Best Kept Secret of B-Schools

Experience during the program

Looking back on my decision process over a year ago, it was a tough decision. I was accepted to multiple schools, some much higher ranked and some lower ranked than Emory. I can confidently say at this point though, that all my nights spent pondering which school to attend were not in vain. Emory was an excellent decision. Here's why I think so:

Going to business school is about moving into a new career, so it was important to me that my school set me up in the best way possible. Goizueta's statistics of placement and average salary hint that they have great career services, but I can tell you it is true. They put tons of competitive candidates into consulting, I-banking and marketing each and every year. I was interested in consulting and was astounded by the success of my class in this industry both in number of offers and starting salaries.

Another reason to attend business school is to build relationships. Whether it's just meeting some new friends, building a network, or meeting an SO, the class size here really is pivotal for that. I have made some awesome, lifelong friends at the school, and there is no one in my class that I don't know.

The level of education you will get at Goizueta is on par with any business school I would imagine. We have very impressive professors here from all aspects of business; MBB partners, CFOs, entrepreneurs, private equity fund managers. The required curriculum itself is constantly under development/improvement, but after the first semester you will be able to pick most of your classes (I stuck with the professors I liked most).

To anyone considering Goizueta, think about where you want to be for the few years after business school and your long term goals. We are in Atlanta, it's a great city with probably the most career opportunities in the southeast. Goizueta does well with recruiting across the board, but they are off-the-charts good in Atlanta. If you want to stay in this part of the country it's a great place to get a good foothold in a new industry. That being said, it admittedly does not have the name recognition of most top business schools (yet). Depending on your ultimate career path this may or may not be acceptable to you.

About professors, classes and curriculum

When I was looking at business schools I placed a lot of importance on education quality. Emory has great professors and a great curriculum. I have a military and engineering background (no business at all) and I feel confident that I can sit in front of a partner and talk business.

You will find yourself stretched to your wit's end at Goizueta when you are in the peak of recruiting season and the core curriculum. I can almost guarantee you won't be sitting back and saying, "This is too easy". You're going to love it, you're going to learn a ton, but you're going to be more worried about finding a job than your classes soon enough.

About job placement process

I'll quickly talk through some key recruiting information by industry at Goizueta:

Consulting - We are recruited by all firms (ALL of them) in some way, shape or form. You will have exposure and an opportunity to work at any firm you desire, provided that you have the scores, resume and casing skills to get you past the resume drop.

I-Banking - Equally so. I'm not a banker but it seems we have people going to a ton of different banks from boutique to gigantic firms. Bankers fly to NY when recruiting and most people go back to NY to work full-time, although there is a large bank here in ATL (which to me seems like the best of all worlds for banking).

Marketing- All types of companies are handing out full time offers as we speak. I'm not extremely in tune with this so I won't say more than that.

Tech - I thought that Emory wouldn't be the best place to look for a job back in San Francisco, but it turns out we actually have put several students into jobs at Amazon & Google among others this year.

P.E. - At Emory we have a started a center for alternative investments, which has really been gaining momentum and attracted attention from private equity firms in the area. P.E. in general is a tough industry to get into because they are mostly small firms relatively speaking (5-10 man shops) , but a few people do it almost every year. Recruiting in this area is even tougher because generally you don't get an offer until you are about to graduate.

If you want to see exactly what companies recruit at Goizueta, look at the school's summary of class of 2016.

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

Strengths of the program:

Student body, diversity
Career opportunities provided by school
Location

Best fit at this program:

Consulting
Finance
Marketing
Investment Banking

Can be improved:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Brand/Ranking