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Duke (Fuqua) vs University of Texas (McCombs)

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Duke (Fuqua) vs University of Texas (McCombs)

by Not lov'n the GMAT » Tue Mar 29, 2011 12:42 am
I'm thrilled to be accepted to both Duke (Fuqua) and the University of Texas (McCombs) but I'm having trouble deciding where to go. My experience is in marketing and non-profit management (domestically and internationally). I am interested in non-profit leadership, marketing or international business positions post MBA. I'm from Texas so I would benefit from in-state tuition - very enticing & if I stay in the US then Texas would be my living preference after graduating; however, if Duke is a shiningly better program and fit than Texas then I would prefer to be there.

Here are a few of my questions (I welcome and appreciation any insightful feedback/advice):

How much stronger is Duke's program? Its rankings are typically higher than UTs but do people consider UT in the same ballpark or a step down?

How do the cultures compare? Will UT be more cut throat and less collaborative than Duke?

How strong is UT for the fields of social entrepreneurship, marketing and international business? Does it clearly fall short of Duke on any/all of these categories or is it comparable in any/all these categories?

If later I pursue a PhD on a track to be a professor how will an MBA from UT compare to Duke for university/research jobs in business education?

Any other feedback not directly pertaining to these questions is also appreciated.
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by sv02 » Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:26 pm
Hi - I can't comment on UT, but you can check out this thread to see if it helps you with any info for Fuqua:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/ask-a-duke-f ... 73276.html


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by Obsessed » Thu Mar 31, 2011 10:55 am
Congratulations on your acceptance! Can I ask what what your gmat score? I am also interested in attending the UT program but as it is not an A program there is definately less mention on this board about it.
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by sv02 » Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:14 pm
Hi, sorry for the delay. I had reached out to a FY classmate who did UT undergrad to see if he had any insights, but hadn't heard back. this week has been tough. My gmat score was the lower end of the 80% range of the previous class profile. Gmat isn't everything (though when you're applying you feel like it is ;o)
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by fuqua2012 » Tue Apr 05, 2011 4:07 am
First of all, congrats on getting into both schools! You need to ask yourself which one of your goals is the most important.

For marketing, Fuqua is hands down the better school than McCombs.

I'm not familiar with the situation at McCombs, but I believe for non-profit management and international opportunities, you need to go off campus to do the recruiting. For off campus recruiting, networking in the field and region that you are interested in is very important. I don't think either school has an especially strong network abroad and in non-profit. However, Fuqua is trying to expand global, so in the future that many change. McCombs may have a stronger network in Latin America. I know the Texas Law is trying to position itself as the premier place for Latin America law recruitment.

If you want to go a PhD, you are just wasting time doing an MBA. Unlike other PhD programs, where PhD is the next progression after a Masters, for business, I think those are to distinctively different paths. PhD students do not take the same classes as us. Our classes are more experiential, whereas PhD classes are more theoretical. If you go back for a PhD, you would need to redo everything.

Although Fuqua is more prestigious than McCombs nationally, but if you plan on living in Texas post-MBA, McCombs has the advantage. Every school is strongest in its own region. McCombs pretty much dominates the southwest region, there's no comparable school within 1000 miles.

As far as culture in the MBA program, I think both are similar. I don't believe McCombs MBAs are cut throat.

Bottomline: Unless you are doing marketing, I think McCombs will suit you just fine. Plus, Texas in-state tuition is super cheap.
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by Not lov'n the GMAT » Tue Apr 05, 2011 8:00 am
Thanks fuqua2012 for the insight. I presume you are a Fuqua student?
I saw on US News and World Report that Fuqua ranks number 4 for "international" but, as a student, do you not perceive Fuqua as having a strong network abroad?
I might be interested in returning to China or living elsewhere aboard after graduation (but living in Texas is my pick if I stay in the States). That's part of why I'm wrestling through this decision; I'm trying to figure out how much stronger Duke will be for the disciple of Marketing and how much stronger its brand and ties reach aboard compared to UT.
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by fuqua2012 » Wed Apr 06, 2011 7:02 pm
That's really a hard question to answer, because I only have the Fuqua perspective. My guess is that neither school is particularly strong internationally. Probably true for any US school. However, in the long-term, I believe (or hope) that Fuqua will be a stronger brand internationally. Fuqua is building a campus in China (Kunshan, outside of Shanghai), the network will grow stronger as more alums work in China. Fuqua also has a very strong Chinese community here at Durham. However, the jobs available in China are limited (especially if you want US pay). The ones that have global pay are the consulting and investment banking firms, which primarily recruit for the Hong Kong office.
Duke - The Fuqua School of Business - Class of 2012
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