I recently had the opportunity to visit Charlottesville and speak with Cheryl Jones, Senior Associate Director of Admissions at the Darden School of Business. Cheryl provided insights into the school’s expanded scholarships, new Early Action deadline, and certain elements of a successful application.
Read on for the edited interview transcript, with special thanks to Dawna Clarke, Executive Director of Admissions and Financial Aid.
Karen: I have read a lot that Dean Beardsley’s arrival has brought a lot of incredible, positive momentum to Darden. What do you think is the single most exciting development in the past two years?
Cheryl: One item of utmost significance to our values is the increase in our scholarship offerings resulting from over a 700% increase in fundraising specifically for scholarships. A few scholarships of note include: · The Batten Scholars Program, which is sponsored by our Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, is a competitive program that supports full- and partial-tuition scholarships for top students with interest and experience in entrepreneurship, innovation and technology. · The Madison and Monroe Scholarships are prestigious scholarships awarded each year to top candidates. · Top candidates from around the globe will now have the opportunity to compete for a nomination for the prestigious Darden Jefferson Fellowship, which awards full tuition and fees among many other benefits.
Karen: There is now a new early action round with an open interview process at Darden. What would you say is behind this change? Is there any advantage to applying in the early action round as opposed to in a later round?
Karen: It looks like Darden has changed the one-essay application approach which had been used for years. I notice that the short answer questions are actually extracted from the previous application form. How do you feel that having more essays affects the application evaluation process?
Karen: You have been at Darden for 27 years. How would you say admissions here has changed over those years?
Karen: I imagine that each year you have an incredible number of people who apply to your programs, far more than you have seats available. How do you differentiate one applicant from another?
Karen: Can you share any stories of outstanding interview performance that you’ve seen in the past couple of years? What is something a candidate did or said that really stood out?
Karen: The Darden MBA program is unique in several ways, so how can applicants best convey to the admissions committee that they truly understand what the Darden experience is like and how they would fit into it?
Karen: What is the one area of Darden that you wish applicants knew more about?
Karen: Totally agree! I have taken an Accounting class taught by Professor Luann Lynch and Strategy classes taught by Professor Michael Lenox and Jared Harris at Coursera. Very impressive. Before we wrap up, is there anything else you would like people to know about Darden?
Karen: Thank you so much for speaking with me today Cheryl. I really appreciate it.
Cheryl: My pleasure! I’m thrilled you got the chance to visit Darden and get a feel for our wonderful community.
|