Calling all Darden Fall 2009 applicants!

i applied R1 and am anxiously awaiting the request for an interview (knock on wood). i looked on a different blog and it seems as though the deadlines were different last year as people were receiving invites on a rolling decision beginning in late november. i would assume we would hear a bit sooner considering interviews start dec 5...but who knows?

Fianlly, my app is also "complete"...... and I did not get the email too......

https://dardenadmissions.wordpress.com/2 ... pplicants/

Invites start to go out in mid-November but can come all the way up to decision deadline.

I attended the reception last night in LA with ryguy. I will post a re-cap later once things calm down at work.

Yup...... now got that mail notifying of the status update......

Alright, I attended the Darden reception here in LA last night. They had a very small turnout as compared to the receptions for the M7 schools (about 25 prospective students, as compared to 200 for the M7 schools). It was a very personal reception, the Adcom members were straight shooters - they did not seem to believe in the typical "Adcom speak" and were plain spoken and blunt with their responses. They wanted people to discover whether Darden was right for them, and they were totally fine if it was not.

They made a very personal speech highlighting what differentiates the school. There was no PowerPoints or any of that. There was about 10 alumni present. The alumni and the prospective students both seemed very entrepeneurial. There was very few finance/consulting types around. The finance folks that were around were primarily in private wealth management (this may be a function of being in LA, rather than Darden). The school has a reputation for being rigorous, and this was well emphasized throughout the night. The case method is one of Darden's main selling points. Another thing they mentioned was that Darden used to be solidly in the Top 10 in the 1990s, but it slipped due to Dean turnover. The new Dean is apparently very impressive and working to claw back up the rankings.

I can say without a shadow of doubt that the Darden reception I attended was by far the best b-school reception this application season. Plus, i also got a chance to have a lengthy discussion with Dean Bruner who, as you said, is very impressive. Darden is among my top choices now!

I'm glad you guys have been able to attend the Darden receptions. Those of you who are familiar with my story know that I had a similar type of experience a few years ago. I was on the west coast, attended a Darden reception and the school shot to the top of my list. It sounds like they are still using the same format. No powerpoint, and in fact no sitting down. It was a reception where you had the opportunity to speak at length with a bunch of different alums (at the event I attended in San Francisco there were about 40 perspectives and 20 alums) and then some remarks from the Dean which led to an impromptu cold-call by Dean Bruner asking alums of various vintages to tell about their experiences. That was the first time that I noticed the the strength of Darden's community across generations and how different it was from other schools. The Adcom's do take seriously the goal of admitting students that will be involved and enjoy the community here, in addition to the obvious goal of admitting top notch students. For those of you who proceed to campus visits and interviews, I think you'll find that the campus culture here is very positive.

To add, I'm going to recommend everyone still on-the-fence about Darden to go visit!

I just returned from an Open House event that has completely blown my mind. Everything from my class visit experience to my interactions with current students has been absolutely top drawer. Other schools could learn so much from how Darden structures its prospective student events.

In fact, I really regret not completing a R1 application. I'll try to post a more detailed recap of my visit soon, but I'm thoroughly impressed.

u back already? that was a quick visit. Did u meet pelihu?

I just walked back to my hotel 200 ft away. Leave for New York tomorrow AM. I did meet pelihu. He is, as we all know, awesome.

I am very excited abt visiting darden now. I hope they invite me for an interview!

Yes, I completely agree. I attended a Darden event here in Atlanta. They rented out a banquet room at the Four Seasons, had an open bar all night, and had about 30 alumni on hand with whom the prospectives could speak. Director of Admissions Sarah Neher was in attendance as well. In terms of student turnout and extravagance, this was by FAR the most impressive event I have been to. A couple of days earlier I had attended an event for a top 5 school (I won't name name's), and it was completely unprofessional. The alumni were boring and unenthusiastic, the cell phone of the admissions committee member who was presenting went off in the middle, and she slowly sauntered over, took it out of her purse, examined who was calling, and then shut if off while about 30 people waited! I couldn't believe that she wasn't more concerned with the image she conveyed to the prospectives! That experience made me appreciate the other admissions events like Darden's that much more. To be honest, I don't think it's wise to put too much stock into one thing like a presentation that in reality has little bearing on the education you will be doling out over $100k for, but it does leave some impression as you consider your options. It also gives you an idea of the steps each school takes to try to shore up its reputation amongst the top programs, and how much effort each puts into attracting the top talent.

As far as I am concerned, it all starts with the Dean. He is the one who sets an example for everyone else to follow.

Glad you liked the school and campus! Look forward to reading more about the visit and your recap about the student

hi guys,
i was at the open house yesterday as well. some of my thoughts:

facilities + grounds: GORGEOUS......darden grounds are amazing. and they are actually grounds. not just one building for a business school. inside as well, very spread out hallways, traditional southern mansion style architecture..was fantastic..even the parking lot is a damn good looking parking lot.

we started the day with a presentation from Sara Neher..She was great, very informative, down to earth. Some of the questions the prospective applicants asked were pretty ridiclous, but maybe thats just me. really stressed the prospective applicants to see a fit with the culutre etc etc.

i met my student guide after, very nice guy. very down to earth. also stressed that finance recruiting was basically coming to a standstill. also mentioned that to get on to a short list for interviews with the big 3 consulting firms a 700+ gmat is necessary.
we went to a macroecon class after. was very impressed with the way the class was run. i have an econ minor, so I was able to follow along. however, this was a case based class, very different from my undergrad days. everyone was contributing and paying attention. this is a little different from some of the other school classes ive attended.

we had a great lunch afterwards. again food and dining hall were all very impressive.

we then had a presentation from the finance + career development offices. career development was interesting. really said you have to hit the ground running in terms of recruiting. also stressed, even though banking is a bit dead, the internship is key. it is very difficult for second years with out previous internship experience to get into banking (even though this is a bit of a moot point this year)

overall, fantastic school, very down to earth people.

gmat4life, were you Group One or Group Two?