Trivia Tuesday: The First Year Experience at UVA/Darden » Clear Admit: MBA Admissions Consultants Blog

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Feb 10: INSEAD R3
Mar 1: Michigan / Ross R3
Mar 3: CBS
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Mar 4: Kellogg R3
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Mar 8: CMU / Tepper R3
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Mar 31: UVA / Darden R3
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Apr 8: Harvard R3
Apr 14: CBS

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The Career Goals Essay
Berkeley / Haas*
Chicago Booth*
CMU / Tepper*
Columbia*
Cornell / Johnson*
Dartmouth / Tuck*
Duke / Fuqua*
Harvard*
Indian School of Business*
INSEAD*
London Business School*
MIT / Sloan*
Michigan / Ross*
Northwestern / Kellogg*
NYU / Stern*
Oxford / Said*
Penn / Wharton*
Stanford GSB*
UCLA / Anderson*
UNC / Kenan-Flagler*
USC / Marshall*
UT Austin / McCombs*
UVA / Darden*
Yale SOM*
* denotes '09-'10 commentary

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Use categories to access all that has been written on each of the topics. We have categorized by school and by subject matter.

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Chicago
Columbia
Dartmouth / Tuck
Duke / Fuqua
Harvard
Kellogg
Michigan / Ross
MIT / Sloan
Stanford
UNC / Chapel Hill
Virginia / Darden
Wharton
London Business School

GMAT Resources
MBA.com
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Princeton Review
Test Prep New York
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Beat The GMAT
Knewton

Writing Resources
Guide to Grammar and Writing
The Internet Grammar of English
English Usage, Style and Composition
The Economist Style Guide
Paradigm Online Writing Assistant

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Business Week
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USNews
Wall Street Journal

Career Guides
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Vault.com
Wetfeet

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MBA Programs: North America
If an MBA Program is not listed, please e-mail and we will be happy to list it.
Berkeley / Haas
Boston College / Carroll
Carnegie Mellon / Tepper
Chicago
Columbia
Concordia
Cornell / Johnson
Dartmouth / Tuck
Duke / Fuqua
Emory / Goizueta
Harvard
HEC Montreal
Indiana / Kelley
Michigan
MIT / Sloan
Northwestern / Kellogg
New York / Stern
North Carolina / Kenan Flagler
Notre Dame / Mendoza
Pennsylvania / Wharton
Queens
Stanford
Syracuse / Whitman
Texas / McCombs
Thunderbird
Toronto
USC / Marshall
UCLA / Anderson
Vanderbilt / Owen
Virginia / Darden
Washington University in St. Louis / Olin
Western Ontario / Ivey
Yale

MBA Programs: Rest of the World
As there is some variety in the length of international MBA programs, we have denoted the length of the program next to its name (1 = one year; 2 = 2 years). If an MBA Program is not listed, please e-mail and we will be happy to list it.
AGSM (Australia) 2
Cambridge / Judge (UK) 1
CIEBS (China) 2
Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (China) 1
Cranfield School of Mgmt (UK) 1
ESADE (Spain) 1 or 2
HEC (France) 2
Hult (UK) 1
IESE (Spain) 2
IMD (Switzerland) 1
INCAE (Costa Rica) 2
INSEAD (France) 1
IPADE (Mexico)
ISB (India) 1
London Business School (UK) 2
Manchester Bus. School (UK) 2
Melbourne (Australia) 2
Oxford / Said (UK) 1
Rotterdam (Netherlands) 1
Tsinghua IMBA (China) 2
University of St. Gallen (Switzerland) 1

Additional Resources
Here we link a host of additional resources available across the web. E-mail info@clearadmit.com to have resources added to this list.
AACSB International
Association of MBAs
Beyond Grey Pinstripes
EFMD
gradschools.com (worldwide)
Infozee
International Student Loans
mba.com (GMAT Scores)
MBAInfo
mbaleague.blogspot.com
MBAzone
MBA Jungle
TOEFL
Top MBA

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Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Trivia Tuesday: The First Year Experience at UVA/Darden

Welcome to another edition of Trivia Tuesday, our weekly look at the policies and practices that differentiate the leading business schools. This week’s focus is the structure of Darden’s first-year class and the way it impacts the first-year experience at the school.

Darden’s entering class is divided into five sections of 60-65 students each. As at other business schools that break their classes into smaller groups, Darden’s sections are designed to represent the professional and demographic diversity of the full first-year class. Each section takes all of its core curriculum courses together and therefore shares a common set of faculty. Given the relatively small size of the sections and the intensely participatory nature of Darden’s case-based learning style, the school has taken the unusual step of reassigning sections at the conclusion of the first semester. This allows students to benefit from the ideas and perspectives of a new group of classmates during second semester case discussions. Section loyalty runs deep at Darden, despite the mid-year reshuffling of the class. Inter-section athletic events and other competitions take place each year, with students’ first semester sections holding their allegiance. In addition, alumni returning to campus often identify themselves by their section affiliation.

Darden first-years are further divided into 50-60 Learning Teams of five to six students apiece. As with the sections, learning team assignments are made with an eye to the diversity of students’ professional, academic and geographic backgrounds. However, Darden’s Learning Teams differ from those at most schools in that they are made up of students drawn from different sections of the class. Because class participation counts for such a large percentage of the grade in each course, case-based schools such as Darden and Harvard ensure that Learning Team members are not in the same class sections. This arrangement allows students to share their insights freely without having to compete against teammates in the classroom.

Unlike the first-year sections, Darden’s Learning Teams work together throughout the first year. Students are expected to use the teams as a resource for sharing and testing ideas, but above all, the teams are seen as an exercise in learning to lead a diverse group toward a shared goal. The school expects students to be committed to their Learning Teams and these teams play a central role in the lives of first-years.

To support the work of the Learning Teams, Darden reserves a study room for each team from 7-10 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday evenings. This practice is unique to Darden among its peer programs; few business schools have enough study rooms to provide their learning teams with dedicated meeting space throughout the week.

To learn more about the first-year academic experience at Darden or other leading MBA programs, be sure to check out the Academics section of the Clear Admit School Guides!

# posted by Clear Admit @ 4:33 am in School Guides, School: Virginia / Darden, Trivia Tuesday

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