Ask Cambridge (Judge) Admissions

Hi Conrad,

Is it correct that there is no options of getting a loan in UK for international students ? According to CJBS web site

https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/mba/finance/loans.html

the only option is Career Development Loan (I'm not American, Canadian, Mexican, Norwegian, Peruvian). But according to Career Development Loan site

https://www.gov.uk/career-development-loans/eligibility

it's only applicable for those who live in UK last 3 years, which is not my case. Which effectively leaves me no chance of getting a loan in UK. Are there other options in UK ?

@qwerty2008

I am afraid I can't answer your question on loan options because of legal restrictions. Only people, or organisations with a certain credit licence are allowed to advise or introduce loan options to individuals.

@AspiringCAMBA
We only look at your GMAT/GRE and your full-time academics when assessing your academic ability. We don't look at postgrad diplomas. Of course we look at your work history but that's a separate factor.

Conrad Chua
Head MBA Admissions

Hi, Conrad. Thank you for replying to my post in the other thread regarding the issues that I had with the application system. I submitted the app, paid the fee, and received a confirmation email, but when I log back into the system it show my application and incomplete and not submitted. Is this something that I should be worried about? Would it be okay to contact the admissions office to verify that the application was received?

We believe your application was submitted, but if you have any doubts, please email mba-enquiries@jbs.cam.ac.uk with more details and we will verify.

Conrad
Head MBA ADmissions.

Hi Conrad,
Thank you for organizing special thread about Judge Business School.

I'd like to ask about the life of an application in your office from an operational standpoint. What happens between the time an applicant clicks ‘submit’ and the time the Admission committee offers a final decision (e.g. how many “reads” does it get, how long is each “read,” who reads it, does the committee convene to discuss it as a group, etc.)?

@Rashidmsu

There are 4 people who read applications including myself. I personally go through the applications of candidates that are recommended for interview one more time. I might also go through certain other applications, eg those with high GMATs, good academics but are recommended for rejection. In some cases, we might make reference checks over the phone, or speak to the candidates themselves to get a better idea of their application.

Conrad Chua
Head MBA Admissions.

Hi Conrad,

I have a few questions about the interview process at CJBS. What percentage of applicants are invited to interview and what are usually the odds of acceptance once an interview has been conducted?

Thank you so much for being so responsive and prompt on this forum! It has been a great resource.

Best,
Summer

Hi Conard,

I have been wait listed for the interview in R2 (short interview wait list). Can you please comment upon the chances of being invited for an interview in such a case.

It matters more for me because Judge is the only college I have applied to (after lots of research), and I intend to send more info to the college, which may be considered before the final decision.

A line of guidance will be very helpful.

Thanks.

@girdhari

This is not the right platform for individual enquiries. Could you email us at mba-enquiries@jbs.cam.ac.uk although I have to say that we don't give individual feedback on applications.

Conrad Chua

Hello Conard,

I intend to apply to Judge in Round 3. I am an Indian applicant and have reasons for not applying in round 1 or 2. I just wanted to know if the admissions are almost over in Judge ? Is it too late to apply now or should i wait till next season. Please let me know your response, i have my application ready and really very intersted to Join Cambridge judge.

Thanks,
Pri86

@Pri86

It is not too late to apply. There are still two more application rounds, and the next deadline is Friday March 7th.

Conrad

Hi Conrad,

I have submitted an application for round 3, I was wondering when I am likely to hear back whether I have received an interview or not.

Thanks

Hi,

Was wondering if anyone from 25th April deadline applicants has received update from the school? Any idea how does the school look into the application (First come, first serve) or do they pick applications randomly from the lot?

Thanks,
Amita

Hello Conrad,

I plan on pursuing an MBA and would appreciate your thoughts on gaining admission to a top MBA program, such as Judge's, despite a low undergrad GPA (~2.75 @ an average state school in the US).

Do you have any recommendations on how I can improve my chances of admission to an MBA program such as Judge's? Do any of my soft factors (listed below) sufficiently overcome the GPA issue? Obviously, the higher the better, but is there a threshold GMAT score that you would like to see for an applicant like myself?

Here are some soft factors that I hope will help my chances of admission:

- Co-Founder/Exec of startup that has raised $6MM+ in angel and venture funding
- Admitted to top Silicon Valley startup accelerator
- Demonstrated upward movement (promotions) in early career prior to startup
- Earned J.D. at top 40 law school w/3.4 GPA (~top 25% of class) while working full-time
- Passed California Bar Exam
- At time of application, I will have ~8 years of work experience
- Played two Division One varsity sports in college (All-American, multiple team conference championships and national championships) (partial explanation for the low GPA)
- ADHD diagnosis post-undergrad (partial explanation for the low GPA)

Thank you for any advice/perspective that you can offer.

@sparts

There's nothing that you can do now about your GPA. It is below our minimum requirement but we have, in exceptional cases, interviewed candidates with GPAs below the requirement if they have done well on GMAT, had great work experience and offered some reason as to why they underperformed in their undergrad, and demonstrate other evidence of academic ability.

Hope that helps.

Conrad

Thank you, Conrad. Your response does help and keeps me hopeful. I am very much looking forward to applying to Judge in the next year or two.

Hi Conrad

I'm a Thai woman working for one of the big 4 in Thailand. I have IELTS overall 7.5 and all bands reach 7 except writing (6.5). I intend to retake it and apply for R2, but wondering if I have any chance of admission with such criteria?

Thanks a million