Posted by Clear Admit on May 10, 2012, at 3:00 am
Posted in:  Campus Chronicles , School: Virginia / Darden Welcome to this edition of Campus Chronicles, our weekly rundown of the big events unfolding at top b-schools. This Thursday, we turn to The Cold Call Chronicle for the latest news from MBA students matriculating at the Darden School of Business.
The Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Batten Institute announced that 10 Darden students were honored at the 2012 UVA-Darden Business Plan Competition. Among those students, a team of three first-years placed most highly, winning third place and $1,000 for their BallClub Baseball idea. Two members of the Class of 2012 followed in fourth place for their platform, PlannerB, and the pair earned $500. » Continue reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 21, 2012, at 12:30 am
Posted in: Interview Tips , Interview: UVA / Darden , School: Virginia / Darden As MBA candidates undergo admissions interviews, many interviewees have detailed their experiences in the Clear Admit Wiki, a free resource for applicants navigating the MBA admissions process. This Round 2 candidate for UVA / Darden shared the following interview experience with an alumnus:
“I had my interview on Feb 28th with an alumnus off-campus. I am an international applicant based in Mumbai. The interviewer was extremely friendly and asked me to tell me my story, telling about my life, academics, decisions taken in life what I have done, work experiences and then touch upon why MBA, career goals and why Darden. I had heard of this format of interview and had prepared for this so after the initial chat I started with my story and told about my experiences in detail. » Continue reading
Posted by Clear Admit on February 21, 2012, at 1:00 am
Posted in: Interview Tips , Interview: UVA / Darden , School: Virginia / Darden Welcome to another interview report posted recently to the Clear Admit Wiki, a free resource for MBA admissions applicants to share their experiences from the admissions process. This Round 2 candidate for UVA / Darden chatted with a second-year student for the following admissions interview:
“I had a Skype interview this morning, 6am my time (yuk). I was really prepared on the technology side, but for 10 minutes of trying different calls and computers she kept saying she couldn’t hear me. In the end her volume was on mute!
Anyway, we started quite late and she explained she was a 2nd year MBA student doing the recruiting as part of her program. It was her first Skype interview. She also explained that she wanted me to tell her my story and Why Darden for ~30 mins, with her interjecting with questions every now and then, followed by some time for me to ask questions.
And that was exactly how it went:
- My story: 30 mins, a few clarifications (we had a bad line)
- Why Darden: 5 mins – got totally cut off after outlining only one of my FOUR points, but we were running out of time due to the late start.
- ST/LT goals: 8 mins » Continue reading
Posted by Clear Admit on February 14, 2012, at 3:00 am
Posted in: School Guides , School: Virginia / Darden , Trivia Tuesday Welcome to another edition of Trivia Tuesday, our weekly look at the distinguishing resources and opportunities offered by the leading business schools. This week, we’re opening up the Clear Admit Guide to the University of Virginia Darden School of Business to learn about the school’s Batten Institute.
“Darden students interested in entrepreneurship and innovation are encouraged to make use of the resources offered by the school’s Batten Institute. In addition to supporting research projects that focus on economic growth, emerging markets, sustainability and healthcare, the institute offers frequent opportunities for experiential learning and networking, along with financial support for student entrepreneurs.
“To encourage the development of new business ventures on campus, the Batten Institute organizes an annual Entrepreneurial Concept Competition as well as a more traditional Business Plan Competition. These competitions provide a way for ventures in many stages of development to attract attention and support. In the Entrepreneurial Concept Competition, teams simply submit an executive summary that rigorously analyzes a market opportunity they see. The Business Plan Competition takes this several steps further, asking teams to submit a full-fledged business plan, including an overview of the venture’s management team and its projected financials. » Continue reading
Posted by Clear Admit on December 28, 2011, at 2:00 pm
Posted in: MBA News , School: Virginia / Darden The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, together with the University’s Curry School of Education, announced earlier this fall the creation of a one-of-a-kind education executive program that will award those who complete it with a dual MBA/MEd degree. The goal of the program is to inject innovation into educational reform by training business leaders with special interest in education reform alongside education reform leaders seeking business skills.
According to a release announcing the new program, three out of 10 American students will not graduate from high school this year, and after a decade of standards-based reforms and tests, scores are flat or declining. The new Curry-Darden MBA/MEd is an effort to respond to this growing challenge and to create a supply chain of innovators and innovations in education with the power to transform the current landscape.
“Darden’s program accelerates personal and professional growth and provides an entrepreneurial ecosystem that inspires innovation,” Darden Dean Bruner said in a statement. “Our two schools’ combined efforts to develop a new crop of educators grounded in the principles of school instruction and administration, and in business leadership, will be a boon for positive education reform. We also believe it will be of great benefit to students and ultimately, the world that they will inherit.”
Curry School of Education Dean Robert Pianta agrees. “Never before have two schools come together to create a program with such promising impact,” he said. “The idea to train the next generation of education leaders in a full curriculum of business and education concepts has the potential to radically change how children receive their education in this country.”
The new program will blend Darden’s case method instruction and team-building and entrepreneurial approaches with Curry’s evidence-based work in teacher effectiveness, curriculum innovations and measureable student gains. In addition to classroom-based instruction, students also will participate in residency/internships with partners for credit. These experiences will give students opportunities in real-world education settings, such as the Darden-Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education (PLE), charter schools and management organizations, state agencies and large high-need urban school districts.
The program will be spread over the course of 24 months, totaling 82.5 credit hours (52.5 credit hours from Darden and 30 credit hours from Curry). Course work will take place as part of five modules made up of courses drawn from both schools designed to give students a firm grounding in basic business and education subjects, their intersection, and a range of electives depending on the students own interests.
The new Darden-Curry dual degree program will welcome its first class in the summer of 2012. To learn more, click here.
Posted by Clear Admit on December 8, 2011, at 3:00 am
Posted in: Campus Chronicles , School: Virginia / Darden This week, Campus Chronicles riffles through the web pages of The Cold Call Chronicle to gain some insight into MBA student activities at UVA Darden.
November saw the 24th occurrence of the Marketing Club’s annual Brand Challenge. Roughly 60 first-year MBA students at Darden worked to resolve marketing-based issues spanning industries from social media to consumer-packaged goods. » Continue reading
Posted by Clear Admit on December 6, 2011, at 1:00 am
Posted in: Interview Tips , Interview: UVA / Darden , School: Virginia / Darden Take a peek at the latest addition to the Clear Admit Wiki, a free online resource for MBA applicants to share their experiences with the admissions process! This Round 1 candidate for UVA / Darden faced the following queries from an adcom member:
“I was invited to interview with Darden around November 20th. I was kind of shocked to get an invite because I thought they had all gone out. Nonetheless, I scheduled an interview for December 2nd.
I arrived at the Darden Gatehouse about 20 minutes early to get a parking pass. It’s an easy task requiring little more than two minutes. I parked and walked to Admissions, arriving about 10 minutes early. I checked in and got a folder with some materials in it. For the most part it’s the advertising pitch, but some stuff was geared specifically toward me based on my careers interests (consulting and sustainability).
I sat in the waiting room and began to worry that they’d forgotten about me. Finally, a second year student and Admissions Committee member came out to meet me. It was about 10 minutes after our appointed time, which was fine by me. I had previously visited Darden so I only came down to interview (i.e. no class visit, lunch, etc.).
The three of us walked back to the ADCOM member’s office and sat down. My interviewer and I sat in chairs while the ADCOM member sat on her couch. From there it was pretty straightforward. My interviewer was cordial and asked if I had any questions about the interview. I indicated that I felt good and appreciated him taking time out of his day to talk to me. From there, the floor was mine. He just wanted “to get to know me. Where are you coming from? What’s your story?” » Continue reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 24, 2011, at 1:00 am
Posted in: Interview Tips , Interview: UVA / Darden , School: Virginia / Darden Take a peek at the latest addition to the Clear Admit Wiki, a free online resource for MBA applicants to share their experiences with the admissions process! This Round 1 candidate for Darden shared the following account with a second-year student interviewer:
“I had a 1st round interview on campus with a second-year student. It was a very pleasant experience. The interviewer gave a quick introduction of the interview format, explaining that she had not seen my resume or the rest of my application. She set up the interview with a single, long request that basically went as follows:
I am here for you to tell me your story. Just tell me about yourself. In the process you can cover, college, anything before college if relevant, your resume, why MBA and why Darden. » Continue reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 16, 2011, at 1:00 am
Posted in: Interview Tips , Interview: UVA / Darden , School: Virginia / Darden In the midst of Round 1 interviews, this candidate for UVA / Darden shared the following experience with a second-year student:
“Had on campus interview with second year student. As expected, interview was extremely conversational. Interviewer didn’t have a copy of my resume and simply wanted to “learn more about” me. Interview progressed with:
- walk through of my personal and professional history.
- We then transitioned to “Why an MBA?” and “Why now?”
- This led to a brief conversation about my professional objectives » Continue reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 8, 2011, at 3:00 am
Posted in: School Guides , School: Virginia / Darden , Trivia Tuesday Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday, in which we spotlight special elements that differentiate the leading MBA programs from their peers. Today we’re turning our focus to the Clear Admit School Guide to the University of Virginia Darden School of Business to learn about 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 65 to 70 students each. As at other business schools that break their classes into smaller groups, Darden’s sections are designed to represent the full professional and demographic diversity of the first-year class. Each section takes all of its core courses together and therefore shares a common set of professors.
“Given the relatively small size of each section and the intensely participatory nature of Darden’s case-based learning style, the school reassigns students to new sections partway through the first year, a practice followed by only a handful of other schools. This allows students to benefit from the ideas and perspectives of a new group of classmates during spring 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’ fall sections holding their principal allegiance. In addition, alumni returning to campus often identify themselves by their section affiliation. » Continue reading
Several Clear Admit Fridays From the Frontline featured contributors recently shared their thoughts about the Clear Admit School Guides on their blogs. Here are some highlights from these MBA applicant reviews:
“Wow!” was Sanket‘s first reaction to the Stanford School Guide, which he praises for its use as a comparative tool for MBA program research:
“USP [Unique Selling Proposition] of the guide – Comparative study…The graphical presentation of the information in comparison with other programs makes it easy to understand how GSB is different…In fact, this is very good tool for school selection.”
My MBA Dreamz, who frequents the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Blog for school research, wished he had read the Darden guide earlier:
“I had attended the Darden Info Session, and thought I was fully equipped to apply to Darden. But I was wrong. I can see that after reading the Clear Admit guide, which explains in great detail, the various aspects of Darden. I wish I had read this guide before attending the info session.”
Roller Coaster had this, and more, to say about the Clear Admit School Guide to Kellogg:
“I had always read that such guides are just a summary of what can be found on the website. While this guide largely conforms to this assertion, it gives you some nuggets of information which are more than worth the price of the guide…I would highly recommend Clearadmit’s guides if you are looking for information on schools in a clear and concise form.”
With Round 1 interview invitations coming out over the next few weeks and Round 2 deadlines on the horizon, it’s the perfect time to do school research. All 27 Clear Admit School Guides are available for immediate download in the Clear Admit Shop. If you’re using an iPad or iPhone, be sure to check out the App versions of seven of our School Guides in the iTunes Store.
The Economist released its ninth annual ranking of full-time MBA programs yesterday, and Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business seized the top spot, advancing from second position last year. According to the Economist analysis, the rapid pace with which Tuck graduates found employment, their salary expectations upon graduation and the quality of the school’s alumni network were among the considerations that helped propel the New Hampshire school to the top this year.
The Chicago Booth School of Business, ranked number one last year, fell to number two in this year’s ranking. Harvard Business School also slid, from fourth to fifth place. Switzerland’s IMD ranked highest among European MBA programs, coming in at number three. Rounding out the top five schools is the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, which made an impressive climb from 11th last year to fourth this year. » Continue reading
Posted by Clear Admit on September 21, 2011, at 9:23 am
Posted in: Essay Topic Analysis , School: Virginia / Darden UVA Darden’s MBA application essay questions for the 2011-2012 season are brand new for this year, with a greater focus on leadership in an increasingly global world. Requiring three essays with an allowance of just 150 words for the shorter two prompts found in the personal information and employment history sections of the application, UVA’s application is now one of the shortest among leading business schools. Of course, “shorter” doesn’t translate to “easier;” less room to comment on one’s background forces candidates to think carefully and strategically as they decide which aspects of their experiences to highlight.
Let’s consider each of the school’s questions for this year:
Essay 1: Share your perspective on leadership in the workplace and describe how it has been shaped by the increasing influence of globalization. (500 words)
New to Darden’s application, but similar to last year’s second topic, this essay gives applicants the opportunity to discuss their perspective on leadership and to offer their thoughts how globalization has shaped this perception. It’s important that applicants follow Darden’s instructions and include their general observations on leadership as well as a detailed discussion of the influence of globalization on how they view leadership in the workplace.
Ideally, applicants will use an example from the workplace that highlights them in a leading and active role to explain the origin of their perspective on leadership. As there isn’t much space for elaborating on one’s professional experience and achievements in other essay questions, it’s crucial to take full advantage of this chance to do so. No matter how you choose to frame how globalization has affected your perception of leadership, the admissions committee is looking for applicants who are clearly attuned to current realities, have thoughtful ideas about leadership, can adapt to changing circumstances, and are prepared for increasingly global management positions down the road.
Personal Information Essay: At Darden, a core part of your academic experience is your participation in and contributions to your learning team. What will you contribute to your team? (150 words)
This straightforward question presents an opportunity for applicants to highlight their team work skills, strengths, personality and general interests to the admissions committee. Keep in mind that this question also offers applicants a great chance to showcase their familiarity with the Darden program and prove that they’ve done their homework, as well as demonstrate that they’ve thought through the contribution they would make and the strengths they could bring to the program. With only 150 words allotted for this essay, applicants will need to be highly efficient with their writing.
Employment History Essay: If you were on an elevator with your dream company CEO or angel investor, what would you tell him/her about your professional ambitions and goals? (150 words)
Rather than have a full-length essay devoted to an applicant’s career plans, Darden has framed the typical career goals essay as an elevator pitch. With only 150 words at the applicant’s disposal, it is imperative that one present a clear and concise statement of his or her career goals. Given the restrictive word limit and that the essay should address a CEO or angel investor, it is not prudent to include one’s reasons for applying to Darden in the pitch.
Posted by Clear Admit on September 20, 2011, at 12:00 pm
Posted in: Essay Topic Analysis , School: Virginia / Darden If you were on an elevator with your dream company CEO or angel investor, what would you tell him/her about your professional ambitions and goals? (150 words)
Rather than have a full-length essay devoted to an applicant’s career plans, Darden has framed the typical career goals essay as an elevator pitch. With only 150 words at the applicant’s disposal, it is imperative that one present a clear and concise statement of his or her career goals. Given the restrictive word limit and that the essay should address a CEO or angel investor, it is not prudent to include one’s reasons for applying to Darden in the pitch.
To read our analysis of all of Darden’s essay questions, click here.
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