Duke / Fuqua MBA News

Currently employed full time with a small defense contractor. I’m attached to a Flight Test squadron to advise and assist the Air Force in flight operations, long range and short range testing, resources, manning, scheduling, and collaborate with outside agencies and vendors.

Looking to stay within the Aero and Defense sector.

I would appreciate if given pointers as to the kind of questions to ask while attending virtual events and how to successfully gain application fee waiver. Thank you.

Low GPA due to having to work full time during schooling to support my family and also career change. I was originally in Engineering undergrad then switched to Finance and achieved much higher grades.

I have taken a practice GMAT and I am aiming for a ~675+ to hopefully offset GPA.

M 30, Hispanic American, First-gen, I would apply through the Consortium, also a part of the Big Brother program mentor.

3 years of credit specialist experience and 2 years of production supervisor experience, all within the same company. 5 more years of general production jobs where I had some leadership experience but nothing too notable.

I'm not absolutely locked into only attending those schools, but I know they have great placements in Consulting. How would everyone rate my chances?

Hi Alex and Graham, huge fan of your podcast. Love the work that you are doing, especially with the candidate profile reviews

- Female from outside the capital city in Bangladesh; 23-year-old; to accumulate 3 years of full-time work experience at matriculation in Fall 26. Also completed HBS CoRE with high honors (99th Percentile). Prepping for the GRE now and expecting a score of 330 ish, with a skew towards quant.

- Graduated with 4.0 in Econ (Minor: Finance and Math) from an international women's college in Bangladesh; extensively involved as Tutor (Math and Science Center) and Teaching Assistant (for 8 courses) during my undergrad; Secretary at the SDG Club. Have done internships and global mgmt. programs internationally, but remotely given it was during peak Covid.

- Working as an Assistant Vice President in one of the largest multinational banks; I manage the largest client of my office and oversee accounts; I also work actively on several CSR projects of my organization, including a major initiative that involves my Alma Mater. Managing a team of 3 at work now despite being the youngest in the team

- Target is to get into Top 15 MBA programs at the US with a substantial scholarship. I recognize that the Work Exp will be a major barrier. Please suggest ways in which I can maximize my chances. My goal is to do consulting with an MBB firm in the Short Term and then move to Non-profit/Social Impact (either in Consulting with orgs such as Dalberg, or at the likes of Gates Foundation etc.) focusing on women empowerment/ education.

- Planning to apply in R1 to 5 ish schools (Mix of M7, Top 10, 10-15 range) and then in R2 to 3 ish, targeting a total of 8 applications

Would love to get covered in one of your future episodes. Happy to share more about my profile and ambitions. Thanks a ton!