submitted oxford apps. my recommendor completed his reco only today. I saw him give top 5% for 4 out of 7 items and 1% for rest 3. I thought that adds a lot of value as it shows that its a balanced reference and not biased....

i also had problems with pdf but the tech support confirmed it is just an issue with ths pdf version

Another applicant for Oxford Said MBA for R2. Managed to submit it on time.

Good luck to all applicants.

Anyone know how Oxford feels about older students? I am in my late 30s and I was rejected at a top European school. This school has pushed the Exec MBA to me. I did the assessment with IMD and they flat out said I'm too old! (IMD pushed its Exec MBA program as well.)

Does anyone have thoughts on this? I want to apply to Oxford but decided not to at the last moment when I saw that the age range for the 2008 class was 25-34 with an average age of 29.

The rub is that I have only 7 years of work experience. It took me nearly a decade to complete my ugrad degree because I had to support my family and pay for my education. I'm not sure what to do. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I think that's unfair treatment. Late thirties shouldn't be to old for a good MBA education. Are you sure you really explained your situation well in the application essays, pleading for them to understand that in your case your work experience equals that of a younger one? I couldn't believe they would view you as a "lost cause" or "less potential" because you have 5-10 years less career time until retirement.

I'm sure you're aware of that many MBAs in Europe have 5-7 years of work experience as a prerequisite. Couldn't you just mail Oxford adcom and ask them, explaining your situation?

I'd second that. It really sounds unfair... if you want to study full-time, show the enthusiasm and are ready to "gel-in" with the younger crowd, age shouldn't be a ground for reject I was under the impression that eMBA is targeted towards sr. executives with 10-15yrs of experience, so their pushing the eMBA also doesn't make sense (just based on age?)
The adcom looks for a good fit with the study group and also post graduation placements. I'm towards the upper range of the "average age" also, but trying to make a new beginning and thus don't mind starting from lower rungs in the industry after graduation. So hope not to get dinged on the basis of age!

You're right it is unfair but I can see why the schools look at age. I'm sure the concern is over placement. The question I'm sure they ask is would this guy be tough to place? My conclusion is that there are two issues holding me back: one issue is my age (will be 39 at the beginning of a program) and the other issue is my work history. I was an entrepreneur for 5 of the nearly 7 years of my work history. As for your situation gmattokyo, I'm sure that you are fine. I think if I was 5 years younger (33-34) I would be fine as well.

Here's what one top European school stated in an email to me:

"The average age of our MBA participants is 31 and more than 80% of the class falls in the range of 27 - 34. Although a candidate outside this range with exceptionally strong international work experience, career progression, interpersonal skills and recommendations may be considered for admission, I would recommend that you investigate our Executive MBA program (EMBA) which may be more suitable to your level of experience."

I took Annae's advice and emailed Oxford. We'll see what they have to say. I may end up doing a part-time or executive mba here in the states and then try to make the transition to international markets if nothing works out for me. I've been getting all kinds of stuff from the top exec. programs as well as part-time programs.

Let this be a lesson to all .... if you want an mba make sure to do it early in your career. Life moves quickly and before you know it you'll be my age! Haha!

question -

worth applying to Said in R3?

i'm international, been us-based for 7 years now since got my undergrad from here, have a sub 700 gmat, and work in nonprofit management.

anyone knows the interview rate for JBS? unable to find any sources...

this forum doesn't let me to post websites yet, you can find the info from business week...
it says 27% including admitted and denied applicants

I've understood that if you get interviewed by JBS your chances are very good. The rumor is that they admit most of the ones interviewed. And that's why it's frustrating to hang on the waitlist.

I think you are correct... From the stats, it says 23% got accepted... and 27% got interviewed... so most people who got an interview did get in...

good luck Annae... it's better to be on the waitlist than get a straight reject... there's always hope!

thanks blueyan and annae!

blueyan: are u a JBS applicant?

hope something good comes out of all these tiring apps...

hi boeinz...u r welcome

a question to all the JBS mailing list subscribers... I signed up online a long long time ago but I didn't receive anything from them... I wonder if my email account has problem or JBS does not send anything out?

I think I've got one reminder from JBS, regarding the next rounds, and that was after I submitted my application, so a general one. The mailing list isn't that active, and they're probably busy with R3 applications right now.

yup, the mailing list thingy is pretty inactive...

Thanks for confirming... good to know that it's not my email's problem.
I received tons of emails from other universities after I signed up for the MBA tour and also another university that I wanted to apply for... I guess JBS's marketing strategy isn't as aggressive as other universities...

Boeinz,
I can finally post URLs, FYI if you still need the stats about JBS
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/ra ... ridge.html

thanks blueyan, its really helpful

2010 financial times ranking is out... a little bit disappointed....

http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolra ... a-rankings

74% employed in 3 months as compared to 95% in Cranfield
HKUST, ISB and Chinese university 90%+ figures would be due to the regional advantage, but why is Oxford so much behind other European schools on placement?

I spoke to someone at Hult IBS, which is a 100% international business school with around 90 nationalities each year. They said that their employment rate (now and before the meltdown) after 3 months has always been a little lower statistically because international students need time to move around or back home and to find a job. If you look at their employment levels after 6 months they're up to good numbers. Perhaps this could be the case also with Oxford? More foreign students compared to Cranfield, who need time to relocate and begin with their work?