Said MBA Program Guide 2026

Just finished my interview a while ago. I had the interview with John Madgwick, Head of Financial Se... Read More

Just finished my interview a while ago. I had the interview with John Madgwick, Head of Financial Services and Early Careers at Oxford's Saïd. It went for 30 min. It was a VERY interactive interview. He asked me during my answer to dig deeper in the context. There were conventional questions like Why MBA, Why Oxford and I also got another Why UK? (even after I answered why Oxford already) I also got asked about my integrity. Somewhere along "Has your integrity ever been questioned?" Overall, it went well. Got to ask 2 questions for him. Wish everyone (and also myself) luck! Read Less

Oxford Business School MBA Video Essay Questions 1. Describe an instance when you were required to ... Read More

Oxford Business School MBA Video Essay Questions 1. Describe an instance when you were required to make a decision in the absence of complete information. 2. Explain how you have supported a colleague outside of a professional setting. 3. Describe a situation in which you faced challenges while leading a project. How did you maintain your team's motivation? 4. How does your organization manage and accommodate cultural differences? 5. When was the most recent occasion you managed another individual's frustration? Describe your approach. 6. What is a current project you are deeply passionate about, and why? 7. What do you consider your most significant professional or personal limitation? 8. How do you define and measure success? What specific outcomes are you driven to achieve? 9. How would you define the concept of 'culture'? 10. Discuss a hobby or personal interest that provides you with substantial fulfillment. 11. Provide an example of a time you had to deliver difficult news. How did you manage the situation? 12. In your view, does effective collaboration require the unconditional acceptance of others? 13. Describe a hobby you are passionate about and explain your perspective on it. 14. What specific knowledge or skills do you aspire to acquire during the MBA program? 15. Describe your experience working with individuals who speak different languages or dialects. 16. What steps would you take if a team member was not contributing their fair share of work? 17. Identify an area you are passionate about. Which dimension of this passion do you wish was more widely understood? 18. What actions are you currently taking to develop or pursue your passion? 19. Describe your approach to operating effectively within a diverse cohort or team. 20. Describe a time when you provided leadership to a team. 21. Tell me about a time you dealt with a significant failure. 22. Describe a professional or personal challenge you have faced. 23. Recall an instance when your opinion strongly differed from that of another person. 24. Describe an experience where you were responsible for planning a project. 25. Discuss a mistake you have made and explain how you responded to it. I hope this help. Read Less

My interviewer was from the careers team so the interview was very work and post MBA focused. I didn... Read More

My interviewer was from the careers team so the interview was very work and post MBA focused. I didn't get a single behavioral question. She started with the basic why mba why oxford what research have you done about the school how will your current journey help with post mba job prospects what courses do you wanna do what will you do to achieve your short term goals on campus what if post mba goals dont pan out (both location and role), alot of questions on my current work and whom I work with, career growth, etc. Read Less

It was very conversational. The questions asked are generally on the lines of your work experience ... Read More

It was very conversational. The questions asked are generally on the lines of your work experience and your learnings from them. (Info you have already provided to them via your essays and CVs). Then other generic questions as to why mba, why at this time and why oxford in particular. How you can contribute to the cohort. You can also expect a couple ‘tell me about a time’ competency based questions. In short, the better you know yourself, the earier you’ll find it Read Less

I had my Oxford R1 interview in-person today in Delhi. It was with Charlene New. Lasted around 45 mi... Read More

I had my Oxford R1 interview in-person today in Delhi. It was with Charlene New. Lasted around 45 minutes. It was a very conversational interview, and while she didn't directly ask basic MBA questions like introduce yourself, why MBA, why now and why Oxford, she focused more about knowing what skills I have learned via my work and would extra would I like to learn at Oxford. She also asked me 2 behavioral questions - tough situation and mitigating a conflict. Last ~10 minutes was me asking her 3 doubts I had about the program. Read Less

I just finished my Oxford Said interview, and I guess it went okay? We will only know this on decisi... Read More

I just finished my Oxford Said interview, and I guess it went okay? We will only know this on decision day. haha The interviewer was a practitioner with 20+ years in banking, M&A, and the PE industry, and is currently an Associate Fellow at Oxford Said. He mentioned that he read my whole application, and his questions mainly focused on my career (as of yet), post-MBA goals, and what Said can do for me. The vibe was mostly informal, but his follow-ups were super detailed and could easily throw the applicant off if they are not 100% aware of their goals and post-MBA employer and industry. At the end, he pointed out my below-average GRE score but didn’t officially ask me to retake it. I am almost sure he insinuated retaking, but I may be over-reading into it, since test score is my real weakness. I applied in R3 (3 November 2025) and received the interview invite on 12 November 2025. Read Less

Oxford Interview Questions 1. Your education is in Engg but you work in Consulting. How did that ha... Read More

Oxford Interview Questions 1. Your education is in Engg but you work in Consulting. How did that happen and what was the reasoning behind it? 2. What are the 3 biggest skills you have developed while working in Consulting? 3. You have worked with people from different countries, did you have any conflict when you were interacting with them and how did you navigate it? 4. Talk about an intance where you had to build trust with a client. 5. Talk abt my entrepreneurship experience, what happened? Will you be open to start a business again? 6. Consulting is famous for the feedback culture, so what are the feedbacks that you've got and how did you respond to it? Did you agree or not? 7. Talk about an instance where you had a confluct with your team member and how did you resolve it. 8. Why would you be a good candidate for the extremely coveted Consulting roles that you're targetting? 9. What will you do so you can be a competitive candidate and prepare yourself for this role? 10. How will you contribute to Oxford? 11. Any questions for me? I got an invite from R2 application Read Less

Walk me through your resume Why MBA TMAT when you improved teamwork TMAT when you faced consequences... Read More

Walk me through your resume Why MBA TMAT when you improved teamwork TMAT when you faced consequences for something you thought was right TMAT when you handled disagreement between your team members Read Less

I find this situation quite bizarre because throughout the interview process, the conversation was v... Read More

I find this situation quite bizarre because throughout the interview process, the conversation was very effective and conversational. I’m not sure if it’s due to an increase in deferred applicants from the previous year, but there seem to be many rejections in R4 this year. I can only say that outsourcing to third-party admissions agencies is really problematic, as you don’t receive any useful advice about the admissions process or insights into the future of your studies during the conversation. Oxford’s costs are extremely high, and it’s unfortunate that right after the interview, I found out the interviewer was an outsourced external consultant. I hope that, moving forward, applicants will have more and better options. That being said, an MBA education is not a simple investment, especially when studying abroad. I hope everyone will have better career development opportunities in the future. Read Less

The interview was pretty straight forward 1. Why Oxford? 2. When have you faced conflict at work? 3... Read More

The interview was pretty straight forward 1. Why Oxford? 2. When have you faced conflict at work? 3. Has your integrity every been questioned? 4. Who is a leader that you look up to? 5. What do you think will be challenging for you during the one year MBA? 6. What is your biggest take away from your career till now? 7. In case there is any project that your professor gives your group, what role are you most likely to gravitate towards? 8. Have you done anything to up-skill yourself outside work? 9. What do you do for fun? 10. How will you stand out in a room full of 300 other MBA students Lastly i had my own questions Read Less