Darden is known for
General Management. Where do you see
graduates going to work in this area?
We are a general management school, but what I tell students in that
first month is that there is no such thing as an entry-level general
management job. It is all about going into a company in a specific
functional area where you already have strength, making a contribution and
proving yourself, and then moving up into general management later in your
career. Darden is general management with functional expertise because you
must be good at something specific! You must be good at finance, marketing,
sales, operations, or another functional area.
One of the companies that recruits at Darden is PepsiCo. They have a
great leadership development program. They look for people who are very
seasoned and already have strong expertise in a specific area.
A different kind of program is the rotation program, where you work for six
months each in four different parts of a company. Some examples are United
Technologies and Sprint, which both have leadership development programs.
It's about going in, leveraging your strength, and proving yourself before
you get that general manager assignment. It's seldom that assignment when
you first go in.
The Darden MBA is great preparation for all of these roles.
What role does the Student Admissions Committee play?
Darden is very student-oriented. Like every business school, we have
an enormous number of clubs, including the Student Admissions Committee. A
select number of second year students interview, but all students play a
major role in helping applicants learn about Darden.
When applicants come to
visit and interview, they go to class with students, have lunch with
students, and go on tours
with students so they can get a feel for this
Darden community. The only time an applicant will interface with those of us
in admissions is during the 30-minute interview.
How does the Darden Partners Association help partners of MBA students
transition to life in Charlottesville?
There are four things that set our Darden Partners Association apart from
the others.
First, the minute you are accepted, your partner can access the
Darden Partners website for job resources. The Darden Partners Association
puts together a resume book every year and sends it out to local employers
to help make career connections.
Second, we have community groups for
students with small children, so the playgroups that meet throughout the
year provide support and connections.
The third is social activities and
networking. Darden has a reputation for being quite a rigorous place, so
partners may not see each other as much as they were accustomed to prior to
Darden. It's important to have other people to socialize with.
The fourth
is the large community service role of the Darden Partners, both at school
and away from school.
The GMAT is only one of the many criteria used in evaluating
applicants. What can offset a lower score?
We use the GMAT to make sure that a person can get through the
quantitative part of the program. If someone doesn't have a high quant
score, we look at their quant classes and grades in undergrad. If you have a
low quant score on the GMAT, then take a quant course at a local community
college or do something to demonstrate that you can do the work.
Most schools, including Darden, give you an optional essay. Write your essay
about your quantitative ability and
how you have demonstrated your competency in this area.
Don't let it stop you from applying. It is also about the whole package.
We look at your leadership experience, the depth of your experience, about how
involved you were in quant problem-solving in your work, and about demonstrated commitment,
passion and fire and all the other things I've talked about.
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