Oxford (Said) 2012 - Calling All Applicants

Hi,

I am making the MBA application on-line for Oxford.
The on-line system seems to complain the missing "Employed To" information in the Current Employment section. I left it empty, year, month and date, because my current employment has no ending date.

Has any one experienced the same problem?

Cheers
Benzene

All the best. I am also applying for R2. Started the essays. On-line Application seems to be very very long.

I have done my Masters from US, attended 30 credits worth of courses. Do i have to take TOEFL / IELTS before submitting my apps in R2?

I would like to submit a brief statement with my application regarding some extenuating circumstances which impacted my undergraduate GPA. I've already submitted two applications to other schools, but those applications had space for additional information or an optional essay.

Has anyone else submitted additional information? Should I email my regions admissions rep to ask?

I read the instructions and it is mentioned as follows:
If you are inserting details of current employment and you do not have a definitive date on which this will end please enter the 1st of September of the year you wish to apply in the ‘Date Employed To’ section.

So, if you are applying for 2012, it should be 1st September, 2012.

Hello,

I am R2 applicant. I'm not sure what the word "Recent" means in Essay 2.
Can I mention about an incident that happened about three years ago but whose effect is still continuing ? can this be called "Recent".

Can people who have been admitted in R1 reply on how they interpreted the word "recent" ?

Many thanks.

I had the same thoughts myself when I was writing my essay a few weeks back. My event was last year, so that was pretty clear cut for me. I think it really depends on how you explain it, I don't think they are going to be too picky about that event and when it happened, as long as you justify why it is so important (vs new developments) and how it changed your thinking...

Btw, just wondering what people are thinking of the various Colleges? I'm tempted to chose one because it was the set of the Harry Potter movie, I mean come on! who wouldn't want to study at Hogwarts!
But somewhere inside, i'm thinking that just not the right reason.

HAHAHHAAH! I know which one you are talking about! Christ Church, yes?

Hi Everyone,

I've promised to give a debrief of my Admitted Student Welcome Day experience from this past weekend, so here it is.

The event started at 130PM with a casual buffet style luncheon (mostly sandwiches) with current students. The Program Director gave a nice opening speech that was very inspiring. The current students were friendly and quite candid with their experiences at the school. It was interesting to see what a diverse group it was (in terms of nationality and industries). About 10 (?) admitted students attended the event, with most of them from the US, and a few Brits and Euros.

After the luncheon, one of the coordinators took us on a walking tour of the school facilities. The building is very modern and well equipped (and this is comparing from experience when I used to attend Columbia University and used the Columbia business school's facilities often -- CBS also has great facilities, and Oxford is no less).

After, we had one-hour presentation sessions each with Admissions (went over logistics, post-offer questions, etc), Career (went over employment statistics, support structure, etc), and Alumi Relations. Each of the presentation sessions was very informative. Admissions went over practical matters such as student visa, payments, college selection process (this seems to be the most anxiety-inducing issue for everyone) -- this is especially great because a lot of questions are easier to answer in person rather than over email.

The Career session was very useful. The career services director broke down the process and resources available to students. There was also a "sector consultant" present at the session. Sector Consultants are people with deep knowledge of specific industries and are currently working in those industries. They are available to meet with students (on appointment basis) to help mentor and give advice to students. This gave me a lot of confidence about the career support. The director was also very realistic and honest about the job search challenges for those who are looking to switch countries, functions, and roles.

After these sessions, the staff introduced an alum panel. About 10 alum in the London area came in to meet with us. Their achievements were really impressive -- most of them are in the fiance industry, two in consulting, one in nonprofit, and one who is a general manager (in charge of the strategy division) for a law firm. This was the meat of the welcome day. Staff excused themselves from the room so admitted students may ask whatever questions they wanted. The alum unanimously described their experiences at Oxford as unforgettable because you are part of such an incredible institution -- you gain much more than just business knowledge and network -- it's a life experience that you'll not get anywhere else. They also gave practical advice and candid answers to some of the questions that were asked. One of the attendees asked about whether the ranking of SBS affected their abilities to compete with other b school graduates (the unspoken question probably was whether LBS or INSEAD graduates had an edge over them). I think the alum's achievements speak for themselves. There was someone who was in the risk analysis division of bank of america. Another who is doing investment banking. The takeaway I got from one of the alum's answer is that at the end of the day, the school name can only get your foot in the door with the interview, you are the only person who can actually get the job. And SBS has certainly gotten each of them through the door.

Later, the day concluded with cocktail event and dinner service at Trinity College. The dean, additional staff, alum and more current students joined this event to meet with admitted students. This intimate setting enabled me to get to know more people and assess their experiences at Oxford.

Oxford itself is such a vibrant town. You can feel the energy as you walk through the streets and see all the students milling about. The history and grandeur of the buildings transports you to another dimension and you can't help but feel inspired to be a part of this university.

Overall, I was really impressed. Prior to the event, I was on the fence about waiting for a decision from INSEAD and LBS. After the event, I am now 100% committed to attend Oxford. I believe it gives me the best bang for the buck, and I cannot wait to spend the next year with an amazing group of people!

Hi enkie

Thank you very much for sharing your experience at SBS Open day.
It is very informative and good to know, before making that final decision.

Thanks again for summing up for those who couldn't attend the event.

You got me! Buy honestly i agree with your description of the Oxford in general, when i visited last summer, i loved the school, building and the whole town was great. Really felt like you were part of a wonderful institution. Almost every college has amazing buildings. I'm just not sure how to compare and choose.

You mentioned they had spoken to you guys about it, any insights you would like to share?

Hi

I was wondering if anyone knows about the deadline with precision of hour?

I know the deadline is 20th Jan, but is it 23:59 GMT on 20th Jan or COP (rought 17:00 GMT). You can of course take a guess that I am running late and would like to squeeze out a few hours.

Cheers!

No problem, it was my pleasure! Please PM me if you have questions.

I would go with what is on the Website. If I remember correctly (please check official source though), it was 5PM GMT, NOT midnight.

Well, all the alums had a great time at whatever colleges of their choice. One of the current students say don't choose Green Templeton, only because it's so modern and it's the default if you can't get in the other colleges (since GT accepts like 70 MBAs a year). I made a list of things that were important to me, and in the end I chose Merton.

Things that were important to me:
- College has both undergraduate and graduate (an alum told me that undergrads are the heart of the college, with sports, etc -- so it's great to be able to attend all the games and feel part of the community)
- Money (the richer the college is, the better the facilities and prices are -- because the college heavily subsidize the cost -- also, richer colleges have better grants and scholarships for travel and books)
- History (i wanted an OXFORD exp -- and that's being part of an older college that has lots of history)
- Food (Merton has reputation of having the best food)

The risk with applying to Merton and the other VERY well known colleges (St John, Balliol, Magdaleon, Christ CHurch) is that they are very selective and take only 1 - 3 MBAs a year, so the competition is fierce. Oxford staff said that if your GMAT doesn't begin with a 7, it probably isn't worth applying to one of the top 5, as they review your academic record quite rigorously. Other colleges will offer an equally rich experience. Also, staff mentioned that if you apply to one of the top 5 and didn't get in, they will not submit your app to the other 4, as they all have the same standard. (BTW, i dont know if this is really true and if they really care that much about GMAT -- i dont want to inadvertently discourage you. I am just repeating what the staff said. I think if you got into Oxford, your app must have been compelling, and the colleges look at the whole app too. I think you should go with WHATEVER COLLEGE you want. The staff will work with you on second choice if somehow the first didnt work out. My GMAT score is good but not great, and I am going to shoot for Merton anyway and see what happens)

My second choice after Merton is Jesus College -- because it seems like a very tight knit community and is at the heart of city centre. They are also known for Rugby (i want to attend the games)!!

I've checked the website, but couldn't find the time anywhere.

Then you need to contact admissions to find out for sure. Information from any of us will not be official.

Wow, thanks for sharing this. Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to attend the event, sounds like a great experience.
Anyway, regarding the choice between LBS and Oxford, I can say that I for example was admitted in both schools, and chose in favor of Said. So, I'm looking forward to meeting you there.