Oxbridge 2010 Applicants

I am still working on the application. I believe the Receipt Reference is the confirmation code.

I'm facing the same puzzle. I got the email with no "confirmation code". I think maybe the "Receipt reference" included in the email is the so called "confirmation code".

BTW, waiwai, could u give me ur email address or MSN number, maybe we want to discuss the issue....

Submitted Oxford this morning after a bit of suspense of payment glitch! Fingers crossed.
Any tips for this waiting period / preparing for interviews, etc?

Would appreciate if current admits can share

Thanks!

Congratulations!

Well, there isnt much that we can do over this 21 days where the Adcom decides our fate...

Maybe the most common questions that Adcom ask is: Which other schools did you apply to? Why these schools?

I think the Adcom like this question so they can trace some kinda common denominator to our MBA ambitions.. Say, if you really like to work in the UK, it won't make sense for u to apply for some uni in Australia or Asia and hope to work in London...

And I heard that they like the question of: If you got chosen by Judge and Said at the same time, which will you go for?

Im kinda a novice in this area though, would hope for some seasoned GMAT Club-er to help us on this..

For now, let's just sit back and relax haha :D

Good luck to all SBS R1 applicants -

Humblewinner
Cialit
Salisaa -

let me know if I missed somebody!

I think just relax now will be a great idea - but if you are interested in interview preparation, here are some advices:

1. 'Why MBA? Why Oxford?' are the questions that everybody usually get asked. I think this is trivial - but still might be worth mentioning: 1) MBA should be relevant to your goals (and they, in turn, should be relevant to your career path and consistent with what you have said in your essays) 2)Try to meditate a bit on this: 'What options - except for the MBA - have I considered in order to achieve my life ambition? Why MBA is better for me than those other options?' 3) As to 'Why Oxford?' - it is a good idea to mention some particular programme strengths, not just generic things like 'good reputation, international student body etc'

2. 'Oxford vs Cambridge' is a question that is almost unavoidable, I think But be honest here. If you don't have an answer yet, it's all right, but you still could elaborate a bit on relative strengths of both programmes - so that the interviewer will know that you in fact researched them and are making an educated choice there. Also, you may be asked about some other schools, even if you haven't applied there, e.g., 'why not LBS?'

3. Some Oxford interviews are famous of being quite challenging: you may be given some questions about your industry or the market situation in general, and I heard that some guys even got some sort of problems to solve (but then, I heard that it could happen at Cambridge as well). Whether you'll be getting this kind of an interview, depends on:
a) Who exactly will be interviewing you. You'll probably get a email with the name of your interviewer - so try to find some information on his/her background
b) What exactly the adcom might want to test. Usually, this are the 'weaknesses' of your profile (they might be wanting to verify that you aren't abysmally bad at something), or, on the contrary, identifiable and visible primal strength (before admitting a 'finance superstar', for example, it may be useful to try to understand if he/she is indeed that good in that field). If you have an overall strong and balanced profile, you are lucky: there's a significant chance that you'll get less stressful interview experience (also known as a 'fit' interview).

Again - good luck!

Hope we will hear from JBS applicants as well in a few days time...

Thank you greenoak!

Hi Buffdaddy,

What is your advice on the 2nd essay for oxford. I founded an NGO working on Anti corruption through educating people on right to information and solving their day to day issues using the same. Currently RTI has become more popular and awareness started reaching even remote villages, I would like to write about this , how and why i chose this path, my experiences and what it means to my future post MBA goals

Thanks greenaok for your insight on the interviews. On your note about Oxford vs. Cambridge - I am also applying to JBS and finalizing application. Do many people apply to both schools? I have been considering pros & cons of both (and slightly leaning towards Oxford right now) and am hoping that by applying to both will not do me disfavour Any further thoughts on how I can make sure that applying to both does not work against me? Thanks again

Hi Salisaa - don't worry about applying to both schools: the adcoms are quite used to this. I myself met several people here who were also offer candidates for Cambridge - and I think there it is the same.

There's another thing, of which I'm not 100% sure but which I think is true: it's quite easy for the admissions at one school to find out the outcome of your application to the other. It won't influence the probability of somebody's getting an admit - and I really doubt that the adcoms will indeed bother and investigate your fate at the other place. However, if some people decide to negotiate a scholarship, they should be honest and don't lie that they have a money 'from the other school' when they in fact don't...

But overall - again, no need to worry

Thanks again, greenoak. Looking forward to relaxing a little once I submit jbs in a day! Fingers crossed:)

Posted from my mobile device

Hi,

Sorry for not posting earlier. With essay 2, there isn't a silver bullet that will guarantee you success. The Oxford adcom has left this question very very open to get to know you a lot better. Your motivations in life, your morals, your vision, your formative experiences etc. The story you have given above sounds like it could provide the adcom this insight into you. Just make sure you make the essay more about YOU rather than the NGO.

good luck.


Also good luck to all the R1 folks. If you happen to get an interview and are on campus, send me a PM.

Cambridge application submitted - phew!
Waiting game for all R1 now.

Good luck to all other R1 applicants too!

Great ! me too submitted.
Can you share why are you applying to judge and what are the strong points of your app ? (according to you )

As of me, I am applying to judge because of the presence of a lot of startups (hitech mostly) in cambridge and the overall concentration on consulting/entrepreneurship.
As per me, my strong point will be a tilt towards entrepreneurship. and my exp in IT.

BTW, where are other applicants for judge ? I see far too few this time

Good job, Waiwai. I'm also interested in entrepreneurship - no hi-tech background but very interested in online marketing/general tech stuff
I suppose I have an unusual background (undergrad in arts) with strong international work experience across a number of industries - mostly focused on marketing though

Yes, yours seems like an unusual profile. All the best.
I do not see any other applicants for judge. it makes me sense something bad.
is it just the recession, or ppl applying in later rounds, or something else.
A recent article on BW suggested there are going to be lesser number of applicants for b-schools, overall, (of course except a few)
And moreover, JBS app is no longer free this year.
Do you think this could be the reason ?

Not sure why because I read in wsj and other places that actually application number should be up because people are going back to school as they're laid off/ cannot get a new job/reassessing career. May be because judge deadline is tighter this year? They did release the application form late.

Good luck to you too:)

Posted from my mobile device

Submitted my application for Cambridge.

It stretched a little too close to the deadline! The wait begins now..