Fuqua: Interview Transcripts & Notes
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Duke Fuqua Interview Reports:
It was about 45 minutes, going right through those questions on SBC interview report site. I talked about lot about the experiences I had and how I’ve handled/would handle situations. I also talked a lot about team Fuqua and all the people I’ve met. After the interview, I met with the admissions director I reached out to previously, she said I can submit a reflections page if I want about my visit and my experience.
Duke Fuqua Interview Report:
Tell me about yourself
Tell me a time you failed and what did you learn from it?
What does diversity mean to you? How have you promoted diversity and how will you promote it at Fuqua?
What are 3 characteristics
What is your greatest accomplishment?
Duke Fuqua Interview Report:
1. Tell me about yourself.
2. Why MBA?
3. Why Fuqua?
4. What’s your core strength and how will you bring it to Fuqua?
5. What ways will you contribute outside of the classroom?
6. Diversity - how do you contribute to diversity and how will you contribute at Fuqua?
7. How do you give feedback?
8. What has been the most rewarding part of your job?
9. What motivates you the most in your role?
10. Opened for questions of the interviewer.
In person on campus with second year Admissions Fellow: All standard essay questions from the SBC wiki site except these:
- Define diversity
- Tell me about a time you managed up
- Tell me about a time you lead a team to success
Here's a quick overview of the questions asked:
Tell me about yourself
What companies are you looking to work for after graduation?
Tell me a piece of constructive feedback you received and how you improved on it?
Tell me a time you failed and what did you learn from it?
Tell me a time you delivered bad feedback and how it go?
What makes a good leader?
What is your leadership style?
How will you develop your leadership skills at Fuqua?
What does Team Fuqua mean to you?
How will you contribute to Team Fuqua?
What does diversity mean to you? How have you promoted diversity and how will you promote it at Fuqua?
Do you know what Decency Quotient is and how will you promote it at Fuqua?
Zoom with a 2nd year student (Admissions Fellow)
It was highly conversational and lasted close to 1 hour.
Questions that were asked: Tell me about yourself/walk me through your resume
Why business school/why Fuqua/why now?
How would you describe Team Fuqua in your own words? How would you add to it?
What are 3 characteristics that every team needs?
Describe your leadership style. How are some of the things/activities that you've done demonstrated core values of leadership?
Was there a time when you did not were not compatible with one of your team members or colleagues? If not, how would you handle that situation?
Tell me a situation about when your team failed and how you handled it.
How have (or how would) you work in a diverse team setting?
Do you have any regrets from your professional experience or from choosing your company/role(s)?
Where does Duke rank over other schools?
If you were not extended an invitation for admission, what would be your back-up option? What would you do if you couldn't get into an MBA program this fall? What do you do in your free time?
Is there was anything that we didn't address that I felt the AdCom should know about?
Zoom with a 2nd year student (Admissions Fellow)
1) walk me through your resume (2-3 min)
2) tell me about a time you failed
3) what is your biggest regret?
4) who is a mentor or boss you’ve worked with that you admire and why?
5) provide 3-4 words that describe your mentorship style and give examples of each
6) tell me about a time you had to convince someone that they were wrong
7) if admitted, what will you contribute to the school?
8) what is your greatest accomplishment?
9) what does team fuqua mean to you? (this was asked after i mentioned team fuqua as a reason i was interested in duke)
10) what is your plan B if you don’t get into fuqua this round?
Via Zoom, with 2nd year student
Typical interview questions: Why MBA / Why Fuqua
How do you define diversity?
What makes a diverse team?
If you had 10 minutes with the Ad Comm, what would you tell them?
Via Zoom with 2nd year student
What are 3 characteristics every team needs?
What experiences have prepared you for an MBA?
What would you provide to the Fuqua community?
Why is communication style among teams important? How so?
Who is a manager or mentor whose leadership style you admire? Why?
Fuqua on-campus interview with 2nd year student :
Walk me through your resume
Standard questions such as short-term/long-term goals, why business school, why Fuqua, how do you see yourself engaging on campus
How would you describe the Fuqua community?
How have you effectively worked on diverse teams?
Tell me about an experience when you had to deliver negative feedback
Tell me about a situation when your team failed
Describe your leadership style
Describe your relationship with a mentor that's been really beneficial
How would your teammates describe you?
She then left plenty of time for me to ask questions at the end
Fuqua on-campus interview :
My interviewer was a second-year student from Venezuela. She began the interview by telling me about herself, the path that led her to Fuqua, and her experience thus far (including academics, recruiting, and where she'll be going after she finishes her MBA program). The interview was largely conversational, and relaxed.
Tell me about yourself.
Why an MBA?
Why Fuqua?
How would your colleagues or friends describe you?
How would you contribute to your Fuqua team?
What are your strengths?
What clubs/extracurricular are you excited to join? Why?
What would you do if there was a student on your team who was very busy with recruiting and wasn't showing up to any of your meetings, not participating in your projects? How would you handle that situation?
What are you the most proud of in your professional or personal life?
Is there anything you'd like to share with the adcom?
Do you have any questions for me?
Walk me through your resume
Why an MBA?
Why Fuqua?
What else do you know about Fuqua?
What are your short-term and long-term goals?
What was an obstacle you've overcome?
Tell me about a failure you've had
Tell me about another failure you've had
What are your biggest strengths? Weaknesses?
How would your best friend describe you?
How would your boss describe you?
- Walk me through your resume.
- Why MBA?
- What do you know about Fuqua? How will you contribute?
- Tell me your greatest accomplishment.
- Tell me about a time when you delivered something to a client and it didn't go well.
- What questions do you have for me?
Lasted 30 minutes.
- Walk me through your resume
- What are your 3 greatest strengths?
- Why an MBA?
- Why Duke?
- What will you contribute?
- If you had one minute in front of the admissions committee, what would you say?
- Tell me abut a manager you have worked with who has taught you and you have tried to emulate? What wouldn't you do the he/she does?
- Tell me about your Special Olympics experience
- Tell me how you have used Spanish and what it has done for you
- Tell me about how you plan to be involved outside of the classroom
- What are 2 areas you have worked on to improve?
Below are the questions I was asked during my interview with a second year MBA student. The interview lasted for a little over an hour and at the beginning he told me a little bit about himself and how the interview would work.
- Tell me about yourself
- What do you do outside of work?
- Tell me about a time you failed on a team
- Name 3-5 people you personally know whom you would like to have on a team with you and why
- Why is Duke a good fit for you and why are you a good fit for Duke?
- What would you leave behind if you went here?
- Did you ever struggle with a course in college? How did you handle that?
- How would your friends describe you?
- Any questions for me?
Duke was great. Very standard questions and the interviewer had set the expectation with me that he will be taking notes while I talk and he did take a lot. He filled almost two sides of an A4 sheet along with notes on my resume that I had handed over. Very standard questions:
- Why MBA
- Why now
- Why Duke
- Resume
- Academics
- Professional Experience
- Strengths/Weaknesses
- Leadership Experience
- Team Experience
- Difficult situation at work
- What I learned from these experiences
- Any questions for him
- What do you hope to accomplish during MBA program
- Why Duke
- What activities would you participate in at Duke
- How would you coworkers describe you
- Describe a failure on a team
- What would you do if a team member is not pulling their weight
- Name 3 things you don't like about working on teams
- What 3 things would you want me to tell the admissions committee
- How would you describe your job to a 5 year old
- What are some of your weaknesses
- Describe a time you failed
- Describe a time you led a team
- Walk me through your resume
- What will be challenging and exciting about coming to Fuqua
- What will you bring to the community.
- Long term goals.
- Present job and what kind of patients do I see?
- Why MBA/Why Duke?
- If someone just sees your application, what strengths and weaknesses would be highlighted?
- Leadership experience.
- To what other schools are you applying?
This lasted 1 hour.
- Tell me why you want to get an MBA.
- Why Fuqua?
- What activities do you want to do at Fuqua.
- What other schools are you applying to and why?
- What is your typical role on a team.
- You have a team member who isn't working well and is about to give up. What do you do / *What is your approach to handling the situation.
- Tell me about a time where you were given feedback. How did you react.
- What do you do in your spare time.
- What was the last book you read and why.
- What are your strengths / weaknesses.
It was very conversational interview that lasted around an hour or so. After the usual 'take me through the resume' question, the standard ones came through:
- why mba, why now, why fuqua
- why do you want to leave your current job ( I have changed job in last 6 months)
- short - term and long - term career goals and how will Fuqua help you
- Team experiences - one in which you failed and one in which you led
- What kind of leadership style do you have
- what can you bring to board - was put something like in typical class of 70, how would you contribute
- Which other schools are you applying to? What if you get admitted to all the schools on your list? ( I was made comfortable and asked for my honest opinion with reasons for or against each school)
- What defines your leadership style?
- Tell me 6 qualities you would expect in your leader (Supervisor).
- Give me a situation where you were part of a team and things didn't go well because of you. Then, tell me of a situation where you made things work in a team environment.
- What if you have a domineering participant in a meeting being chaired by you?
- How would you choose your business partner?
- Do you follow a certain philosophy in life?
- What do your parents think about you?
- What questions do you have for the adcom?
- What are your career goals?
- Why Duke?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 and 10 years?
- What do you want to contribute to the school?
- Do you have any questions for me?
- Why should the adcom admit you to the program?