Duke Daytime MBA Student Blog
Coffee Chats in Latin America – A “Must” in Your Application Process
During January and February, Fuqua students hosted coffee chats throughout cities in Latin America, including Montevideo (Uruguay), Lima (Peru), Santiago (Chile), Mexico City (Mexico), and Buenos Aires (Argentina).
The events were organized and led by current students while visiting families and friends in their home countries during Winter Break. Coffee chats are a great resource for applicants to have a first-hand testimony about all aspects of the MBA experience at Fuqua. Usually there is one event per city each year (December-January). In about two hours, a couple of Fuqua students talk to around 10-15 prospects. Everyone interested in knowing more about Fuqua is invited!
The purpose of a coffee chat is to provide an opportunity for prospective students to ask questions in a laid-back atmosphere. Francisco Jimenez, a second-year student who led the event in Santiago says: “It was a great event! We had more than 15 applicants and were able to answer more personal questions about everyday student life. You could feel prospective students had the chance to ask all those questions that they probably weren’t daring to do in a formal info session.”
This year there were more Latin America coffee chats than any previous year. Even more remarkable, it was an initiative that came from the students; demonstrating the commitment and enthusiasm of our community to continue developing our network abroad, while reinforcing Fuqua’s vision to be a student-led school.
Yonathan Lapchik, Admissions Cabinet Member of the Latin American Student Association (LASA) explains: “We received only good feedback about coffee chats in Latin America. Prospective students found it a very useful step in their application process. Our idea is to continue developing these kinds of events in the future and establish them as another resource for applicants in their pathway to Fuqua.”
Next year’s events will be posted on Fuqua’s webpage in December 2014. We hope to see you there!