Calling all Darden Fall 2009 applicants!

what is tndc?

Any GMATClubbers headed to the Fall Open House in November? I just booked my ride on Amtrak!

pelihu, are you going to be around Nov. 9th or 10th? Would love to pick your brains on a bunch of things, please. Pretty please.

tndc = Thursday Night Drinking Club

I'd love to go but have to travel for work from 11/3-11/16...to South Dakota...Yes I lead a glamorous life.

Mount Rushmore is glamorous enough, I hear there's quite a party scene there.

I looked at flights yesterday.Wanted to have a campus visit and attend a class.But found that a direct flight from Atlanta is too costly.

Looking at other options.

oh yea. It's just rocking. too bad I'm on the other end of the state (in Sioux Falls). Woo.

ac8706, +1 to you if that Mount Rushmore / "rocking" pun was intentional.

To the folks who've already visited Darden, Any recommendations on where to stay?

Great to see some activity on this thread. I will try to address some of the questions/issues.

It's not difficult for engineer's to adapt to the case study method. I know many engineers (and yes, even Indian engineers) who do very will in this setting. I think it has more to do with the effort put for by the student to engage in the learning environment and also the personality of the individual. People who are naturally quiet will have to make a point to contribute.

All first year classes provide feedback on contribution mid-quarter. Generally, a professor will break the class down into three or four groups, and each person will be told if they are high, average or needs improvement. Class participation is part of the grading process for pretty much every class (it's inherent to the case study method).

Social events abound at Darden. TNDC does in fact occur every Thursday school is in session, and attendance is very high (I'd say at least 60% of all students week in and week out). It's sponsored by the student association. We all have something called "Cold Calls" (many uses for this term), where the student association will set up a happy-hour type deal on grounds with food and drink every couple of weeks. The big event of the year is the international food festival. This year we had (I'm just tallying up off the top of my head) 30+ groups making regional/country/cultural foods as well as about 10 country specific performance groups. The Indian dancing troupe is memorable every year. Like most other b-schools we have company sponsored tailgates before every home football game; Virginia is not a great football school, but ACC football is a heck of a lot better than what's available at Columbia, NYU, Chicago, Harvard, Dartmouth... We have a year-long inter-section competition called the Darden Cup with sporting events (football, softball, soccer, cricket), trivia, pie eating, community service and more that includes events about every other weekend. We have a bowling league. Golf is a big activity at many business schools, but I think we can safely say that Darden is a leader in golfing quality, pricing and opportunities (at least 5 very nice to excellent courses I can think of off the to of my head within 5 miles). Golf is a especially popular among second year students, and especially in the spring. We have a 100 case party for the first year class - when then get through their first 100 cases. There's a big Halloween party. At the end of each year we have the Foxfield races, which is a combination of costume party (dress like a souther belle or gentleman), tailgate, horse racing and other general debauchery (kind of a final event for second year students). Finally, we traditionally have about a week between the end of classes and graduation called beach week where everyone, well, goes to the beach for one final hurrah.

So, those are the organized school-wide social events I can recall of the top of my head. Lots of other opportunities to socialize with specific clubs and things like that (the Latin students association party each year is crazy, consulting and finance clubs both host a lot of cocktail hours, etc.), and of course there are social based clubs (wine and cheese, outdoors, flying). Throw in the 10-50 nights per year you'll spend schmoozing with recruiters, depending on your career path, and you'll be able to find something to do almost every night if you want.

As of now, I plan to be here the weekend of Nov. 9-10. If I am here, I would be happy to try to get together with people attending the open house for drinks or whatever. There is a real possibility that I could be gone for call-back interviews. A couple of firms have already identified the days around that weekend for their super days, so we'll have to wait and see if they invite me. As far as where to stay in Charlottesville, I recall seeing an email asking for students to host visitors during that period of time. I'm not sure, but you might be able to stay for free on some student's couch (or spare bed) - you'll need to coordinate through whoever is running the event (I assume the admissions office and the student association). I don't know any more about that.

+1 pelihu

as usual..nice post pelihu...+1 for you

thanks so much peli!! it's really good to hear about what the social scene is like. I know it's a strange criteria to use for assessing a school but I think it can go a long way toward helping me understand how I'd fit. I really like the academics, career opps, etc at Darden but I wanted to make sure I'd be a good fit there socially as well.

Thanks!!
ac .

Does anybody know when the official Rd. 1 deadline is on the 28th (i.e., what time)?

In her second video blog about application tips, Sara Neher, Director of Admissions, discusses application essays, recommendations, activities, and leadership experience:

https://dardenadmissions.wordpress.com/2 ... ps-part-2/

11:59pm EST. https://www.darden.virginia.edu/html/standard.aspx?menu_id=27&styleid=4&id=579

I was looking at this exact screen earlier today before posting. It was so obvious that I didn't see it!

+1

Staying at the Sponsors Hall for my Fall Open House visit. The hotel closest to Darden, the Residence Inn, was completely sold out already!