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!
