Saїd Business School – University of Oxford

Wow - what a great post!
Had not I been admitted already I'd applied again

count me along

What about the placement scenarios for international students? Who are the major recruiters there?

Unfortunately, I don’t have detailed information on that – perhaps, current students could be more of help here.

But according to what I heard, job placement statistics was not very good this year, to say the least. It seems that the recruiters still come and do the presentations at school, but, with the limited number of positions opened, competition for them has become really severe.

During the open day, we were warned not to have too high expectations: i.e., if we consider ‘industry, location, job function’- factors, only one switch at a time was said to be realistic (two if you’re really lucky and have a strong career story, and all three almost impossible). Career service will try to help you, but don’t expect miracles: on-campus recruiting accounts for about only one-third of the placements. Judging from the experience of previous years students, the majority of job offers are got through personal networking/own activity.

Also, Said placements up to the last year were traditionally strong in finance sector (up to 40%), but now it’s certainly going to change.

I'd like to contribute to this thread, in support of Buffdaddy’s wonderful initiative - and decided to tell a few words about Oxford colleges. As what was intended to be a mini-FAQ appeared to be quite long, I thought it would be better not to overburden the first post in this thread and so am posting here.

Feel free to ask more questions if necessary!

***

Colleges – Some Questions Answered

Accepting an offer from SBS and having paid the deposit do not mean that the admission process is over… not yet! You probably know that Oxford is a ‘collegiate university’ – which means it is a federation of autonomous educational institutes, called ‘colleges’ – and, in order to become a full member of Oxford University, a student needs to become a member of one of the colleges.

What? Another admission?
There’s no need to worry: if you have been accepted by SBS, you are guaranteed a place at one of the colleges. Theoretically, you could choose not to bother at all, as you will definitely end at one of them. Still, it may be better to take over the initiative here – especially since Oxford, compared to Cambridge, allows its MBA admits greater control over the college selection process – even if your MBA-related experience usually doesn’t depend so much on your college, you overall Oxford experience probably will.

What is a ‘college’?
College (originally meaning ‘group of people living together under common laws’) is a sort of academic community. It provides its students with various resources: accommodation, meal, sporting and social facilities, teaching (however, the latter matters to undergraduate students mostly, and not to MBAs – we have all our teaching supervised by SBS) and so on.

While all being a part of the University of Oxford, colleges are fully independent legal entities. Each has its own history - some date back to 13th century, some are of quite recent formation - and they may noticeably wary in culture and traditions, as well as in size, wealth and the range of facilities provided.

Does it matter to my MBA degree which college I belong to?
No. The degrees are awarded by University, not by the colleges. The quality or style of teaching (for MBAs) does not depend on colleges either – as was mentioned before, MBA students have all their teaching supervised by SBS.

Does a college have a particular academic subject associated with it?
Not exactly. College is not the same as department, and accepts students reading for a variety of subjects. Not all subjects, however, are accepted by all colleges, and some colleges prefer to concentrate in specific subjects or areas (this focus can be seen in number of students reading for a particular subject accepted) – so we can say that each college has a sort of its own academic ‘profile’ or academic ‘tradition’.

MBA students are currently accepted by the vast majority of the colleges; full list is available at SBS site. The largest number of MBAs are taken by Green Templeton College (the newest Oxford college), and so it has the strongest association with MBA course.

How does the college admission process work?
Currently, prospective students apply to SBS via online application form. This form has a section allowing applicants to select two most preferable colleges. If the application to the MBA programme was successful and a student has decided to accept the offer, this application is forwarded to the colleges (but not earlier the deposit has been paid!) – first to the college of first preference and, if unsuccessful there, to the second one.

Very often, students don’t do serious research on the colleges at the time of their MBA application and may put some random colleges there. Good news: it is still possible to change your preferences later, after getting an admit, but you need to inform MBA coordinator about this as soon as possible.

How do colleges choose whom to offer a place?
The criteria upon which colleges decide whether or not offer a membership to a candidate are, in most cases, unknown and wary from college to college: some prefer sports achievers, some academically inclined students, and so on. SBS admission staff has no control on this process and often have no clue about these selection criteria either. Still, in some cases they can advise you if you have a chance at a particular college.

It may be useful to know that most ‘grand and old’ colleges accept only very small number of MBAs – no more than four or five – so, if you apply in later rounds or delayed with your deposit, some of them will be already full.

So, which college is the best?
As you might have guessed, there is no simple answer to such a question. It all depends on which qualities you prioritise and what exactly you expect from your Oxford experience.

However, there are several typical preferences that occur most often:

‘Most grand and famous college’
In major opinion, the most popular and famous ones are Christ Church, Balliol and Magdalen. Christ Church’s desirability grew even higher recently because of Harry Potter association (yes, this is where Hogwarts was filmed…). Magdalen is often considered ‘the most beautiful of Oxford colleges’.

‘Old and ‘historical’ college’
A common desire of those who wants ‘the authentic Oxford experience’. There are quite a lot of old colleges, including the famous ‘mainstream’ trio mentioned above. Here’s the list of those that take MBAs, by centuries:

Founded in 13th century: Balliol, Merton, Hertford, St Edmund Hall; 14th century: Exeter, New College, Oriel, Queen’s; 15th century: Lincoln, Magdalen; 16th century: Brasenose, Christ Church, Corpus Christi, Jesus, St John’s, Trinity; 17th century: Pembroke, Wadham; 18th century: Harris Manchester, Worcester.

‘Good college accommodation’
Not all colleges offer accommodation, and even at greater number of them it’s on ‘first come, first served’ basis. Still, for some colleges, situation tends to be better. Green Templeton seems to be one of the best in this aspect.

There could be other factors of choice, such as ‘near SBS’, ‘good sporting facilities’, ‘more traditional/more easy-going’, ‘good food’, ‘pretty gardens’ and so on. Anyways, it is advisable to prioritise all factors in order of importance to you, and then make a choice. Or, if you don’t have time for college researching – you could simply tell about your priorities to the MBA coordinator and ask her for advice.

What else?
If you liked college researching, you might consider exploring these links:

SBS site:
https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/MBA/Select+a+college.htm
Oxford University site (info for graduate students):
https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/postgraduate_courses/college_guide/index.html
Wiki article about Oxford colleges:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colleges_of_the_University_of_Oxford
Oxford colleges pros and cons (less formal opinions):
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Oxford_College_Pros_and_Cons

And a bit of non-serious stuff: college selector quiz (for undergraduates, but still might be interesting to try):
https://www.selectsmart.com/plus/select.php?url=OXCOLLS

My college choices are :
(100%) 1: Christ Church (1546)
(90%) 2: Magdalen College (1458)
(89%) 3: New College (1379)
(86%) 4: Lincoln College (1427)
(86%) 5: University College (1249)

Damn you Oxford people stop selling the school so much

Hmmm.... Green Oak... am sure the University would offer you honorary membership , if they knew your in-depth knowledge of the university.

Kudos!!! Keep it up.

amazing initiative buff, and u have set the bar 2 high. let me try to contribute my 2 cents


Oxford Said in different ratings:

BW 2008 international schools: rank 10
Economist intelligence unit 2008: 27
Wall street journal 2007: 23(rating by recruiters)
FT Gloabl rating 2009:20
FT Global rating2008: 19
FT Global rating 2007:19
FT global 2006 Rating:20

In general Said is considered to be a top 10 European school and a top 25 Global school

Interesting info abt the school...

for those who want to learn more abt the wonder that is SBS...

It dates back to almost 4 years back... costs and student strength are as according...

A vision of functional modernity, the building, by the architects Sir Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones, dominates the station environs. In the cavernous entrance foyer, a newly installed bust of Wafic Said, the Syrian businessman, stares out at the business school that his largesse made possible.

A relative latecomer to the MBA, Said Business School has big ambitions. But can it compete with the best Europe and America has to offer? In his ample office, Anthony Hopwood, the dean, looks pleased with himself, as well he might. He has recently recovered from cancer, and is clearly enjoying a new lease of life. “We’ve been doing really rather well,” he says.

The Oxford MBA is now ranked 25th in the world, up ten places in two years. At £26,000, the full-time MBA is top-rated as value for money. For a school formed only in 1996 that is a major achievement, especially given the problematic start. Hopwood inherited a crisis.

His predecessor, the outspoken economist John Kay, who was inaugural dean, resigned in frustration at the archaic university decision-making apparatus and a restrictive salary structure. Hopwood was seen as a safe — if not especially dynamic — replacement. He has proved his critics wrong.

“We’ve come a long way since then,” he says. In two crucial areas he has excelled: recruiting top talent and fundraising. Both are vital to support the school’s strategy.

Hopwood’s vision is of an academic core surrounded by a ring of practical, applied forums. Unlike its Cambridge rival, the Judge Institute, Hopwood presents Said as an integrated part of Oxford University, something that sets it apart from Europe's other top business schools. Members of Said faculty are affiliated to a college and most have teaching duties at that college.

To support its academic aspirations, Said has succeeded in attracting top talent, both among students and faculty. It has 174 full-time MBA students from more than 40 countries. Said regards Insead, which also offers a one-year MBA, as its competitor.

In the battle to attract top staff, Said has done well. Recent appointments include Douglas Holt, L’Oréal professor of marketing, poached from Harvard; Marc Ventresca, a lecturer in strategy and organisation, previously at Kellogg; and Victor Seidel, a lecturer in entrepreneurship who joined Said from Stanford.

Hopwood chairs all the faculty selection panels. So has he smashed the university's problematic pay structure, or simply ignored it? “Neither,” he says, “the university has become more flexible but we’ve still got a way to go.” The second part of his strategy involves creating a series of practical forums around the core. That takes money. Fundraising is something UK business schools struggle with, even those that have imported deans from the US. Yet, Hopwood has delivered. According to the Philanthropy in Europe magazine, Oxford was the top business school in Europe for fundraising last year.

Even allowing for Wafic Said’s hefty £23 million contribution, Said has done well. “In all, we’ve raised in excess of £65 million,” Hopwood says. “Some 12 to 15 per cent of our annual income comes from endowments and donations. That’s about half what a top American school would have but it is a good start for a European business school.”

Said has established a series of specialised centres. These include the Skoll Centre for Social Enterpreneurship, and the Clifford Chance Centre for professional services.

London Business School and Insead are generally accepted as Europe's two leading business schools, but several schools have a claim on third place. Oxford might just be the one to seize the position

Thought of adding the placement report. though this is the 2008 report (for the class of 2007). but the attatchment size is bigger(3.8 MB) than allowed by the forum(2 MB). mods please increase the limit.

You have a PM

Hey guys,

Here's a link to the document:

https://gmatclub.com/static/files/2008pl ... oxford.pdf

I had a doubt on FT rankings on Said. In 2008 Said was 19 globally, Surprisingly it was also ranked 19 in European B schools by FT. This to me is very perplexing. Can someone throw some light on it?

Hi Devil,

That’s how I see it:

This European ranking you refer to is the ranking of Business Schools (for 2008), while the Global ranking is the ranking of Full Time MBA programmes (for 2008).

If you open the European ranking and range schools according to the ranking of the Full Time MBA programmes, you will get the same sequence of European schools as from the Global MBA 2008 ranking: LBS, INSEAD, IE, Cambridge Judge, IESE, IMD, HEC, Oxford Said, ESADE etc:

https://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/european-business-school-rankings

So it seems that some schools have weaker positions in European Schools ranking because their other programmes – EMBA, Masters etc – are not well developed or weren't included in the evaluation. Note for example Cambridge position – in 2008, it was ranked 10th in MBA Global rankings, but only 37th among European Business Schools...

According to Global MBA rankings, Oxford MBA has been ranked 8th in Europe in both 2008 and 2009 (though in 2009 there were some changes in order: i.e., HEC moved down, ESADE moved up).

thanks green oak for clarifying. u as usual are the enclopedia oxfordia:)

Has anyone info on placement report for 2008? it is is high time that SBS released it. LBS released it long ago. besides how bad are the things for 2009?

Has anyone heard anything about the 2009 placement statistics?