October 28, 2026
6 min read

Does your business school location shape MBA student life?

From your day-to-day lifestyle to career opportunities, here’s how the location of your business school can impact your experience as an MBA student

Chloë Lane

Published in Student Experience & ROI

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Sponsored By Emory University Goizueta Business School

The location of your business school can affect your lifestyle, study experience, and career opportunities ©Getty Images/iStock

Whether you choose to study in a bustling city or a small college town, where you decide to pursue your MBA matters.

Everything from your day-to-day lifestyle to the companies and career paths you are exposed to can be influenced by the location of your business school. Atlanta, for example, is a popular US destination where students can benefit from a vibrant culture, walkable neighborhoods, and good food—alongside diverse networking opportunities with professionals, fellow students, and recruiters from major companies.

This student life is one of the attractions for the many who choose to study their business degrees in Atlanta. To find out what life is like as an MBA student in Atlanta, we spoke to Federico Barrera and Caroline Tanner, two current students at Emory University Goizueta Business School, the highest-ranked MBA-conferring institution in the area.

Diverse networking opportunities

Business students studying in Atlanta can access a wide array of networking opportunities. More than 75% of Fortune 1000s have offices in the city, including The Coca-Cola Company, Delta Air Lines, UPS, The Home Depot, and Equifax, who have chosen the city to house their headquarters, and are often keen to meet and connect with students.

Throughout the MBA, Goizueta students gain opportunities to attend various networking events. During the first semester, students are invited to attend a networking event organized by the school’s Graduate Career Management Center.

“It’s a networking event at the aquarium─it’s amazing. You’ll be talking to someone, and a whale will appear behind you,” recalls Caroline. “The first year I met with UPS, Coca-Cola, Newell Brand, and Delta.”

A longstanding employee of the US Air Force, Caroline recently attended an MBA Veterans Conference with her fee covered by Goizueta.

Federico, whose background is in fintech and consulting, highlights the Render Atlanta tech conference, which is attended by companies such as Google, Uber, and Microsoft. He has also made use of the school’s contacts with groups such as the Technology Association of Georgia.

Atlanta is known as ‘Transaction Alley’ due to the large number of local fintech firms. This was attractive for Federico given his prior work experience. “I knew there were always going to be job opportunities here,” he says. Through the school’s network, he has been able to build connections at companies in the financial sector such as Visa and Mastercard.

Work directly with major companies

Beyond just networking, MBA students in Atlanta can also gain opportunities to work directly with some of the city’s most impressive employers.

Goizueta MBA students, for example, are invited to participate in Goizueta-led treks that include visits to the Microsoft offices to participate in hackathons, and meetings with private equity or venture capital firms like TTV Capital.

During the first-year fall semester, students take part in Growth Week: a consulting project where they compete in teams to provide a recommendation to a company. The three teams with the best recommendations get to pitch their ideas to the firm’s chief executive officer (CEO).

Federico’s team reached the top three, which meant they were able to present to the CEO of Coca-Cola. “It has been a major highlight of the program so far,” he says.

In their spring semester, Goizueta MBA students participate in IMPACT, a semester long consulting project working with a real organization. Past sponsors include GE, Chick-fil-A, Delta, Georgia-Pacific, Lowe’s, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Porsche.

A vibrant culture and lifestyle

A well-rounded business school experience is also about the connections you make within your cohort. For students, Atlanta is a city that offers various activities to enjoy and opportunities to socialize outside of class.

The Beltline is a major attraction: a 22-mile pedestrian walkway connecting the city’s neighborhoods. Along this path are restaurants, bars, parks, and events where students often meet and wind down after class, Caroline explains.

“If you live 20 minutes north, you can hop on the Beltline and within 10 minutes you’ll be at a park, a festival or a farmer’s market,” she says. “It’s a draw for a lot of people, and worth the hype.”

Atlanta is also driving distance from the beach, and if you’re into hiking, the mountains are just 30 minutes’ drive away. For Federico, it’s the city’s food that stands out. A self-proclaimed foodie, he enjoys trying food from all over the world at Atlanta’s abundant bars and restaurants.

Additionally, the city hosts regular concerts and festivals. Caroline enjoys attending the annual chili cook-off, ‘Chomp and Stomp’, and Porchfest─a free annual music festival where local musicians perform on porches and lawns.

“You have everything you could ever want; arts and culture, every weekend is a festival,” she says. “There’s also a really good sense of community here.”

An intimate learning environment

Yet, despite the array of events to attend, students highlight that the city offers an intimate environment to study in.

“In New York or Chicago, for example, you could get lost in the hustle and bustle of what’s happening around you at every single minute,” says Federico. “Here in Atlanta, and especially Emory, you’re tucked away from all that.”

This means students have space to focus on their studies when needed. The Goizueta MBA further leverages this by offering a highly personal approach to learning. With 128 students within the current cohort, the program offers small class sizes.

“All the professors know your name, and they get to know you as people as well as how you perform as a student,” says Caroline.

Professors at Emory are deeply connected to local industries and these relationships can help students secure internships though faculty networks. For example, one of Caroline’s professors arranged a lunch for his students with the CEO of Centennial Yards, a local real estate developer.

Such opportunities mean Goizueta MBA students can embed themselves in the local ecosystem as they begin to start planning and making their next career steps.

“Some people want a big school, but that’s not Emory. If you want something very personal and tailored and you want to get to really know your classmates, Emory is probably right for you,” says Caroline.