| BUSINESS WEEK ONLINE:
|
|
|
|
|
|
| University of Virginia Darden Graduation School of Business |
OVERALL 1998 RANK: 11 BW corporate rank: 8 BW graduate rank: 15 BW 1996 rank: 5 |
|
1999 Profile Update School Profile School Statistics Graduates' Comments: The Darden experience, with the case method, class discussions, cold calls (unsolicited questions directed at students from faculty to lead off class), and the heavy emphasis on teamwork has made a tremendous impact on me as a person and professionally. I have acquired a confidence in effectively handling high pressure and ambiguous situations (learning the hard way). Darden is about working hard and then joining 60 of your classmates (I-bankers, consultants, Navy Seals, Olympic-level athletes, CPAs, medical doctors, and many other incredibly able people) and articulating/defending a position, making sense of disparate data, and thinking effectively on your feet. Darden is about taking ambiguity (real life) and making it work. --Sr. Financial Analyst Darden is a great place for those interested in the case method who want a more intimate setting. Students work very hard but are supported by faculty, administration, and peers. The atmosphere is one of collaboration. Darden students share information and learn freely, which is a refreshing state of affairs at a business school. --Associate The teaching was without peer. Professors were often brilliant entertainers as well as technicians. In drier subjects such as statistics, this was invaluable. The joy these men and women derived from teaching was always apparent and often overtly expressed, with the effect of truly inspiring students to put forth a high level of effort and a great deal of thought towards the subject. Charlottesville has an excellent pace and quality of life, which truly removes some of the pressure of a top-level MBA program. The student body is very unified and the amount of mutual support, even during the competitive process of job interviews, is impressive. This feeling lingers, and explains why alumni put forth such great effort during recruiting. The only minor drawbacks I saw were a lack of West Coast recruiting interest and a grading system that is a bit too tilted towards classroom participation rather than actual skill work. --Associate, Corporate Finance Darden is a team-oriented place. People out to excel at the expense of others are scorned. --Investment Analyst Darden's faculty and cooperative nature are clearly hallmarks of the school. Teaching is stressed, not research, and students come first. If the school's "intense" workload reputation would subside (it's not as bad as people say), then Darden would receive more applicants, could be even more selective, and would catapult into the ranks of the truly elite. I still believe that Darden should be on an even plane with Harvard, Wharton, and Kellogg. With time, I believe that will definitely happen -- Ted Snyder's leadership should take us there. --Consultant Darden has done a great job in promoting/encouraging entrepreneurial ventures. --VP Marketing I have spoken with many peers at other top-tier schools and truly believe Darden provides a very special experience. First, the faculty is very accessible and unmatched in the classroom. Also, teamwork and cooperation are the norm at Darden. Everyone knows that the program is designed to be demanding, so we help each other through, rather than step on each other to get ahead. The only student in my class who did not return for the second year left to pursue an entrepreneurial venture full-time when he received $1 million in venture capital over the summer. Finally, the case method is a dynamic way to learn in an MBA program, and Darden has implemented it in a very rare form. --Associate The Darden experience is truly unique, and while the workload can be excessive, it is well worth it. The people are wonderful -- faculty, staff, and students respect each other, and it is much like a family. --Associate The faculty are truly outstanding. The integrated first-year curriculum is rigorous and well-coordinated. Second-year electives are numerous and varied, including one-week, three-week, quarter, and semester courses taught by faculty from around the world. --Operations Coordinator Darden helped me leverage my analytical skills and at the same time improve my interpersonal skills. The environment is very supportive and friendly. Faculty and friends are always available in or outside of class. --Management Associate Darden is not for everyone -- the rigors of the course load, the structure of the curriculum in the first year, and the emphasis on community values and shared responsibility distinguish it from other schools. Darden lays claim to "educating business leaders to make a difference" and is now attempting to define more practically just exactly what that means. During my two years at the school, I saw three major developments. First, an integrated technology architecture tailored to all aspects of the school -- communication, course work, and administration. Second, a strong emphasis on an emerging core competency in entrepreneurship. Finally, a growing trend toward making Darden a school with a national and international perspective. The new facilities are top-notch, and we were the first class to spend our two years in the building. The major challenge facing the incoming dean, Ted Snyder of Michigan, concerns how to preserve the intimacy, teaching excellence, and strong culture while competing on equal terms with Harvard, Wharton, and other internationally renowned schools. Darden has very difficult waters to navigate over the next five years in its attempt to remain a distinctive business school and continue to grow in excellence. --Marketing The school still has a long way to go when it comes to issues like those that HBS is currently facing: (1) sexual harassment, (2) gender inequalities, as well as (3) racial harassment: (1) In fall of 1996, students in sections B and D were ranking women's body parts and "trading" them over E-mail. (2) Also in the fall of 1996 (as well as the spring of 1998, although only half the class did the simulation in the traditional way), the Organizational Behavior faculty held a "cross-cultural" simulation in which women were made to play submissive roles in a patriarchal society. (3) During the 1996-97 school year, a student (using another student's E-mail account, which was unwisely left open and unattended for an afternon) sent an anonymous, harassing E-mail to all of the African Americans at the school. --Consulting As probably one of the few single mothers in a top ten school, I was not at all impressed with Darden's ability to celebrate my diversity. Obviously, I knew the difficulties in terms of time and pressure when I entered the program. I guess I expected more support and understanding from the staff, however. --Information Technology The faculty are the crown jewel of the Darden business program. Every single professor -- without exception -- devoted him/herself to the students and our collective learning process. They take their teaching responsibilities very seriously and work very hard to make the educational program a discovery process. They are extremely accessible and often get involved in the school-sponsored social programs to ensure the faculty/student relationship is vibrant. --Finance The professors have a unique rapport with one another and do an amazing job integrating the disciplines, especially during the first year. The schedule is meticulously planned so different disciplines build on one another (e.g., accounting sessions precede finance sessions) and have joint sessions to provide a truly multidisciplinary approach. The program is very responsive to student requests and other proposed issues, e.g., the integration of sophisticated technology and recent focus on recruiting international students (which caused an increase from 10% to 20% of the class in one academic year). --Finance The workload at Darden is excessive in the first year. I would have learned a great deal more if I had the time to explore specific subjects more deeply. Still, Darden is a fantastic place with an excellent faculty who are genuinely focused on student learning. The finance faculty was particularly outstanding. The quantitative analysis faculty left much to be desired. --Finance Darden's facilities, technology, teaching, and small size make it a special place. The main negative I find in Darden is excessive use of the case study method. Lecture-based instruction is better in certain subjects, such as introductory accounting, quantitative analysis, and finance. I guess I also think the workload in the first year is a bit excessive and counter-productive, but that also relates to the nature of the case study method. --Entrepreneurship The quality of teaching at Darden is outstanding, but what I really appreciated was the faculty's willingness to offer guidance, advice, and support to students. The faculty take a sincere interest in the students. I am concerned about Darden's numerical targets for admissions of international students. Why are we doing this? I think international students add plenty to the school, but I question numerical targets. --Consulting The Darden program's greatest strength is its focus on teamwork, which permeates virtually all aspects of the first- and second-year programs. In addition, the school's focus on and ability in integrating the subject matter of the core first-year courses was phenomenal and greatly enhanced the learning experience. If I were to fault the program for one thing, it would be the more regional focus of the school, which draws a great number of students from the South and Virginia in particular. This somewhat inhibits the School's ability to establish a reputation outside of the South/Mid-Atlantic region, because many graduates return to the local area and, hence, do not spread the word of Darden graduates' skills and abilities to more far-flung regions. To some extent, this regional focus impinges upon the recruiting process, because firms from other regions of the country (the West Coast in particular) are unaware of the school and its reputation and, hence, do not choose to recruit here. --Consulting The professors at Darden are really committed to teaching first and research second. The noncompetitive attitudes of the students creates a fantastic classroom learning environment. If you can survive the brutal workload of the first year, the experience is tremendously rewarding. The only knock I have on the school is that its small size can hamper recruiting, and it naturally limits the amount of alumni in the workplace. --Consulting The integrated curriculum at Darden really demonstrates the complexity and multiple perspectives of today's business problems. The functionally oriented classes in the first year are integrated so the student can see and experience, often with the same case or situation, the problem through the eyes of a global general manager. I have never been immersed in an environment where the community and individuals within are encouraged and motivated to help and contribute to the learning of others. Individualism at Darden is clearly the exception rather than the rule. The open and supportive atmosphere by my classmates sometimes bordered on unbelievable. --Consulting Darden truly practices what it preaches. It has found a flexible business model based on sound principles, and Darden applies that model with consistency and integrity. --Accounting Back to Top 1999 Profile Update School Profile School Statistics |
||
