Emory University’s Goizueta Business School demands three short-answer questions, two relatively brief written essays, and a one-minute “small talk” video essay from its applicants. Two of the three short-answer questions address common MBA essay topics: one’s short-term career objectives and how the school can help the applicant achieve them. The third, however, asks candidates to share a “fun fact” about themselves. Applicants have a choice of two prompts for the school’s first essay question, though both deal with a past leadership experience. And for the second essay, candidates are asked to discuss a person, event, or circumstance that has influenced who they are today. The school’s video essay might cause some applicants a bit of anxiety, because Goizueta provides no advance information about what the question will be. Candidates must therefore be ready to respond extemporaneously. If needed, applicants can use the optional essay to provide clarification or explanation about elements of their candidacy. Read on for our full analysis of all Goizueta’s 2024–2025 application essay questions.
Emory University’s Goizueta Business School Essay Analysis 2024–2025
Short Answer Questions (40-word limit each)
Answer all 3 of the short answer questions below. Each response should be no more than 40 words.
1. What are your short-term post-MBA career goals?
2. How will your professional experience and the Goizueta MBA help you to achieve those goals?
3. What’s a fun fact about you that you would like the committee to know?
As we noted in our introduction, two of these short-answer questions cover standard elements of a traditional personal statement. Although you do not have the space to write a full essay on these topics here, we nevertheless encourage you to download a free copy of the mbaMission Personal Statement Guide, which discusses in depth how to think about and approach these subjects within the context of an MBA application (with numerous illustrated examples).
As for the third short-answer question, which comes as a bit of a curveball after the first two, first be assured that there are no “right” or “wrong” answers here. The admissions committee simply wants you to balance your more serious and professional side with something more personal and light. Consider this example: “When I made my big debut as a contestant on the ‘Price Is Right,’ I sadly never advanced beyond Contestants Row, but I still cherish—and use!—my beloved consolation prize: a motorized wheelbarrow.”
That is (mbaMission president and founder) Jeremy Shinewald’s sub-40-word answer, and it is undeniably his. He “owns” it, by which we mean that more than likely, no one else could make that exact statement. This kind of singularity is what makes an impression on the admissions committee and helps a candidate stand out. Moreover, the statement speaks well of him by showing that he has a sense of humor and irony, in addition to an obvious sense of adventure. And, as the question asks, it is undoubtedly a “fun” fact. This single sentence manages to say a lot—and you can, too. You do not need to mine your past for anything this absurd to make an impression, but you do need to reveal your personality through your statement.
Essay Questions
Answer the 2 essay questions below. Each response should be no more than 300 words.
1. Goizueta Business School’s mission is to prepare principled leaders to have a positive influence on business and society. Identify a personal account of a time you effectively demonstrated your leadership skills. Respond to one of these two prompts:
a. What about this experience made you feel proud of your leadership abilities?
b. What did this experience teach you about leadership?
Goizueta Business School clearly has high expectations for its graduates and community members and seeks individuals who aspire to make a real impact on the world around them—people who are guided by their values and seek to create positive outcomes for others as well as themselves. For this essay, strive to identify a story that illustrates your leadership style and your long-term potential. Do not choose the leadership story you think might be most “impressive” because of the financial value involved, the size of the team you led, or any other such factor. The best choice here is one that clearly illustrates how you conduct yourself when serving in a leadership role.
You have the choice of two prompts, though the core topic (leadership) is the same for both. You can either discuss the strengths you believe you exhibited in this situation about which you feel the most satisfied (i.e., what do you think you did particularly well and/or in what way did you shine?), or you could share what you learned about being a leader as a result.
Because you have only 300 words for this essay, we recommend responding in a straightforward manner. Launch directly into the story of your leadership experience, detailing the specific actions you took in directing others to achieve your result. Although we often note that not all great leadership stories end in success, in this case, you must discuss a situation that had a positive resolution. The key here is to show you shared a valuable experience with colleagues, extracted the most from your team members, and attained a desired outcome.
We recommend using a narrative approach for your story, but be sure to include the thought process and motivation(s) behind your actions. This way, the admissions committee will take away both a clear picture of what you accomplished and the aspects of your character that inspired you and helped enable your success.
If you choose the first prompt, your goal is to show the Goizueta admissions committee not only that you already possess certain leadership abilities and qualities but also that you know how to apply them in a way that produces results. If you choose the second option, your goal is to demonstrate self-awareness and the ability to analyze your experiences, though you will also need to share the strengths and characteristics you feel contributed to your success in the leadership role you discuss. Note that the school is asking what you learned about leadership—not yourself—so be sure to frame your response accordingly. The element you highlight could be something that was present and worked well in the story you share, or it could be something that you realized was lacking and would have been additive in some way, making the experience even more positive or productive than it already was.
2. Our lived experiences shape who we are and the aspirations we have. As a values-driven community, we care about what has shaped your life. Please share what or who has had the biggest impact on your life.
In 300 words, you can tell someone an awful lot about yourself and the moments that have defined you as an individual. Resist the urge, though, to use this space to try to “say it all” by writing a 300-word chronology of your entire life to date, noting every important person in it and every key moment along the way. Instead, you need to identify one specific significant event, person, or influence that ties directly and intensely to who you are as an individual. Most likely, the situation or force will be one that is important to you in some way or for which you have affection, but keep in mind that strongly influential factors can also be unexpected and even undesired occurrences (e.g., the sudden death or illness of a friend, a financial loss, a missed opportunity). However, if you select an experience that could be considered fairly universal, you will need to dedicate extra effort to making the story truly your own. Include sufficient detail to differentiate your experience from that of any other candidate.
This essay provides you a great opportunity to reveal the depth of your character. The school wants to hear about an experience that was so powerful, it changed you—and possibly even your world view—from that point forward. A strong essay will show a clear “before and after” situation, thereby illustrating the transformational effect of the experience/influence you are relaying.
Video Essay: Telling your story in the written essays is an important part of the application, but the video essay lets us hear your words in your own voice. In the required video essay, every candidate will answer a “small talk” question to help the MBA Admissions Committee get to know you. The video essay instructions and link are located in your application portal.
First, try not to panic. Most MBA programs that include a video component in their applications do so just to get a better idea of who their candidates are beyond the statistics in their files and the written words in their essays. They are not looking for the next prime-time anchor or expecting an Oscar-worthy performance—they simply want to get a sense of your spoken communication style, personality, and perhaps demeanor. Because the school does not offer applicants a choice of questions to which to respond or let them know ahead of time what their question will be, the admissions committee is likely also using the video as a way of gauging how you deal with the unexpected, think on your feet, and convey relevant answers in a time-conscious way. This is, after all, similar to what you will be doing in the Goizueta classroom as an MBA student.
Although the school does not present any sample questions in advance and refers to the question as a “‘small talk’ question” in the prompt, a slight possibility exists that you could encounter one of the options offered in past years, such as the following:
- What is the best advice you have received and how have you used it in your life or career?
- Outside of family and work, what is something that you are passionate about and why?
If nothing else, these are good practice queries. You could also ask a friend or family member to help you prepare by asking you questions (consider Googling “MBA interview questions” and/or downloading a free copy of the mbaMission Interview Guide for some options) and providing feedback. This will give you a feel for what delivering an oral response within the school’s 60-second timeframe feels like (ideally without talking at lightning speed!). As you practice, strive to minimize your use of filler words and phrases (e.g., “um,” “uh,” “like,” “you know”) so that you are less likely to depend on or default to them when the time comes for your actual video submission.
But again, do not panic. If you make a small mistake or bungle your words, just pause, smile, and get back on track. Let us reassure you that none of Goizueta’s questions will have a “correct” answer, and you are not going to be judged on how energetic or enthralling you are in delivering your response. You should speak as naturally as possible so that the admissions committee can get a feel for your true character and bearing. And if possible, sharing a story from your life that helps illustrate or support your answer will make your response even more compelling. Otherwise, simply breathe, relax, and give the school a brief glimpse of the unique individual you are.
Optional Essay: Still have more to share? This optional essay is your opportunity to share something you couldn’t find a place for on your application. This is also where you should address anything the committee many question (e.g., gaps in employment, academic challenges, choice of recommender). You can use essay format or bullets. Please identify topics if more than one is addressed. (500 word limit)
With this prompt, Goizueta obviously wants to give applicants an opportunity to clarify any potentially problematic elements of their profile, but the admissions committee is clearly not interested in long-winded expositions or unnecessary filler. Its note in favor of bullet points is evidence of this. So do not view this option as a chance to squeeze in another accomplishment story or pander to the school in any way, and only take advantage of it if you have complementary information the admissions committee truly needs to hear to be able to fully and fairly evaluate you as a candidate. For more information about deciding when and how to respond to these kinds of prompts, download a free copy of the mbaMission Optional Essays Guide.
Reapplicant Essay 1: What will professional success look like immediately after your MBA experience? Please describe where you would like this degree program to take you professionally. Include information such as desired job title, responsibilities, company, impact, and/or industry. Explain how your professional experiences and personal strengths align with your post-MBA goals. (200 word limit)
Reapplicant Essay 2: Explain how you have improved your candidacy for Goizueta Business School’s MBA Program since your last application. (200 word limit)
Like most business schools, Goizueta wants to learn the reasons behind its applicants’ decision to pursue an MBA, though fewer and fewer programs these days seem to still ask candidates to write a full essay on the topic. Very simply, the admissions committee wants to know that you have given serious thought to your professional trajectory and have identified where you want to go, how equipped you already are to get there, and how an MBA will help you move forward. The specific goal you present is less important here than showing that you understand what is involved in progressing toward your objectives and recognize the qualities and abilities you currently possess that will help position you for success. The prompt includes an explicit request for such details as “desired job title, responsibilities, company, impact, and/or industry,” so this is not the place to discuss your plans at a high level. Be direct, clear, and specific, and give the admissions committee the information it wants.
Give some thought to what more you have learned in the interim about the career you are targeting or about why it is fitting for you, and use these insights to enhance your essay. If you have not gained any additional knowledge on these topics, now is the time to do so—before you dive into writing your essay. Read industry magazines and websites, for example, or reach out to individuals in your preferred field or role to get their first-hand perspectives. You want to show Goizueta that you are truly committed to your desired path and have continued to progress and learn, despite the temporary setback with respect to your MBA goals.
For the school’s second reapplicant essay, whether you have improved your academic record, received a promotion, begun a new and exciting project, increased your community involvement, or taken on some sort of personal challenge, the key to success with this essay is conveying a very deliberate path of achievement. Goizueta wants to know that you have been actively striving to improve yourself and your profile, and that you have seized opportunities during the previous year to do so, because an MBA from its program is vital to you. The responses to this essay question will vary greatly from one candidate to the next, because each person’s needs and experiences differ. We are more than happy to provide one-on-one assistance with this highly personal essay to ensure that your efforts over the past year are presented in the best light possible.
