by a recent applicant:
Firstly, I would like to thank Clear Admit and its community which helped me prepare for the interview. The wealth of resources and the questions shared by previous applicants was incredibly helpful for my interview process.
I was interviewed by a 2007 Fuqua alum at a Coffee shop in New Delhi, India. To the best of my knowledge – all Duke Alum/Student interviews are conducted blind. I had an online portal where I had to submit my resume 24 hours before my interview and my interviewer had access only to my copy of the resume.
As per the experience of most applicants – The Fuqua interview was extremely professional, well paced out and the interviewer was extremely friendly and encouraging. He set the context for the interview – stating that once the interview is completed, he would be sending across a report to the school and his recommendation would be another component of making the Admission Decision. He mentioned that he wanted to have a conversation and did not want to stick to the formal question and answer format outlined in some of the documents he was carrying.
We started off talking a bit about my interviewer and when he graduated and then he asked me to introduce myself and walk him through the resume. I am outlining the questions below for easy reference.
Questions Asked:
Walk me through your resume.
Why did you pursue X job? What was your biggest accomplishment there?
Tell me more about your current job.
You completed your graduation in Business Management. Why pursue MBA at all?
Why dont you pursue an MBA in India? Why MBA abroad and why Duke?
Tell me about a team experience you have had and did you face any conflict? How did you resolve the conflict?
What is your immediate short term goal? How do you think you will accomplish it?
Any regrets you have in your professional career?
Which other schools have you applied to? Which school will you chose if all of them accept you.
What was your GMAT Score?
What about Duke attracts you to the school?
Why did you not apply in Early Action?
Do you have any questions for me? (spoke about his MBA experience, how has the alumni network been supportive of his goals and if there was anything he wished to have done differently during his MBA)
The whole interview was a pleasant conversation. At some points, we stopped and discussed further on a particular topic. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation and it left a very positive impression about the school and its alumni. This was the best interviewing experience I had among all schools.
The only surprise question was – What regrets I had about my Professional Career?
Final Tip: Be yourself – dont try to hard to impress the interviewer. Have a conversation – they are trying to gauge whether they would like to have you on their team in a B-School. Let your personality shine through.
I am happy to report that I recently received an Admit from Duke.
For more Duke Fuqua MBA admissions interview reports, visit our Fuqua Interview Archive!
