The following UVA Darden interview questions & report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. Good luck to them!
My interview was during the first week of February. I received an invite to interview on January 23rd and the only available options were the following week. Since Darden makes you fly to Charlottesville to interview if you live in the U.S., I didn’t really have an option, but to fly in. I flew in Thursday night to Charlottesville and stayed at the Inn at Darden (which I would recommend). The hotel itself is not the nicest, but it’s so convenient to be able to walk to your interview in the morning and not worry about catching an uber or lyft to campus.
On my actual interview day, there was a standard agenda that I followed. The admissions office offered a “continental breakfast” which was really just bananas, coffee, and bagels. They had students who came and talked to us throughout the morning.
I interviewed with an admissions officers and the interview was broken up into four sections. She started by giving me an introduction to who she was and told me that this was a time for me to tell my story- my values and interests and what has led me to this point. After giving me one section, I would respond and then she would provide me with the questions/transition to the next section.
- What are your values, passions, your background (feel free to start from your early years). Where did you go to college and why? What major did you select? Talk about any internships you had in college and any leadership positions you held.
- Let’s talk about your career. What was your first job? Have you changed jobs since then? If so, why? In your jobs, what was a challenge you faced and what has been an accomplishment? (I have worked at two companies and I provided a challenge and accomplishment for each).
- Why MBA? Why Now? Long term/short term goals? Why Darden?
- Sometimes you are the only one like yourself in the room or in a certain setting. Tell me about a time when this was the case. What did you learn? What were some of the challenges?How will that equip you to be successful in business school?
Overall, Darden was the interview that I felt most comfortable with throughout the process. I did not feel that the AO was trying to trip me up- I truly felt that she wanted to hear my story. This forum has been extremely helpful for me, so I hope my review is useful. Best of luck!
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