Emory MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines: 2021- 22

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The Goizueta MBA is a 'top-ranked MBA' offering world-class academics and small-by-design classes delivered in a dynamic, global city, Atlanta. Goizueta Business School's core values are Courage, Integrity, Accountability, Rigor, Diversity, Team, and Community.

DEADLINES

Round 1

Application Deadline: October 06, 2021
Decision Notification: December 09, 2021

Round 2

Application Deadline: January 10, 2022
Decision Notification: March 17, 2022

Round 3

Application Deadline: March 16, 2022
Decision Notification: May 05, 2022

For more information about applying for the Emory MBA, visit the Goizueta Emory admissions website.

ESSAYS

Written Essays: The Emory Goizetta applicants will submit three required essays. The essay questions remain unchanged from last year. All the essay questions cover a lot of ground: your professional path and goals, your alignment with the program's core values, and who you are as a person. The written essays are short; you will need to do significant self-reflection to choose the right stories/ examples to showcase your candidacy in the best manner. Make every word count and be as succinct, concise, and impactful as you can. Also, make sure that your video personality complements 'your written personality.

From Emory Website: The essays are an important part of your application because they give you the opportunity to tell the Admissions Committee more about yourself. To go beyond your resume bullet points and share more of your story. Please complete all the required essays below and follow the word limits provided. Your essays should be written in 10- or 12-point, Arial font, and double-spaced; please do not include the essay title on the page. Upload your essay answers, numbered and in order, as one pdf document.

Here is our analysis of Emory's Essay Questions for 2021-22:

Post MBA Career Goals

Essay #1: Define your short-term post-MBA career goals. How are your professional strengths, past experience, and personal attributes aligned with these goals? (300-word limit)


This is a straightforward career goals essay with an emphasis on short-term post-MBA goals. It would be best if you began the essay with a clear statement of your short-term career plans. Please be specific about the position/ job title and the industry you plan to seek immediately after your MBA. Also, consider naming 1-2 firms that you aim to join after your MBA. Even though the question doesn't ask you to discuss your long-term goals, you may still briefly mention (if space permits) how you plan to progress from your short-term goal to a long-term vision.

Then, explain how your professional experiences and strengths align with your short-term career objective and discuss how the knowledge and skills you have acquired have propelled you to your desired career path. While detailing your professional experience, make sure to focus on your specific professional strengths (quantitative skills, communication skills, teamwork, etc.) and personal attributes (cultural flexibility, perseverance, integrity, etc.) Since you have another essay to explain how Emory MBA will help you achieve your goals, you don't need to explain that here.

How to structure your essay?

1. Short term goal (approximately 100 words)
2. How your professional experiences and strengths are aligned with these goals (approximately 200 words)

Example: "Post MBA, I wish to join a reputed Technology and Strategy consulting organization, such as Deloitte or Ernst & Young as an IT Strategy Consultant. My passion for technology, my experience in corporate and business leadership, my childhood vision to be a global business leader and continue my family legacy has defined my goal. They have also fueled my vision to lead my family business into the world of Technology and Consulting by opening a new division in technology & strategy firms. To realize my entrepreneurial dream, I need an MBA."

Leadership in Business

Essay #2: The business school is named for Roberto C. Goizueta, former Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, who led the organization for 16 years, extending its global reach, quadrupling consumption, building brand responsibility, creating unprecedented shareholder wealth, and demonstrating a commitment to values and positive impact on society. Roberto Goizueta's core values guide us in educating principled leaders to have a positive influence on business and society.

Provide a specific example of your leadership and explain what you learned about yourself through the experience. (300-word limit)


Emory's leadership essay question continues to center around former Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company Roberto C. Goizueta's leadership style. Since the essay prompt doesn't specify personal or professional leadership, the applicants have the freedom to choose their leadership story from any area – personal, professional space or community engagement.

Through this straightforward leadership question, the Ad Com expects you to recount a leadership experience and explain the learnings you have gleaned about yourselves through the experience. Do some soul searching and reflect on times when you stepped out of your comfort zone and took initiatives that brought about some change or improved processes, subsequently followed by an organization. Your response should demonstrate how you think, act, and behave in a specific situation. Make sure to select a recent experience where you made a clear impact.

How to structure your essay?

1. The situation/ the challenge: What was the context? Who were the players involved? What did you need to accomplish in your leadership role? What were the challenges? (approx. 60-70 words)
2. The action: What initiatives/actions you took? How did you deal with the challenges? How did you process your thoughts to take your decisions? (approx125- 130 words)
3. The outcome/result: What were the results of your efforts? What was the resolution of the story? (approx. 40-50 words)
4. The significance: What did you learn about yourself? What lessons did you learn during that leadership experience? How have these lessons (1-2 only) helped you since then? (approx. 60-70 words)

You may conclude the essay with a final comment about how you will enrich the Emory community.

Example: "Today, I recall this experience as one of the most meaningful life experiences. It helped me overcome my inability to collaborate. I now try to foster a positive collaborative environment within the teams. This experience also revealed to me my ability to take the initiative, which has helped improve my productivity and develop solutions that have benefited the organization."

Why Goizueta?

Essay #3: What are you looking to gain from Goizueta's MBA and how do you see yourself contributing to the Goizueta community? (200-word limit)



In the first essay, you have already discussed your brief career history. You can pick up here from where you had left off and explain how the Goizueta MBA program's specific resources will help you achieve your post-MBA aspirations (100 words). The key is to establish a connection between your past experience, Emory's program, and your post-MBA goals. Then explain how you will add value to the program and enrich it. Again, provide specific details about what you will contribute to the program in and outside the classroom.

Video Essay

Telling your story in the written essays is an important part of the application process, but we also want to hear you tell some of your story. The video essay lets every candidate talk to the MBA Admissions Committee and we enjoy getting to know you through the "small talk" questions.


The written essays cover your professional life and accomplishments, and the video essay provides you an opportunity to demonstrate to the Ad Com who you are as a person. It is also an opportunity to showcase that aspect of your candidacy that will enable you to add value to the school and make an impact. The video essay should best complement the rest of your application. Though you can't prepare content, you can practice questions and video yourself answering. Make sure to practice a lot until you are comfortable with the technique and format. You will be allowed three attempts to record your video essay, but each opportunity would present a different question.

Optional Essay

If there is an important part of your story missing from your application (e.g., unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, academic probation issues), please use this section to provide a brief explanation. Please use bullets if you need to address more than one topic. (200-word limit)


An optional essay is an opportunity for you to share relevant information with the Ad Com that you could not provide in other parts of your application, essays, and resume. If you have a lower-than-average GMAT score, any grades below a 'C' on your transcript, academic probation, or a significant employment/ education gap, you can explain that in this essay. Also, if you cannot get your recommendation letter from your current supervisor, you should explain that in the optional essay. Your response should be positive, straightforward, and fact-focused and should not sound like you are making excuses for your profile's weakness. Your weakness may also bring out a positive aspect of your personality. For example, if you are discussing your employment gap, you may explain that you did something productive during that period, such as traveling, volunteering, or handling a family medical emergency.

Here is an example of a candidate whose grades dropped because of his military service.

Example: "Although my leadership experiences in the military taught me many valuable lessons in teamwork, perseverance, and management, through all my responsibilities, it impacted my grades. Thus, I do not view my undergraduate performance as an accurate representation of my academic abilities. I grew from this experience and took a dedicated approach to professional education. I would respectfully ask the Ad Com to consider this when reviewing my application."

Please note that you only have 200 words to explain/ justify any weakness in your profile. So be very precise, succinct, and to the point in presenting your case.

For some useful techniques to help you meet the stringent word limits, click here.

Reapplicant essays

Applicants who have applied to Goizueta Business School in the past are required to answer the following questions:

Essay #1: Define your short-term post-MBA career goals. How are your professional strengths, past experience, and personal attributes aligned with these goals? (300-word limit)

See tip for Essay #1 above. If your goal has changed since the previous application, explain why.

Essay #2: Explain how you have improved your candidacy for Goizueta Business School's MBA Program since your last application. (250-word limit)

This is a straightforward re-applicant essay. Through this question, the Ad Com would like to know that your interest in the Emory MBA is as strong as it was last time. Hence you should demonstrate your continued interest in Emory by explaining how you have enhanced your application since you applied last time. You may answer this by focusing on the areas you have improved upon since you applied last. You may have taken extra classes, boosted your GMAT score, received a promotion, led a new and exciting project, increased your community involvement, or taken on a personal challenge.

The key is to demonstrate that you are now a stronger candidate since your last application. Your conscious efforts to strengthen your profile and to work on your weak areas will prove how determined you are about your Emory MBA.

You may be interested in a chat with an Emory admit.

Free Resources

10 Key Essay Tips with Examples
MER Students Share their Success Stories
Essay Analysis of Other Top Programs-2021-22
Case Studies
AIGAC Virtual Conference 2021: MER's Key Takeaways

Since 2011, MER (myEssayReview) has helped many applicants get accepted into the top 20 MBA programs, including UCLA. (Poonam is one of the top 5 most reviewed consultants on the GMAT Club.)

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