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13 Jul 2022, 15:28
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Hello All! I am an American and was accepted to Oxford Said this year. I got rejected from 7 US schools (Booth, Kellogg, Wharton, Tuck, Yale, CBS, Haas) but had interviews at Booth, Tuck, and ofc Kellogg. My GRE was 313, GPA 3.1 in Accounting from US top 20 UG. Fairly heavy ECs (mentoring, board member of womens org, etc) and worked in Audit for 4 years and no name Consulting in 2 years. I'm planning on doing a functional pivot in Consulting/not looking for a major career switch.
My dilemma is that Oxford excites me. It's going to be unlike anything that I've ever experienced before and although Said isn't that high up the list, Oxford is still well regarded in the US. I am open to being in the UK for a year or two but ultimately do want to be back in the US. However, I also realize that US schools are ultimately the gold standard for an MBA, and I wonder if I'm making the wrong decision by going to Oxford. Of course a US school will have a much better network in the US. To reapply to American schools, I would most likely need to retake the GRE and apply to more "attainable" places in round 2 (Cornell etc). My heart says do Oxford for the experience and brand recognition, my mind says do the US for stability.
Can you guys please advise? Thanks!
My dilemma is that Oxford excites me. It's going to be unlike anything that I've ever experienced before and although Said isn't that high up the list, Oxford is still well regarded in the US. I am open to being in the UK for a year or two but ultimately do want to be back in the US. However, I also realize that US schools are ultimately the gold standard for an MBA, and I wonder if I'm making the wrong decision by going to Oxford. Of course a US school will have a much better network in the US. To reapply to American schools, I would most likely need to retake the GRE and apply to more "attainable" places in round 2 (Cornell etc). My heart says do Oxford for the experience and brand recognition, my mind says do the US for stability.
Can you guys please advise? Thanks!
Archived Said Discussion
Hi there,
You've stumbled upon an old discussion from our Said Forum
that's now outdated and has been archived. No more replies are possible here.
Interested in current discussions? Feel free to dive into our dedicated Said Forum
for all fresh things related to the Said MBA program.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
masterofbeans
Current Student
Joined: 01 Jul 2021
Last visit: 12 Aug 2022
Posts: 69
Given Kudos: 121
Location: Viet Nam
Schools: Judge '23 (A$) Said '23 (II)
GMAT 1: 700 Q48 V37
GPA: 3.5
14 Jul 2022, 02:26
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Pros of Oxford:
- 1 year program: you will be out by September 2023 and ready to go back to the grind.
- Living in the UK for 1 year exites you.
- Global brand
- Cheaper at 100$ price tag?
Cons:
- You want to go back to the US (you might change your mind once you are here though)
- Not as strong as US schools
- Economy heading to recession, would next year be a worst recruiting year? (no indication of this though, labour market is HOT right now)
Pros of reapplying US:
- Strong OCR
- Better if you want to stay in the US
- Economy might clear by 2025, and recruiting might be better?
Cons:
- $200k price tag
- 2 years program means you will be out by September 2025 => 1 year reapplying + 2 more years in school, are you ready for the opportunity costs?
- Reapplication stress: application + interview prep
- Wait 1 more year means you are getting 1 more year of work, do you have a plan to improve your profile by then? The schools will definitely ask about that, especially for reapplicants.
If I were you I'd just go to Oxford now, and start the new page of my life instead of waiting for another year, but I am in the UK and will be staying, so might be biased.
Let's see what others say.
- 1 year program: you will be out by September 2023 and ready to go back to the grind.
- Living in the UK for 1 year exites you.
- Global brand
- Cheaper at 100$ price tag?
Cons:
- You want to go back to the US (you might change your mind once you are here though)
- Not as strong as US schools
- Economy heading to recession, would next year be a worst recruiting year? (no indication of this though, labour market is HOT right now)
Pros of reapplying US:
- Strong OCR
- Better if you want to stay in the US
- Economy might clear by 2025, and recruiting might be better?
Cons:
- $200k price tag
- 2 years program means you will be out by September 2025 => 1 year reapplying + 2 more years in school, are you ready for the opportunity costs?
- Reapplication stress: application + interview prep
- Wait 1 more year means you are getting 1 more year of work, do you have a plan to improve your profile by then? The schools will definitely ask about that, especially for reapplicants.
If I were you I'd just go to Oxford now, and start the new page of my life instead of waiting for another year, but I am in the UK and will be staying, so might be biased.
Let's see what others say.
14 Jul 2022, 09:50
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HopefulMBA92:
In writing this up, it was really tough to give you meaningful advice. Ultimately, it sounds like it comes down to:
(1) Oxford: guaranteed seat and fun UK-based experience
vs.
(2) US: risk of having to get in somewhere reputable but gets you in the US/build-in network
Ultimately, while the former situation is appealing, the latter is a more practical consideration for your decision here. So, I would aim for a US-based school. There will be less inertia in the short (and potentially long-) term for your career. I wouldn't want to go into an MBA program thinking that I need to work hard to build a network outside of my core MBA class and, on top of that, have to find a job that isn't even in my home continent.
Therefore, I would definitely diversity the range of US-based MBA programs on your list for your new application season. Throw in a few 'reach/targets' schools (possible reapps) as well as safety schools.
You might also want to also see if you can defer Oxford or at least how a re-application might be perceived. If you can somehow pull that off with Oxford, you might still be able to then decide between those US programs to which you are accepted and Said in possibly 6 months from now.
In writing this up, it was really tough to give you meaningful advice. Ultimately, it sounds like it comes down to:
(1) Oxford: guaranteed seat and fun UK-based experience
vs.
(2) US: risk of having to get in somewhere reputable but gets you in the US/build-in network
Ultimately, while the former situation is appealing, the latter is a more practical consideration for your decision here. So, I would aim for a US-based school. There will be less inertia in the short (and potentially long-) term for your career. I wouldn't want to go into an MBA program thinking that I need to work hard to build a network outside of my core MBA class and, on top of that, have to find a job that isn't even in my home continent.
Therefore, I would definitely diversity the range of US-based MBA programs on your list for your new application season. Throw in a few 'reach/targets' schools (possible reapps) as well as safety schools.
You might also want to also see if you can defer Oxford or at least how a re-application might be perceived. If you can somehow pull that off with Oxford, you might still be able to then decide between those US programs to which you are accepted and Said in possibly 6 months from now.
