myice

Round 2 / On-campus / Second-year Student (Published March 10th, 2008)

On Monday I took a tour of the Darden Grounds with a second-year and was surprised when one of the people in my tour group, having just completed his interview, told me "have your monologue ready because that's what they want to hear." On Tuesday I had my interview with a second-year. To start out, he impressed upon me that he wanted it to be informal, conversational, laid-back, etc., which was also supported by his unexpectedly casual attire. He told me the interview was blind and that he knew nothing about me. Although I can't remember the exact wording of any particular question, here's basically how it went.

He first asked "tell me about yourself." Because of the other interviewee's "monologue" comment the day prior, I asked "would you like me to give you a brief overview and let you ask more questions, or would you like me to give a 30 minute monologue?" As you can imagine, I was floored when he said "a thirty minute monologue sounds great." I probably spoke for approximately 10-15 minutes regarding my background and gave a number of specifics. I then felt like it was a good time to let him ask some questions, since I wasn't entirely sure what he wanted to hear.

He then asked "why MBA, why now?" When I mentioned the social/extracurricular part of the MBA as a reason, he raised his eyebrows and said "I don't think anyone has ever said that before, but that's a great point because it's a big part of the MBA." After I finished my response he asked "why Darden?" which wasn't a surprise. We then talked about my goals. After, he asked "assume it's the first day of class and I'm in your group, why should I be excited? Also assume it's a month later and I'm complaining to my wife about you, what would I be saying? This is not a strengths and weaknesses question." In all honesty, I'm not entirely sure what he was getting at by saying "this isn't a strengths and weaknesses question" but I thought I responded well enough.

He then asked "what concerns do you have about Darden?" which I also thought was a difficult question. I responded by saying "I think my concern was addressed during the tour I took yesterday" and went on to explain that I wanted to make sure that Darden's rankings, while impressive in my opinion, were viewed as such by all recruiters, since some companies focus exclusively on rankings. The answer I received during the tour, was that Darden's professors are so focused on teaching that they don't have as much published research as other schools, which tends to drag down their rankings. The way I positioned my response to the interviewer's "Darden concerns" question was I said something like "some companies focus exclusively on rankings and only hire, for example, top ten programs...but I've learned that's not a problem for Darden." By describing my "concern" that way I was trying to avoid sounding like I personally cared about the rankings, but rather, that I just wanted to confirm that Darden, indeed, would allow me to reach my career goals. I don't think I raised any red flags because I tried to be very cautious in how I responded and he seemed pleased that I had already proactively addressed my "concern" the previous day and could speak insightfully regarding Darden's rankings. In fact, I said that my "concern" really had become another Darden strength (having teaching-focused professors) and he wholeheartedly supported my response and went on to confirm and reiterate almost everything I said. He said Darden is placing more emphasis on publishing research to try to boost their rankings, so apparently it's something they are well aware of and are working to correct. For that reason I don't think I came across as unfair, or petty since the two second-year's almost identical responses seemed to indicate it's a subject that is discussed openly at Darden. Maybe I shot myself in the foot, but he appeared impressed that I could give the same favorable response that is likely widely used at Darden.

After that, he closed by asking me if I had some questions for him. The fact that he is going into consulting with Bain allowed me to slip in a consulting question, which I followed up with a quick one about life in Charlottesville. In retrospect there are some things I wish I had said differently, but I thought it went well. I have no way of knowing how my interview compared to other interviews so I guess we'll have to wait and see what they say at the end of the month. Based on the questions he asked after I spoke about my background for 10-15 minutes, I assume he was looking for basically a recitation of my first essay. I think that would have been the ideal way to give the 30 minute monologue he asked for initially. Essentially, background, why MBA, why now, why Darden, short-term goals, long-term goals.

myice

Round 1 / On-campus / Adcom / Admitted & Matriculating! (Published April 15th, 2008)

Darden's interview is meant for you to succeed. With an invite only format, the adcom stresses that they like what they have seen and the interview is nothing, but a conversation. They have one question, tell me about yourself. You'll likely be able to talk straight for 10-15 minutes before they interject with questions. They may push, but in my opinion, they're trying to see if you'll crack. The course is case study after all. If you don't feel yourself getting your point across, take a deep breath and try and approach it from a different angle. Also, relate what you say to your personal experiences. Quote from my interviewer: "I could have read that in the Wall Street Journal". Obviously, I needed to change my tactics. Finally, know why MBA, why now and why DARDEN! Darden stresses 3 points almost everywhere you look and if you are truly interested, the latter part of this question should be easy.

Follow up questions are largely dictated based on what you say, so it's hard to tell you what they will be. Just be prepared for someone to delve deep into any and all statements you make.

Hope to see you on campus!

myice

Round 1 / On-campus / 2nd Year Student (Published December 16th, 2008)

Based on my own experience, and from what I heard from other applicants while I was down there, these are not difficult interviews. As other people have mentioned, the only real question that they ask you is to 'tell us about yourself,' and the applicant takes it from there. While I was expecting this question, and went through it a bit in my head before hand, I would recommend that folks sit down for 30 minutes and practice it. Even record it if you can and listen to yourself speak. In my case, I found that I had to track back a few times to provide context to something that I was saying as well as to ensure that I was headed on the right track. That part went on for about 40 minutes and I led my remarks towards any potential follow up that could be asked, or at least that I had anticipated. I then used the next 15 minutes to ask questions, and I was surprised by the frankness and honesty of the student. All in all a great experience.

This was my second visit to campus (I had already participated in an open house day in September) and I have to admit that every interaction that I've had with Darden has been exceptional. From the receptions that they've hosted in DC to the actual campus visits, I've found the entire organization to be extremely well run, professional, and frankly warm and welcoming.

myice

Round 1 / Off-campus / Alumni / Admitted! (Published February 25th, 2009)

I was told by alumni and friends to prepare well for the 20 minute monologue in response to 'tell me something about yourself' opening. While I was getting ready to embark on the monologue, the first question came from the most unexpected quarters of my resume. I was asked - 'What did you do differently that you were able to record highest sponsorship in your undergraduate festival'. My interviewer was as ex-Mckinsey Associate Principal and I guess he was adept at startling candidates.

I was thoroughly probed on the reasons for choosing a US business school over IIMs (India) which give equally good ROI. He wanted to see if I have a good enough reasons to invest a fortune in the US MBA education. I was able to convince through the argument of diverse class profile at Darden, compared to IIMs where more than 60% of class comprised of engineers.

I was then questioned on my experiences of leading teams on client projects and how I improved my team's performance. Here my interpersonal skills were thoroughly evaluated. I had sufficient content to appease the appetite. But a person who has had limited people interaction would have not fared well. Overall, almost 25% of the interview (~15 min) time was spent discussing my experiences with colleagues, clients and peers. One needs to prepare well for this section.

Finally, my interviewer spent around 10 minutes evaluating my business acumen (I guess he was validating my professional achievements). I was probed on some client projects (consulting). I was able to strike chord with the interviewer when I told him about my experiences of working in a restaurant. He also had similar experiences during his graduate education and we had lot to talk and laugh about. So if you have anything interesting or out of place to talk about, do not hesitate to share as it will make you stand apart.

Finally, I was able to improvise my questions based on my interviewer's background which I think was well appreciated. I asked him about his experiences of working in Consulting vis-a-vis Industry and his recommendations for me (I told him earlier that I would not pursue consulting after MBA).

Overall the interviewer was very friendly but with no-non sense demeanor. He had not read my essays and only had access to my resume prior to the interview.

I received admit, so I guess all went well. Good Luck!

myice

Round 2 / Adcom (Published February 26th, 2009)

I interviewed on 16 Feb. The interview was with an ADCOM member.

The only question was “tell me your story”. This is typically a 30-45 min interview and we are looking to get a better sense of who you are as an applicant. This leaves a whole lot of wiggle room in how you approach the question but this is the only “question” that was asked…everything else was guided based upon how you answered the question…From the 1st question in talking about myself I she asked about my major (why I picked it), why I thought I would be a good fit to the case study method, what my aspirations were after graduating. The interview took 35 min and left me about 10 min to ask questions (asked about how internships were filling up and how the economy has impacted the application numbers)….All in all I left and felt it was a really friendly, easy interview. It seemed very “stress free” and I definitely walked away confident in how it all turned out.

myice

Round 1 / Adcom / Telephonic (Published January 28th, 2010)

I applied to Darden in round 1. Got interview invite in last week of December. It was a telephonic interview with adcom on January 7th. It was a telephonic interview and it was very casual. Adcom interviewed me and it was a blind interview. Adcom had no access to my application or resume. As I was an international applicant, I was offered an telephonic interview.

There was only 1 main question - tell me your story. But the interviewer asked me to cover information about my childhood, my education, my jobs and why mba would make sense. Also touch upon why you made certain decisions in your life.

Be ready to give a 30 minute monologue. Practice a lot because there will be no hint from the interviewer regarding how you are proceeding. So you should be able to drive the interview in the right way. Be ready to show a great fit with Darden.

myice

Round 2 / Adcom / Video Skype (Published March 8th, 2010)

The interview was blind (i.e. the interviewer had not seen my application), and was conducted by Kathy Grant, the Assistant Director of Admissions. As mentioned by several candidates, the interviewer simply asked me to "tell my story", but to hit points like Why I picked my undergraduate degree, Why an MBA, Why Darden, Why Now, and also asked to highlight issues of leadership.

The interview was quite informal and pleasant, and the interviewer seemed to be trying to gauge my personality more than my experiences. She asked very few follow up questions and obviously expected me mostly to lead the discussions.

She seemed to be genuinely interested in my experiences and travels, and was generally enthusiastic. Only time will tell.

myice

Round 2 (Published March 10th, 2010)

Tell me about yourself. I want to get to know you.

Very informal and conversational (most conversational by far!!! of 7 interviews I completed)

myice

Round 2 / 2nd Year Student (Published April 2nd, 2010)

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?

myice

今早晨印度时间8:15在孟买Parel一个宾馆的大厅进行了我的面试。回到孟买办，先是发了一个邮件给面试人表示感谢，然后就来写我的面试经验了.

和预期的一样，面试是比较放松的，面试我的是一个非常年轻的小伙子，他是02-04的毕业生。他也是IT行业的，所以我们共同的话题比较多些。他直接问我的问题比较少，上来就给我说你来说吧，个人背景，教育，工作什么的，以及为什么mba 为什么darden 之类的很多问题，列了一大堆出来，这样提问也还不错，可以让我随心所欲,天马行空，想到哪里就说道哪里，中途说到Dean Bruner亚洲之旅，去参观了泰姬陵，我说泰姬陵真是个奇迹，我一定还要再去看一次，可是很多印度人都没去过，很可惜，然后我说昨天帮我修电脑那个dell工程师也没去过。突然发现好像自己离题太远了，赶紧打住。

他问我项目中最大的挑战是什么 我说领导跨文化团队，举例我在德里做标书的事情，如何对不同的人进行不同的attention和关怀之类的。 我用了一个有印度特色的数量词lakh，他说看来你对印度确实还是挺熟悉的，这个词都习惯用，我内心挺得意,其实我由于习惯中国的万的进制，平时遇到million ,billion什么的都要进行半天的转换，没想到随口说了一下居然受到夸奖。 我又讲了在bangalore和我们的代理做项目的沟通，如何调动他们的积极性等等。说到印度和中国的比较，我说中国的硬件建设可能走在前列 可是软件，比如制度，经济体制等方面还是有待提高的，而印度的优势却正好是中国所缺少的，比如印度的金融体制，软件CMM等方面都是世界一流的。呵呵 我说中国和印度这两个国家是competitive yet complememtary的，很多方面存在共性，可以更好的偕同发展，然后还说道看报纸说中国春节期间很多中印关系会得到巨大推动。呵呵

最后问我有没有什么问题提问。我问了case study是不是挺tough的啊，我说我跟在校学生联系(我和dukesongyi电话聊过，得到他的很多帮助，也在此表示感谢) 他说确实有的时候非常紧张，然后说如果你想在你的mba学习中enjoy life那darden绝对不适合。呵呵 我说我和校友聊天的时候校友对我说，像我这种习惯每个星期工作70-80小时的人来说这个不是什么问题。然后他又说了darden的国际推广和提高知名度，这是dean bruner的重要环节。像上文提到的Dean Bruner的亚洲之行，我说我本来想趁dean来印度的时候来一下印度，请adcom帮我安排面试，可惜他们那个时候正在审材料，没来得及为我安排。他说Darden现在正在着力提高全球的知名度，他说在ISM (Indian School of Management)有客座教授等待。我后来又问，相对印度学生来说，中国学生的语言方面肯定是不足的,这是个事实，问他情况如何? 他说这个你不用担心，你的英文和我一样好，厚厚，他说我绝对属于well above avarage的，听他这么说，心里很开心，连说thank you。他说确实印象中有的中国学生英文不是很好，但是第一个学期过后，他的进步是令人吃惊的，因为他先前在中国公司，而且也是对内业务,英文用的少。

中间还海聊了很多的，说到我的印度同事，跳槽到Nortel 还经常回公司看我们,说到我参加他的婚礼的情景。还是我们的商务专家毕业于印度著名的管理学院IIM-B等等.

大概就这么多吧，值得一提的是，他确实非常忙，我们把时间安排在早晨8点，上班之前，我估计其实是白天确实太忙了，本来我的面试是安排在周一的，已经推迟到了今天。他今年好像面试了8位申请人，工作量比较大，呵呵。说这个周末会给学校反馈的。