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Fellow Clubber needs guidance. When/Where/How
[#permalink]
13 Feb 2008, 07:12
13 Feb 2008, 07:12
Dear clubbers,
Some of you may know that I got a disappointing 690 a couple of days ago for my GMAT. Now I need your help in making a few decisions.
Background
Firstly a bit about me. I am a 27 year old New Zealander (you probably guessed from my avatar) living in London, working as Senior Consultant for an IT Systems Integrator (not top tier, but big multinational company). My specialism is in delivering (everything from pre-sales to deployment, kinda like an evangelist) CRM solutions, mainly within the insurance sector in London. It's probably also worth mentioning that I am a "freelancer" and operate through my own company.
The under grad degree I hold is BE from one of NZ's leading university.
MBA Goals
My motivation for doing an MBA is to head back one day to NZ, having worked on several large projects in London, not only with the technical expertise, but also with strong business accumen. Once I get back to NZ, I want to focus on entrepreneurship and general management within the technology sector.
Targets
Since my wife is settled in the UK, my target schools are Oxford and Cambridge, both very strong in the entrepreneurship, and both schools are in or near the “Silicon Valley” of UK. Also they are great badges to have on your CV if you are going back to NZ. MBA from these two institutions open a lot of doors in NZ (one would hope). Also interestingly both schools have an avergage GMAT of 680/690. Other good UK schools such as Imperial, Cranfield, Manchester etc, do not have such a following back home so I am not applying to those schools.
(bad) Timing
Now I decided to do an MBA in September 2007, and picked up my first GMAT book in November. I joined this site in October (wish I had found it earlier). I only started studying properly for GMAT in mid December. This was an awkward time to start studying for GMAT, since the first and second rounds for both schools have closed. So to have any chance of getting into 2008 intake I need to apply in round 3. I was hoping for a strong GMAT performance but only managed 690 on monday. Cambridge’s round 3 deadline is on the 7th of March, and Oxford is 4th of April. So I have 3 weeks for each to do the applications.
So now that you know about me and my aspirations, what shall I do:
Option 1 Shall I apply with 690 to both?
Option 2 Shall I apply with 690 to Cambridge and then study for 2 weeks. Re-sit and apply with hopefully a 700+ for Oxford (this will eat into essay time for Oxford).
Option 3 Shall I defer Cambridge to round 4. Study the next month or so for the GMAT. Get 700+ and apply to Oxford round 3 and Cambridge round 4?
Option 4 Shall I defer all together and study for 3 more months and apply to round 1 next year (2009 intake)?
For now I am thinking about doing option 1 above. (unless my opinion gets changed because of you lot). I am visiting the schools next week and hopefully will seek some inspiration. I would like to know your thoughts team! I really need some guidance.
Cheers,
Buff
p.s I post this here and not the international B-School Forum since I know many more of you lurk there than there. (the grass is greener here as far as i know)
Some of you may know that I got a disappointing 690 a couple of days ago for my GMAT. Now I need your help in making a few decisions.
Background
Firstly a bit about me. I am a 27 year old New Zealander (you probably guessed from my avatar) living in London, working as Senior Consultant for an IT Systems Integrator (not top tier, but big multinational company). My specialism is in delivering (everything from pre-sales to deployment, kinda like an evangelist) CRM solutions, mainly within the insurance sector in London. It's probably also worth mentioning that I am a "freelancer" and operate through my own company.
The under grad degree I hold is BE from one of NZ's leading university.
MBA Goals
My motivation for doing an MBA is to head back one day to NZ, having worked on several large projects in London, not only with the technical expertise, but also with strong business accumen. Once I get back to NZ, I want to focus on entrepreneurship and general management within the technology sector.
Targets
Since my wife is settled in the UK, my target schools are Oxford and Cambridge, both very strong in the entrepreneurship, and both schools are in or near the “Silicon Valley” of UK. Also they are great badges to have on your CV if you are going back to NZ. MBA from these two institutions open a lot of doors in NZ (one would hope). Also interestingly both schools have an avergage GMAT of 680/690. Other good UK schools such as Imperial, Cranfield, Manchester etc, do not have such a following back home so I am not applying to those schools.
(bad) Timing
Now I decided to do an MBA in September 2007, and picked up my first GMAT book in November. I joined this site in October (wish I had found it earlier). I only started studying properly for GMAT in mid December. This was an awkward time to start studying for GMAT, since the first and second rounds for both schools have closed. So to have any chance of getting into 2008 intake I need to apply in round 3. I was hoping for a strong GMAT performance but only managed 690 on monday. Cambridge’s round 3 deadline is on the 7th of March, and Oxford is 4th of April. So I have 3 weeks for each to do the applications.
So now that you know about me and my aspirations, what shall I do:
Option 1 Shall I apply with 690 to both?
Option 2 Shall I apply with 690 to Cambridge and then study for 2 weeks. Re-sit and apply with hopefully a 700+ for Oxford (this will eat into essay time for Oxford).
Option 3 Shall I defer Cambridge to round 4. Study the next month or so for the GMAT. Get 700+ and apply to Oxford round 3 and Cambridge round 4?
Option 4 Shall I defer all together and study for 3 more months and apply to round 1 next year (2009 intake)?
For now I am thinking about doing option 1 above. (unless my opinion gets changed because of you lot). I am visiting the schools next week and hopefully will seek some inspiration. I would like to know your thoughts team! I really need some guidance.
Cheers,
Buff
p.s I post this here and not the international B-School Forum since I know many more of you lurk there than there. (the grass is greener here as far as i know)
Re: Fellow Clubber needs guidance. When/Where/How
[#permalink]
13 Mar 2008, 11:25
13 Mar 2008, 11:25
1
Kudos
Hi gmat_march,
Kwam is spot on with regards to Judge being more selective for interviews.
These are some stats I picked up. Both schools get 1000-1500 applications.
Oxford interviewed 600 out of 1000 applicants for last year's intake. THey accepted 400 students, with 221 matriculations
Cambridge interviews only 30-50 people in each round. And most interviewees gets acceped. Cambride's max class size is 150, compared to a max 240 of Oxford. Oxford has stayed at this number for a couple of years now, where Cambridge was only 100 and 120, 2/3 years ago.
Now these two schools appear very similar, BUT, i visited them both, and once u dig a bit deeper, they are like chalk and cheese.
Oxford is more popular amongst students from the USA. Cambridge is less so. I think this is because perhaps the Oxford brand is a little more well known in the US since many famous americans (esp politicians) have studied at Oxford and maybe its in the USA media a bit more. In the UK/Europe both universities are equally revered. Perhaps Kwam and other EU experienced professionals can confirm this.
In terms of MAJOR differences, (in my opinion after visits).
Oxford's B-School campus is way nicer than Cambridge's b-school campus BUT Cambridge's wider university campus settings is way way nicer.
After chatting to cambridge staff and students, to me they felt like a more tight knit family unit, with slightly older students.
Oxford felt more posh, which is good and bad.
Cambridge is less "slick" or "professional" in its marketing, advertising, events, etc
For example, Oxford has an online submission, for Cambridge you submit a word document via email. Even their application status page online isn't secure.
Oxford is right next to a train station with trains 50 mins to london. Cambridge's train station is 15 minutes away, making getting to London for networking events that much harder.
Cambridge has 3 projects, Oxford only has 2, but does has a 15 month option (including a 3 month internship).
I will post more as I think of it,
To answer your other questions. I just made my deadline for cambridge, look at my other post:
I am at a point where I have been going full steam at work and GMAT and then work and essays for 4 months now. I am feeling a wee bit tired and exhausted. I have 3 weeks for Oxford application to the day, and haven't got anything to show for my essays.
Essay 2 in Oxford is a major pain in the backside. "What recent development, world event or book has most influenced your thinking". I have been so busy that I have not read any books and seen any news in detail for a long time now. The only book I have read is the Official Guide
.
So I will see what kind of essays I can come up with and I will send it to my reviewers (who happen to be a few esteemed indivisuals on this board who I draw a lot of inspiration from). If they say that DO NOT submit, then I will not. I got mixed reactions from my Judge Essay reviewers. Some loved my essays, some thought they were just OK,( which meant they thought I should bin them
). But all that work for a month, I just wanted to submit, so I did so.
My plan is if I get dinged then I will work harder in the winter to get a better GMAT and I will have a better understanding of essays. I will hopefully have improved my profile too.
Lets see, road up ahead is not sign posted, but I know for sure that all roads for me lead to an MBA, its just a matter of time.
Other members on this group want me to try to get into US schools, I am not so sure, but priorities change.
ok i think I am just rambling now, so will end it here,
please feel free to ask Qs. I am in Dublin at the moment and its St Paddy's day celebration starting tonight. So I think I might go for a pint or two after a long drought.
-cheers,
Buff
p.s sorry if my message had lots of errors and mistakes and failed to make any sense, I haven't reviewed what I wrote
Kwam is spot on with regards to Judge being more selective for interviews.
These are some stats I picked up. Both schools get 1000-1500 applications.
Oxford interviewed 600 out of 1000 applicants for last year's intake. THey accepted 400 students, with 221 matriculations
Cambridge interviews only 30-50 people in each round. And most interviewees gets acceped. Cambride's max class size is 150, compared to a max 240 of Oxford. Oxford has stayed at this number for a couple of years now, where Cambridge was only 100 and 120, 2/3 years ago.
Now these two schools appear very similar, BUT, i visited them both, and once u dig a bit deeper, they are like chalk and cheese.
Oxford is more popular amongst students from the USA. Cambridge is less so. I think this is because perhaps the Oxford brand is a little more well known in the US since many famous americans (esp politicians) have studied at Oxford and maybe its in the USA media a bit more. In the UK/Europe both universities are equally revered. Perhaps Kwam and other EU experienced professionals can confirm this.
In terms of MAJOR differences, (in my opinion after visits).
Oxford's B-School campus is way nicer than Cambridge's b-school campus BUT Cambridge's wider university campus settings is way way nicer.
After chatting to cambridge staff and students, to me they felt like a more tight knit family unit, with slightly older students.
Oxford felt more posh, which is good and bad.
Cambridge is less "slick" or "professional" in its marketing, advertising, events, etc
For example, Oxford has an online submission, for Cambridge you submit a word document via email. Even their application status page online isn't secure.
Oxford is right next to a train station with trains 50 mins to london. Cambridge's train station is 15 minutes away, making getting to London for networking events that much harder.
Cambridge has 3 projects, Oxford only has 2, but does has a 15 month option (including a 3 month internship).
I will post more as I think of it,
To answer your other questions. I just made my deadline for cambridge, look at my other post:
I am at a point where I have been going full steam at work and GMAT and then work and essays for 4 months now. I am feeling a wee bit tired and exhausted. I have 3 weeks for Oxford application to the day, and haven't got anything to show for my essays.
Essay 2 in Oxford is a major pain in the backside. "What recent development, world event or book has most influenced your thinking". I have been so busy that I have not read any books and seen any news in detail for a long time now. The only book I have read is the Official Guide
.So I will see what kind of essays I can come up with and I will send it to my reviewers (who happen to be a few esteemed indivisuals on this board who I draw a lot of inspiration from). If they say that DO NOT submit, then I will not. I got mixed reactions from my Judge Essay reviewers. Some loved my essays, some thought they were just OK,( which meant they thought I should bin them
). But all that work for a month, I just wanted to submit, so I did so.My plan is if I get dinged then I will work harder in the winter to get a better GMAT and I will have a better understanding of essays. I will hopefully have improved my profile too.
Lets see, road up ahead is not sign posted, but I know for sure that all roads for me lead to an MBA, its just a matter of time.
Other members on this group want me to try to get into US schools, I am not so sure, but priorities change.
ok i think I am just rambling now, so will end it here,
please feel free to ask Qs. I am in Dublin at the moment and its St Paddy's day celebration starting tonight. So I think I might go for a pint or two after a long drought.
-cheers,
Buff
p.s sorry if my message had lots of errors and mistakes and failed to make any sense, I haven't reviewed what I wrote
Re: Fellow Clubber needs guidance. When/Where/How
[#permalink]
13 Feb 2008, 08:19
13 Feb 2008, 08:19
I'm not an expert in UK schools. But here's my 2 cents:
I don't know about your GPA, but if you have a high GPA, I would say that you start doing your essays right NOW! If you don't have a high GPA (meaning.. really low.. like under 3.0) then maybe you can try and retake your GMAT again before you apply.
Work on the essays like crazy & get your recommenders to start doing the recs. After 3 weeks, couple of days before the deadline, take a look at your application.. do you like them?
Are you satisfied? Do you think you've done your best? Do your reviewers love them? If the answer is yes to all of them.. then submit the apps. If not, maybe you can wait.
I don't know about this.. but, if the Round 4 at Said & Judge is like Round 3 for most US b-schools, honestly, I don't think it's really worth the application money. I would rather wait till round 1 next year to have a decent shot, unless you really really want to go in 2008.
I don't know about your GPA, but if you have a high GPA, I would say that you start doing your essays right NOW! If you don't have a high GPA (meaning.. really low.. like under 3.0) then maybe you can try and retake your GMAT again before you apply.
Work on the essays like crazy & get your recommenders to start doing the recs. After 3 weeks, couple of days before the deadline, take a look at your application.. do you like them?
Are you satisfied? Do you think you've done your best? Do your reviewers love them? If the answer is yes to all of them.. then submit the apps. If not, maybe you can wait.
I don't know about this.. but, if the Round 4 at Said & Judge is like Round 3 for most US b-schools, honestly, I don't think it's really worth the application money. I would rather wait till round 1 next year to have a decent shot, unless you really really want to go in 2008.
. want to do one of two - Oxford R3 or Judge R4 .. 
