Call with a Darden Student

Yesterday, I had a call with a Darden student in a leadership role in the Healthcare Club. Here is a summary of our discussion.

Recruiting/Internship/Full Time Job
This student had his internship with a Finance company and is going to be working full time for the company following graduation. He ultimately wants to work in a Pharma company, but sees the position he accepted as a good bridge to his ultimate goal. I asked questions about how recruiting was going for his friends. He said it has been tough, but not nearly as bad as last year when they were looking for internships. He said roughly 65% of the students have a full time job offer right now.

Case Method
He said this was his primary reason for attending Darden. He loves the format and how it forces you to struggle through a difficult concept with limited information. I am really interested to sit in on a class and see the case method in action!

Learning Teams
Darden has what they call "Learning Teams." When you first start, you are paired with 5 or 6 other students. The school tries to set it up so that you are with a diverse group of students with different skills. Essentially, you meet with this group of students to discuss the cases prior to class. I think this is a great program because it gives you a chance to work with others and run your ideas by each other.

Darden Weakness
He said he felt the biggest weakness is the limited time for recruiting and traveling for job interviews. However, he said they are adjusting the schedules so this probably won't be as much of an issue in the future.

Advice
I asked if he had any advice for me. His advice was regarding essays. He said since you are visiting the grounds, make the essays personal. If something really stands out to you, make sure you point it out in your essays.



I had a call with a Tuck student a few days back. I will put together a debrief from that shortly.