Oxford (Said) 2013 - Calling All Applicants

Leftcoastguy, I did not apply last year. Sorry for the bit of confusion, when I mentioned my "previous interview" I was referring to an interview I had with another school a couple weeks ago (Cass, via phone). That interview seemed primarily focused on my CV, asking for more detail about a few bullet points, skills I have acquired in my professional life, etc.

Also, I think we're in similar positions regarding deposit deadlines. I have an offer from Cass with a deadline at the end of November. I've already decided that if I am accepted at Oxford I would attend there over Cass, but obviously I am not going risk being left with nothing if I'm ding'd by Said. Searching through the forums for people in similar situations, the general consensus seems to be you either pay the deposit at the school with the early deadline knowing you may have to forfeit it, and/or ask that school for a deadline extension. Asking for an early decision from Oxford seems to be a no-no and far riskier than asking the first school for a slight extension. The December 7th deadline seems to be the latest we will hear, though, they may send out decisions as the committee goes along. Congrats on Cambridge by the way!

jason12e, you should receive a decision email regardless, there are no "implied dings" (to invent a very silly phrase). I'm basing this on a video from one of their MBA Virtual Open Days where they go through the application process. I'm nearly certain the presenter said everyone who applies will receive a formal decision, whether it is an invite to interview or a ding (or an acceptance offer / ding for those that are interviewed).

Leftcoastguy- thanks for the insight! Oxford definitely sounds like a wonderful place to earn an MBA- good luck on your interview!

Had my interview - in person. Was much tougher than I expected. Got questions on environment, foreign policy and even industries that I have no exposure to apart from the usual Why Oxford / Why MBA / Why You questions!

My start was a bit shaky but I ended strongly, so lets wait and watch!

I also had mine today via Skype. Was pretty short, 25 minutes. The usual questions altogether, so nothing unexpected.

Had my interview today. Most questions were standard but a couple of them were meant to knock me off balance. I hope I did OK. At the end, I had a great conversation about where the interviewer saw Saïd in the context of the current financial crisis and where it is going. Don't tell Insead but Oxford is my top choice

Sounds like we're all doing well with our interviews; hopefully we can repeat the success of last year's GMATClubbers where 23 of 29 members who were interviewed were admitted, including 10 of 13 in R1.

had my interview today via skype. First impression - WOW . Totally relaxed interview. The interview was all about understanding the candidate, the thinking process, the soft skills, moral values, business values, why said, why now,some behavioral questions, etc..........

Just curious, at the fag end I was asked whether I am comfortable with the decision announced on 9 Dec or I want it early. I replied I am cool with the deadline. What to make of this unexpected question??

Amen

Thanks for the update and good to know your interview went well. I'm pleasantly surprised they asked you about the early decision. It probably has to do with the fact that for those of us that have been accepted elsewhere, the date by which we need to accept/decline the offer is before Dec 9th. There are at least two of us here in that situation so it's very considerate of them to accomodate us.

I got an email saying that the decision will be communicated on Dec 7? How come the Dec 9 date is now being mentioned??

I received a similar email this week after my interview confirming the 7th, perhaps the December 9th date was a typo in the post or the interviewer misspeaking? Personally, I would trust the website and our confirmation emails that we will receive our decisions by the 7th.

It was good to meet some of you this Monday. I will be there around lunch time, if you are coming for an interview on 3rd December. Send me a PM with your name and I will come find you.

I have to run to a class, but I wanted to post this short blurb that I have been meaning to for a while.

Someone I know was asking me the other day, how would I differentiate Oxford. All of you have done your research and must have found many things about this place. Instead of rehashing some of those things again here, perhaps a personal story would help.

I am from retail industry. I did technology architecture and marketing for one of the big-box US stores (>$50B revenue, 2000 stores). I wanted to change function and possibly geography post my MBA. So, business development, strategy for a retailer in SE Asia was my in career goals essay. I knew perhaps consulting in the short term will end up being the bridge to this geography and function change.

After arriving at Oxford, I met people all backgrounds (energy trading, marketing, finance, consulting to name just a few). I went to company presentations and networked with alumni that came to visit the campus in the first few weeks. Goal was to find out what they did in their previous lives and what does it "really" look like working in their industries.

Starting my own venture was a long term goal. I neither had an idea, nor the risk appetite (at least I had convinced myself so) to start my own company. While signing up for the OBN (clubs), I signed up for the Entrepreneurship OBN and met few whose primary and sole goal was to be able to start their own ventures right after MBA.

In the mean time, an opportunity came up to be associated with a friend (not a classmate at Said) who is starting up his own venture. I started working full time. Developing business plans, making pitch decks, preparing marketing plans and go-to market strategy. In the process, I met many VCs and understood how this all works. Let me remind you this is all within the first few weeks of arriving here. One thing I noticed in the process, I was thoroughly enjoying myself. Whatever new I was learning in my classes or from interactions with classmates, I was applying in real world.

Then came a week of big turning points. In one week I heard a debate between Peter Thiel, Gary Kasparov and Mark Shuttleworth (google/wiki the names if you are unfamiliar). The same week, I heard from Elon Musk. He is a mad man. The world needs more crazy men like him. A week later, I had this career coaching session for consulting. As part of preparing for interviews, the speaker (alum, ex BCG and now independent consultant) asked us to define a future version of us based only on what our passions were and what we thought we will enjoy most. Guess what, my new definition of my new future only had me as an entrepreneur.

Then a week later came the Silicon Valley Comes to Oxford, with people like Andrew McCullum (Facebook) and Peter Chung (Partner, NEA) among others. The talks, interactions, one-on-one mentoring only made that conviction stronger.

If that wasn't enough, yesterday, Mohammed Younus came to Said. There are no words to describe this man and his speech.

So, here I am, 8 weeks later. I have only one goal now - to start a technology venture that addresses a global problem. The idea is crazier than the ambitions behind it. May be that's more so reason why I am so passionate about it. I have closed doors on all other career paths.

I don't think this transformation would have come about anywhere else in the world. This place helps you find who you truly are. That is worth every penny in tuition. You only have to reach out and soak in.

Cheers -
Sanjuro

PS: During a formal dinner, I was seated across Dean Tufano. The guest next to him (CTO of a global consulting company) asked, "so what's great about Said". Dean Tufano said ask my students. I told the guest, things outside of Said are worth 90% of what Said is, the classes, students and professors make up for the rest 10%. :D

How come you got this e-mail? I did not get anything. :S

I am not sure why you didn't receive the confirmation email. I got it the day after my interview, did you do yours via Skype (as I did) or in person? It seemed like a standard "Thank you for your interview, we will be in touch by December 7th with the Admissions Committee's decision" response. Did you receive an email when they received your academic transcript in the mail? I had my sent directly from my university's registrar, so I was glad to hear everything made it to the UK without a problem

There was some miscommunication at my interview regarding the paper transcripts. Anyway, I am mailing them the paper copy as of now to reach before the decision deadline. One question though - why ask for paper transcripts for candidates who are not confirmed? I thought policy was to ask for the original transcripts AFTER you have been offered admission. What will seeing the paper transcripts help them with?

Hey
I got a similar email 2 days after my interview. I had taken my original transcripts to my interview as per their instructions but the interviewer did not ask for them. 2 days later they emailed and asked me to send the originals or a certified copy by mail. I have sent those and dhl tracking tells me that they have been delivered, however I haven't gotten a confirmation from them yet.

I was thinking the same thing that it does not make sense for them to ask me to send smth by mail when they have to reject me at the end. But you never know with universities. If this is the part of the procedure then they have to follow it no matter what. The application guide on sbs website says that original transcript will be required from all those to whom the call for interview is made. I am not getting my hopes high yet! it could all be part of the process.

I also had to send the certified copies. I don't see any point is this either. Why the extra cost if I'm not admitted in the end? I took it for some kind of Oxford eccentricity... LBS and IE didn't ask for anything.
By the way, a quick question: how do you see the quality of career service in Oxford? I heard that this is the weak point there even if the 89% placement rate for 2011 does seem to be OK. Also why only 14% of students do an internship? Is this connected to the poor quality of career service, namely that on-campus recruiting is weak there? I would think that an internship is a major attraction for every MBA student...