We hosted our first Darden Showcase event of the season last Friday, and we are thrilled to continue to welcome prospective students to Grounds over the next few weeks!
Director of Admissions Whitney Kestner shared a few words about why visiting Darden is such an informative part of the application process:
A Showcase event is a great way to “try on” the Darden and Charlottesville experience for yourself. We know our prospective applicants are curious about the case method, so we offer the opportunity to actually participate in a case discussion – we are confident you will be amazed to find how engaging and insightful it is to learn through the case method! We all love Charlottesville and are excited for you to experience our community while you are here, including an optional dinner the night before with students and taking part in a student favorite locale after the showcase wraps up.
Take a peek at the itinerary that prospective students followed during our most recent Showcase.
9:00-9:30 a.m.
Showcase attendees started off their morning at check-in in Saunders Hall, followed by a light breakfast of bagels, coffee and peer networking.
9:30-10:00 a.m.
Admissions Committee members Marc Paulo Guzman Associate Director of Diversity Recruitment, Cheryl Jones Senior Associate Director of Admissions and Dawna Clarke Executive Director of Admissions participated in a panel Q&A with Showcase attendees.
Panel pro tip: Once you’ve completed your essay, give it to someone else to read, but don’t share the essay prompts with them. If they can determine the prompt correctly, you have successfully answered the questions!
See even more application tips elsewhere on the blog.
10:00-11:30 a.m.
Attendees got a feel for an authentic classroom experience and Darden’s case method approach by diving in to a case study discussion, led by Robert Carraway – who joined the Darden faculty in 1984! He shared some of his insights with participants during an informal Q&A.
11:35am-12:00 p.m.
Dean Scott C. Beardsley made a guest appearance to welcome Showcase attendees, shared a bit more about the goals and future of Darden and took a few questions. Dean Beardsley also shared that after working for McKinsey & Co for 26 years, he felt the pull of education and made the jump from decades in the consulting industry to championing Darden’s place in the global world of business.
12:00-1:00 p.m.
Showcase attendees enjoyed lunch with a few Second Year students in the Abbott Center Dining Room, followed by a welcome from Career Development Center Assistant Dean Jeff McNish, who shared more about Darden’s dedicated Career Development Center and global alumni network.
1:00-1:30 p.m.
Second Year students took small groups on a tour of Grounds, highlighting some of the key areas for student life, academics and why Darden Grounds is the best place to be in the fall (and all the other seasons, if we’re being honest!).
2:00-4:00 p.m.
To finish out the busy day with a bit of informal networking, prospective students were invited to join Second Year students at Kardinal Hall — a popular local hangout with tons of board games and a bocce court!
If you missed out on last week’s Showcase, there’s still time to sign up for one of our upcoming events! We are excited to announce that we’ve just opened up the 13 September and 20 September dates for all prospective students. Check out our events page for dates and more information.
We hope to see you on Grounds soon!
