Darden Information Session in Shanghai

Darden Information Session in Shanghai

I think he’s the first dean of top MBA schools holding information session in China this year. Robert F. Bruner gave his introduction about his well-known hard program, Darden, in the conference room of Jinmao.

I didn’t know that the dean would organize the presentation, nor did I expect too much. I attended just because I wanted to get to know better this school by talking to the alumni and by getting some direct impression from the infosession. Ranking around 10 to 15 as second tier of top b-schools, Darden was by far not my dream school. The last time I contacted with them was in an information session 2 years ago. What I met was a graduate who was launching his marketing business in China. So my impression towards Darden was that entrepreneurship maybe welcomed among students and alumni. But to my surprise, most Chinese graduates showed up the night were in corporate side. I don’t know whether this is by coincidence. Also in the information sessions of other b-schools such as Stanfard, HBS, Wharton, nearly no banker was showing up. I suspect that the recent financial crisis may hurt their mood to attend these events.

Back to the Darden’s presentation, the Dean Bruner’s speech was straightforward and somewhat diplomatic. It worked in inspiration students to apply, even in this difficult time. I think that the contemplate situation may hesitate some people to apply, but in long-term, a prestigious MBA is a valuable investment for life-long success. In the top MBA schools, one could be exposed to touch learning environment and share views and knowledge with other top talents. Regardless of the hike and surge of the economy, one should grow intelligence and experience. So, for me, pursuing top MBA is still a hard call, although I am still not well prepared for it.

Another impression from Darden is that the alumni are humble and the study in Darden is hard. Educated in a case setting, grads are ready to talk and handle debates confidently. This is a strong merit of Darden’s teaching method. But to some extent, the alumni presented are not as strong as those from HBS. Many of them are in corporate functions instead of in finance industry. And they are happy to name them after Harvard. It sounds like that they are ready to be after HBS, which I don’t like very much.

Overall, I think Darden is among the best in the world, but not the best one. They themselves also admit that.