Oxbridge 2009 applicants

That's a VERY good question. Keep in mind that the on-campus interviews at Said are carried out by faculty (which probably carry more weight than Alumni). I was fortunate enough to be on campus during an interview day (which happened to be an open-day). There were about 60-80 people being interviewed, and it seemed there were only a handful (maybe 5) faculty conducting the 45 minute long interviews all day. It was also an action packed day. With a lecture, lunch, Adcom presentations, student panel, presentation from careers service, presentation from MBA Director and finally an informal drinks with fellow interviewees/visitors.

so I'd highly recommend going. initially I was scheduled in on an open day for this friday (another all day event), but something has come up so I have had to cancel. I'd strongly recommend you go to this friday's openday if you can. (tell them buff has given you the spot).

- buff

I cant do the open day because I will be in Germany for work. I did get a private tour with an admissions rep...which was nice. I really liked the place alot.

She said that they do not do alumni interviews but do carry out phone interviews quite often. She said that sinc I showed my face on campus, a phone interview would not carry less weight. Lets hope

All,

does anybody know what the SBS recommendation questions look like.

this would help me in helping one of my recommenders out (he is a bit short of time).

cheers,
buff

One of my recommenders said they were pretty standard, but there's a very short limit (750 characters on each question).

Has anyone seen any space for an optional essay? I've been using it to explain something about undergrad, but it seems SBS doesn't have one...

thanks Teutonic, Kudos
nope SBS doesn't seem to have an optional essay.

While we are on the topic of Oxbridge, did any Cambridge applicants get a link to a status page as mentioned on their website?

I was a R3 app to JBS for 2008 intake (a memory I'd like to erase), and they did give me a link to my status page after my application was complete. However no such link on the confirmation email this time

buffdaddy -- my other recommender just called me and asked me how I did in undergrad, and mentioned that there were questions about predicted academic ability. I didn't want to pry into what the form specifically asked, but figure that you may need to walk your referees through your analytical skills, ability to handle workloads, etc. as well.

Hi buffdaddy,



Both my recommenders called me about them. It seems there are some q. about academical performance, as Teutonic9 said, and a list of characteristics on which you need to be ranked.
Also, they mentioned that there was the place for additional information or for uploading the reco letter (so basically the question was whether they should write this letter in addition to answers to the questions in the form).



Got nothing as well. But I wouldn't trust all info on their site. Some pieces haven't been changed since last year; I remember seeing Application will open in Oct or something.

Btw, could I ask you about your last time experience with them? What was so terrible?
But if you are not comfortable to answer, it's OK.

Kudos greenoak,

my last experience was terrible because for my timeline:

October 2007 - Decide I want to do MBA. Go to MBAFair without even knowing what the GMAT is

Dec 2007 - Book GMAT date 8 weeks in advance.

Feb 2008 - Take the GMAT 690 (respectable score but really I needed more based on my profile)

March 7th - Did my application for JBS from a hotel room in 3 week from a client site in Dublin. Had no idea of the process and my essays read crap

April 2008 - DING


so then i prepared for gmat again and been doing essays with much better preparation since June. So basically the first 6 months of my MBA story so far was a great big humbling experience.

I like JBS as a school. It as a very "homely" feeling.

-buff

Thanks, Buff!

I could have been in your situation, too, since my interest in MBA was late and I was initially thinking about R3, but then from reading applicants discussions I understood that R3 would be a very bad idea, even with great apps and stellar profile (which I don't have).
Still, I believe that now you have an extra opportunity to show the school your interest, your dedication and how you improved your profile over the last year. And I really like JBS, too. Hope they will love us as well

Still writing my essays....

Did anyone else catch how transcripts will be handled for Oxford? I know the application has a space to upload scans, but is anyone going to send the official hardcopy now as well, or is everyone waiting until after interviews/admissions?

Hi, Teutonic9. I think they never mentioned on their site that they want official hard copy transcripts for the application to be considered. So I just uploaded the scans. And the scan for TOEFL score as well (though this is what they should have received from ETS directly).
Essays make me crazy, esp. No 2. Now I'm not sure I will apply in R1 at all. I wish I started to write them in summer.

Thanks greenoak! Yes, I didn't see anything about sending in hardcopies just yet, so I guess it's just the scans for now. I was going to ask Admissions, but I think I've already used up my quota for asking them questions.

Essay number two is definitely one of those essays that requires deep thought. My topic is pretty broad, but its impact somewhat ties back to the reasons why I need an MBA, so hopefully it makes for a good story.

I know what you mean, though. I'm rushing it slightly now, but work is going to be even busier in the next few months, so this may be the best application I can submit....

Hi Guys,

yes just scanned transcripts will be fine. I was at the interview day earlier (as i mentioned in another post) and all the interviewees had to bring a hard copy along at that stage.

Also update on Cambridge. The interview dates are now on the website!

Thanks, Buffdaddy!
Has anybody heard from the Cambridge adcom? Their promised 'within three weeks' means that we should receive some info today or tomorrow...
Though maybe I took their words too literally

i think the "within 3 weeks" promise is a left over from the content on their old website. During previous years they didn't give an absolute "interview decision by" date. This year they have. So i am assuming that they will release on this date, considering they caused a lot of anxiety.

so Nov 7th, please come quickly

In the email confirmation they mentioned the three weeks too.....

Dear Gmat clubbers

any idea on which colleges to select while applying to said? what are the criterion, just walking distance to Said? acccomodation avalability??current students can u pls throw some light.
Thanks in advance