UPDATE: This article was originally posted on August 26, 2020. It has been updated with new information and tips below.
With its unique case study method and coursework that includes classes on cutting-edge topics such as analytics and machine learning, Darden is at the top of the list for candidates seeking to build successful careers in the modern economy.
However, after the school announced a STEM-eligible MBA specialization, competition to join Darden’s elite MBA is more difficult than ever.
That’s why we’ve prepared this guide to help you use your Darden admissions essays to stand out. We’ve rounded up our best tips and links to UVA Darden MBA sample essays to ensure you give your Haas application your best shot.
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1. Who is Darden looking for?
(Photo courtesy of @dardenmba on Instagram)
“Darden’s rigorous, purpose-driven education simulates the performance pressures of modern business, developing innovative leaders who not only navigate change — they spark it.” Darden Admissions
Every year, Darden selects a group of outstanding professionals to join its annual class of around 350 students. With a strong emphasis on diversity, there is no “typical” Darden student, yet the average admitted student in the Class of 2024 had an average GMAT score of 720, a GRE of 319, and 29 years of age.
Beyond the impressive scores, though, Darden is looking for candidates who want to make a positive impact on the world through their careers. That’s why, in addition to strong academic performance (demonstrated through the GMAT/GRE and university grades), Darden seeks candidates who influence classmates to become better people, cheer on others to achieve success, and genuinely care about others.
2. How should I answer Darden essay questions?
Darden stands out as one of the handful of MBA programs that only give applicants a short amount of space to discuss their profile in the application essays. At Darden, no essay you’ll write will be longer than 300 words. In the words of the Admissions Committee:
As such, your greatest challenges while applying for the Darden MBA will be choosing the right mix of stories and ensuring you can express yourself clearly and concisely. Our tips below are designed to help you accomplish this difficult task!
2.1. Essay 1 Tips
Community of Belonging: What would you want your classmates to know about you that is not on your resume? (100 words)
This prompt requires two elements: knowledge of the Darden community and the information you wish to share with your classmates.
If you don’t know much about the Darden community, it’s going to be hard to write a compelling essay that demonstrates how you will fit in. So first start out by doing your homework. What is unique about Darden’s community, and what opportunities can you take advantage of on campus? Which of Darden’s many student clubs are you excited to join, and which social events most appeal to you? Which parts of Darden’s culture do you identify with? Finally, how can you contribute to the program in a way no one else can?
After doing your homework, we suggest you start crafting your by selecting a few different aspects of your profile that you believe make you unique. As stated in the essay tips the school provides on its site, any type of example for a question like this is applicable. In their words: “This is a chance for you to let your true self shine. Hobbies, interests, passions, values — it’s all fair game here.”
Thus, we suggest that you first think about the other aspects of your profile and personal brand that you’ve already touched upon in other parts of your Darden application. Then, think about additional ways you can bring value to the Darden community.
For example, our client Luigi focused on how his empathy for others has shaped his leadership style. He brought in examples of how he has used his empathy in his professional life to improve the lives of poor farmers in Brazil. He then talks about how he can share this perspective to help his classmates become more collaborative and conscious of the impacts their careers will have on society.
Another client talked about how he was recruited to help his company solve a financial challenge at a branch in Angola and developed a solution, together with that country’s government, that not only solved your company’s financial issue but also provided a reliable food source for thousands of Angolans. He then wrote about his plan to share the challenges of performing business on an international scale with his learning team to help them become more high-potential global leaders.
This prompt is broad, so you’re free to choose elements from your personal and professional life. Just make sure you choose your most high-impact story or personal characteristic and meaningfully connect it with what you believe your future classmates could gain from it.
Finally, make sure you’ve got the tone right. Darden wants to hear something about your story, so imagine you’re sitting across the table from a classmate. This approach can make the essay feel more personal and genuine, helping you win over the Darden admissions committee.
TOP TIP: If you’re having trouble fitting all of this information into just 100 words, our team of editing experts can be your ace up the sleeve by helping you incorporate as much content as possible to show off your profile in this super short essay.
Need more guidance?
Our MBA Resource Center has dozens of Darden MBA essays that worked to get our clients admitted to help you plan out a winning UVA Darden essay.
Our library also includes guides for all top global MBA programs, detailed essay brainstorms, interview tips and mocks, CV templates, and recommendation letter guides. Click to join!
2.2. Essay 2 Tips
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 also clearly touches on two aspects that Darden values highly: leadership and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion). Because of this, you will want to focus on a time when you took the lead to step up for others who belong to marginalized groups.
This question seeks to understand how well you “fit” with Darden’s core values, including their commitment to diversity. As such, showing that you thrive in and help promote more diverse environments will be the key to demonstrating that you belong at Darden.
Though you may be tempted to include a list of leadership experiences for this question, Darden clearly asks you for a single experience, though they do not dictate that you must draw this example from your professional experience. For many applicants, this will be a great opportunity to share something from your personal or volunteer experience.
As such, considering Darden’s focus on responsible leaders and on creating a “New Story of Business,” start by brainstorming a list of examples in which you created impact in the realm of DEI. Then, as you read through the list, try to determine which were most meaningful to you or most impactful in the community at large.
To get things started, keep in mind that you don’t have to think of a time you demonstrated earth-shattering impact that changed an entire industry (a lot of clients worry that if they didn’t change the world in a big way, their essays will lack impact).
For example, a past client of ours was instrumental in founding an LGBTQ+ group at a top consulting firm in his home country. Under his leadership, the group grew from 3 to nearly 50 members, radically changing the way LGBTQ+ persons were treated in the office. Furthermore, he also gave lectures at various universities, showing that LGBTQ+ persons are just as welcoming in the consulting career as anyone else. This move greatly increased the number of LGBTQ+ new recruits in the following years. He then ended by showing how important it is to win over allies when working to change office culture.
Though the possibilities are endless, essentially, Darden wants to see how you use your leadership skills to make your communities more inclusive.
To do so, we truly feel you should stick to the STAR framework to ensure you deliver an answer that reveals why inclusion is a key value. Start with an introduction that sets the stage before introducing the challenge or challenges you were facing or helping others overcome to make a work or personal environment more inclusive.
Continue by showing what you did (this is the part in which you’re actively demonstrating your capacity to lead). During this section, focus on showing how you accomplished what you did and why you felt the actions you took were appropriate for the challenge. End your essay by showing the result you were able to achieve (we suggest you focus on examples with positive outcomes), how your environment became more inclusive, and what you learned about leadership in the face of DEI in the process.
TOP TIP: Illustrating impact in your essays can be difficult, so make sure to check out this post to ensure you are effectively demonstrating your impact in this essay.
2.3. Essay 3 Tips
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)
Again this year, Darden essentially has asked you to write a very short version of a traditional MBA goals essay. Furthermore, they have deliberately been very clear about what they want here: short-term goals and how they relate to your long-term vision.
TOP TIP: If you’re not sure what your goals are, check out this post designed to help you think through this critical component of your application!
When discussing your goals, clarity is king, so make sure you include a job title and industry in your description of your post-MBA aspiration.
However, goals without context can be a little confusing to decipher or understand (or they can just seem a bit lackluster). For example, a recent client initially started his essay by saying:
“I want to become a Business Development Director at a Brazilian company.”
While interesting, it’s better to give a little bit of context to help these goals come to life. Check out the final version of the same essay’s introduction:
“In the 1970s, the phrase “think global, act local” came into use, suggesting that for the world to change, one must be active locally. With this mindset, I focused my career on Brazilian multinational companies to start creating global change at home. I now seek to take the next step to become a “glocal” leader by becoming Business Development Director at a Brazilian company.”
After clearly stating your short-term goal (and your motivations for having this goal) and moving on to your long-term goal, we suggest you briefly touch on how Darden can help you achieve these goals, if you have space. This should not be a “laundry list” of 10 classes you found on the Darden site, nor a section in which you repeat clichés about the school.
Instead, you should thoughtfully consider how you must grow personally and professionally to reach your stated short-term goal and what elements of Darden (classes, faculty, clubs, etc.) will help you reach them.
Ending your essay with a killer conclusion sentence to leave your reader with a strong image of your profile is the perfect wrap-up.
2.4. Essay 4 Tips
What have you done to improve your candidacy since you last applied? (100 words)
This is a MUCH shorter space than reapplicants normally receive in a reapplicant essay. As such, you need to focus on the 2-3 most important changes since last year, including new GMAT/GRE scores (or other weaknesses you’ve addressed), promotions, and additional community involvement. You have space in the online application form to discuss ways in which you’ve further engaged with the Darden community, so we encourage you add that information in this section, rather than in this essay.
2.5. Essay 5 Tips
If there is further information you believe would be helpful to the Admissions Committee, please provide it. (250 words)
Here you want to make sure to be short and sweet. This is not a place to reiterate why you want to attend Darden or add additional stories. We have written extensively on the topic of optional essays, including example essays, here.
Looking for University of Virginia Darden MBA essay examples? Check out our real sample essays that got our clients admitted here.
3. We Make Your Story Shines
One of the most common mistakes we see in MBA essays is that candidates fail to tell compelling stories. This is important because if your stories are not compelling, they will not be persuasive. At the same time, they must be backed by strong examples that establish a track record of success and prove to the admissions committees why you belong at their school.
Striking this balance between content and creativity can be tough, however, as succeeding means not only choosing the right stories but ensuring they are told in an optimal manner.
This is why our iterative developmental feedback process here at Ellin Lolis Consulting helps you mold your message through the application of our storytelling expertise until it reflects exactly what makes your profile stand out and show fit with your target program.
That’s the approach we took with Andre, who was admitted to Darden. In his words, “Ellin and her team’s work was objective and effective. I think what helped me the most was her work in helping me find the school that “fit” my profile the best. Since the beginning, she helped me express myself in a clearer and more effective way was crucial to my success getting admitted to Darden.
I had an excellent experience with Ellin, and her work is unique in the consulting market. The clients she accepts for consulting have a huge advantage.”
Not only can you take advantage of our editing expertise through multiple edits – you can also benefit from it after a single review! If your budget is tight, our editors will be happy to help polish your text as much as possible and leave “bonus comments” so you can keep working on it on your own!
No matter how long we work with you, we will always ensure your essays shine. Sign up to work with our team of storytelling experts and get accepted.
4. Darden MBA Deadlines
Here are the deadlines for the 2023-2024 season. You can access the Darden application by clicking here.
Real MBA Essays That Got People In
School-specific sample essays that got our clients accepted
