Julie, thanks for speaking with me today about Emory's application process. I'd like to start-off by asking you about your overall feelings regarding the current status of the b-school arena. Has it changed much from your days as a student at Kenan-Flagler? Or even since you began your career in b-school admissions in 1988?

It has changed dramatically. One of the key things is that students have more work experience, more focus about what they want to do. And, (U.S.) MBA programs' reputations in the international arena has exploded. When I went to b-school, most people had two or three years of work experience and there were some international students, but not that many countries were represented. When I look at the portfolio of students that we enroll today, they come from all over the world. And the average student comes in with about five years of professional work experience, so it means that they've progressed in their careers and are pretty focused.

One of the interesting things I've noticed since I got my MBA 14 years ago is the degree to which the MBA degree's popularity has ebbed and flowed. I think there was a period of MBA bashing in the late '80s. In some regards I think it was needed to get schools to reevaluate some of their curriculum and be more in line with what the market wanted and needed. I think schools have addressed those issues. Now they're incorporating things beyond the fundamentals, such as international issues, technology, etc. I think some of the team orientation and team aspects were enhanced as a result of some of the criticism from corporations and the popular press. In the past two years, I've seen a real renaissance for the degree.

The trend, of course, is that b-school apps have been rising at the more prominent MBA programs, a grouping that I would include Goizueta in. What's last year's (Class of 1999) official app total?

It was close to 1,000 and that was an increase from the prior year. One thing that's encouraging is that the quality has increased. So, the selection process is now more challenging, but it's fun to read really solid applications.

As the early decision deadline approaches, are you seeing a carryover in the app surge from last year?

Well, Goizueta's early decision isn't until December 31. We have had a number of applications come in already, however. We've had a large number of apps coming in from CollegeEdge (an online application provider). From what I've seen so far, the MBA forums -- we go to all of them -- where we do interviews as well as on-site (on campus) -- have turned out a record number of prospects interviewing with us. The interview is not only for us to evaluate applicants' interpersonal skills and teamwork philosophy, but also for us to sell our program. We've seen a sizable increase in that, as well as having several open houses with record attendances.

Goizueta offers several different programs -- full-time, over two years; an accelerated one-year; and part-time during the evening. Have all of these options been popular? Which programs seem to be garnering the most interest and why?

I think the primary increase in apps has been to the full-time, two-year program. We continue to have strong applicants for the one-year and evening programs as well, but there's a lot more self-selection for those programs. We have a very strong part-time class as we do for our one-year. For many candidates, when they look at the opportunities to study abroad (offered by the two-year program), they're often quite enticed by that. There are obviously very strong reasons to enroll into the part-time or one-year program, but the increase in applications is more focused to the full-time.

Obviously the one-year program serves a positive function, but do you feel from your standpoint, it limits the value of the MBA experience?

To some extent. It's important to clarify that we take a lot of extra time in reviewing those candidates for the one-year program. We feel very strongly that we want everyone to have a good experience. One of the things that's very important for success -- both on the academic and career placement dimensions -- is that individuals be focused about what they want to do, that they know where they would like to end up career-wise. Because the reality is that within a few months, students in the one-year program are doing job interviews. People in the one-year program love it. It's very small, with about 25 to 30 members entering each summer, as opposed to 140 students for the full-time program. What we actually do is not only does the admissions officer review the file, but also a career services officer reviews it. That way, if there is difficulty in career transition, we encourage the candidate to have a conversation with our placement office.

Ever since the University of Pittsburgh's Katz School of Business offered an accelerated one-year MBA, it seems that many schools have followed suit. When did Goizueta integrate its one-year program?

If I'm not mistaken, Katz only offers the one-year program. Emory has had it for awhile, probably for 15 or 20 years. One of the things that's noteworthy about how our one-year program has evolved is that it was originally designed to be a five-year MBA for BBAs, or undergraduate business majors, who then would graduate with an MBA. We learned that that marriage was not in the best interest of those students because of their lack of work experience, which is what corporations want. Also, faculty members want to have a high level of discussion in the classroom ... So we changed the entering work experience requirement, and for quite a few years now, everyone in the progam has had at least one year of full-time work experience and an average of 4 to 5 years.

Can you break down how big this year's classes are for Goizueta's full-time, part-time, and one-year programs?

We enrolled 144 for the full-time program, about 27 for the one-year, and 68 for the part-time program.

How many applicants did you admit for those same three programs?

For the full-time it was 326, so the yield is 33%. For the part-time it's about 86 (for a yield of 79%). And for the one-year program, I would say it's probably around 55 (for a yield of 49%). One of the things that's interesting is that the dynamics are very different at each program; there's a lot more self-selection in the one-year and evening programs over the full-time programs.

We, by the way, have a common application -- we don't separate out each program. So the individual has a chance to apply to all three programs if they so choose.

Has the yield at each program changed at all, for better or for worse, from last year?

For the two-year program, we're more selective this year. The evening and one-year programs are roughly the same. Also we've seen a larger interest in the two-year program than the others.

In what demographic area is Goizueta seeing the sharpest growth -- women, international students, older candidates?

I think it's in internationals. We have had a lot of interest from international candidates. Across the board we're seeing interest. But we've also seen growth in minorites as well. We just hosted the minority conference about a week and a half ago (offically known as the Minority Conference Inside GBF), and what it is is really talking to minority applicants about the collegial environment here. During the conference we also have prospectives participate in various discussions with current minority students and faculty. So minoirty applicants can hear from minority alums about their experiences. We also arrange for prospective students to go to classes. The whole thing lasts about a day and a half.

I would not say that there's been a tremendous increase in older candidates. We do offer the EMBA (Executive MBA), so most of the older candidates -- individuals with 12 to 13 years of work experience -- apply to that program. We do have some candidates who have that experience and apply to the full-time program, but I don't think that's a real growth area.

What are this year's application deadlines and the turnaround for response?

We actually have a rolling admission. But for people that apply December 31, we promise a response by January.

What's the final deadline?

April 15, and generally people know within four weeks after they submit their completed application.

What's about for applicants interested in applying for financial aid or fellowship? Is there a separate deadline?

March 1, 1998.

Do you have an idea of how many seats or spots generally get filled over the course of the application season? For example, I'm an applicant, it's March, and I'm thinking about applying to Goizueta. Is there a working number I can use in my head to estimate how many spots are still available to me?

We keep track of that based on our historical experiences. The first deposit isn't until April 15, however, so we don't know for sure how many spots are taken. From my experience we yield almost 50%. For this year's class of 2000 we're looking for about 150 students.

If you have a strong application, strong work experience, are a good student, have demonstrated leadership, have solid quantitative and analytical skills -- you know, a strong application packet -- then there will be spots in the class in March. If you feel that you are deserving of scholarship, then you will have put yourself at a disadvantage because, given the strength of the admission pool and the number of acceptances to our offers of admit, there is more limited scholarship opportunity that there was in the past. I anticipate that for this year, that will be the case again. There's a real sense of momentum and excitement here.

What connotes a completed application?

We require copies of all transcripts -- we primarily look at the last two years of academic coursework. We require the GMAT test score(s). We require a look at work experience. We look at four essays and three letters of recommendation, as well as an evaluative interview that is not required.

Can you prioritize these variables in order of importance?

I would say that the top three are definitely a person's academic record, the quality of their work experience, and particulary their GMAT quant score.

Does Goizueta now offer its application through the Web? I know that many b-schools are now not only giving prospective applicants the opportunity to download an application, but they're even going a step further by providing a sort of functionality that allows candidates to fill-out and send in their apps via the Web.

Yes, we offer our application on the Web through CollegeEdge.

Is this a recent development?

We started offering it about a month ago and have already received several completed applications.

What are your feelings about this turn of events and technology's -- particularly the Web's -- increasing role in the admissions process?

I think that it's a wonderful technology and a wonderful assistance to candidates. I want to make the application process as simple as it can be for applicants and the Web makes the application process less complicated.

Julie, you mentioned that you look closely at applicants' quant scores on the GMAT...

That's right, we specifically look at the quant score. We've done some analysis and have found that candidates that don't score at least in the 50% quant range on the GMAT, that they are likely to have difficulty in our program. The test is not perfect and I don't want to imply that it's the end-all and be-all. However, our program is quantitatively rigorous. Our average quant score is in the 75th to 80th percentile for the quant score. But again, it's in the context of everything. We also look at the quantitative coursework that they've had, whether they've taken any stat, economics, calculus, or engineering classes. But we definitely focus on the quant end of the GMAT.

Do you weigh an applicant's second or third GMAT score as heavily as the first?

We take the highest score. We'll look at all of the scores. In rare instances where people flip-flop on the score -- for example the second time around, the applicant's verbal is up and his math is down -- we'll actually look at them (GMAT scores) individually. As you probably know, we can't take that score and reconfigure it, but we take into consideration that they improved in one area. But we will look more strongly at their total score for their second or third GMAT.

I think that what's interesting is that ETS (the Educational Testing Service) has recorded a standard deviation of 40 on the GMAT. So the real difference between a 590 and a 630 really isn't that big, but it's perceived by the general public as being humongous.

The reality is that the GMAT is an imperfect text. We care about the score in terms of it being a fairly good predictor of academic performance in our program. My job is looking beyond the GMATand looking at work experience and the caliber of the individual and making the decision that that person with a 570 is a better candidate than the candidate with a 640. We do that all the time and take a personalized approach to the admissions process. We have many success stories of alums who have done extraordinarily well career-wise and they did not make the 690 or 700 on the GMAT. The test is not a marker of career success. And I tell that to candidates who are concerned about their score all the time.

Julie, you mentioned that the applicant's academic record is one of the main variables in the Goizueta application that draws your scrutiny. How heavily in your mind does the applicant's undergrad institution weigh? I mean the rigor of the undergraduate college must play a role in your mind.

It factors in in a lot of ways. We have three key things that we bear in mind: the selectivity of the undergraduate institution -- and we have a way to rank that. Then we rank the rigor of a major. For example, an electrical engineering major is more difficult than a communications major. The third thing that is extraordinarily helpful is we look at the person's rank in the school. Not all schools do that, but it's a way for us to get around some grade inflation that is, frankly, prevalent at some institutions.

Emory doesn't require an interview but strongly encourages them. What the thinking here?

The thinking is that because of the high level of interaction that we have in our classrooms -- we're really small, with an average class size of 45 people -- we want to make sure that people can share. We want to get a sense of communication skills to assess a person's ability to interact. We also find the interview a wonderful way for us to highlight our strengths; it gives us the opportunity to find out what the applicant is looking for. So, through the interview, we get an idea of what the applicant's career interests are, etc., and we can follow-up on that.

How does the interview fit into your overall evaluation of applicants?

It's a very integral part of the application review process. At the end of every interview, which is done by a member of the admissions committee, we do a write-up that addresses the person's interpersonal skills, communication ability, etc., and then we actually give a ranking on a one to five scale. The interview evaluation form is included in the applicant's file. So the reviewer of the file will see the write-up and see how well the particular applicant ranked against other people that were interviewed.

Who comprises the admissions committee?

Myself and three other full-time admissions officers. And then we have two other individuals who are alums of ours who work for us. They're alums of our program that are trained application readers. So they help us in keeping up with the volume of apps, and they've played that role for a number of years now ... so they're seasoned veterans.

How long does the interview usually last?

They last about 45 minutes.

For what sounds like an integral part of the Goizueta admissions process, what kind of advice can you give applicants about how to best prepare themselves for the interview?

I think the key thing is, first of all, to come prepared with a resume. Be able to answer questions fairly succinctly and with confidence. For example, answers about your work history, why you may have chosen a particular career path, or why you decided to change careers, should be delivered thoughtfully and concisely. Know what you're looking for in an MBA program. Be able to answer why you're interested in our program. Be able to answer what you would contribute to our program through your life experiences. Truthfully be yourself. We do not have a stressful interview process; there are no trick questions. It is not meant to be an inquisition. It is meant for us to find out what the candidate is all about and for them to ask us questions. And we want it to be a two-way street.

So would you say that it's a strike against an applicant if he or she does not interview?

I will separate the domestic candidates from the international. When I go to Asia I do some interviewing there. We also have a small contingent of alums who interview abroad -- proabably about 10. They interview both abroad and, in some cases, domestically if we don't travel to a specific domestic city, like Detroit. We really encourage people to come on campus if at all possible, because we want them to see our new building and feel the real espirit des corps.

For domestic applicants, we do strongly encourage interviewing. I think saying a strike against them is too harsh, but for most candidates an interview with an admissions officer is going to help their candidancy.

You said that Goizueta requires students to answer four essay questions. What do they ask? And are there word limits?

That's right, we have four essays. We ask one question essentially asking them to share with us a significant accomplishment. And the word limit is about two pages, double spaced. Then there's another two-page essay that asks candidates to describe their goals. Then the other two essays are each one page long. And they're sentence completion. For example, one goes something like" "I've always wanted to ... ," and the applicant fills in the blank. Another goes: "My family is unique because ... "; or: "My most memorable cross-cultural experience was ... ." They have five sentence completions that they can choose from and they choose two.

How many recommendations do you require?

Three recommendations. I tell candidates to select those people who know you well and can say substantive things about your ability to add to our program. Ideally, it would be great to get one from a supervisor, one from a college professor, and a third from a peer on a professional level. But I know that's an ideal situation. Some people just can't do that due to extenuating circumstances.

I understand that Goizueta really encourages its applicants to gain professional work experience before applying. In fact, less that 1% of the Class of '98 had less than a year under their belt. Has that percentage decreased further? What's this year's range of work experience?

For the class we just enrolled [Class of '99] it is still around 1%. I think the big difference between the Class of '98 and the Class of '99 is that we have more people in the 3-to-6-year work experience range than we have had in the past. This year's average is 4.7 years. The range is from 0 to about 10 years. But many students are very much concentrated around the 3 to 6-year group.

What can an applicant with little to no work experience do to bolster his or her chances of acceptance?

Number one is they need to have a strong academic record to demonstrate that they can perform well in our program. But more importantly, they need to show that they can add to class discussions, and in a sense, hold their own with CPAs, consultants, and marketing reps. We've received some wonderful co-op students from Georgia Tech, others have run their own businesses, and some people have been very much involved in a family business. Not having work experience wouldn't put you out of the running, but you have to sell yourself hard.

Do you allow accepted applicants to defer?

We do allow deferral. We used to allow deferral for up to two years, but given the application quality and volume we're now getting, we now offer it for only one year. And we initiated that this year.

How many applicants are waitlisted?

We do have a waitlist every year. It can range anywhere from 30 to 60 people. The applicant's opportunity to get off the waitlist is dependant on two things: One, the number of people who accept our offer of admission; and two, their (the waitlisted applicant's) genuine interest in our program. This past year, less than a handful of people were removed from the waitlist, and in every instance, they followed up with us, sent in new information and showed a real desire to enroll into our program.

Do you offer conseling for those unfortunates who are turned away from Goizueta's pearly gates?

Yes we do. We do it after the admissions cycle has ended, meaning during the summer months. We do allow people to reapply. And there are people who have followed our advice and reapplied and were successful their second time around.

What's this year's tuition?

$22,600 for the full-time program; $11,300 for the one-year program; and $4,800 per semester for the part-time program.

Can you estimate the annual cost of living for Atlanta and the surrounding area?

It's about $11,000, and that's the number that the financial aid office gives out.

What kind of financial aid and scholarship help does Goizueta offer for students to offset the financial burden of tuition?

We offer a wide variety of scholarships that are all merit-based. We award them in order to enroll a diverse and academically strong student body. The scholarships can range from 20% of tuition to full tuition. And we also offer four scholarships to people entering the two-year program that are full tuition plus a $3,000/year stipend. They're called the Woodruff Scholarships. And there are other full-tuition scholarships as well. I would say that about 35% of the class in our two-year program get some type of scholarship, and in terms of loans, it looks like about 75% of the students get some type of financial aid.

Do internationals also qualify for Goizueta's scholarships?

Yes they do. It's more difficult, but yes they are evaluated -- all scholarships are merit-based. So it's the strength of the student's application relative to everybody else who has been accepted.

Do you feel that Congress's decision to not renew the Employee Educational Assistance Bill -- which basically gave employers a tax break when they paid for employees' tuition for grad programs -- will have a severe impact on the number of applicants b-school garner in the future? From what I understand, the provision had especially helped b-schools, of which two-thirds of the student population is part-time. Are you aware of all this?

Yes I'm very aware of this situation, and Emory University's lobbiest, along with other schools', did seek to get that legislation passed. Yes, I think it is going to hurt b-school apps. I will tell you, however, that it doesn't seem to be affecting our application pool as of yet. For the evening candidates that I've talked to, they're well aware of that provision. And it makes them think long and hard about staying with their company or deciding to quit and go full time at the two-year program.

According to Business Week data from the 1996 rankings, the average signing bonus for Goizueta grads rose by 20.3%, pushing up total starting pay to $64,000. That makes Emory grads the second-highest paid in the second-tier group, along with Purdue. In addition, the number of job offers for 1996 grads rose 23% from just two years ago. Is this kind of growth due primarily to the burgeoning industry in the greater metropolitan Atlanta area? Is it because of greater recognition the school is now receiving from employers? A combination?

I think it is a combination of those two things. There are other factors as well, however. The career services office has been marketing much more effectively. We have several new staff members and our director has been dogged in her efforts to market our students. Also, our alumni have been extremely supportive. And they've gotten into positions where they're able to interview for their companies. On top of that, I think that we in the admissions office have been enrolling a more experienced student. That has also helped to draw recruiters.

Have the number of recruiters coming to the Goizueta campus increased from last year?

Oh, yes.

Last year, it was somewhere in the 80s. Can you quantify how many compaines interview on campus today?

We had 98 companies interview on campus in 1997, if you consider the MBA Consortium that represents about 15 programs (Emory, Georgetown, Washington University, Vanderbilt, Rollins, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Rice, Rochester, SMU, Tulane, Wake Forest, and William & Mary), and basically allows companies to come and interview students from all of those schools at once. The MBA Consortium meets twice in New York and Atlanta. It's an organization where career service professionals have bonded together, and it's frankly a way to broaden the pool of recruiters. Most of the schools that are represented in this group are programs that have smaller numbers of students graduating each year.

Does Goizueta now have a mandatory laptop requirement?

No, but we strongly recommend having one.

Who are your toughest competitors?

I would say Duke, UNC-Chapel-Hill, then probably Wharton. Then it's really everybody else. We cross with an incredible array of schools: UT Austin, local schools, UVA, Northwestern, occasionally with Harvard and Chicago, UCLA, USC, Vanderbilt ... But Duke and UNC are the most frequent. A number of people though, particularly in this last class, did look at Wharton seriously.

Julie would you like to add anything else before we wrap up?

The only thing that I'd like to say is that I think your audience would be interested to know about "why Goizueta" -- why they should earn an MBA here. One reason is the small size. It gives students the opportunity to know their peers well and to get to know top faculty well. There's a strong teaching culture here that cannot be missed once you enter the classroom. Students like the academic rigor, but it's very collegial. They're excited by our new Goizueta building that we moved into this summer. The international opportunities are outstanding; we have over a dozen exchange programs. And I would say that 25% to 30% of our full-time class goes abroad during their second year.

We also unveiled a new curriculum two months ago which has a business simulation component to it. Another thing that's really special is the level of student involvement. We admit people who we think are going to make a difference in the classroom and frankly, in the world after they graduate. We have lots of clubs and student advisory groups for all the key functions of the school, including admissions, career services, technology and computing, the work on and progress of the new building, and the curriculum. So students are highly involved in contributing.

Julie, it sounds like there is quite a bit happening at Goizueta. Thanks for your insights!