In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Alex Cowan. Cowan teaches several courses in the area of design and digital innovation, and with Darden, he also created the Coursera specialization,  'Digital Product Management', one of the top 15 specializations on Coursera.  His work on hypothesis-driven development is widely used by practitioners and instructors as a systematic approach to developing new products and businesses. We talk with Alex about his entrepreneurial background, his classes, his thoughts on essential skills for tech product managers in an AI age, where he believes AI is heading and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Mariah McVey. Mariah a first year student in UVA Darden’s Full-Time MBA program, and she is also the Section representative for Section B. We talk with Mariah about what led her to Darden, what she enjoys about Charlottesville, what drew her to the section rep role, her advice for prospective students and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Ashley Gartland. Ashley is a first year student in Darden’s Full-Time MBA program, and she is also the Section Representative for Section A. We talk with Ashley about her background, what led her to Darden, what she’s enjoyed about her first year, her advice for prospective students and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Michael Albert. Albert’s research focuses on combining machine learning and algorithmic techniques to automate the design of markets. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk with him about his background, what led him to Darden, his Machine Learning and AI for Business elective, whether we are on course for an AI bubble, how businesses should be thinking about AI and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Tillman Drew. Tillman is a second year student in UVA Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2026, and we talk with him about his decision to pursue an MBA, what led him to Darden, how he spent his first year summer, why he’s so passionate about Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Jack Collins. Jack is a second year student in UVA Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2026, and we talk with him about his decision to pursue an MBA, what led him to Darden, how he spent his first year summer, what he’s looking forward to in his second year and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Mike Gaynor. Mike is a second year student in UVA Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2026, and we chat with him about his background, his decision to pursue an MBA, what led him to Darden, how he spent his first year summer, what he’s looking forward to in his second year and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Andrew Schoka. Andrew is a second year student in UVA Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2026, and we talk with him about his decision to pursue an MBA, what led him to Darden, his AI-focused data security start-up, how the iLab summer incubator helped him develop his venture and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with friend of the podcast, Whitney Kestner. Whitney is co-Interim Executive Director of Admissions and a longtime member of Darden’s Admissions Committee. With Full-Time MBA Round 1 right around the corner, we talk with her about Darden’s fee waiver opportunities, Darden’s new test waiver diagnostic, what she enjoys about this time of year, her advice for applicants and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.   

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, Admissions Committee members, Whitney Kestner and Catie Yeilding, share advice for choosing a recommender, including who makes a good recommender, what the recommendation adds to the application and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba. 

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, Admissions Committee members, Brett Twitty and Whitney Kestner, share advice for navigating the Darden admissions interview, including insights about the structure of the interview, how to prepare for the interview and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.  

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, Admissions Committee members, Brett Twitty and Whitney Kestner, discuss the role standardized tests can play in the admissions process, including how to build your academic readiness case, when a test waiver request can make sense for a Full-Time MBA applicant and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, Admissions Committee members, Brett Twitty and Christian West, share advice for crafting your best short answer responses, including what makes a great short answer response, the importance of authenticity and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, Admissions Committee members, Whitney Kestner and Catie Yeilding, share advice for sharpening your resume for the Darden application process, including how the resume fits into the overall application, tips for bringing a more personal element into the resume and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, Admissions Committee members, Whitney Kestner and Catie Yeidling, share advice for approaching the Darden application process, including when to apply, tips for getting organized and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this podcast, we catch up with Britt Terrell. Britt is a second year student in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2026, and we talk with her about her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her to Darden, the benefits of applying Early Action, how she spent her summer, what she’s looking forward to in her second year, her involvement with Darden Stories and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Mercy Ogbleba. Mercy is a second year student in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2026, and we talk with Mercy about her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her to Darden, what she’s enjoyed about her first year, her advice for prospective students and more. Mercy is also VP of Admissions for the Darden African Business Organization (DABO), VP of Conference for Graduate Women in Business (GWIB), and VP of Careers for the FinTech club. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Rachel Schwam. Rachel is a student in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2026, and she is also pursuing a Master of Arts in International Relations through Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). We talk with Rachel about her background, her decision to pursue a dual degree, the logistics of her combined degree experience, her advice for prospective students and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Stephen Xu. Stephen is currently pursuing his PhD at Darden in the Data Analytics and Decision Sciences area. We talk with Stephen about his background, his decision to pursue a PhD, what led him to Darden, how the program is going so far and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Paul Clancy. Paul is an MD/MBA dual degree student in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2026. We talk with Paul about his decision to pursue an MBA, his entrepreneurial venture – Admissions Academy, his experience in the iLab Incubator this summer, what he’s looking forward to in the months ahead and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.