Another Top School Joins The 2020 Reversal-Of-Fortune Party: Apps Climb At Duke

Duke Fuqua photo

GRE SUBMISSIONS JUMP DRAMATICALLY

Minorities continue to gain greater representation at Duke Fuqua at 38%, up slightly from 2019’s cohort. Under-represented minorities — Black, Hispanic, and other non-Asian students — are 23% of the class, up from 17% in the fall of 2019.

In some ways, the Duke Fuqua Class of 2022 is very similar to its predecessors: undergraduate GPA average, for example, remained unchanged at 3.50, and the GPA range of 2.70-4.00 is much the same as well. Median GMAT remained the same at 710. The school’s Graduate Record Exam average dipped only slightly, to 315 from 319.

But the class, forged in extraordinary times, is unusual in key ways, including the percentage of enrolled students who submitted GRE scores, which climbed dramatically to 38% from 23%. This development is largely due to pandemic circumstances — the GRE at-home test was available quicker, and with fewer problems, than the GMAT — but it’s also part of a long-term trend, as Hubert notes.

“I think that people who had later submission, people who had decided to apply later in the cycle, may have had greater access to GRE,” she says. “Overall in all phases, it was a test year for applicants and testing agencies, and I’m really impressed with how quickly both GMAC and ETS were able to pivot and develop an online option. And even though it’s not perfect, I do know that everyone is really trying to react to the pandemic.

“Each year, we’ve been seeing an increase in our GREs that are submitted by our applicants. We also see applicants submitting multiple test formats more. We accept GMAT, GRE, and the EA, the Executive Assessment, now. And I do think people who apply later in the process may have already had access to a GRE. ETS came online a bit earlier.”

2020: LIKE ‘CHANGING THE TIRES ON A MOVING BUS’

The Fuqua School continues to draw mostly MBA students with business and accounting undergraduate majors: 31% this year, compared to last year’s 28%. Engineering and natural sciences undergrads make up 28% of the class (compared to 31% in 2019), while liberal arts students are 19% and economics undergrads are 16%.

All in all, it’s a class formed in strange times — but one the school is deeply proud of, Hubert says.

“These were challenging times. I have to say, this year was a challenging year — but I feel really great about the class that we brought in,” she says. “I think we did the right thing by meeting people where they were, by being thoughtful and considerate of everyone’s situation. Everyone was trying to react — I liken it to changing the tires on a moving bus. So everyone in this industry was trying to do that, all institutions, and I really give credit to our admissions team and to our dean and the school for the thoughtfulness and the ability to really continue to invest and to support our admissions efforts.

“I’m really proud. I’m proud of the students who decided to stick with it and invest in their education. I think this is a great time to pursue an MBA. And I think that the students who will come this year, it will be a different year for them — but I think that they’re still going to get the transformational experience that they’re looking for.”

DON’T MISS APPLICATIONS ARE UP AT UC-BERKELEY HAAS, BUT ACCEPTANCE RATE JUMPS, TOO and COLUMBIA SETS NEW MBA APPLICATION RECORD: NEARLY 7,000