Fuqua vs Tuck

IB is easy to get into nowadays from either school. Tuck is more prestigious, but Duke is still a top school. Tuck and Duke both have awesome student bodies and are two of the more fun schools.

You should feel confident you can hit your career goals from Duke. That said, reneging is fine, you just lose the deposit money. People do it all the time, no one enforces the "Binding" aspect.

@OpsDude..............thanks for your comment. Just curious, how challenging is it for someone with operations experience to get into PE? I have heard that cracking into PE definitely requires 'prestige' factor. Is this true? The reason I ask is that I would ideally like to be able to get into IB or PE, if opportunity presents itself.

Tuck maybe bit more prestigious but Duke's been killing it in the rankings for couple years now. Perception may continue to change if it keeps up. Might as well consider it a call option - not to mention Duke is already a great school.

I attended an admissions event for Duke and the admissions officer said that they take the binding nature seriously. He gave multiple examples of students who reneged at Duke and once other schools found out (admissions world is small), the schools that had also extended offers took them back (his most recent example was a Duke ED admit who was later accepted to Wharton. Student reneged, Wharton found out and reversed his offer).

My question is, why did you apply to two schools? If Duke was always a question mark, why not apply EA to Tuck and round 1 at Duke? Duke is very explicit that you must retract all other applications. I don't get why people apply to a binding ED if they are not 100% set on that school.

No brainer, choose Tuck

Tuck is more recognized and holds more weight all around

I chose Duke over Tuck and will be starting this coming fall, and like yourself my goal is to break into IB or PE. In the grand scheme of things I think the difference between the two programs is not material and that both schools will open the necessary doors for you to facilitate a career change, assuming you are willing to put in the work to network with alumni and professionals at firms you are interested in and prepare yourself for interviews.

From speaking with alumni of both schools as well as people in industry that did not attend either, Tuck seems to have a stronger alumni network in PE, but there doesn't seem to be much of a difference with respect to IB

I also think it is easier to get from Raleigh to NYC for informational interviews than it is to get in and out of Hanover.

Feel free to PM me.

I talked to my college friend who works as a pre-mba PE analyst. He did BB I-banking before.

He told me getting into PE without prior PE experience is almost impossible, and it's almost impossible to lateral into PE from IB after MBA, if you didn't do PE before.

Also, he mentioned that from VP level and up in IB, what bankers do is mostly sales and pitching to clients. He mentioned the reason most IB analysts leave for PE or other gigs is because they do not wish to end up as salesmen, or it's because they know they're not good at sales, so they know they won't make it very far in the IB career track.

Can anyone verify the claims above?? I was hoping to do MBA in a couple of years to jump into IB, but I hear very conflicting stories regarding this specific path. (regarding nature of work in IB, exit ops after doing MBA & IB, etc)

^ Thanks for the replies. I guess if you didn't get IBD analyst gig straight out of college and do PE after analyst stint, you've pretty much missed the boat on buyside exit op.

What happens to the guys that go from MBA to IB associate jobs? What's the most likely exit for these guys? I imagine most of them won't make it past VP level in IB and will be eventually asked to leave IB.

Thanks for all the discussion on PE vs IB. Going back to my question #2, has anyone heard of what can happen if someone reneges on an early admission (binding) offer?

Thanks for all the discussion on PE vs IB. Going back to my question #2, has anyone heard of what can happen if someone reneges on an early admission (binding) offer?

any more comments from folks who have first hand experience with this challenge is highly appreciated......

any more comments from folks who have first hand experience with this challenge is highly appreciated......

There is no evidence whatsoever that schools talk to each other. Speak to any student who has been through the experience of reneging or any admissions admissions consultant and they will tell you that is a stupid rumor . It drives me nuts how dumb rumors like this get perpetuated with no evidence.

thanks for the comments guys, keep em coming.........has anyone on this forum reneged on the binding admissions themself? or heard of someone who has? Just curious to know whether anyone has first hand experience of this.

does anyone has first hand experience reneging binding early admissions? or know someone who has done so?

does anyone has first hand experience reneging binding early admissions? or know someone who has done so?

I'm a Tuck student and huge Tuck homer and I can tell you that given your career goals, there is no difference between Tuck and Duke. Getting IB will not be a problem provided you attend the requisite number of events, display decent social skills, and nail your technicals.

You've got a binding early admission offer in your pocket from a great school. Go to Duke.

Even if there's a 20% chance that your offers everywhere will get rescinded as a result of not attending Duke, don't take the risk. If this happens, you'll not only miss the chance this year, but chances are you'll be blacklisted for the next couple of years as well.

Yes, people renege on binding admissions offers, and that's why schools ask for deposits. It isn't a happy reality, but it does happen.

I am merely curious, under what circumstances should one pick Tuck over Duke? I am asking this based on the comments above that Duke and Tuck essentially offer similar opportunties.

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Tuck is a better brand and its alumni network is crazy tight.. one of the MBB partners I used to work for raved all the time about the latter

anyone else wants to add anything more to the post?

In your particular case I would ONLY pick Tuck over Duke for the following:

-A desire to stay in the northeast -Fit -A slightly better shot at MBB -All of the above (or some combination thereof)

Since you want to do IB and don't seem all that location specific, go with the bird in hand. Even if IB doesn't work out, Duke is slightly superior in tech, better in Health Care, even in GM, weaker on the Buyside, and close in Consulting-So you would not be denied any alternative opportunities. The differences in securing jobs in these fields at this level usually only come down to the candidates themselves. The fact that you're on Tuck's WL also means you're not going to receive any $$$ to tip the scales so again, your choice SEEMS obvious to the unbiased eye.

Duke has the triangle area nearby and basically more job options. Not as much as NYC/SF, but more than Dartmouth.

@TheGrind........ thank you for your response. I have a follow up question. You didn't mention 'Network / Alumni Support' in your points of why one would pick Tuck over Duke. I have first hand experience as to how supportive Tuckies can be, but not so much with Fuquans. Are you able to comment on the strength of the network for these two schools? Also, when does the network come in handy? I am guessing that since most schools place well for post-graduation jobs, the strength of your network would come in handy specially when you are looking for your second or third job post-graduation. Right?

I can't speak on the Fuqua community but I interned with a couple of Dukies and they really, really bought in to that whole "Team Fuqua" concept. They certainly networked with senior Dukies (including undergrad) at the company when we had to do events, but that's the extent of the alumni engagement I personally witnessed. We're also all still friends so I'm sure it's top notch otherwise.

As for Tuck, the network's as good as advertised. It's mostly why I opted to enroll. Quite frankly, I've never witnessed anything like it. In nearly 2 yrs here I've had every single call or email answered, from some of the most senior folks (70% of Tuckies end up in the C-Suite within a decade). These people would often hand me leads, connect me with folks both in and out of the Tuck network, offer advice, and really help frame my thinking about certain opportunities or roles. There weren't any Tuckies at the specific location I interned, but I got connected with a couple of key people (from Kellogg, Ross, and Haas) via a professor and an alumnus, and they gave great advice on converting an offer. That's a benefit I didn't even consider-access to other tangential networks. I look at the network as a valuable chip I get to cash in every so often. I imagine it will come in especially handy during career or job switches.