| 1.UVA / Darden MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Adcom / On-Campus Feb 28, 2014 My interview was at 9am at Darden’s admissions office with a member of the Adcom. There were about 10-20 interviewees also there for morning interviews, with about 4-6 scheduled every hour. My interviewer stated at the beginning that the interview would be completely blind, as she had not even viewed my resume. She then asked me to spend about 15-20 minutes talking about myself. Although 15-20 minutes sounds long, I was in reality telling her aspects of my life that she would then ask clarifying questions about. Overall, the interview was more conversational than question and answer style. However, she did ask some specific questions related to Darden and my background, including:
- Why MBA?
- Why Darden?
- How do you see yourself contributing to Darden?
- What would you become involved with at Darden?
- Describe a time when you had difficulties in a team setting? In general none of the questions really surprised me, but I did gain a sense of the Darden community. Specifically, Darden seems to represent a homely, family environment that caters to those seeking an intimate learning envirnoment.
2.UVA / Darden MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Adcom / On-Campus
Feb 27, 2014
I found the Darden interview to be the most relaxed of my interviews thus far. They create a very comfortable environment by having 1st and 2nd year students filter in and out of the waiting room to break the ice among all the prospective students. My interviewer was a member of the Admissions Committee, and she came out to greet me, making small talk as we walked back to her office. She was very friendly in nature and began by saying that it was a blind interview, so she had no prior knowledge of my application (she also was not looking at my resume).
She asked me to walk her through my resume, starting with how I chose my undergraduate institution, and to lead up to how I reached the point that I wanted to purse an MBA. I had been warned that some Darden interviews end up being a 30-40 minute monologue, so I had prepared a monologue to explain how I had made all of my decisions to date: from how I chose my college, my extracurriculars, my job, my activities outside of work, MBA, to why I wanted to attend Darden specifically.
I actually found my interview to be much more conversational than expected. My interviewer was engaged in the conversation and would ask for clarifications and elaborations, as well as simply relate to certain things I had said. The 2 big questions she asked were: 1) Walk me through your resume, 2) Why Darden. I certainly talked for the majority of our time, but the interview was very conversational in nature after all!
3.UVA / Darden MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Adcom / Skype
Feb 13, 2014
I am an Indian applicant, and I was invited to do a Skype interview with an admissions committee member. For anyone in this particular situation I would strongly suggest that you ensure that you prepare your interview room accordingly. Ensure that the net connection is good and the room in which you are interviewing looks professional. Do some research online and prepare accordingly. Moving on, note that this is a blind interview. The adcom member that I interviewed with had no idea about who I was. In the beginning of the interview she gave me 20 minutes to speak about myself and the rest of the interview was mostly about the things that I had talked about in the initial 20 minutes. I was expecting this format and had carefully prepared my 20 minute pitch. During the 20 minutes, I touched upon my motivations, career progression, things that I liked about my job and achievements in the work place.
There were a few general questions – why MBA, why now and why Darden. Overall I would say that I enjoyed the experience. The interviewer was friendly and seemed genuinely interested in knowing about me. It reaffirmed my perception about Darden’s community. It has always seemed like a great school to me and now that they have been kind enough to accept me, I love them that much more.
4.UVA / Darden MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Second-year student / On-campus
Dec 11, 2012
My interview was with a second year student and was held at the admissions’ office. Like others have posted, my interviewer did not know anything about me and did not want to see my resume. He told me upfront that he simply wanted to hear my story and I had 20-25 minutes to say whatever I wanted and he would ask questions only to clarify what I had said. It was very comfortable even though I was at first intimidated by the format and talking about myself for such a long time. Overall I think it went well.
Afterwards, he asked me some softball questions; the questions were more about my thought process than about actions I took or typical behavioral questions. None of the questions were out of the blue and all related to things I had said. After, he asked me if I had any questions for him. I asked a few anecdotal questions to learn more about the school because I find that people like to talk about themselves and the UVA website has a ton of information! My interviewer provided his thoughts on the case method which was incredibly helpful and left me with an even more favorable opinion of the school than I had at the beginning of the day.
5.UVA / Darden MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Adcom / on-campus
Dec 11, 2012
I chose to interview on grounds, first because I assumed that having face time with adcom would be beneficial and second because I wanted to visit the School and Charlottesville before deciding which MBA to attend. Both the people from admissions office and the students were incredibly friendly and willing to show me around and make sure I was prepared for the interview. Questions asked:
1. Tell me your story.
2. Why an MBA?
3. Why Darden?
4. Have you considered the Executive MBA? (I’m older than the average student)
5. Any additional question you would like to ask? The interview questions weren’t a surprise for me. I had the feeling that they wanted to assess: 1. How passionate I was about Darden and the Case Method.
2. How motivated I was to join a class of students younger than I.
3. How appealing I was to a recruiter, despite the fact that I was making a career transition. I got wait listed, but eventually received an offer. Surprisingly the admissions director called me on my phone to give me the good news.
6.UVA / Darden MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / 2nd Year Student
Apr 2, 2012
The interviewer said I would have about 30 minutes to “Tell me your story, you can start from wherever you want, high school, college, your choice” He said he would chime in with questions every so often but after 30 minutes he would have some additional questions. It was very relaxed, more like a conversation than an interview. My advice would be to make sure to get through the early part of the story pretty quickly because my interviewer asked a lot of questions and I had to shorten the second half of my story because of it. After he asked the basics: - Why MBA?
- Why Darden?
- Why now?
- Goals?
7.UVA / Darden MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Off Campus / Alum
Mar 20, 2012
I had my interview on Feb 28th with an alumnus off-campus. I am an international applicant based in Mumbai. The interviewer was extremely friendly and asked me to tell me my story, telling about my life, academics, decisions taken in life what I have done, work experiences and then touch upon why MBA, career goals and why Darden. I had heard of this format of interview and had prepared for this so after the initial chat I started with my story and told about my experiences in detail. The interview asked questions related to what I told but all in all it was more of a monologue with me providing direction to the flow which is the way I think the Darden interviews intend it to be.
After my story he asked me if I had any questions and I asked about his experiences in Darden, whether he liked or disliked something and also about a course which I had read about website and it seemed quite unique. The interviewer was extremely friendly gentleman and a great ambassador for the school telling about his experiences, how school has changed, what it lacked when he studied there and how it has improved in those areas. He asked me about the schools I had applied to and also gave his card so I can get back to him informing of the decision and if needed to consult regarding where to go. The interview went good according to me. Lets see how the results pan out to be.
8.UVA / Darden MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Off-Campus (Skype) / Second-year Student
Feb 20, 2012
I had a Skype interview this morning, 6am my time (yuk). I was really prepared on the technology side, but for 10 minutes of trying different calls and computers she kept saying she couldn’t hear me. In the end her volume was on mute!
Anyway, we started quite late and she explained she was a 2nd year MBA student doing the recruiting as part of her program. It was her first Skype interview. She also explained that she wanted me to tell her my story and Why Darden for ~30 mins, with her interjecting with questions every now and then, followed by some time for me to ask questions.
And that was exactly how it went: - My story: 30 mins, a few clarifications (we had a bad line)
- Why Darden: 5 mins – got totally cut off after outlining only one of my FOUR points, but we were running out of time due to the late start.
- ST/LT goals: 8 mins
- Questions for her: What have you loved most about Darden that you didn’t expect to? What have you found tough at Darden that people don’t usually talk about?
She also apologized that since I’m interested in Education they had an edu-focused person lined up to interview me but he had to pull out at the last minute due to another commitment. Pity, but still a helpful data point on the school. Then she wrapped up and offered her email address for any follow-up questions. Feels like it went pretty well!
9.UVA / Darden MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round One (Accepted) / On Campus / Second Year Student
Jan 18, 2012
I interviewed on campus with a second year student. There were numerous other activities scheduled for your interview day such as class visits and lunch with current students and professors. I had attended one of the Darden Open House days prior to my interview so I did not stay for any of the additional events. The student I interviewed with my very friendly and after answering the initial question it became much more conversational. The interview was completely blind without a copy of my resume. The interview began my student interviewer telling me that this was my opportunity to ‘tell my story’ and that I would have about 20 to 30 minutes to tell him about myself. I included information on the normal interview questions you would expect such as my work history, short and long term career goals, why I want to pursue an MBA, why now and why Darden as well as hobbies and personal interests. While the time they give you for this seems long, structuring your answer around the normal interview questions makes it a bit more structured. Also, my interviewing interjected on occasion so it made it feel a little less like a monologue. Following this he asked if I had any questions for him – we had a quick conversation about recruiting and what his plans are for after graduation as well as life at Darden outside of class and in Charlottesville. He was very enthusiastic about the program which made the interview have a more casual feel. Thankfully I was somewhat prepared for the interview format or else I would likely have found the time they allot you a bit overwhelming. Practicing how you want to structure your response is definitely crucial in this case. Because of the case method at Darden, it seems that this format is used to make sure you are comfortable speaking without specific prompting and can convey information clearly and articulately. Also, because there are not many follow up questions, I would suggest to future applicant that you are aware of what accomplishments or key projects you have worked on that you want to include as you will likely not have the chance to do so later. Interview length: 45 minutes
10.UVA / Darden MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Second-year Student and Adcom / On-Campus
Dec 27, 2011
I was invited to interview with Darden around November 20th. I was kind of shocked to get an invite because I thought they had all gone out. Nonetheless, I scheduled an interview for December 2nd. I arrived at the Darden Gatehouse about 20 minutes early to get a parking pass. It’s an easy task requiring little more than two minutes. I parked and walked to Admissions, arriving about 10 minutes early. I checked in and got a folder with some materials in it. For the most part it’s the advertising pitch, but some stuff was geared specifically toward me based on my careers interests (consulting and sustainability). I sat in the waiting room and began to worry that they’d forgotten about me. Finally, a second year student and Admissions Committee member came out to meet me. It was about 10 minutes after our appointed time, which was fine by me. I had previously visited Darden so I only came down to interview (i.e. no class visit, lunch, etc.). The three of us walked back to the ADCOM member’s office and sat down. My interviewer and I sat in chairs while the ADCOM member sat on her couch. From there it was pretty straightforward. My interviewer was cordial and asked if I had any questions about the interview. I indicated that I felt good and appreciated him taking time out of his day to talk to me. From there, the floor was mine. He just wanted “to get to know me. Where are you coming from? What’s your story?” I started with where I grew up and how I got into sports. I conveyed how sports got me through high school and determined where I went to college. We discussed how I came to choose my undergrad major and first job. From there, we went through four significant parts of my personal and professional life. As opposed to a monologue, it was actually more of a conversation. Both my interviewer in the ADCOM member asked questions about various items I mentioned. They weren’t playing investigative reporter, but rather just wanting to talk about things that they thought were interesting or unique. Basically, they just wanted to know more about things that piqued their interest. I never felt like I rambled, but I didn’t really answer the Why MBA or Why Darden questions, so the ADCOM member gently asked, “So, we know so much about you, but why are you here today?” I responded by asking, “Wait, is this they ‘Why MBA’ or ‘Why Darden’ question, because I practiced both so I’m really good at either. I just want to make sure I answer the right one.” Both the student interviewer and ADCOM member laughed uncontrollably for a few seconds. I don’t think anyone’s so transparently asked that question. She said “Why Darden?” so I went and answered that question. In doing so, I outlined my reasons for an MBA and my short and long-term goals. My student interviewer is actually going into the field I want, so he was able to shed some light on things. I mentioned that I’d reached out to a couple clubs and dropped the names of the appropriate club presidents. After getting through those rituals, it was my turn to ask questions, but we’d already talked for about an hour. I just kept it simple and asked my student interviewer what he found most difficult about Darden. I then asked both of my interviewers what they felt Darden was good at, but maybe didn’t get as much recognition for. All told, I thought it was a positive data point for my app. It was very conversational in nature and isn’t meant to be intimidating. The student hadn’t seen my resume (that I know of) and we didn’t use one during the interview. The ADCOM member may have seen it, but I don’t know. I felt myself speaking a little fast at times, but I tried not to stress too much. Sometimes when you speak fast people get that you’re passionate and excited about something—and sometimes they think you’re just trying to say the lines that you rehearsed. Hopefully they give me the benefit of the doubt. (Update) Result: Admitted! | 
