Darden (UVA) Class of 2016: Calling all applicants!

Lots of confusion around interview invites. I would really request someone with good knowledge of the Darden interview process to share her/his wisdom. Can we really expect more invites (especially for international candidates) or is it game over for us? Any help would be hugely appreciated!

Put me in this bucket as well. I'm curious if they are holding off on us "local" applicants, considering we need less notice to arrange travel because we are within driving distance. That's how I'm justifying it to myself anyways...

Hello guys,

Can you please share interviews experiences with the DARDEN admission Committee, Alumni or 2yr student.

Thank you

It was very easy and relaxed. You start out with breakfast with other applicants, then you get coffee with students, and maybe take a tour of campus and visit a class. later, you have lunch with some professors or staff. I had lunch with a career development office member focused on general management. After this, I had my interview.

My interviewer was an incredibly nice second year student. The interview lasted 40 minutes exactly. She just said "Tell me about yourself. You have 20-25 minutes. No pressure." She asked one or two probing questions during this to get clarity, but with no pressure at all. It eventually led to "You seem successful already, so why do you want an MBA?"

After this, "Why Darden?" was asked, and then she asked me if there were any campus activities I want to be involved with, and whether I've considered the global opportunities available at Darden. Throughout all of this, she took pains to make sure I wasn't pressured or uncomfortable at all.

Last, I asked her a few questions. Overall, it was a fun interaction.

I'm very glad I visited the campus. It is gorgeous. I had no idea it was so nice before. Also, the Decision Sciences class I sat in on was amazing. I've visited schools of all different ranks, and this professor's passion and teaching ability was better than all of them. I was extremely impressed.

Good luck on your interviews!!

See this link for more reports: https://blog.clearadmit.com/category/int ... va-darden/

Thank you very much . That's really helpful.

Losing hope as well. I have a friend who is a 1st year at Darden, and everything he's told me makes me want to go there quite a bit. But no contact from them is starting to look not-all-that promising. This waiting is brutal.

Received an interview invite today! American and applied through The Consortium

I received an interview invite today . Indian Applicant. I had lost all hope by now. But they are still rolling out invites. So there is still hope. Also there are slots for 26th and 27th only for skype interview. Best of luck guys. Hope for the best.

Just another thought: R1 deposit deadline is on Friday, maybe they make some more invitations next week if the yield is lower than expected...

Random question: Why did you take the GRE instead of the GMAT?

I tried out both tests, and while my GMAT verbal scores were in the 99th percentile, my quant were lower than I'd like to be. On the GRE, I was able to get into the higher percentile rankings on quant with much more consistency. All the schools where I wanted to apply accepted both tests, and I figured that the percentile rank was an important metric. On the GMAT my percentile ranks would have been 99th verbal, 65th or so quant, while on the GRE, I have 99th verbal, 87th quant. Since I had read comments from admissions directors at Stanford, HBS, and Sloan that they truly did not have a preference, I opted for the test that would give me a better percentile ranking. Using the GRE>GMAT conversion, I have a 740 equivalent score, which I was able to do on a practice test but not in-person on the GMAT.

What made you ask?

Ok, that all makes sense. No particular reason for asking. Was just checking this thread (I have applied) and saw your name and associated GRE, and was curious to look up the percentile. (I have friends who took GRE for other graduate programs, and was curious anyway). After I did, I thought you did so well that you probably could have done well on the GMAT as well. Which is the case as you describe.

I also did 99tb percentile on verbal, and decent in quant. 750 overall. But my UG GPA was lowish.

I've wondered generally about the stats in relation to rankings. Schools take either GMAT or GRE, but only GMAT goes into rankings (as far as I know). Unfortunately in my case there is no alternative metric to the GPA.

In any case, thanks for the response, again I was just curious for no particular reason. You clearly knew what you were doing.

Good luck to all!

Posted from my mobile device

Did any Indian applicants get an interview invite lately?

Not yet, hope is all we have!

FROM Darden Admissions Blog: Whole Foods CEO Kicks Off Leadership Speaker Series

Walter Robb, Co-CEO of Whole Foods, kicked off the spring 2014 session of the Leadership Speaker Series, addressing the theme: “Leaders Who Inspire Innovation, Collaboration and Growth.” Robb spoke about how the company focused on community stakeholders from Detroit in order to open a successful store in the city’s Midtown section — despite naysayers and skeptics who thought it would never be profitable. Watch a recording of Robb’s presentation and Q&A session in the video below: Darden Leadership Speaker Series: Walter Robb, Co-CEO of Whole Foods Market You can view additional videos on the Darden Leadership Speaker Series playlist on YouTube.

Indeed, and it is thinning out rather quickly! I hope we receive some good news in the next few days.

No nothing yet!