Duke Admissions Tips

Liz Riley Hargrove explains why Fuqua is looking for applicants with a propensity for teamwork who are "leaders of consequence"

Liz Riley Hargrove
Duke University

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This is Liz Riley Hargrove's 16th year as director of admissions for Duke's Fuqua School of Business (Duke Full-Time MBA Profile)—"and really, all that means for you is that I was 12 when I started," she laughs. She's traveled to 39 countries for her position in Fuqua admissions. "The best part is really having a better understanding and appreciation for the students that we serve and that we admit," she says.

BusinessWeek's 2008 rankings of full-time MBA programs placed Fuqua eighth out of the top U.S. programs. In an interview with BusinessWeek's Mandy Oaklander, Riley Hargrove reveals the secret to a successful admissions interview, why Duke MBAs deserve and receive a midweek break, and how Fuqua was founded on an overdue library fine. An edited portion of the conversation follows.

A lot of business schools have reported having higher than usual applicant numbers because of the economic crisis. How does Duke compare?

What we're seeing is that applications from domestic applicants are up quite significantly, while applications from international students are down. We think much of that can be attributed to the credit crisis. There were multiple schools in the top 20 that were having trouble with negotiating terms for international student loans, and we think the delay in that may have impacted our international applications. But we're definitely seeing an increase in applications from students here in the U.S. and many applicants who have been displaced from their companies.

Forty percent of Fuqua's Class of 2008 was made up of international students. How will the school continue to maintain its international diversity without as many applicants from abroad?

We can isolate the decrease in applications to Asia. Those [countries in Asia] are historically areas where we've had an overrepresented applicant pool. While we're seeing fewer applications from that part of the world, the quality of the applications is still really good, so it won't impact our diversity at all. We are also seeing more applications from Latin America, Africa, and Europe this year. While we don't ever want to see a decrease in applications, I think we won't have any trouble creating the diversity that Fuqua's been known for.

Can you describe the Duke culture?

It can be defined as a collaborative leadership culture. The foundation of our program and the day-to-day learning experience has often been described as "Team Fuqua." Most of what the students will do in their MBA program will be done in some sort of team dynamic. But we also expect in this environment that they will take risks and hone their leadership skills.

Students are involved in many aspects of the administration and running of the school: serving on the admissions committee, preparing first-year students for the job-search process, serving on the curriculum committee. Really, if you choose to enroll at Fuqua, you're accepting partnership status. And that's a partnership that I think differentiates Duke from a lot of other business schools—the amount of responsibility and impact that students are able to have here.

You mentioned that students help in the job-search process. How does that work?

Each year the career management center selects 60 or 65 students that are career fellows—second-year students that have already been through the job-search process and have had successful summer internships. They work with the first-year students, by industry and functional area, on résumés, cover letters, and mock interviews.

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