In my admission interview for LBS, the high-class private equity alumus stated that he considers that 30% of his MBA benefits represented the knowledge, 30% the networking opportunities with alumni and fellow colleagues and the rest ... daily interactions with another 300 brilliant minds with different ideas and visions of world. These interactions were for him a real "life change experience".



Personally, I prefer to have in my class humble guys that recognise that real-life experience shared by their colleagues worths more that a fancy paper degree and guys mature enough to understand that the "useful stuff" can be found in any advanced paper in finance, operations, strategy and so on - it does not justify to pursue an MBA, it's enough to learn alone and eventually to pass exams to obtain professional degrees.
The job perspectives are proportional with one's level of knowledge, skills and working experience, with or without an MBA. The MBA is just the icing on the cake - the chance to enrich with others' experiences in different environments, the networking opportunities to climb on the ladder faster and the brand stamp on the resume that gives more credibility to previous achievements.

I think they might have given you too much Bschool Koolaid. Business school is hardly a very intellectual endeavour, so I would be surprised if many brilliant minds end up there, at least I haven't met any. It's really just a short one year course with lots of activities and job advise, so I hope you're not disappointed in the end.

BTW MBAs are generally derided by other academic faculties as intellectual lightweights so I hope you are not expecting to impress anyone with your MBA degree!

Update - I've just heard that SBS 2009 report will be released in late July - August.

BW threads

*runs and hides*

All Oxford admits, how long did it take for you to get the CAS issued after submission of the financial guarantee? I think one can apply for the Visa not more than 3 months before the start of the course and it's about time now. I'm still waiting for my CAS..

Mine was issued very quickly after I accepted my offer of a college place. This was some time after the financial guarantee, though, because the colleges don't start looking at your file until that guarantee is in. Then they offer you a place, and once you accept it officially then SBS does the CAS.

Yes, I've been accepted at a college and it's been 5 days since they started processing the CAS. How long do they usually take and by when should I press the panic button and send them a reminder?

All CAS recepients, what is the start date of the course indicated on the CAS? I'm still waiting for mine, but the visa applications for courses starting in October are still not being accepted. Since the induction is on 29th September, have they mentioned that date on the CAS or the date on which classes actually begin (i.e. Oct)?

It says:

Programme Start date: 09-OCT-2010
Programme Start/ Re-start Date: 29-SEP-2010

As I understand the fine print, the "Start/Re-Start date" is to specify that our programme starts 29 September, so the visa should take that into account. I was planning on starting the visa application next week, since by my reckoning we'll be within the three month period after tomorrow.

Thanks for the reply. I was checking on whether I need to start panicking 'cos of the delay in my CAS and looks like maybe I should the 3 month period starts tomorrow then and though I have organised the other documents, I can't take an appointment for the visa application without the CAS. Maybe I'll call up my admissions coordinator today to find out why it's taking so long.

That's probably a good idea, but I wouldn't worry too much: I think it takes them about 5 minutes to get your CAS done (I got an e-mail one day asking to confirm all my details were correct, replied it was ok, and then got my CAS a few minutes later). I would bet that there's just some slow communication between your college and SBS that is holding things up.

No reason to panic, though. Getting the CAS is probably the most painless part of the whole application process!

marlow, you were right.....there was some delay in the college/SBS coordination. I called up the college and then they processed the financial guarantee....then called up SBS the following day and received my CAS by the evening. So will apply for the visa on Monday....have you applied already? And what is the start date you plan to put on the visa application form? 29th Sept/9th oct?

I'll probably get started on mine this weekend. There is a good thread on the Google Group (link through the iSBS forum to get access) with a lot of details discussed, but I haven't read through it closely yet as I haven't started.

Update 2 - The (first part of) SBS 2009 report is out.

Wow, SBS 77% employed; JBS 90% employed, 3 months out. What a difference. Wonder why? Didn't top American schools also display scores in 70s and 80s? How come such a high number of JBS students managed to get employed?

Hello Folks,

Just a few comments.

- Don't worry about placements in 2009. It was an exceptionally bad year. 77% is good, although ALL b-school career reports are marketing material - no more no less. Do your primary research, and secondary research.

- This year looks relatively much better. It's hard to jump as far as one could in say 2006, but placements are looking good and there is lots of recruitment activity.

- For those coming into MBA programs, make sure that you do the ground work before you get to your MBA. Speak to recruiters, make connections in your chosen industries, work on your CVs and build your personal brand!

- For those wanting to go into iBanking and Consulting, focus and prepare even harder. These firms come to campus really early


and lastly, if you are like me, just try new and different things in your MBA. You'll meet some amazing people, and weird and wonderful opportunities will open up. Make sure you are around to snap those opportunities up.

Good luck!

Thanks buffdaddy! May I ask where you ended up? Did you do a summer internship or did you find a permanent job? Or do something completely different? I'm curious to hear since the last time we met it was February and you were still so immersed in the curriculum... things must look like a whole new world to you now.

Hello Annae!,

Still deliberating between a couple of opportunities...hopefully will have made a decision come October. It's a difficult decision, kind of like being accepted at multiple schools for the MBA.

Hi,

for the essay "Which recent development, world event or book has most influenced your thinking and why?"

I'm planning to write about a book on Spirituality which influenced me. It's a book (available only through my organization) written by my Guru, whom I follow regularly.

The influences I'm planning to write is:

How important it is to "realize the self"
Ability to regulate thoughts
Opportunities to travel and learn new things
Circle of Influence Vs Circle of Concern (My Guru also told this in a different way)
Importance of work-life balance

Please let me know if these points are appropriate for the response expected by Said.

Thanks in adv.
Skyscraper.

This is my profile guys:

25 years/Male/Trinidadian
Undergrad: B.Sc. Management Studies (Minor in Finance), The University of The West Indies
Upper Second Class Honours (GPA 3.23)
Currently Pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Supply Chain Management from ASU (GPA 4.0)
Total Work Experience: 5 years (Graduate Research 2, Finance 1, Oil & Gas 2)
Currently working at a multinational Oil & Gas Company (BP)
GMAT: 690 (q45,v40)

I would appreciate any comments on my chances at Cambridge or Oxford.