Darden’s admission essays for the class of 2011 are a departure from the themes of the last two years.  Due to a relatively small set of questions and brief word limits, you will need to focus clearly on your application strategy.  Think strategically about how to demonstrate several key aspects of your background and goals.

1.  What pivotal choice(s) have you made in your life that have influenced your decision to pursue an MBA?  (500 words)

Focusing specifically on pivotal moments in your life, this question is still a classic “why MBA” inquiry.   Your choice of an MBA program will certainly be related to your career goals, and the narrative will likely follow that of a classic career goals essay.  The prompt to discuss your pivotal choices is an invitation to be introspective and demonstrate your unique path. 

While the focus is career goals and your decision to pursue an MBA, there is room in this essay to illuminate some of your personal attributes and motivations.  Last year Darden asked applicants to reflect upon what matters most, and there is certainly room in this essay to communicate a similar level of depth. 

When describing your pivotal choice or choices, focus on explaining the situation clearly and specifically and explaining your thoughts and reactions.  If you learned something about yourself or changed your path, demonstrate the thought process that led you there.

2. From the following categories, describe the one that has taught you the most: a creative challenge, an ethical dilemma or an experience of failure.  Why?  (250 words)

With only 250 words, you will want to choose your example carefully.  Think about demonstrating a new aspect of yourself with the example, and be sure you can reflect upon what you learned from the situation. 

A creative challenge could be an excellent opportunity to show your ability to lead and innovate, or a situation in which you transformed a challenge into a success.  If you choose an ethical dilemma, an example that provides some grey area to reflect upon is more interesting than a clear cut situation and can demonstrate specific information about your character.  An experience of failure can be one of the more revealing aspects of your life and an opportunity to show your ability to learn and grow when faced with personal challenges. 

Whichever example you use, state the situation clearly, and describe what you did along with your thoughts and feelings.  Reflect upon why this situation was particularly important to you and how the lessons have influenced decisions since.  If you have the space, you may have the opportunity to bring in subsequent situations where you practiced what you learned.

3. Describe how you are a fit with the case study method.  (250 words)

The case study method is a cornerstone of the close knit Darden experience and there are several angles you can take with this essay.  You can focus why you will learn best through inquiry and interaction with your fellow MBA students, or how the case method will prepare you for your post-MBA career goals.  Whatever your reasons for preferring the case method, you will want to demonstrate that you are familiar with the Darden academic approach and that it works well for you.  

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Read on for real stories from MBA applicants, students…and the occasional AdCom staff.

Miss Curly Bee, missing in action of late, checks in with a summary of the first few weeks of her Kellogg journey.

Omne wonders whether anyone applies to “gimmie schools“-somewhere you’re 95% sure will accept you–anymore. The notion has him asking: Do I want an MBA from only a top school, or do I want an MBA to really get me into a new career?

Iday is back in the fast lane, trying to figure out the dynamics of bidding for a class while grappling with his duties as co-editor-in-chief of Chibus.

Marquis offers some advice to a Chinese national who has an interest in pursuing a Stanford MBA one day, but feels that his career is currently in a rut…a story that is common to a lot of MBA aspirants.

JulyDream is busier than she ever thought possible as briefings have an impact on every aspect of life, from sleep to grocery shopping.

Mood swings aside, En Route to MBA is feeling a much-deserved sense of relief and accomplishment after submitting to ISB.

Inside HBS has only been in Boston for two weeks, but, like JulyDream, already the exhaustion has set in and the challenge ahead is to take advantage of every bit without burning out.

Admission into a top-tier program is highly selective, as everyone knows, and Makis advises against applying if you have more than one of the characteristics on his drawbacks list.

Bill Gray (MBA ’09) outlines some of his thoughts on the learning process at Darden in its MBA Student Blog.

HBS Admissions Director Dee Leopold introduced an online scheduler last week for prospective students eager to visit the campus and see the case method in action. Also, starting on October 6, HBS will offer information sessions, campus tours, and lunch with student hosts as other ways to get to know the school. For a complete list of prospective student offerings, check out the campus activities calendar.

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For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.

Stacy Blackman’s Weekly Roundup of B-School Intelligence

The Wall Street Journal reports that B-schools are moving to assist alums as university career offices brace for a tough recruiting year and the possibility of more layoffs and jobless alumni to come. Schools were largely unprepared for the onslaught of grads looking back to their alma maters for job help when the Wall Street woes began.

The University of Cambridge, together with Judge Business School, will be hosting the first international ‘Entrepreneurship for a Zero Carbon Society‘ conference September 22-24, 2008. Held at the Sidgwick Site in Cambridge, it will provide a platform for international experts from the key fields involved in tackling climate change, to present the latest research and ideas in an open-minded and politically neutral forum.

This week, Financial Times‘ Soapbox argues for the value of attending B-school sooner rather than later. According to James Brickley, Gleason professor of business administration, and Mark Zupan, dean of the Simon School of Business, the benefit of having a framework to solve business problems that an MBA education provides may be greater if that learning occurs earlier in a career.

Deans from top international business schools recently gathered to discuss the current and future state of management education in China. The event was the latest in a series of roundtables held around the world and organized and moderated by Paul Danos, dean of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and Santiago Iñiguez, dean of Instituto de Empressa.

Harvard Business School has accepted the first undergraduates who will take part in HBS 2+2, the school’s groundbreaking deferred MBA admission program. The HBS 2+2 program was designed to reach a diverse group of high-achieving college students studying in the fields of science, engineering, healthcare, government, and public service, among other disciplines, as they begin to explore career and graduate school opportunities.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has announced the addition of 12 new academic and nonprofit partners to provide a business and management education to underserved women in Brazil, China, India, and the Philippines. Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford is collaborating with Zhejiang University in China and Insead with Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC) in Brazil. The other five European business schools involved in the project are HEC Paris, IE Business School and Iese Business School, both in Spain, and London Business School and the Judge Business School in Cambridge, UK.

As the financial landscape shifts, BusinessWeek reports that B-schools are busy reaching out to nervous students whose job prospects are suddenly far from certain. Alan Johnson, CEO of Johnson Associates, a compensation consultancy, predicts hiring will be down by as much as 50% this fall, with students entering what will be one of the most fiercely competitive job markets in recent years.

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For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.

Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business has announced the launch of a multinational network of campuses to conduct research and teaching activities in key economic and cultural centers of the world.

Partnerships with individuals, municipalities and organizations in New Delhi, India; St. Petersburg, Russia; Dubai, UAE; London, UK; and Shanghai, China, as well as on Duke’s campus in Durham will facilitate the simultaneous launch of the business school’s campuses in each of these five regions.

“Through this program, The Fuqua School of Business is rethinking the boundaries of business school,” Duke University President Richard H. Brodhead said during a celebration with food, music and dance that highlighted the cultures of the school’s new host countries.

“Duke’s ambitions to broaden Duke’s engagement with the world and connect our intellectual resources with each other, and with the great issues of the day, are exciting and innovative. What starts today with business education will continue as Duke extends its global reach and aspirations.”

The international programs of many American business schools are based in casual affiliations, but Fuqua’s new global plans call for a significant presence in each location, says Dean Blair Sheppard.

“The depth of our activities in each location ensures we will become truly embedded in each region. By engaging with these regions through education and research, we will be able to examine the world’s opportunities and problems, explore interdependencies between regions, create solutions to address world issues, and prepare practitioners to be change agents and informed leaders,” Sheppard explains.

Each of Fuqua’s regional campuses will support all Duke MBA programs, including the Executive MBA programs. Each also will include a Duke Corporate Education site or partnership, open enrollment executive education, at least two research centers and Fuqua faculty, as well as service learning activities tied to local needs. Duke’s commitment to civic engagement will extend to these new initiatives.

The leading activity in Fuqua’s global expansion will be The Duke MBA – Cross Continent program, which begins in August 2009. This program will be held in each of the five regions before closing at the Duke campus in Durham, N.C.

For further information about the global initiative, visit Fuqua’s website.

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We are now on Facebook – please join the Stacy Blackman Consulting group, or become a friend of Stacy Blackman. I am posting news about MBA related events, job listings, and of course MBA news.

I am on Twitter too…click to follow me on Twitter! www.twitter.com/stacyblackman

For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.