Darden (UVA)

"Interviewed with a second-year student. It was very conversational. Overall interview lasted for about 40 minutes. 1. Tell me about yourself - She specifically mentioned that I start with some childhood stories coz she wanted to know more about my formative experiences. I spoke for about 3 minutes and then she started asking about a few things I had touched upon. 2. How many people do you manage? Break-up across levels and countries? 3. Why MBA? --> I baked 'Why Darden' into my response here after responding to initial question. 4. What's your leadership style? 5. Have you ever delivered difficult feedback? How did you approach it? 6. Where do you want to work post-MBA (geography, target companies)? Would you consider coming back to current employer? 7. Talked a little about my hobbies, and we uncovered few things we were both interested in. 8. Any questions for me?"

"Hello - Yes my interview was on 26th. It was with one of the Adcom members. The interview flows truly in a very friendly and conversational manner. I would advise one should know the Why’s of everything. Why did you choose your undergraduate. your job, made that particular switch, or moved to a country. Also, Darden is keen to know who you are as a person. Darden believes in values, collaboration and seek to understand your working style/learning style. I believe you are thorough on why you want to do MBA? Why from Darden? What will you gain from Darden , MBA? How will you be able to contribute. You are all set for the interview. No need to overthink. Just be yourself and stay confident. Don’t forget that getting interviewed is something you always wanted. So enjoy it to the fullest. All the best. Let me know if you need more help."

"I was interviewed by a second-year student. 1. Tell me about your story covering my education, and work - I talked for about 10 mins. He followed up for things he required more detail. Covered why Darden and why MBA in this answer. 2. Asked to describe a project I mentioned in my TMAY. 3. What kind of teammate I'm - he mentioned he wanted to how I handled being part of multiple teams. 4. Questions for the interviewer. It was conversational and he was very accommodating."

"My interviewer was a current 2nd-year student and she was really friendly. She relayed the layout and the structure of the interview to give me a roadmap. She started with the usual questions. 1. Tell me about yourself 2. Share about a project from your work experience 3. If you faced any conflict? 4. She asked if I had any international experience. 5. My views on DEI and if I had done anything in this space. 6. What are my goals? Why MBA? Why Darden? 7. Why Now? 8. Questions for the interviewer. Overall, the interview went by pretty fast and my interviewer was very engaging."

"Duration of the Interview: 50 minutes Questions asked: > Tell me your story and why did you make the decisions you made > Follow-up questions based on what I answered. Eg: I mentioned that in my Senior year of HS, I was drawn to business and finance, and that's why I took that as my major for Undergrad. So he asked "how did you get drawn to business and finance in the first place" > What does Impact mean to you? > Why do you think Darden is a good fit for you? > How do you plan on contributing when you come to Darden? > Why MBA? Why now? > Goals > Is there anything else you'd like to convey to the admissions committee? > Do you have any questions for me?"

"I also had my early admit interview. It was with a member of the adcom and a current student, They were very welcoming and seemed excited to be there. Make sure to have your ID ready to show them. Questions were: Tell me about your background and why MBA How would your colleagues describe your leadership style What do you do for fun Anything you wish we asked? Any questions for us? It was very conversational and the interviewers were attentive to my talk and responded with comments that showed that they really were paying attention to my stories. I did talk a lot, but I feel like I was being myself and they didn’t mind."

"Interviewed with a second year student, lasted 50minutes Standard questions 1. TMAY - monologue-ish, got interrupted a couple times by the interviewer to seek more detail on a particular project/experience. 2. Given your interest in energy, how do you see yourself achieving your goals - briefed about short term and long term goals 4. How will Darden help achieve those goals 5. Leadership experience - with examples and summarise your leadership style 6. Failure/challenge faced 7. My perspective on DEI and if I have done anything in that space 8. Questions for the interviewer Mostly me talking and the interviewer asking a few questions when he felt like."

"I was interviewed by an AdCom. It was so smooth and conversational. Considering that the interviewer doesn’t have your resume at the time of the interview, the first question was "tell me about yourself" instead of "walk me through your resume", and we went on from there with regular questions (why MBA, career goals, why Darden, how you will collaborate etc). It took around 40 minutes and had a Q&A time for me at the end. IMPORTANT: don’t forget to have your passport at the time of the interview - I interviewed with other schools, but Darden was the only who asked to see my ID at the start of the call."

"Interview went well.... ☺️☺️ Conversational Started with the usual question with my story- Gave her a nice overview about me my life Early childhood , education and work exp Outside work what i like to do... Narrated my story in such a way that tells her about my need for wanting an mba , how at this juncture mba is right decision, what are my st and lt goals...how the mba fits in And how the school can help and how the school is the best place to get an mba - Case based method, open door policy with lecturers , clubs and what i can contribute towards the community..... Lasted About - 14 min (my story) tried mto make it engaging and interesting. Then follow up questions on Leadership style and how i deal with my underlinks What are some of the toughest situation i faced Personal conflicts and hardest person to deal with What are some of the extra curricular things that i wish to be part of at darden Inclusion example Then she gave a chance to give extra info on my story- Gave her story overview and its summary and what kind of person i am and what i want the school to know About me.... Some questions for her - Ine advice she can give me to be successful as she has seen people go out of darden and are successful... And i asked her...2nd question- as how is she coping up with covid, how is she....her family- This was preety fun Got to know abt her...her struggle and had a few laughs and tried to remain engaging (asked her abt how school was able to held in person classes in 2020) Over all a conversation type interview Told her the school vibes of this great welcoming nature and is helpful in putting resources to help students to prepare like the darden podcast series...and how it helped prep and understanding the vibe and framework of interview... Total duration-48min Overall a great exp and had fun.... I wish everything works out well ...did my best to put forth my motivation and feel free guys to dm me Regards Shaunak Fingers crossed 🤞 Jai shree ram🙏"

"It was like a conversation. The interviewer asked questions to get to know me. It's a blind interview so you can steer it as necessary. Same questions as others: Why Darden? Tell me about yourself? What are your post-MBA goals? What do you think of Charlottesville? Tell me one question you'd have liked me to ask. That was all."

"Had an interview with an adcom member. Interview lasted 40 mins Tell me about yourself Why MBA? Why Darden? What your team members say about you? Tell me in few words Share a team work experience ? What impact will you create on Darden? Do you have any international experience? Have you taken any business courses after your engineering degree? What do you like to do for fun? Anything else that you want to share?"

"I was interviewed by a 2nd-year student. (1) Tell me about yourself: 10-15 mins monologue (2) There were counter-question in that monologue - For example what was the most difficult part in that particular experience? (3) Any example of a conflict with Boss and how it was managed? (4) Why now going for an MBA is a good time? (5) Why Darden? (6) What would you find most difficult for you in a learning team? (7) Anything that you wished I had asked? We went into detail in some of the answers. All in all, my interviewer was a great guy. He was easy to talk to. We spent about 38~40 mins."

"I had my interview yesterday afternoon with an Ad-com member. It was pretty conversational. I was asked the following questions: 1- Tell me about yourself - background, journey, anything that has been important to you. 2- Why MBA now? 3- What appeals to you about Darden in particular? 4- What will your team members say about you? 5- How would you define your leadership style? 6- What values will you bring to Darden? 7- Follow-up question based on the previous answers about values - related to Diversity and Inclusion? 8- I asked questions It was a 50-minute interview. It was more about striking a conversation."

"* Application submitted on 10/6 * Invited to interview on 10/13 * Interviewed on 10/26 1- Talk to me about yourself 2- What were you doing before your last start-up? 3- What appeals to you about Darden in particular? 4- How would you define your leadership style? 5- How do you show up as a team member? 6- How do you encourage diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom? 7- What do you expect to be the most challenging part of Darden? 8- Anything I haven't asked you that you wanted to share with me? 9- I asked questions *Overall: My interviewer at Darden is a second-year student. She was lovely and had this positive energy about her. She allowed me to speak without interrupting me and was an active listener. In the end, she answered all of my questions without rushing me. Wishing you all the best of luck!"

"Just had my interview with an adcom member for R1. Wasn't very conversational, but was as expected given the other interview debriefs. 1. Tell me about yourself and your background (the monologue, went on for about 20 minutes with only one minor comment from the interviewer). 2. What 3 words would your colleagues use to describe you 3. How do you work with someone who isn't as motivated or as driven as you? (Probably a follow up from the answer to the previous question in which one of my words was 'driven') 4. What do you do for fun? 5. Any questions for me? All in all, 50 minutes, and very pleasant towards the end."

"I was selected as a participant of the Diversity Conference and that's how I got my interview. I was interviewed by the Associate Director of Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Recruiting at Darden. He started by introducing himself and set the expectations of the interview. He mentioned that I was expected to set the tone of the interview. He was super candid and made sure that I felt at ease. He asked me to take him through the events leading to where I am today. The introduction and monologue went on for 20 minutes after which he asked a few questions. 1. ST,LT goals and why 2. Why MBA 3. Why Darden 4. Major challenges I think I'd face at business school 5. Leadership failure 6. My experience with DEI 7. Anything I'd like to add that has not been covered 8. Questions for the interviewer I really enjoyed the conversation and I feel that the interview went well. The overall interview lasted 45 minutes, I think."

"Less than 30 mins - Tell me something about yourself (few follow up questions) - Goals and why MBA - Why Darden - A situation where I worked amidst team conflict"

"I had my interview with senior director of diversity, equity and inclusion. The experience was smooth. It was basically a monologue where I introduced myself and shared about my formative experiences, career trajectory, short term and long term goals, why MBA, Why Darden and my hobbies. He cross questioned me on some aspects of my undergrad, the industry I'm working in and my goals. Overall it was a pleasant experience. It helps to have your story prepared covering the elements I shared above and probably practice it a bit."

""Had my Darden interview on the 21st. A second year student interviewed me. Mostly conversational. Following questions were asked 1. Walk me through your resume 2. What do you do in your personal time? 3. Why MBA? 4. Why Darden? 5. Have you decided on the geographies or the base you wanna set post MBA? 6. Questions for the interviewer The interview was very conversational and lasted around 25 mins""

"Had my Darden interview on the 21st. A second year student interviewed me. Mostly conversational. Following questions were asked 1. Walk me through your resume 2. Most challenging experience 3. Time when you faced a work conflict 4. Tell me about some of the challenging experiences of working with people from different countries 5. What are your views on diversity? How did you incorporate diversity in your team? 6. Why MBA now? 7. Why Darden? 8. How will you contribute to the Darden community? 9. Anything that I'd like to highlight that wasn't brought up in the discussion? 10. Questions for the interviewer The interview was very conversational and lasted around 45-50 mins"