Which school to choose - Mannheim or Oxford MBA

Question

Hello everybody,

I was accepted by the MBS in Mannheim and SBS in Oxford and now I am in the dilemma, which one to choose.
My background is as following: I am german with a PhD in Immunology and industry experience in the healthcare industry. I also see my future post-MBA in the healthcare world, where I aim to grow into a leadership position.

My impression is that Mannheim is a better choice for placement in the pharmaceutical industry, however, I hope that some other people could write down their experiences.

billionaire · Answer

Hi PhileasFogg Congrats on admission to both schools. In short, answer is Oxford MBA. Easily. Now, it just may be, that you as German want to stay there and it might be that your fellow citizens or current bosses value more German degree for some reason. I wouldn't know that. But to work in EU, brand of Oxford MBA should be better in every aspect. Let see rankings. As per latest Financial Times rankings, Saïd Business School comes as 27. and Mannheim Business School comes as 61. , which is not surprise to me. That's huge difference. https://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolra ... nking-2018 Saïd Business School graduates have Weighted salary of (US$) 145,537 versus Mannheim graduates, with Weighted salary of (US$) 118,260. At top of that, Saïd graduates have Salary percentage increase of 99%, which means double, versus Mannheim graduates with Salary percentage increase of 68 % . Again, significant difference. More further details are provided here : https://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolra ... nking-2018 https://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolra ... nking-2018 Bloomberg Businessweek ranked Saïd as 4. in Europe versus Mannheim being 14. https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017 ... s-schools/ As per Telegraph rankings, of Europes-top-10-business-schools, Saïd comes as 3. and there is no Mannheim in top 10. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/e ... me=2403732 Finally, I tried to do research with health care specializations for best European schools and Oxford came as number 1 in Europe while again there is no Mannheim in top 30 . I assume if you choose to do MBA at Oxford you can benefit from such strong department in Healthcare/Biochemistry/Biomedical Sciences/ Medicine, and take some of the same courses. https://www.topmastersinhealthcare.com/ ... re-abroad/ If you dont have some personal (family, cost of tuition) reasons, why you want to do Mannheim MBA aka. stay at Germany, or at your current firm, I strongly advise you to do Oxford MBA. Sure Mannheim is good school, one of better in Germany/EU, just Oxford is above in terms of quality, brand and recognition. Also you will have better ROI with Oxford in the long run. Hope this extensive research will help you to decide ! Good luck and keep us posted with your decision !

PhileasFogg · Answer

Thank you for your insight. Regarding the healthcare placement Mannheim is actually stronger than Oxford. Also the higher percentage increase in salary can be easily explained by more students from low income countries, while Mannheim usually has a lot of students from West Europe and especially Germany, who already have high salaries. Also, the link to Masters in Healthcare is focused on healthcare administration programs, which usually only prepare students to healthcare administration in the country of study, since regulations and laws can be quite different in different countries and markets. There is surely the possibility to interact with students from (Bio)Medicine in Oxford, but the same is true with Mannheim. Heidelberg is close by, with the EMBL laboratories, DKFZ laboratories and excellent medical university. Moreover, Mannheim is located in an industry hub with several global players, be it in finance (Frankfurt), IT (SAP, Walldorf), Healthcare (e.g. Merck in Darmstadt, Roche Diagnostics in Mannheim) or automotive (Mercedes, Stuttgart) located in the direct vicinity. Also MBS has the best job placement statistics, while SBS is rather mediocre and a reason for student complaint (among other sources the reviews on this very page do not paint a great picture for SBS in this department).

Also, as an biomedical expert my salary is already high. My education at one of the world's best research institutes could outweigh the Oxford brand in the healthcare setting, especially when interacting with KOLs with a medical background.

In conclusion, taking into account the aforementioned points, the decision for Oxford does not seem so clear anymore.

Also, as an biomedical expert my salary is already high. My education at one of the world's best research institutes could outweigh the Oxford brand in the healthcare setting, especially when interacting with KOLs with a medical background.

In conclusion, taking into account the aforementioned points, the decision for Oxford does not seem so clear anymore.

billionaire · Answer

Hi PhileasFogg I respect your position and experience edge. Now, I will solve your dilemma with psychology game and applied reversed psychology. Based on both your post, you already decided where you will go, you just maybe are not aware of it. You didn't said single good thing about Oxford, all I read is praise about Mannheim, which is fine. So why is there conundrum, since you have clearly decided to go to Mannheim ? You have more respect for that school and based on your description, you feel that is perfect fit for you, which may be just the case. Now, to go to through few your points. Regarding the healthcare placement Mannheim is actually stronger than Oxford. Fine. You said that Oxford higher salaries are explained by students coming from low income countries. Keep in mind that I have posted after MBA salaries, from FT. Saïd Business School graduates have Weighted salary of (US$) 145,537 versus Mannheim graduates, with Weighted salary of (US$) 118,260. Let me explain what Weighted salary represent here, if it wasn't clear first time. Weighted salary is 3 year average of alumnus of the school, after the graduation . So clearly, low income students from third world countries, that you referred to, cannot affect this measure. So who would that be ? Indians ? Chinese ? Why those highly competitive students do not choose to go to Mannheim ? Or why would they choose to go Oxford over Mannheim ? I didn't referred to (just) interaction with students from (Bio)Medicine or whatever Healthcare department, I was suggesting that I suppose you will be able to take courses/electives there. I respect geographical position of Mannheim and industry hub ties, however I don't understand what Finance/Banking and Automobile companies have to do with your chosen career ? If MBS has the best job placement statistics, that's great. If people on GMAT club complain about SBS mediocre department and placement statistics, don't go there. Now, why would you go to Saïd Business School, never heard good reason from you ? Mannheim is certainly good school and I think it will serve you fine in order to accomplish your goals. Based on everything you expressed, I think you already decided to go there. You were probably per-determined to go there from the moment you applied, because you have high opinion of them, meaning you like them, they are good or perfect fit for you. Viel Glück

Arro44 · Answer

I would agree with my mate from the post above, it feels like you are already strongly inclined to got to Mannheim.

However of the major Pharma companies close by i think the following would prefer Said (due to the Oxford brand name):

Astra Zeneca
GSK
Novartis
Roche
Sanofi

Maybe the following would not be 100% decided:

Bayer
Merck
FMC
Boeringer Ingelheim

However, I think even among the German companies the name Oxford definetly carries some value.

PhileasFogg · Answer

Yes, both of you are right regarding my preferences. However, I am aware of the huge benefits of an Oxford MBA. Be it the more global approach in tackling (at least in theory) social impact problems, a stronger focus on entrepreneurship, business leaders regularly visiting the campus, to name a few.

Yet, from my experience and my network in the pharmaceutical landscape in Germany the MBA brand does not matter much. In Germany, while Oxford might impress HR, so will Mannheim (only accepting 50 to 60 students per year), university degrees are usually viewed through egalitarian lenses.

Last but not least I also have a family, which is of course a large deciding factor and probably the main reason for my preference of the homegrown MBA program.

Thank you both for your insights.

Arro44 · Answer

No problem, I think its fair to let your thoughts be challenged and its actually a pretty good sign that we couldn´t convince you with regards to Oxford. That means you have put a lot thought into the whole thing yourself and are now more certain than ever with regards to where to pursue your MBA. I wish you all the best for your MBA and subsequent career, give it your best shot at leading a company to cure or ease as many health issues as possible.

Viel Erfolg, Chris

PhileasFogg · Answer

Arro44  and  billionaire : Thank you for your support. As you already pointed out correctly, I was looking for reasons to chose Mannheim over Oxford. However, in the end, after putting a lot of thought and discussion into this matter I decided for the Said Business School MBA program. Tanks a lot for your help!

Arro44 · Answer

You are welcome my friend.

I wish you all the best for your time at business school and I am very optimistic that Said won´t be a choice that you are going to regret.
If you are planning to move to the UK with your familiy I extend my good wishes to them and hope they will get settled quickly.

Good luck mate,
Chris

Which school to choose - Mannheim or Oxford MBA

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