Meet Emory Goizueta’s MBA Class of 2017

Elen Thompson

Elen Thompson 

Emory University, Goizueta Business School 

Hometown: Silver Spring, MD

Undergraduate School and Major: Occidental College- Economics for Business and Management

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

Parsons Corporation- Accountant/Associate Project Control Engineer/ Project Control Engineer, Specialist/ Project Control Engineer, Senior

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE? Start studying months in advance of your actual test day. Choose a GMAT practice program that fits your schedule and do not worry about the amount of questions that you miss in your study sessions. It is more important to understand the underlying concepts of why you missed those problems because those concepts are what carry over on test day. And most important on test day, relax.

Based on your own selection process, what advice do you have for applicants who are trying to draw up a list of target schools to which to apply? Apply to schools that are strong in the industry you want to be in post-MBA. Research your target companies and make sure they recruit at your target schools. Also, be honest with yourself. Visit the target schools to get a feel of the culture and make sure it is a good fit for yourself.

What advice do you have for applicants in actually applying to a school, writing essays, doing admission interviews, and getting recommenders to write letters on your behalf?

Start early and really get to know the schools you are applying to. Give at least a month for recommenders to write your recommendation and follow up with them to ensure prompt submission. The time invested early in your application and research will really stand out in your application and guide the way you assemble your application.  Take advantage of the essays and interviews because those are the ways you can become noticeable to the admissions team.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? Goizueta’s rigorous academic program and tight-knit community. When I visited the campus, it was evident that Goizueta emphasized Day One readiness and building leaders. Since I am changing industries, I needed a business school program with a great internship placement rate and challenging academics to equip me to make an impact in my internship and in my career post-graduation. 

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate? Develop a strong network amongst my classmates in which I contribute and utilize throughout my business career.  I want to be able to diversify my professional experience by traveling overseas with my classmates so that we can build a closer bond and sharpen our global leadership skills.

DON’T MISS: POETS&QUANTS’ JOHN A. BYRNE IN A VIDEO ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW WITH GOIZUETA DEAN ERIKA JAMES

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