Oxford (Said) 2012 - Calling All Applicants

Hi all, I am new here and wanted to apply for SBS R3. I have a question regarding academic grades for Oxford. I received my Bachelor's degree in Europe and Master's in the UK. When I tried to input the degree results in the application form, I noticed the I could easily select a "Pass with Merit" for my UK Master's but the "EU Bachelor of Science" degree only allowed me to put in "Pass with Distinction" and "Ordinary Pass". The Italian university I attended only award 5% of the class "Cum Laude" which I unfortunately did not receive, but my Bachelor's grade are good enough to be equivalent to a 2:1 in the UK.

I am worried that if I choose "Ordinary Pass", the admission committee might think my grades were below 2:2, which is what "Ordinary Pass" refers to in the UK. Has anyone encountered this problem before? If so, I'd be grateful for any advice.

Hmm, I would reach out to the admission committee and ask.

If i were in your shoes, if your bachelors grades were truly equivalent to a UK 2:1, then i would put that, but then add in the explanation field that your italian grades are the equivalent. The admission committee will look at your grades in the transcript stage anyhow. So I am not sure how much that would really sway them either way.

Just submitted the application. Now the waiting starts

Hi all,

I am thinking of applying in Round 3. Anyone know if there is a significant reduction in chances of admission compared to r1 and r2? Any anecdotal evidence?

If I am not successful, possibly due to this decreased chance in r3, would it hinder my chances if I had to re-apply in 6-8 months for r1/r2 of 2013 intake?

thanks

Hi All, anyone have an idea of when Interview requests for R2s might come out? not sure what type of schedule SBS goes by.
Thanks!

hi everyone,

congrats to all who have been admitted so far...

quick question, I'm looking to apply in R3 but am struggling a bit with essay 2...I'm not sure if it should be business related event or book?? as different events can influence in different ways depending on the context, are they looking for a specific context here?

my profile is GPA 2.9/GMAT 700/ 5Y WE in Banking, Finance/

thanks in advance.

Hey ahp1111,

In terms of Essay 2, I personally don't think it needs to be business related at all. I wrote mine about an event that happened last year that has basically challenged a belief i had and how this has changed my thoughts and actions now and in the future... totally not business related.

Good luck, it was a tough essay for me.

They're still processing applications. Mines on hold since they didnt get all my materials. I think the real consideration process starts in Feb. Any US applicants on here? Has anyone attended Said events in New York? How does SBS stackup against the Top 20 US schools? What about against the Top 10?

I submitted my app on Jan 20th and got an email the following Tuesday saying it was complete and forwarded to the admissions committee.

I haven't gone to any events, but I plan to attend the NYC session later in February if I get an interview.

Hi Gmanster,

Thanks for your assistance. This one will require quite a bit of thinking, it's a very tricky essay...!

Hey dreamer

Sbs admitted student here (and will be attending next year). I think the answer to your question really depends on where you want to work post mba. Is it europe or the us? If it's Europe, then you have 2 obvious advantages. 1. Geo proximity for interviews and networking, and 2. UK visa to transition you into the UK workforce (should you secure an offer).

Also if you are a career switcher, a one yr program will likely pose a greater challenge because you'll not only have to know exact ly what you want to do, you'll also have to start networking right away. Especially if your focus is Finance, as the recruiting cycle begins in September (2 year program people typically start their search in beginning of 2nd year semester -- you won't have the same time lag at Oxford, so you'll need to zone in on that right away).

In terms of reputation, my personal thought is that everyone knows the oxford brand just as everyone knows the top 10 us schools. Schools can only get your foot in the door with interviews, but its really up to you to close the deal. I dont see how a stellar oxford grad would be at a disadvantage against a stellar columbia grad. Oxford has the same reputation impact in the world as an Ivy League degree would (and this is coming from someone who has an Ivy degree). In my humble opinion, what you need to look at is the employment report. If you have a few targeted firms in mind, then check to see if they recruit at Oxford. If let's say Firm A recruits at Wharton, but not at Oxford, and you REALLY REALLY want to work for Firm A, then obviously, you should probably consider Wharton more strongly than Oxford. And vice versa.

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Oh btw, about Said events in NY. I actually attended a Said info session 4 years ago when I used to live in NY, then again in DC a year ago. And next year, I am finally going!

If you can attend, you absolutely should. And ask the admission staff all of the questions you just asked in this forum.

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to share with you the latest MBA rankings from the Financial Times, Oxford has moved back up to 20th. Another interesting stat to note is a solid improvement in the 3 month employment percentage which is always a good sign, right?

https://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolra ... kings-2012

Officially declined my Said offer today. best of luck everyone!

Best of luck to you. Which school did you decide on?

Hi all, does anyone have an idea of when we should expect to hear back for R2 interviews?

Looking back over the past few years, the deadlines were Feb 4th 2011 (Jan 14th application deadline) and Feb 5th 2010 (Jan 15th application deadline). Both years its been about 3 weeks after the application deadline which means we should hear back on Feb 10th.