Oxford (Said) 2013 - Calling All Applicants

More people are introducing themselves in the Google group who are to yet to even complete an undergraduate degree. The most recent one has 1 summer internship of work experience. Period.

My intention with these posts are not to rant about anyone in particular, but I was VERY close to enrolling at Oxford and I would have felt very disappointed about getting there and then having in my group people with nearly zero business experience. Sure, they would have been "mature" and smart, but there are many more things that only come with actually working.

Anyway, since I am not accepting Oxford's offer I could have just ignored this, but I felt it would have been unethical of my part.

Thanks Jon, but can you elaborate why do you say that .. is it coz no. of seats left after two round are very less... or is it coz quality of candidates in R3 is generally elevated... ofcourse in case of Said $$ and collage choice is affected which can be explained.. but I still do not get the reason behind why R3 is more compittitive that both the previous rounds?

As yet another candidate who almost matriculated at Oxford, I have some interest in the topic . It's clear that the school does accept some undergraduate applicants for the 1+1 and what not... could it be that they just all seem to be introducing themselves at the same time? I mean, we know that the average age is 29 so those cases you mention are clearly the minority unless Said is also accepting a lot of 40 yr olds, which I seriously doubt. Probably just a case of small and therefore not representative sample size?

Hi there!

All 1+1 candidates should in theory fulfill entry requirements for both programmes. IMO 6 months of work experience does not pass the smell test

Regardless, I think that among those that introduced themselves about 7% explicitly say they are still undergraduates. Most others just say where they are from, so this ratio could still be higher.

I see. And roughly how many people have introduced themselves in total?

Posted from my mobile device

I do recruit a lot of fresh graduates and interns for my group. I have seen very few extraordinary fresh grads but what I can definitely tell that, it was discovered only after 3 to 6 months of close interaction.

It is atleast beyond my little capability to identify those extraordinary in few hours talk with even 50% probability. In few hours, I can find out that the candidate is good but I can not say for certain that the candidate is extraordinary. By the way, many scholars failed in our organisation and many diploma people excelled.

There are too many people who 'just talks' and 2 hours or so is too little time to verify the substance or authenticity. If I claim I handle 40mil funds, it is not easy to verify that.

By the way, I even think the 3 years minimum experience is too little to really "experience" management. To really be able to appreciate the bigger picture, the bigger issues, you need atleast 5-8 years of hands-on REAL experience, not IT or Accountancy ... people management for everything, from procurement to legal issue to Government permit.

About 65. At least 5 are undergrads.

quick question: how many of these 65 who introduced and the 5 undergards in particular do you think are in a situation similar to you... i.e. not going to accept the offer

i guess there are a lot of unknowns here!

btw I have 8 yrs work ex... do plan to accept the offer... but have not yet joined the group! there could be more like me as well

Agree.
I myself still have to join that group...(don't have a gmail ID with my own name. I'll be creating soon to join that group. bananapeel is not a good id to join that group ).
The best choice would be to post that question in google group to get the "first hand" feedback. In the meantimes, someone else can post this question on Google group.
My speculative answer would be that these relatively inexperienced guys/girls are from either MFE or MBA 1+1. This speculated answer is based on the CVs of MFE and MBA students available on SBS intranet site under CV link. I really doubt Oxford will jeopardize its reputation with such an act unless these students are really exceptional . I think the intranet site is same for all SBS students (MBA, MBA 1+1, MFE) as I've seen suggested reading for MFE students. May be I'll join that group and confirm their course of study to clarify.

In any case, this would not change my decision to join SBS.

My speculation was correct. I asked one of the person on the google group who has not finished his undergrad. (S)he got the admission in MFE and not MBA. I was also correct on the assumption that the the google group is shared by all students i.e MBA, MBA 1+1and MFE. Over next months, we'll see more and more of such cases. I hope this will clarify.

In my professional career, I learned a valuable lesson. Assumption is mother of all f@#k ups. So when in doubt, just ask.

All Bay Area Applicants!! We are hosting an event tomorrow in San Francisco for prospective MBAs to meet and talk with past Oxford MBAs. This is a great event if you are considering applying, or already accepted and still deciding if Oxford is the right school for you. Please PM me directly if you want to attend!

Great to see in action. This is what makes the school apart from the rest.

I hope someone does the same at other side of the globe!! Never mind, we will do it next to text year!!

That topic was quite interesting and it made me read follow ups.
@Ducksworth: Now you know those yet to complete undergrads are from MFE and not MBA, what is your opinion now?

From your posts, I can see you've gotten admission in INSEAD. Congratulations
I think you have also read INSEAD FAQ about experience requirements.
You can also have a look at INSEAD career report. 8% of class has experience of 1-2 years. Now you mentioned, "I am a bit disappointed that Saïd accepts students with such little experience. Doing an MBA is a great opportunity to learn from professors but even more from other students". What do you think about this. Are you disappointed with INSEAD also?

Now as one who deals with INSEAD MBAs, both fresh from the oven and stale breads, on daily basis, let me ask a question. Do you really know what INSEAD will have in a batch of 1000?
Let me enlighten you. I've worked INSEAD MBAs whose pre-MBA experience was a few months. Mostly these MBAs would be from certain gender and from two Mediterranean countries who are overrepresented in INSEAD with respect to their overall population. Everyone knows it. Go figure.

Btw I don't have anything to do with INSEAD or Oxford. I found this post little odd and made me wonder about the analysis skills of prospective MBA pool.

I'm also if you knew it but did not ask at other school forum
I'll be if you didn't even know that.

Dear R1ers,

One week to go before R2 interview calls would be sent; anxiety creeping in..
Pardon me if this question has already been answered:
Why is one required to send ones' original transcript or an attested copy to Said, If one is invited to the interview?
The final decisions would still be pending..
just curious..

Thanks!

@kaushinside

R2 applicant here in a similar dilemma. Wondering whether we can wait until the calls are out on Feb1 and then send in the transcripts.

I hold an indian undergraduate degree and a masters in the US. I can manage my masters transcript but the undergraduate transcripts involve a fair bit of running around. Confused!

Also, any idea when we can expect to hear from Cambridge?