Calling all Durham MBA Applicants (2021 Intake) Class of 2022

o know each-other, build network, exchange ideas/information, discuss application strategies, share interview /school visit experiences,

Has anyone applied to Durham MBA 2021 intake?

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I did.

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kevinibmer
Are you located in UK? If so, could you tell how is Durham's reputation perceived in UK and globally as compared to Warwick, Imperial, and Manchester? I believe/assume Oxford and Cambridge's MBA reputation exceeds highly than these schools?

I am applying to Oxford, Cambridge and Warwick in Jan and contemplating on applying to Durham as well. It would be great if you could throw some light on this.

I am currently working in the UK. In the North East part of the UK, Durham is the best among all other universities. It is one of the oldest university in the UK. I prefer Durham because for my future goals Durham makes more sense than LBS, Said, Judge and others. And Durham has a very good reputation in the UK and all over the world. When you compare Durham with Warwick I would say may be Warwick is better but it depends on your future goals. My company pays Warwick MBA fees for employees and has partnership with Warwick. Yet, in my case Durham is better than Warwick. Imperial I have no idea. And about Alliance, I visited Manchester University and liked it. The crowd was very young, I am 35 years old and did not feel like I would learn anything. I would consider Manchester and Durham same in terms of reputation. Yes, OXBRIDGE MBAs reputation exceeds than that of Durham’s. You should think about LBS too if you are applying OXBRIDGE. You should apply for Durham and Alliance too as there is no application fees for both - you just need time. I did a small financial assessment including return on investment, post MBA debt recovery time, etc. I found Durham is perfect for my case. You should do something like that too in order to determine which MBA is best for you.

I started the application for INSEAD, LBS, OXBRIDGE, Alliance and Durham. I only submitted Durham because it made financial sense to go with DUBS. Furthermore the average cohort age was higher for Durham hovering around 31. Durham does this one to one approach with everything. You have your own mentor, your own recruitment consultant, your own person for every walk of your MBA endeavour. I liked the fact that Durham has only few seats as compared to others. When I spoke to alumnus from INSEAD, LBS, OXBRIDGE, Alliance I noticed that each of these folks did not know each others from their own class. Durham guys were on nick name basis and very quick to collaborate and coordinate response. I ask the same questions copy pasted into linkedin messenger and send all. I am 100% sure doing MBA from Durham will be more fun and exciting. I already like the staff who is going to teach me stuff. Everything I saw on a MBA from Alliance, LBS & OXBRIDGE, I have found in Durham too. In my opinion other universities are more wealthier than Durham. I was offered over 3 wine to choose from in an open house event in LBS. Alliance had their event in an expensive hotel in downtown. Where as Durham booked a high tech conference room within their own MBA building and had some tasty sandwiches, cookies & other locally made food while I visited.

If you are in late 20s with a good GMAT then I recommend submitting application for LBS, OXBRIDGE, Alliance & Durham. With respect to MBA reputations in the UK, I personally feel, LBS > OX or CAM > Warwick > Alliance or Durham.

kevinibmer
Thank you so much for the elaborate response. I am 31, going to be 32 soon. So I am looking for a matured cohort as well. And I guess for the very same reason, I chose Durham and Warwick as my top school choices.

My priority is Cambridge -> Warwick -> Durham (Oxford is dicey, I am not fan of it but its just the brand that's exciting, will need decision only if I am selected anyways). Warwick is best suited for my profile in the automotive domain. LBS is out of question as its a longer program in London focused on Consulting and Finance so not my profile.

Will be applying at Durham in R2, will seek help then if required.

Did you already get an admit btw?

You have figured out all very well. In the automotive sector there must be more contributions from Durham. The few that comes to my mind is a solar car which Durham University students made. But I do not think it was an MBA guy. Les Graham is a one of the Durham University professor with over 20 years automotive industry experience. There must be more contributing to the sector. There was this which was held in 2013 https://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/bis/Dri ... _Final.pdf

Durham has corporate partnership with companies like Emerson, Accenture, EY, Unilever. In the presentations I did not see a lot about Automotive sector.
Still I highly recommend visiting Durham University for a tour. Talk to the professors and current MBA cohorts.

Glad to help with Durham in R2, if needed.

kevinibmer

Wow that event is amazing. Thanks for the link and the information. Where do you get such information from?

I guess I will connect with a few alumns as well to understand automotive career paths from Durham.

Also, I have a query regarding the application - they offer 12 and 15 month programs. At this point, I am interested in 12-month program only as I do not intend to do internship (plus I feel having 10 yrs experience makes it harder to get an internship), but I might look to extend it to 15-month program incase I don't get a job by then. In short, I am not 100% sure which one to go for.

What do you suggest I apply for. Because the application demands a selection now.

I was interested in the solar car and some links took me to other places such as that link. Go for 15 months and later you can convert it to 12 months if you need. This helps being in a safer place for many instances, lets say PSW in the UK for one instance.

I feel Internships are only for career switchers. For people with experience we take them in a 3 / 6 /12 months probation period and we extend/terminate the period as we wish.

I have done hiring in India for my organization. Usually when companies hire from Universities they are looking for someone who can grow with the organization. Or someone the company can tame, mend and cater to their organization and its future. The perfect age is 27-29 and not every organization has the GOR to hire based on age. Hence, hiring is based on years of experience that is 5-7 years which translates to 27-29 in ages.

Around 2010 my organization was considering anyone less than 5 years in freshers drive. So we used to avoid universities and on-campuses where we get that. Most people who joined my team were from off-campus drives and scheduled walkins. Basically companies know where to look for what they need.

I am under the impression that recruiting companies who come to Durham will specifically look for folks around 30 years old with a Technology or Consulting niche due to the path ways the MBA offers and excels in.

Makes sense!! Thank you so much for the valuable insights!!

Will do. Might help in the extended visa dates as well.

Anyone here got admit to Durham MBA?

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Hi guys, I applied on the second round and just received the date for my interview. Can anyone give me some advice on the tone of the questions in the interview in order to prepare in advance. Are there stress questions? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Alebp54 :- The deadline was 25th right? You got the dates that soon?

HI! yes, i was surprised as well because I applied on sunday. Did you apply on second round as well?

Yes, I have applied too.

Just checked the portal - had an update to provide the English proficiency test. I have no clue how to provide that because I am not planning to give IELTS.

Even though my academics were conducted in English and I have been working in an English speaking work environment, I wonder how do I prove it. My transcripts don't mention that my studies were conducted in English. And asking my university to provide that confirmation is just too tedious because of the inefficient management there and I sitting in a different country doesn't add to any hopes in getting that confirmation at all.

Added visa stamps of the time I worked in US for 18 months. Hopefully that suffices.

Kind of in a ZugZwang. Have written to them, let's see what they come up with.

shameekv1989

Accepting any English test requirement or even a waiver for that reason is typically an admission panel decision. The below link says more on alternatives.

https://www.dur.ac.uk/learningandteachi ... k/1/3/3/1/

In my Indian consolidated graduation mark sheet there was a small line which mentioned medium of instruction as English (had to look more closely to find). Furthermore, I shared my 12th grade mark sheet in order to request a waiver.

I am referring to the below statement in the link.

"x. Indian Standard XII 80% in English at first attempt (ISC, CBSE, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Kerala Boards only) "

Likewise there may be some alternatives that could be applicable for you. Review that link. It takes more time to get approval for english requirement waiver. And I highly recommend talking to the admission panel early. on this one.

Hey thank kevinibmer - Do you have any number or email address I can use to get in touch with them directly? It takes me to "Ask the question" link to request a query. Not sure how long would it take for them to reply. But good thing to know, I might attach my 10th and 12th grade marksheets as well just in case.