Oxford (Said) 2013 - Calling All Applicants

For most people (incl. recruiters), it's probably pretty much the same thing.

My time was limited before the March 8 deadline so I had to choose which one I should I apply to.

Ranking/reputation differences are marginal and shouldn't influence your decision (though that Cambridge didn't make it to the BW-ranking can be held against them, but I don't think it makes a difference for European recruiting).

For me three factors made it:

Cambridge average age is a bit higher, people have a bit more work experience
Oxford places a bit more in Finance (~30% vs 20% at Cambridge)
It feels like Cambridge has a stronger focus on entrepreneurship than Oxford

Since I am on the younger side for both schools, am interested in a career in Finance and have no immediate entrepreneurial ambitions, I applied to Oxford.

There is lots to like and little to dislike in each program so in the end it came down to these parameters:
Fit - My interest lies in Healthcare and Consulting, areas in which Judge scores higher or equal to Oxford in my opinion. Said's program leans towards Finance and Entrepreneurship and this was very evident when I heard the program director Stephan Chambers speak during a reception last month.
Program Structure - More practical, consulting-based projects, especially the CVP which is earlier in program means that I have something to put on my resume before Consulting recruitment begins in Feb/March. This is important for someone like me looking to switch into consulting with zero past experience in that field. On the other hand, I was never completely convinced that the compulsory Entrepreneurship project at Said would be as valuable to me.
Diversity - My life so far has been split between India and the US so I would have very easily fit in with the student body as Said, where close to 50% of the students are from these two countries alone. However, I felt that I needed to step out of this comfort zone and meet people from other countries in Asia and Europe, which Judge has in spades.
Personal Attention - I have found the Cambridge Admissions staff to be a lot more engaged during the entire application process. The Admissions staff maintain blogs, answer questions directly in this and other forums and voluntarily facilitate conversations between candidates on Facebook even before accepting them. They are a lot more open to "public" questioning, which means being able to take both bouquets and brickbats. I found the Oxford Admissions process was significantly more opaque. You would be right to argue that the Admissions staff may not necessarily be reflective of the school itself but my contact with students and alumni leads to believe that they are.
Money Matters - There is a lot more scholarship money to be had from Cambridge. I was a fortunate recipient of a bursary award and there are more scholarships to apply for in 2013.