Get to know UVA Darden's thoughtful application process [Show summary]

Dawna Clarke, Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions at Darden School of Business explores the program’s unique case method and recounts how the school proactively adapted during COVID-19. 

What makes UVA Darden unique? A choice-rich MBA experience and a close-knit student community [Show notes]

Welcome to the 439th episode of Admissions Straight Talk, thanks for tuning in. Are you ready to apply to your dream business schools? Are you competitive at your target program? Accepted’s MBA Admissions Calculator can give you a quick reality check, just go to accepted.com/mbaquiz, complete the quiz and you not only get an assessment, but also tips on how to improve your chances of acceptance. Plus it's all free.

It gives me great pleasure to have on Admissions Straight Talk Dawna Clarke, Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions at UVA Darden. Dawna is one of the most experienced and respected MBA admission directors I've had the privilege of knowing. She started her career in MBA admissions at UNC Kenan-Flagler, then moved to Darden (which is where we first met) and served for 15 years as director of admissions, and then served in the same role at Tuck and even spent a short period as an MBA admissions consultant. She returned to Darden in 2017. In all her positions and roles in MBA admissions, Dawna is known for running an applicant-friendly admissions process while attracting great candidates to the schools that she has been associated with. Dawna, welcome to Admissions Straight Talk and congratulations again on your new title.

Can we start with a basic overview of the Darden MBA program for listeners who are not that familiar with it, focusing on its more distinctive elements? [2:18]

Sure, absolutely. I'm happy to give an overview of Darden. Darden is a two-year, full-time, general management program. Assuming we're primarily talking about the full-time format, we do offer other formats as well, but I will focus on the full-time format. I will say one of the most distinctive elements of Darden is that it is primarily a case method school. Over the years, our faculty has revisited the curriculum and asked whether a case method is the most relevant teaching method. To date, since the school was founded in the 1950s, they continue to commit to the case method. 

The philosophy is that the best way to learn how to make business decisions is to start making them. At Darden, we're trying to cultivate a variety of skills, leadership skills, team skills -- it's a general management program. So people are going to get accounting skills, financial skills, global skills, but one of the most relevant skills that we're trying to cultivate are strong business decision-making skills. The philosophy is that the best way to start to cultivate those skills is to practice. Students do over 500 cases while they're at Darden. So there's a lot of practice. It's very practical and relevant. One of the benefits of the case method that a lot of people don't know about is that it exposes you to a lot of industries. So for students who are coming to Darden, a lot of people know that they want to transition into a business career,