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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I find it funny how much this forum reveres Duke because of how few they take from the DMV. Perceptions of schools on here are just driven by perceived exclusivity, and it's gross.[/quote]

It's not just perceived exclusivity.  Duke has become known as a well rounded college experience where kids can have fun, attend sports games and also get a top notch education, while places like Princeton and Yale are known for being competitive and grindy with kids competing with another to get into clubs.  A lot of students (and their parents) want their kids to be in a more well rounded college environment and the weather helps too.  Also, with the protests, lots of Jewish parents have been souring on schools like Columbia and Harvard.  My Asian American, STEM-loving DD with very high stats applied ED to Duke and was deferred.[/quote]

Proud Duke alum here. Unfortunately, I hate to say it but though likely still more relaxed than HYP, Duke has gotten a lot more intense and grindy than it used to be. Kids are more competitive. It has its share of obnoxious pre-Wall Street club and the like. I am not very happy with what is happening with my beloved alma mater and I'm debating whether I want my child to go there. My current take is that they can still have a great time and won't feel obligated to fall in with that crowd, but I will be doing my homework. And I'm trying to figure out what a better option is that is academically rigorous but not super cut-throat.[/quote]

Curious.  What's the downside of "that crowd"?  Not snark. I have no background in finance or WS.[/quote]

See the striver thread that was around a month or two ago. The clubs started with the really good intention of helping kids who don't know a lot about finance prepare, which is admirable. They have now become cultish gatekeepers. I graduated from Duke and went to Wall Street. At the time it was a pretty chill process and most of it happened senior year - internships were helpful but not critical and were much more organic. Now it is all-consuming, starts ridiculously early, and the stress is worse than getting into college. It permeates the campus. Again, I think Duke is less bad than a lot of the other top 10 schools, but it is still just a less happy place to go to school than it used to be. Not everyone gets caught up in it but too many do.[/quote]

How do Duke kids actually get hired for these WS and consulting internships?

Does everything actually run through the clubs? Are they now the intermediaries between the firms and the applicants? Or is there a path where Duke kids get interviews and offers without being part of that club process? [/quote]

[b]This is what I've heard - I think others who are closer to it can help. [/b]I think that banks like kids from these clubs because it makes it easier for them - these clubs theoretically screen (not sure what the criteria is) and also do some training, so their applicants to banks are basically pre-screened. The days of the banks being willing to hire a really bright English or biology major with minimal relevant background but who can easily be trained are long gone, which is really a shame.

Also, there are a lot of kids from these clubs at the banks and they get involved in recruiting and like to hire other kids from the club. So it is not that different from kids from a frat or team hiring others from their frat or team. I'm sure plenty of other kids get jobs, either based on merit/potential (what a novel idea!) and/or through other personal connections.

The problem is compounded by how accelerated the recruiting cycle is. It is critical to get an internship for summer after junior year, and recruiting for that starts early (I think early sophomore year?). So now you need to arrive at college knowing exactly what you want to do. Rather than using the time to grow, explore different things, take some risks, etc.[/quote]

The three paragraphs that follow after your first sentence are interesting, and I can see how they might be true. I can also see how they can be a bunch of conjecture strung together to tell a story about how it's a shame these selective/exclusive clubs have so much influence in the recruiting process.

I'd really love to hear from people whose kids actually ARE at Duke and interning in IB or consulting or are recent Duke grads in those fields.

For your kids, was membership in the related Duke consulting/IB clubs required or even useful for getting those internships or jobs?

I'm asking because I'm genuinely curious and wondering wether this all a bit of a FOMO story. Like kids are worried they need to join these gatekept clubs because this is "what [they've] "heard" they have to do - even if it's not actually true. [/quote]

Agreed. I am the poster you are responding to. I was very careful to qualify my remark because I am so tired of people posting here acting like experts when they are not. I admittedly am not an expert on the topic, so wanted to make it clear and encourage those who might have more direct experience to opine. As a Duke alum investment banker who knows a lot of kids there now, I am smarter than the average bear on the topic, but still not an expert as I am not involved in on-campus recruiting anymore and don't interact with very junior people out of Duke.

My hypothesis was based on speaking with a few kids who recently graduated who work in finance. I had a conversation with a kid who was a year or two out working in finance who told me about his career path and credited the club with helping him. And another kid told me something similar. But I am smart enough to know not to make broad generalizations based on a few data points. I think the other poster above provided helpful info, but again is also just one data point.

I do think these clubs give good preparation that helps kids to shine in interviews (at firms that place weight on technical acumen - back when I interviewed for my bank, I usually didn't care - I wanted brain power and personality and figured we could teach them the details - I know that has largely changed). And I do think there is some degree of kids who were in the clubs who get involved in hiring favoring those who are now in the clubs. But I don't think this is a huge percentage of roles filled. Their power is likely exaggerated by those in the clubs. But they do have a meaningful impact, and they have made campus life and the investment banking recruiting process a lot more toxic, which is unfortunate.[/quote]

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