A Talk with Darden's Admissions Director
An excerpt from the Q&A

Q: Unlike other B-schools, Darden asks its MBA applicants to interview before submitting their applications. How effective are interviews when the interviewer doesn't have full details about the applicant?
A: There are pros and cons to conducting an interview this way, but we feel the pros outweigh the cons. We're all human beings, and we don't want to be biased by anything that's in that application packet. For instance, if a recommendation says that a person is shy, I don't want to be focused on that during the interview. And I don't want to assume that someone who has a 700 GMAT score will impress me just because I like the numbers [I see on paper].

We want the applicants to shine, and they've got more of an opportunity to shine if we don't bias the interview. I'd rather have a class with an average GMAT score of 680 and grade point average of 3.4 than sacrifice interpersonal skills.

For the full version of this Q&A

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Comments from Student 1:
Scheduling the Interview: The interview was set up with an alumnus in London, as I was living overseas and unable to come to Darden. I was given the name of the alumnus and emailed him to schedule.

Location of Interview: In my office in London. (It was most convenient for both him and me).

Preparedness of Interviewer: Darden did not send my interviewer my files or application. Instead, the interviewer himself requested that I email him a copy of my resume before we met. He had reviewed my resume thoroughly and asked questions about details on the resume.

Interviewer University affiliation: Alumnus, approximately three-four years post MBA.

Atmosphere: Relaxing, laid-back, conversational. The alumni told me up front that he wasn't going to be extremely formal or unfriendly or challenging. That put me at ease.

Questions asked: Questions focused on details of my experiences, both professional and personal, as described on my resume. He also asked why I was applying to Darden and what I hoped to gain from it. He asked me what specific classes I was looking forward to. He and I then spent some time discussing his experiences at Darden.

Length of interview: One hour

Additional comments:
-Darden is known as a very intense, challenging program. Interviewees should go into the interview with an awareness of that, and speak to their understanding of the upcoming challenge.
-I would recommend becoming familiar with the 'lingo' of the particular program, such as acronyms for particular projects or clubs or classes. Particularly if you interview with an alumnus, you want to speak the same language and show that you've done your research.
-Always thank the interviewer with a follow-up email or letter.
-Ask questions about their experience at the school.
-The alumnus told me that what he would do next was to write up a summary of our interview and his impressions.(I was accepted within one week of the interview, and notified by email.)

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Comments from Student 2:
Scheduling the Interview: On-line

Location of interview: On campus

Preparedness of Interviewer: The interviewer was extremely professional and familiar with my resume. I had not submitted any other application materials at the time of my interview.

Interviewer University affiliation: Associate Dean of Admissions

Atmosphere: The atmosphere was very relaxed, and the interview flowed more as a conversation than as a structured interview. However, this is a testament to the experience of the interviewer because she was able to learn a lot about me without being too intense or asking too many questions.

Questions asked:
-Tell me about what you've done since undergrad?
-Why Darden?
-What do you see yourself doing after business school?
-Tell me about what you do outside of work and school?


Length of interview: Approximately 45 minutes.

Additional comments: This is the interview I enjoyed the most. I felt completely at ease, yet I also felt that it was a great opportunity to demonstrate why I would make a great addition to Darden. I did a great deal of preparation for this interview and I think it really paid off. When asked about why I chose Darden, I had some atypical answers, such as citing the two endowed chairs in business ethics as being particularly appealing in light of my personal business philosophy.

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