Virginia Darden MBA

Rankings | Class Profile | Employment Report | Sample Essays | Interview Questions

Virginia Darden MBA – Introduction

If you’re sold on case method teaching and you can’t get into Harvard, Darden may well be your next best bet. Darden’s class time is spent discussing cases about actual business problems and potential solutions. Students are exposed to some 600 cases in a variety of industries and functions during their time at Darden. The integrated curriculum — wherein the same or similar cases are used in several different courses and more than one discipline — illustrates how all areas work together and influence one another. The electives in the second year of the MBA program allow students to explore new possibilities and develop more depth in chosen areas of expertise.

Since 2015, the school has been offering new students the chance to come to school early for a Darden-Before-Darden Camp, an eight-day orientation of sorts to help newbies thrive in a case study environment. There will be intensive sessions on accounting basics, Excel, and other topics critical to a fast start.

In addition, students are required to take an experiential learning course – a team-based project with a company, government agency or non-profit, in the fourth and final quarter of the first year. The mandatory exercise replaces one elective and is called “Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship In Action” (IDEA).  For more details Click Here…

Virginia Darden MBA Rankings

Virginia Darden MBA Class Profile & Employment Report

Virginia Darden MBA Application Essay Tips

Essay 1: What is your short-term, post-MBA career goal and why? (150 words)

Explain your current position and work experience → 2. State your short and long term goals → 3. Skillsets you have acquired throughout your career so far → 4. Explain what you currently lack to attain your short and long term goal → 5. Show how an MBA from school like Darden can help you bridge the gap in your skills to achieve your short term goal. 

Start with a strong introductory paragraph on who you are and what are your desired goals from an MBA.

Eg: “I am an engineer with four years of experience in the IT sector leading projects for clients across multiple countries. In the short term i want to transition from a software developer role to a product manager role” 

For the main body, start on a strong note, show what skills you already have. B-schools in general prefer to see strong academic track record, progress in professional career, client management exposure, leadership and international experiences. Highlight some of your key achievements with numbers or awards that you may have received. Show your outstanding performance via the promotions or opportunities to lead or international deputation.

After establishing the strengths of your profile, move on to show how the limitations of your current role and skills are hindering your future. Show that an MBA will help you acquire the skills and make help you make career progressions or desired transitions.

Essay 2: Darden strives to identify and cultivate responsible leaders who follow their purpose. Please provide an example of a situation in which you have made a meaningful impact. (200 words)

First of all, start jotting down all the successful experiences you had in life – big or small – whatever you think are significant achievements of your life. Most people fall back to professional experiences but it is strongly advised to go beyond professional stories. It may be easier to bucket and think across three areas – professional, extra-curriculars, personal. You led a sports team as captain, found an NGO, led a team towards a great vision, anywhere where you feel you have created value.

Then pick one story that is impactful, and the one that lets the reader know more about you than just the resume, and the ones that portray a wholesome balanced picture of who you are.

When illustrating examples, an easy method to follow is the STAR methodology. Situation → Task → Action → Result.

Start with describing the situation or problem at hand to give a background to the reader. Explain what was expected out of you to do and the consequence of the task. Explain how this difficult situation drove you to take certain initiatives or steps. Explain what challenges you faced in the course of taking certain actions. It is important to show what the outcome of the action was and what are the results that you obtained. Conclude by showing how WHY you consider this as your most impactful experience? What this experience has taught you and how has this experience shaped you as a better leader?

Essay 3: Diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission and they work best when they are an integral and celebrated part of our community. Share a time in which you engaged with a perspective, identity, community, or experience that was different from your own and how it impacted your worldview. (200 words)

Introspect on unique experiences you might have had. Most candidates write about their international experience or about a community activity they were engaged in. Experiences can also include life-changing moments you might have made such as a shift in religious beliefs, adopting veganism, identifying your sexual orientation, and so on.

Once you have identified one to two experiences, illustrate them using STAR methodology. Situation → Task → Action → Result.

Explain the situation to give a background or context to the reader. Explain how it was a different perspective or identity or community than yours. How did you react to the situation? What actions did you take to address the situation? The talk about the results – In the process, how it has changed you as a person, what impact such experience has had on you, how it has shifted your perspective about life and the world.

Essay 4: Tell us what you would want your learning team to know about you – personal, professional, or both. (100 words)

First of all start jotting down all the successful experiences you had in life – big or small – whatever you think are significant achievements of your life. Most people fall back to professional experiences but it is strongly advised to go beyond professional stories. It may be easier to bucket and think across three areas – social activities, extracurriculars and personal. Your first championship medal in sports, founding an NGO, breaking family convention value for love marriage or entrepreneurship, experience of surviving a terminal disease, leading a team towards a great vision, achievements in either sporting arena even if it is yoga and meditation – it could be anything you consider is a big part of YOUR life and you think it changed you or left you with a lifelong impact for the good.

Then pick two stories where and dedicate one paragraph for each of the two stories. Pick stories that are impactful, and the ones that let the reader know more about you than just the resume, and the ones that portray a wholesome balanced picture of who you are.

When illustrating examples, an easy method to follow is the STAR methodology. Situation → Task → Action → Result.

Start with describing the situation or problem at hand to give a background to the reader. Explain what was expected out of you to do and the consequence of the task. Explain what actions you took in response to the situation at hand. It is important to show what the outcome of the action was and what are the results that you obtained. Conclude by showing how WHY you consider this to be a big part of who you are and how these qualities/ actions of yours will make you a great addition to the Darden MBA cohort.