Hi, I work in the financial services industry and have been working in my current firm for 2yrs and I have a total of 6 yrs of working experience. I'm planning to apply to Judge in the first round for the 2013 admission. Can someone kindly advise the following?

1) Recommendations Letters
Is it mandatory to have a recommendation from my supervisor? Will it reflect negatively on my application if I do not ask my supervisor to write one?

2) Academic Results
I achieved a 2.1 honours for my undergrad studies but only managed a 3.83/5.0 GPA for my masters. Will the latter cast a negative light in my application?

Thank you guys for your help in advance.

@cks1981

We ask for a recommendation from a supervisor. While it is preferable to use your current supervisor for your recommendation, we do recognise that for some candidates this could be a sensitive issue and hence we allow you to ask a previous supervisor.

You should explain why you did not do as well in your Masters degree. There is an optional section for any additional information that you would like to provide.

Kind regards

Conrad Chua
Head MBA ADmissions
Cambridge
@CambridgeMBA on twitter

Noted. Thanks Conrad.

We held an information session in Munich about the Cambridge MBA last week. You can read more about how the Cambridge MBA can help German managers from this article that I wrote after the info session.
http://www.thecambridgembaadmissions.co ... e-evening/

Remember that the best way to keep up with all these blog posts is by following @CambridgeMBA on twitter and by liking our Facebook Page (The Cambridge MBA).

Kind regards

Conrad Chua
Head MBA Admissions
Cambridge

Hello Conrad,

Cambridge offers a unique clustering of technology firms and a comfortable closeness to London, which is ideal to me. However, I need some answers to few pinching and few strategic questions. I am not sure if you can answer all, but I will try framing them here as they concern me and I am also hoping that some answers might come through this public forum.

Pinching ones:
Has UK become a difficult place to go for an MBA degree, especially with the current economic uncertainty in EU and toughened UK visa regulations? What advice does Cambridge Judge offers to current students who are seeking a career in the UK? What steps career services is taking to ensure that current students remain vigilant about the dynamics of the job market and of unexplored opportunities?

Strategic ones:
Flash employment numbers are available for 2010 as I read in one of your blogs. However, career report data is fairly old (2008-09). I am looking online for a latest report. Please let me know if you have published or publishing one of those soon.
Not all electives are offered every year as per information on your website. Please provide a list of current and prospective (2013-14) electives on offer, if you have identified them.
What resources/ projects are on offer at Cambridge to help students seek a career in technology consulting?

Sincerely and Warm Regards

@kmano

I am not sure what you mean by the UK being a difficult place for MBAs. I think you will find that globally, there is a lot of pressure on certain types of jobs, so investment banking for one is very badly hit and people are finding it difficult to get jobs regardless of whether they have an MBA, or even have lots of experience. That is not to say that it is impossible to get into these sectors, just that it takes a combination of great determination and strong track record.

In terms of the visa, an MBA from a UK university is effectively, the only route into the UK job market for a non-EU citizen. Non-EU citizens who graduate with an MBA from a UK university have to accept a job offer within the length of their student visa in order to stay in the UK. At the moment, they are not counted towards the quota of non-EU citizens nor are they subject to a labour market test.

The latest employment report will be published soon. The overall numbers are on our website. Electives are finalised throughout the year but you can see the list of this year's electives on the website.

Conrad

Conrad, Thanks for answering questions here. Could you please clearly explain the school's stand on English proficiency requirements? I've seen on the school's website that one needs a minimum TOEFL score of 110 with atleast 25 in each section. My TOEFL score is 104 (L:30, R:26, W:24, S:24). Does this score makes me ineligible to apply?

My score will expire on 20th August, 2012. Will you accept the score if I report it before this date?

I've 2.5 yrs of Full time work experience in London, UK and my education was completely in English medium institutions in India. Based on this information, Can I claim a relaxation from English proficiency requirements?

Cheers

Hello. Can you comment on opportunities available for spouses? Can they for instance attend classes, use university facilities, attend events, nd so on. Cheers.

@goddy

You can apply but because you do not meet the minimum requirements, you will be asked to take a proficiency test if you were made an offer. Depending on the results of that proficiency test, we might either ask you to retake the TOEFL or take an English class.

@Ducksworth ---Spouses cannot attend the MBA classes, but they can use some of the university facilities as well as some facilities in colleges, depending on the individual college policy. In Cambridge, the spouses typically self-organise their own events.

Conrad
@CambridgeMBA

Conard,

For a non EU individual admitted in first round to a top 5 UK MBA program, I would like to know whether there are any pre MBA volunteering - get to know the industry - options?

Sept 2013 is a long ways away, and it would be great if people had the opportunity, on the basis of being admitted, to experience the new industry at their own expense with or without taking part in a schools pre-MBA program.

Thanks

@dearxavier

I am not entirely clear what you are asking. If you are asking whether you, as a non-EU student can enter the UK before your study commences to take on some sort of internship, then I think the answer is no. I am not a solicitor, but I am quite sure that under the conditions of a student visa, you are only allowed to take up internships that are connected with your course of study, and it would be highly unlikely that you would be allowed to work before the commencement of your student visa, which is tightly linked to the commencement of study.

Of course, if you want to work in your country of residence, that should be entirely fine so long as you meet all local requirements.

Conrad Chua
@CambridgeMBA
Head MBA Admissions

Hi Conrad. I am interested in Finance so I was wondering how much interaction there is between the MBA and the MFin. For example, can MBA students take MFin courses as their electives? Thanks!

@Ducksworth

Yes, there are some finance electives where MBAs and MFins can take classes together. THere are also opportunities to get to know the MFins through the CBSC, which is the main student body in the Business School.

If you are interested in finance, there is also the finance concentration which is one of 8 concentrations that you can choose from in the last term. You can read more about the finance concentration at
http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/mba/programme/ ... nance.html

Kind regards
Conrad
@CambridgeMBA

Hello Conrad,

The Cambridge Trust scholarships application requires a personal referee. Please let me know who can serve as a personal referee. Is the school expecting the person to be of a certain age and designation? Can the person be related to the candidate in any way?

Thanks

@nikhilsrl

A personal reference is only required for the Gates Scholarship, if someone is just applying for Cambridge Overseas Trust awards then it is not required. The Gates website explains the personal reference in detail - http://www.gatescambridge.org/apply/references.asp

Conrad Chua
@CambridgeMBA on twitter
Head MBA Admissions

Thanks Conrad.

I have one more query regarding scholarships. The scholarships (including Cambridge Trust scholarships) that do not need a separate application, are they awarded along with the offer for admission or at a later date when the entire admission process is over.

Thanks

the Cambridge Trust scholarships have their own schedule but the bursaries awarded by the Business School are generally given at the time of admission. There are some exceptions and those have deadlines which are on our website.

Conrad Chua
@CambridgeMBA on twitter
Head MBA Admissions

Thanks once again.

Hello Conrad,

Does Cambridge MBA have anything similar to a student's council with elected representatives? Please let me know where to find more information on this.

Thanks

Yes, there is a Cambridge Business Students Club which includes students from the MBA, the Masters in Finance and other programmes in the business school.

In addition, there are other clubs such as Finance, Entrepreneurship etc. and a plethora of clubs in the University itself, e.g. Cambridge Entrepreneurs, Cambridge University Technology Entrepreneurship Club etc

Conrad Chua
@CambridgeMBA on twitter