hoolio wrote:
Hi! I am considering or have been accepted to these three schools for a PhD in marketing (CB)!
I have received full tuition exemption and living costs, so I am not really worried about the financial part.
I think all three schools have its pros and cons, but as I am NOT a European citizen, my info is limited! Could you guys please help me out?
What are some pros and cons about each school? AND eventually where would you go?
Here are ones that I know of. Please correct me if I am wrong or could you please tell me anything! It means a lot!
EssecPRO: nice environment for research, friendly department & professors,
CON: not that famous outside of Europe so might get a disadvantage when getting a job,
OxfordPRO: had a great brand name, good network, easier to get placement outside of Europe due to brand name,
CON: research is not as good as the other schools compared here, professors can be very busy so less interaction time,
ErasmusPRO: best research facilities, professors who have published in top journals, much interaction time with faculty, placement is awesome, many opportunities to research elsewhere,
CON: Rotterdam is boring considered to Paris & London, as interaction with faculty members is higher it will be more stressful,
Thanks once again
Congratulations. If I were you, I would choose Oxford.
First of all, there is a great TED talk about making hard choices. Its called "how to make hard choices" given by Ruth Chang. You can search for it on google I highly recommend watching it, it will give you a new perspective on how to decide between two hard choices. (I won't link.. maybe rules against it on this forum) But it is going to guide you in how you think when choosing between 2 things.
The reasons why I think you should go to Oxford are because of location and brand.
To be honest, you will learn the same quality topics at any top 100 schools. You will learn the same thing and you will have access to the best professors.
The only differentiation you need to focus on is the brand, location, and network.
Brand: obviously oxford. If you go with Oxford, the brand will follow you everywhere you go. It is probably one of the most famous schools in the world, for this alone, you will get more attention than by going to other schools. Can't say it will lead to more jobs, but you will have more 'prestige' and your perceived value will be exponentially higher than if you were to go to other schools.
Location: LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION. Nothing beats london. You are technically 1 hour away from london. but it is close enough to enjoy everything in london and have access to the best companies of the world. You will have access to so many more opportunities because of the fact that you are in london, and coming from the best school in England helps tremendously.
Network: This is key. for this you would want to have smart intelligent students as well as vast population of alumni. Oxford MBA is not that big to be honest, but you will have smart students. Rank wise Oxford is ranked highest of the 3 that you mentioned. So it might be safe to assume that it will have 'smarter' students than the other schools... This section might be a tie for all the schools, I cant say so much on this. There are too many factors involved that it might be best to take this out of the equation..
So go to Oxford, you wont regret the brand and the location.
Kudos. if this helped you/