Said (Oxford) Hub

I find this situation quite bizarre because throughout the interview process, the conversation was very effective and conversational. I’m not sure if it’s due to an increase in deferred applicants from the previous year, but there seem to be many rejections in R4 this year. I can only say that outsourcing to third-party admissions agencies is really problematic, as you don’t receive any useful advice about the admissions process or insights into the future of your studies during the conversation. Oxford’s costs are extremely high, and it’s unfortunate that right after the interview, I found out the interviewer was an outsourced external consultant. I hope that, moving forward, applicants will have more and better options. That being said, an MBA education is not a simple investment, especially when studying abroad. I hope everyone will have better career development opportunities in the future.

The interview was pretty straight forward 1. Why Oxford? 2. When have you faced conflict at work? 3. Has your integrity every been questioned? 4. Who is a leader that you look up to? 5. What do you think will be challenging for you during the one year MBA? 6. What is your biggest take away from your career till now? 7. In case there is any project that your professor gives your group, what role are you most likely to gravitate towards? 8. Have you done anything to up-skill yourself outside work? 9. What do you do for fun? 10. How will you stand out in a room full of 300 other MBA students Lastly i had my own questions

I just done my interview with adcom team. The questions are quite standard. 1) Why Oxford 2) Why do you switch the working industry (I switch from Tech consulting to E-commerce) 3) Detail on the immediate goal after MBA with some follow up 4) Tell me the time when you disagree with management direction 5) Tell me the time when you get a feedback from your line manager 6) How would you contribute to the cohort (both hard skill and soft skill)

Interviewer was a finance expert (my goals were around DFI) - more than 40 years of experience overall. He’s a CDC expert and not affiliated only with Oxford. Very warm and conversational interview overall. 1. Question about EC (music in my case) 2. How do you manage time between EC and FT job? 3. A couple of clarifying questions on my resume bullet points - he had worked with the Reserve Bank of India (something my resume had) and wanted me to elaborate on the engagement 4. How do you see your leadership develop over the MBA and beyond? 5. Is there anyone in your personal or professional network you look upto? Why? 6. You’ve described challenges in achieving ST goals in your written material - but what challenges do you think you’ll face while recruiting for this? 7. (Since I have a connection with my ST goals’ employer) have they given you any indication that they might want you there? Is this a pathway that people usually take? 8. What other schools have you applied to?

I had my interview a couple of hours ago. Questions like: 1. Why an MBA at this point of your life? 2. Examples when you had a disagreement at work. 3. If your leadership style has changed over time. 4. Mention an occasion when you got feedback and how it went? 5. Why to transition to a financial role I'm not sure how it went. I didn't feel it was the best interview but it didn't go bad. Do you know how likely is to be rejected after the interview? Does it influences a lot in the outcome? Do you have data from past applications? Thank you all!

It went for 35 mins. I don’t remember all the questions. 1. Why MBA and why OXford? 2. Why you want to go into management consulting (short term goal) 3. What place you are looking to work at ppst MBA and some more questions around why mba and all then behavioral questions 1. Did you work in a collaborative team 2. Did you make a mistake and how did you handle 3. Did you ever receive a feedback 4. How would you contribute to Oxford And some more questions like these and lastly my questions

Hi everyone. Had my interview today with admission consultant. Total about 45 minutes, including my questions. Energy was quite casual and conversational. She started by introducing herself. - Tell me about yourself - Some more questions about my resume (I switched industries) - Tell me about your goals post MBA - Why Oxford - What do you know about current trends in hiring for consulting - Your greatest professional achievement - How you contributed to your organization - How you will contribute to Oxford Followed by my questions. Hope this helps, folks!

[It] went for 35 mins. I don’t remember all the questions. 1. Why MBA and why OXford? 2. Why you want to go into management consulting (short term goal) 3. What place you are looking to work at ppst MBA and some more questions around why mba and all then behavioral questions 1. Did you work in a collaborative team 2. Did you make a mistake and how did you handle 3. Did you ever receive a feedback 4. How would you contribute to Oxford And some more questions like these and lastly my questions

Hi everyone. I just had my interview, and here are my takeaways. In regards to the questions, I didn't get the typical, 'Walk me through your CV/Tell me About yourself', 'Why an MBA?' or 'Why Oxofrd?'. The questions were all about my experiences and some situation-based questions in relation to the answers I gave. The interviewer was really lovely, and it was more of a conversation than anything else. If I could advise anyone, it would be to just come prepared knowing who you are, why you're doing the MBA and how your professional experiences prepare you for the MBA and your future career. Also, make sure to smile and ask questions! =] Good luck!

R3 applicant. Had my zoom interview today Questions: 1. Tell me about yourself 2. Why MBA? 3. Plans post MBA 4. Biggest accomplishment 5. How have you solved a conflict in a multicultural environment 6. How will use the MBA time to develop specific skills for your career choice 7. What hobbies will you pursue at Oxford

Had my interview today with Alexlendria (she is an external career counselor). Questions were standard 1. Introduction 2. Leadership style 3. How do you manage the stress of 1 year program at Oxford 4. Why MBA 5. Why Oxford 6. How will you contribute and interact with the cohort 7. Job switches 8. What you do for fun Very comfortable interview. She was quite warm and friendly, I could give the answers stress free. Overall 40 mins ,including my own questions

Had my interview last week. Questions were like: - Why MBA and why now? - How can Oxford help you in achieving your short and long-term goals - which subjects - What are you looking to get out of the MBA - Which companies would you want to work for right after graduation, and which geographical locations - Why Oxford - Which other unis in the UK have you applied for and do you have a preference? - How have you ever resolved a conflict with another stakeholder in your department - What is your leadership style - Does your GMAT score reflect your abilities They also questioned me regarding the my hobbies on my CV and the current political climate in my country, however, that might have just been casual chat. There might also have been more questions that I cannot recall. Best of luck!

Hi, R2 applicant and just got offer 2 days ago. Here is my interview experience: - Total: 30mins - Introduction - Why Oxford, why MBA? - 1 example to show your leadership, what do you think your approach to solve issue different from others'? - What will you bring to MBA cohort? - How will you learn from MBA cohort? - Anything else you want to share before ending the interview? - Any question on program / school / Adcom? Goodluck everyone

Interview with a member of the admissions team, in San Francisco. General why MBA why now questions. Asked me more of why Oxford stands out and how it aligns with my goals. 1. When you meet someone for the first time, what could leave a bad impression with you? 2. What do you like about the culture at your current job? 3. What kinds of people do you think there are in the world? They had some more out there questions that made me think, and it was overall a super fun conversation. It did last about 50 minutes but time honestly flew by.

Had my interview in person with the head of the Africa Initiative. Was very much a conversation in terms of the flow but she asked very deliberate questions that she was taking detailed notes for including: -you've indicated you're interested in healthcare in your experience and your goals. Can you tell me about what you think are some solutions to the system you currently see in your region? (basically testing my interest in the topic outside of just what I want to do as a job) -you've indicated your goals but what's the transition plan between your first job post MBA and your long term goals? -what is your plan B in terms of roles or geographic options? -how do you see your year at Oxford panning out (ie what will your academic curriculum and social interactions be given the Oxford overall opportunities available)? What will your involvement be? -which students have you interacted with? -how would you interact with students in your group if, for example, they aren't pulling their weight? She often gave her own inputs after my answers which made it feel like a good conversation but she was definitely checking certain elements against a framework of sorts. She never tested me directly but was looking for signs that I was specifically interested in Oxford and that I had put in effort to thinking about life on campus.

1. Why MBA, since when have you planned to pursue? 2. Why Oxford over other B-schools? 3. How do you manage work-related stress? 4. Written response was very light-hearted - Cats vs Dogs - who do you prefer and why?

Very conversational interview. Mostly focused on my career and understanding my story. Intermixed with regular questions below - Why MBA - Why Oxford - Where else have you applied - Difference between Said and others you applied to - What role would you play in team setting - Example of conflict - What would people who work with you say is your biggest weakness - Leadership style - How would you help with recruitment of people of your profile - What have you learnt from your international exposure - My questions Lasted 45 mins including my questions. The main interview was 30 mins.

I had a very conversational interview yesterday. The interviewer is a senior consultant of Adcom. I checked his Linkedin later: he had over 20 years of experience in marketing and now works full-time as an admission and recruitment officer at Oxford. The interview lasted about 45 minutes. The interviewer carefully reviewed my application material and Kira online assessment. He asked very standardized questions at the beginning, like "why MBA, why now, and why Oxford." Then he dug into some detailed questions relevant to my personal experience: Why did you leave legal practice to join a startup? Did you talk to some Oxford alumni? (He noticed that one of the referees writing my recommendation letter is an Oxford Said alumna) What is your motivation to enter the non-profit industry? (probably because I have a very unconventional career path) He said those questions helped him understand me better, and he then asked two competency-based questions: Tell me about an example where you demonstrated your leadership in an upheaval. If you are admitted to the Oxford MBA program, you will need to briefly introduce yourself in front of the cohort. What are you going to say? Before we wrapped up the interview, he gave me a chance to ask him some questions. Anyway, he was very nice and polite, but the overall atmosphere was not very chilled since his facial expression was a bit serious and he was taking notes all the time. Fingers crossed!

The interviewer is a seasoned career coach at both Oxford and LBS and member of the admissions committee. My interview was a stress interview, where the weaknesses in my profile were pressed on from the start. The interviewer did not seem to be interested in my current/past role or achievements. Why MBA? Why Oxford? Your immediate plans? Have you applied to any other school? Have you reached out to people in the companies you are targeting? Why would competitive firms hire you? Are you connected with any of the current students at Oxford or the Alumni? Are their alternative firms to your preferences? Do you have connections there? What would you do if you don’t get into the MBA at Oxford? Tell of examples from your recent experience which connects with values at Oxford MBA? Any questions you have with me?

Interviewer was really lovely and easy to talk to, put me at ease right away. The interview was very conversational. Questions included: 1. Why Oxford, Why MBA, Why Now. I was told I could answer them in any order or combine them. 2. Why 1+1 MBA (if applicable); Follow up q: if I don't get into MSc program, will I still attend the MBA 3. Leadership style 4. What three things in particular excited me about the program 5. Question about gap on my resume 6. Scenarios: difficult coworker, what accomplishment I'm most proud of, how I want to be involved in my college 7. Opportunity to ask questions. Interviewer was very happy to answer my questions about the program, life at Oxford, bringing a partner, etc and did so in detail. Best of luck to everyone!