From the moment he received his acceptance till now, Antonio Brodie gives an inside look at University of Virginia Darden School of Business. He shares about what influenced his decision to attend and what stood out about the school’s culture.
The responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.
MBASchooled: Think back to when you found out about your MBA acceptances. What was that experience like?
It felt like I was receiving a call from the GM of my favorite sports team and they were telling me, “Antonio, we would like to take you as the #1 pick in the 2020 NBA draft!” I guess I can now say I know what it feels like to receive “the call.” It was very surreal — I mean we, as MBA prospective candidates, put so much effort into the application process, it doesn’t feel real when you finally start receiving calls from MBA programs who want you to join their amazing cohort of students!
MBASchooled: After your acceptance, what did you do to help make your decision?
After I got accepted into the various MBA programs, I stacked them together and started mentally calculating my return on investment (ROI). Reflecting back on it all, my research and criteria for selecting a school was quite simple: (i) I evaluated financial scholarships, first and foremost, obviously emphasizing full-merit scholarships over partial or simply no scholarships, (ii) I evaluated which program aligned best with my career goals (i.e. switching to consulting) by analyzing their employment reports posted on their respective websites, in addition to, connecting with people of similar backgrounds and career goals found via LinkedIn, and finally, (iii) the location — considering the cost of living. A combination of those three is how I made my final decision to attend the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.
MBASchooled: What were the most important criteria you used in order to select the right business school?
For me, the most important criteria to select the right business school (Darden) was (i) the academic experience, (ii) career center success, and (iii) location and cost of living. Coming into business school as a career switcher, I knew I needed to bridge the gap (academically) with technical skills necessary to make the career leap I initially planned to make — in order for that to happen, I needed a robust academic experience. Piggybacking off of being a career switcher, I came into business school with a desired list of employers that I wanted to explore, so I made a conscious effort to target schools who had strong relationships with those employers. Lastly, I didn’t want to break the bank or take out what I deemed “unnecessary” student loans to fund a temporary (2-year) lifestyle.
MBASchooled: What about Darden culture stood out to you?
Darden’s culture is about commitment. Commitment to its people and commitment to maintaining a vibrant and active community with strong ethics and values. Darden is so supportive of all its students, I truly believe it’s what separates the MBA program from other top institutions. One story in particular really resonates with me: I had just been accepted into a few programs and I was battling between options, and lo and behold, an email arrives from the Black Business Student Association (BBSA) at Darden, congratulating me on being accepted and lending their support for any additional perspective I may have needed prior to making a final decision. Understanding that black students in business schools are far and few, that was support I didn’t know I needed… until it was received — Darden’s BBSA was the only school who displayed that level of emotional intelligence (emphasizing their supportive culture) prior to accepting admission. It was special for me.
MBASchooled: What’s something you’ve learned about Darden that you didn’t know before you enrolled?
MBASchooled: After you accepted your admission, did you do anything to prepare for your first year of business school at Darden?
My situation was unique in the sense of preparing for business school. Academically, I wanted to relax my mind, not overwhelming myself with learning new accounting concepts or finance calculations. Socially, my newborn son was 2 months old at that moment, so I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could prior to leaving for Darden. Knowing the 2,000+ mile separation was going to be a tremendous sacrifice, I needed to immerse myself in his love leading all the way to my departure date. So besides a few networking calls with potential employers and students, I gave all of my time and energy to my son, Trey. Although, that was my journey… I still would recommend incoming students to relax, enjoy friends and family and avoid schoolwork. The First Year of business school is by far the most intimidating, so you want to enter your program well-rested and energized for what is to come.
Written by, Julia Kryzan