Poets and Quants

The school again won two highly coveted grades of  A+ (meaning Darden scored in the top 20% of leading schools whose graduates were surveyed) from BusinessWeek for excellence in both teaching and career services, the two most important elements delivered by a business school to a student population. As one Class of 2012 graduate told BusinessWeek’s survey team: “The PEOPLE at Darden are irreplaceable. The program is hard and competitive, but everyone is rooting for you. I love this type of healthy competition.” Raved another: “The community and teamwork-focused learning environment make the Darden MBA program unique. I cannot imagine a class that was more tight-knit and supportive, and also unique and diverse, as the Darden class that I was a part of. The strenuous academic environment prepares students very well for professional opportunities after school.”

Student Perspectives:

My Story: From an NFL Quarterback to Darden

MBA Program Consideration Set:

Stretch Schools:   Columbia, Dartmouth, Northwestern’s Kellogg School
Match Schools: MIT Sloan, Berkeley, Duke, New York University, Michigan, Yale, Cornell
Safe Schools: Carnegie Mellon, UCLA, North Carolina

2011-2012 Tuition & Fees: $91,500 (resident)
Tuition & Fees: $101,500 (non-resident)
School Recommended Two-Year Budget: $141,000 (resident)
School Recommended Two-Year Budget: $151,000 (non-resident)
Average GMAT: 703
GMAT Range (mid-80%): 643-750
Average GPA: 3.48
Acceptance Rate: 27%

Full-Time MBA Enrollment: 657
International: 34%
Female: 35%
Minority 20%
Mean Age: 27

Average 2012 Base Salary: $109,333
Median Signing Bonus: $25,000
Percentage of Class of 2012 MBAs with Job Offers at Graduation: 86%
Percentage of Class of 2012 MBAs with Job Offers Three Months Later: 94%

Estimate of Total Pay over a 20-Year Career*: $2,908,136 (only 10 other U.S. schools had higher career pay numbers)

Where Darden’s Class of 2011 Went To Work:

Financial Services — 35%
Consulting — 20%
Manufacturing — 12%
Technology — 11%
Consumer Products — 8%
Health Care/Biotech — 3%
Media/Entertainment — 2%
Energy — 2%
Government — 2%
Non-Profit — 1%
Real Estate — 1%

Top Employers of Darden MBAs

Source: Darden School of Business Employment Reports

Relevant Features:

How Darden Became No. 1 in Student Satisfaction
Darden Dean Bob Bruner on Globalization
The Best B-School Alumni Networks in the U.S.
B-School Deans Worth Following on Twitter
Darden Dean Reappointed To a New Four-Year Term
Darden Hits New Donor Record of $3.5 Million

Note: MBA Program Consideration Set: If you believe you’re a close match to this school–based on your GMAT and GPA scores,  your age and work experience, you should look at these other competitive full-time MBA programs as well. We list them by stretch, match and safety. These options are presented on the basis of brand image and ranking status as a general guideline.

* Payscale 2010 estimate for Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

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