The applications for the Executive MBA Class of 2024 and the Part-Time MBA 2023 cohort are now live!
Application Timing
Both of these professional degree classes will begin coursework in August 2023, and applicants have a variety of application deadlines to choose from. When it comes to application timing, we always recommend that applicants should apply when they feel they can put together their strongest application. The admissions decision timeline for Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA is about three weeks from the application deadline to decision release dates. Once admitted, prospective students typically have around three weeks to finalize their decision.
The first Executive MBA application deadline is 10 September, and the first Part-Time MBA deadline is 1 October. We intentionally offer multiple application deadlines in order to give our busy applicants flexibility and optionality.
As a general rule, we have more seats and more scholarship funding available earlier in the cycle, but working professional applicants apply throughout the year, and we will typically continue to accept students into the Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA classes into the late spring/summer. Everyone’s application timing looks a little different, depending on what’s going on in their lives!
Managing Director of Admissions Brett Twitty recently shared insights about the application launch as well as a few tips for working professional applicants. Ready to check out our application? Get started today.
Q: Last year was the inaugural admissions cycle for the Part-Time MBA program. What kind of class profile is available?
A: We are thrilled with the Part-Time MBA 2022 cohort! We have 68 students, spanning 16 industries and over 50 unique employers, with an average of five and a half years of work experience (range 2 to 12 years). 40 percent of these students are female, 32 percent identify as a racial or ethnic minority and 9 percent have a military service background.
Regarding the class’ academic profile, the average GPA is 3.36 (middle 80 percent 2.92 to 3.86). 33 percent of the students have advanced degrees, and the GRE was the most popular test, followed closely by GMAT and to a lesser extent by the Executive Assessment. In this inaugural class, students have GRE verbal and quantitative sub-scores ranging from the 150s to the 160s. The average GMAT score is 670 (middle 80 percent 560 to 740), and the average EA score is 153 (although we only had 6 EA takers in this inaugural class).
The students just started class on Monday, and they are currently in Charlottesville for a week-long residency. They will begin evening classes in Rosslyn on Monday, 22 August with in-person Accounting sessions, followed by in-person Leading Organizations classes on Thursday night.
Q: How about the Executive MBA Class of 2024?
A: They also started class on Monday!
It was another strong year for our Executive MBA program. The story of UVA Darden in the Washington, D.C. metro area is one of momentum. We are currently entering our sixth year of operation in the Capital region. We now have almost 400 students learning across our professional degree programs. The Executive MBA program has been a big part of this story, and the Executive MBA Class of 2024 is a great addition to our learning community in Rosslyn.
The class features 134 students representing over 100 unique employers and 26 industries and students have on average 12 years of work experience (range 4 to 33 years). 33 percent of these students are female, 22 percent of the students identify as racial or ethnic minorities and 35 percent of the students have a military service background.
Our Executive MBA program consistently boasts students who travel from outside of the D.C. area to participate in the monthly weekend residencies, and the Executive MBA Class of 2024 is no exception. The class has students traveling from 16 different states of residency, including Oregon, Arizona, Texas, Illinois, Indiana, New York, Georgia, Florida and even Indonesia!
On the academic front, the average GPA for the Executive MBA Class of 2024 is 3.26 (middle 80 percent 2.75 to 3.81), tied with last year’s mark for our strongest average GPA in recent years. 35 percent of the students have advanced degrees, and the Executive Assessment (EA) remained the most popular standardized test with our Executive MBA students, followed by GRE and then GMAT, with an average EA score of 153 (middle 80 percent 142 to 158).
Will the Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA applications continue to offer candidates a choice between submitting a standardized test or a test waiver request with their application?
A: Yes. We have found this popular approach has worked well for both our Admissions Committee and our working professional applicants, and we are excited to continue this practice in the cycle ahead.
For readers who are less familiar with our application, Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA applicants have a choice to make when they reach the Test Scores section of the application – to either submit a test score or to submit a test waiver request with their application.
We encourage applicants to consider what function a test score serves in the admissions process: It provides an objective and typically recent data point regarding a candidate’s academic readiness. We accept a number of standardized tests in our Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA application processes – Executive Assessment, GMAT, GRE, MCAT and LSAT – and we view these tests equivalently in our review process. We will even accept an older or expired test score for any of these tests – provided the applicant has documentation reflecting their overall score and score breakdown.
Of course, there is a broader set of data the Admissions Committee will also consider when making this evaluation, including degree-related coursework, non-degree-related coursework, professional certifications and work roles and responsibilities. Some candidates may feel they can make a strong case for their academic readiness without providing a test score. For those applicants, a test waiver request may make sense. For other candidates, an additional data point – for example, a standardized test score – may be helpful.
A final strategic point: You will want to consider more than just the Admissions process when making this standardized score vs. test waiver decision. If a scholarship will be an important part of your MBA decision, you should also consider the role a test score plays in our merit scholarship process. It is possible to request a test waiver and receive a scholarship, however, standardized test scores are one of our merit scholarship criteria, and having a test score effectively broadens the data set available to our Scholarship Committee.
Recommend Reading: Check out our recent blog post regarding standardized tests and test waiver requests for additional insights
Q: Will only one recommendation still be required?
A: Yes. As with our Full-Time MBA application process, Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA applicants are only required to provide one recommendation with their application.
Candidates may submit a second recommendation, and we have found this approach offers applicants the flexibility to include another recommender if they feel like this individual could offer a different or complementary perspective. Again, this all about how the story an applicant is trying to tell through their application materials and how the different sections of the application (recommendations included!) can help advance their narrative.
Recommended Reading: Review our recommendations blog post
Q: What else should applicants know?
There are three key dimensions to any strong MBA application – personal, academic and professional. Our Admissions team wants to get to know you, and we encourage you to connect with us as you consider your options and learn more about Darden. In fact, we have an engagement-based application fee waiver offer ($250) that is available to Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA applicants.
It’s an easy two-step process:
- Participate in a phone conversation or virtual coffee chat; and
- Attend a webinar (or similar online event)
We can’t wait to meet you!
Learn More
Attend the Executive MBA Application Launch webinar on Thursday, 1 September at 6 p.m. ET | Sign up here
Attend the Part-Time MBA Application Launch webinar on Thursday, 8 September at 6 p.m. ET | Sign up here
