Tuesday Tips: Darden MBA Essay Tips for 2024-2025
Are you applying to the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business this year? Make sure to read on for tips to learn more about what Darden is looking for. In these Darden MBA essay tips, we focus on leadership and a sense of passion and purpose. In all of these essays, you will want to communicate who you are and what motivates you. Also, consider both your career and your personal life in your essays. The restrictive word counts can be challenging, so stay focused and precise in your responses.
How should you highlight personal qualities in these brief essays? First, consider that leadership is crucial to future Darden MBAs. Also, teamwork is essential at Darden, a school with a small, tight-knit community. The case study method is the primary teaching method, similar to Harvard Business School. Engaging with the case method requires the ability to communicate clearly and bring your perspective to the conversation.
Curious about your chances of getting into UVA Darden? Contact us to talk strategy with a free 15-minute advising session with an SBC Principal Consultant.
Darden MBA Essay Tips
For the 2024–25 application cycle, Darden will again feature short essay questions that provide a broader platform for applicants to highlight their experiences through multi-dimensional narratives. These questions are a great opportunity for you to help the Darden Admissions Committee understand who you are and who you will be at Darden.
Essay 1: Community of Belonging
What would you want your classmates to know about you that is not on your resume? (100 words)
At Darden, your classmates are crucial to your learning. You will be assigned a team of diverse classmates to meet before class and discuss your case assignments. The purpose of these discussions is to ensure that all of you are prepared to participate in the class discussion. Ideally, your classmates are part of a supportive community.
This essay allows you to introduce yourself to the Darden community. What should your classmates know about your background? What diverse perspective will you bring to the learning environment? Perhaps you have unique professional experiences that will be new to the class.
You may be from an underrepresented region of the world, or you have a compelling personal background. In just a few words, describe what you think will set you apart from your peers and be interesting for the class to know about you. Learn more about your potential classmates by talking to a student ambassador or reviewing Darden’s MBA Student Stories.
Essay 2: Inclusive Impact
Please describe a tangible example that illuminates your experience promoting an inclusive environment and what you would bring to creating a welcoming, global community at Darden. (300 words)
This question focuses specifically on diversity and inclusion. Therefore, you should consider your record of engagement with diverse identities and communities in your example. Past experience is a great predictor of future performance, and specific examples provide the most insight into your behavior.
If you have not spent a significant amount of time outside your own country or culture, look at college or work. Many people live and work with diverse groups at university or the workplace, which can be a good source of inspiration.
For example, perhaps you started a mentoring program or funded internships for underrepresented employees. It’s possible only your department or company felt the impact of that action. However, it shows your values and allows you to discuss how you would significantly affect change at Darden.
In addition, you may have found that you learned about yourself as well. Perhaps in your advocacy, you learned a more nuanced approach to a community or people. Or, you may have discovered your own blind spots and biases. Self-reflection is welcome in this question.
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As you write, make sure you place your story in a historical context and navigate power dynamics effectively. In that case, reading resources like the HBR collection on racism in the workplace may be useful.
Finally, Darden wants to know how you will bring your advocacy to the MBA program. Consider what you have learned about yourself and how to advocate for a diverse team. How will your unique background contribute to inclusion for everyone?
Essay 3: Careers With Purpose
At this time how would you describe your short-term, post-MBA goal in terms of industry, function, geography, company size and/or mission and how does it align with the long-term vision you have for your career? (200 words)
This question focuses on your short-term career goal but also asks about your overall long-term career vision. Your career goals should fit seamlessly into your personal story.
Do not get intimidated by career goals questions if you are still exploring what you want to do with your life. Darden offers intensive career counseling, and you will have an opportunity to explore many career paths in school. Simply put, the essay question seeks to understand why you are pursuing this path and what you hope to get out of it.
The goal is to gain insight into how you think and plan and what motivates your career decisions. If you are inspired by what you have experienced as a leader and as someone who positively impacts others, that inspiration should be part of your career aspirations. Darden will help you refine your goals and learn the skills you need.
We hope these Darden MBA essay tips help you draft impactful essays that will make your candidacy shine. Please visit the admissions page at UVA Darden School of Business for more information about the program.
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Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your MBA application needs, from our All-In Partnership to hourly help reviewing your MBA resume. Contact us today for a free 15-minute advising session to talk strategy with a Principal SBC consultant.
Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team.
Ashley
Ashley is a former MBA Admissions Board Member for Harvard Business School (HBS), where she interviewed and evaluated thousands of business school applicants for over a six year tenure. Ashley holds an MBA from HBS. During her HBS years, Ashley was the Sports Editor for the Harbus and a member of the B-School Blades Ice Hockey Team. After HBS, she worked in Marketing at the Gillette Company on Male and Female shaving ...
×Kerry
Kerry is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). During her 5+ year tenure at HBS, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a wide range of backgrounds across the globe. She also led marketing and outreach efforts focused on increasing diversity and inclusion, ran the Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP), and launched the 2+2 Program during her time in Admissions. Kerry holds a B.A. from Bates College and ...
×Pauline
A former associate director of admissions at Harvard Business School, Pauline served on the HBS MBA Admissions Board full-time for four years. She evaluated and interviewed HBS applicants, both on-campus and globally. Pauline's career has included sales and marketing management roles with Coca-Cola, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, and IBM. For over 10 years, Pauline has expertly guided MBA applicants, and her clients h ...
×Geri
Geri is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). In her 7 year tenure in HBS Admissions, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a diverse set of academic, geographic, and employment backgrounds. Geri also traveled globally representing the school at outreach events in order to raise awareness for women and international students. In additio ...
×Laura
Laura comes from the MBA Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS) and is an HBS MBA alumnus. In her HBS Admissions role, she evaluated and interviewed hundreds of business school candidates, including internationals, women, military and other applicant pools, for five years. Prior to her time as a student at HBS, Laura began her career in advertising and marketing in Chicago at Leo Burnett where she worked on th ...
×Andrea
Andrea served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years. In this role, she provided strategic direction for student yield-management activities and also served as a full member of the admissions committee. In 2007, Andrea launched the new 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School – a program targeted at college junior applicants to Harvard Business School. Andrea has also served as a Career Coach for Harvard Business School for both cu ...
×Jennifer
Jennifer served as Admissions Officer at the Stanford (GSB) for five years. She holds an MBA from Stanford (GSB) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Jennifer has over 15 years experience in guiding applicants through the increasingly competitive admissions process into top MBA programs. Having read thousands and thousands of essays and applications while at Stanford (GSB) Admiss ...
×Erin K.
Erin served in key roles in MBA Admissions--as Director at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Assistant Director at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB). Erin served on the admissions committee at each school and has read thousands of applications in her career. At Haas, she served for seven years in roles that encompassed evaluation, outreach, and diversity and inclusion. During her tenure in Admissions at GSB, she was responsible for candidate evaluation, applicant outreach, ...
×Susie
Susie comes from the Admissions Office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she reviewed and evaluated hundreds of prospective students’ applications. She holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB and a BA from Stanford in Economics. Prior to advising MBA applicants, Susie held a variety of roles over a 15-year period in capital markets, finance, and real estate, including as partner in one of the nation’s most innovative finance and real estate investment organizations. In that r ...
×Dione
Dione holds an MBA degree from Stanford Business School (GSB) and a BA degree from Stanford University, where she double majored in Economics and Communication with concentrations in journalism and sociology. Dione has served as an Admissions reader and member of the Minority Admissions Advisory Committee at Stanford. Dione is an accomplished and respected advocate and thought leader on education and diversity. She is ...
×Anthony
Anthony served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he dedicated over 10 years of expertise. During his time as a Wharton Admissions Officer, he read and reviewed thousands of applications and helped bring in a class of 800+ students a year. Anthony has traveled both domestically and internationally to recruit a ...
×Meghan
Meghan served as the Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute, a joint degree program combining the Wharton MBA with an MA in International Studies. In her role on the Wharton MBA admissions committee, Meghan advised domestic and international applicants; conducted interviews and information sessions domestically and overseas in Asia, Central and South America, and Europe; and evaluated applicants for admission to the program. Meghan also managed ...
×Amy
Amy comes from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she was Associate Director. Amy devoted 12 years at the Wharton School, working closely with MBA students and supporting the admissions team. During her tenure at Wharton, Amy served as a trusted adviser to prospective applicants as well as admitted and matriculated students. She conducted admissions chats with applicants early in the admissions ...
×Ally
Ally brings six years of admissions experience to the SBC team, most recently as an Assistant Director of Admission for the full-time MBA program at Columbia Business School (CBS). During her time at Columbia, Ally was responsible for reviewing applications, planning recruitment events, and interviewing candidates for both the full-time MBA program and the Executive MBA program. She traveled both internationally and dome ...
×Erin B.
Erin has over seven years of experience working across major institutions, including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School, and NYU's Stern School of Business. At Columbia Business School, Erin was an Assistant Director of Admissions where she evaluated applications for both the full time and executive MBA programs, sat on the admissions and merit scholarship committees and advised applicants on which program might be the best fit for them based on their work experience and pro ...
×Emma
Emma comes from the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School (CBS), where she was Associate Director. Emma conducted dozens of interviews each cycle for the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as coordinating the alumni ambassador interview program. She read and evaluated hundreds of applications each cycle, delivered information sessions to audiences across the globe, and advised countless waitlisted applicants. ×
