Sorry for the delay -
@ramanathanblue - I really don't think the number of seats should be your biggest concern since the schools don’t have any set number of offers to give per round. Each school (IMO&E) decides by the quality of candidates which apply per round. The general consensus is that with each round it tends to get more competitive as each school starts to look for MBA candidates which are unique to round the class. In regards to our last year's MBA graduating class, I am not a 100% sure. With Oxford's one year MBA program we never really get an opportunity to have a "handover" time. When we start our classes, they are all almost gone to bigger and better things. In regards to exact employment numbers, I have neither really asked nor had any time to do the research. It has been a FULL-ON year thus far ...
@marlow4 - Two most important things you need to start reading in my opinion:- The Economist and FT. Quant isn't really that important as you will pick up what is necessary in classes and among your class mates however it’s good to know what's going on in the general business world... More so since certain discussions will take up place in class and if you come from a non-standard background you may find it completely over your head.
@alnasl - I am not familiar with that particular text book but if you feel quite anxious drop me a PM and I'll send you the textbooks which we used for Mich term.
@rishiphadke - Recruitment is on everyone's mind and it is definitely significantly better than previous years (and not as good as the golden age, of course). As mentioned earlier, I have not yet seen any final number for placements for the previous year. I do know that for Internships/SCPs wise we almost always have MORE SCPs then groups. Internships-wise - for at least the folks who are interested in internships... they have been successful whether with Ralph Lauren, Google, Shell etc.
Recruitment-wise I can only really speak from my mates' experiences and my gut feeling tells me it’s on the way up. I myself am currently in the recruitment process for three companies in 3 different industries but I am currently leaning towards starting my own venture rather than hitting the rat race immediately.
One thing people keep forgetting is that in most top b-schools you tend to have some amazing brains and personalities in your class and most often than not, it’s these people, who help you talk to the right people from their past lives which might get you your dream job.
Something which might shock some of you is that I know of IBs/consultant from Goldman Sachs and Mckinseys at Said who have no intention of going back to their old jobs but will gladly share contacts with their classmates and obviously make them wary of their lifestyles.
-sumidi