Amazing school - but brace yourself for the core

Experience during the program

UVA Darden is an amazing school and I do consider I couldn't have made a better choice (I chose it among 4 schools).
Below, I'll quickly outline some points that, hopefully, will help you to make your decision (I hope it's also coming to Darden!):

a) Community: the community here at Darden is all it says it is and beyond. I had support even before the MBA, and people here are truly willing to help each other. Moreover, the AdCom does a great job in selecting candidates, what will give you the opportunity to make great friendships with people from lots of different countries. Finally, being 03 quarters together (length of the core curriculum) helps a lot in bonding. Regarding PARTNERS, everyone should know that Darden is 100% partner friendly - partners can do EVERYTHING students can, except attending to all classes because of the case-method;

b) Location: there's no way to improve on location, since we currently use UVA's facilities - highlighting here that UVA campus is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, the city is indeed 02 hours away from DC, where the best flights depart from. I know, that's not a long time, but in an ideal world, Cville would be closer to a good airport (yes, there's Richmond's, but this is much more limited than DC's). The city is great, with lots of green area, wineries and places for hiking around - stores usually close, however, considerably early. If you'd like to have a unique experience at the countryside, come here! If you'd prefer being in a big city as NY/LA, just think whatever is more important to you;

c) Career opportunities: year after year, Darden NAILS the recruitment in Consulting/IB. Of course, lots of people also do well in careers as GMO/Tech, but I'd highlight the first ones mentioned. You'll have lots of support to reach your goals and the school brand is very well known for having prepared students;

d) Professors: another great point for Darden - its Faculty has been named the best one in US Business Schools for lots of years in a row. All Professors are very friendly and can be quickly reached if you need to talk about anything;

e) Curriculum: in Darden's core curriculum, you'll have Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Leadership, Decision Analysis, Operations, Strategy, Economics and Ethics. That's great, because you'll have a basis for your business knowledge, being able to select electives from Q4 (there's a bunch of them, including in very modern topics as the metaverse). Attention: be prepared - during the core, you have an average of 03 cases/day, and that can be A LOT (even though we don't have classes on Friday). I'd even say that Darden's academics go a bit over the ideal in that point, giving its students a high workload during core. A point to highlight here is also the CASE-METHOD, something that attracts a lot of people to Darden - it'll help you to develop your public speaking skills, as your quick logical thinking;

f) Facilities: the facilities are great! Beautiful campus and great structure;

CONCLUSION: Darden is an awesome school, with great professors, a very collaborative community, a bunch of social activities and that will definitely open the doors you need to land your dream job. The only drawbacks will be a) being in Charlottesville (it's not really a drawback - the city is great and have nice stuff to do, but you'll be 2 hours away from a decent airport and it has the limitations of a small city, AND b) the workload of the core - it'll open the career doors you want, but it will be a lot, mainly during Q1 and Q2.

About professors, classes and curriculum

Best Faculty by Princeton Review several years in a row

About job placement process

Job placement for consulting/IB is VERY high

Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)

Strengths of the program:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Career opportunities provided by school
Culture & Student Support

Best fit at this program:

Consulting
Finance

Can be improved:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Location