Admitted at Ross and Oxford (Said); no $ at each

Question

I have admits at Ross and Said (other schools too but they're out of the equation). Which would you choose?

About me - I'm 29, 8 years in business development in my home country in South America at a no-name company. I have a BA in Social Sciences from NYU, 3.8 GPA/700 GMAT.

US/South American citizen.

Hoping to get consulting (in anything/anywhere to be honest - but preferably not in LatAm as I'm looking to get out of the region). I applied on a lark to business school, was surprised to get acceptances because I felt I was noncompetitive. My mission is to get brand name employers or to simply work for a larger company so any MBA style position at a F500 is also a good goal for me.

Cost is not an issue for me and I had no scholarship money anyways.

JohnnyBlaze · Answer

Oxford

Both are great schools, but going to Oxford really opens up Europe to you post-MBA. You can always work in the US after Oxford as you're a citizen and a NYU grad, but this gives you more global options for your career.

Going to Ross would be great, but limits you more to the US post-MBA.

Regenerate · Answer

You may want to consider telling each school about the admit from the other and see if either will throw money on the table to make your decision easier ...

Posted from my mobile device

mikeyk87 · Answer

Thanks for the response. This is part of why I am leaning towards Oxford. But my questions are: 1) how many doors does it really open up in Europe to a non-EU/UK citizen? With just an Oxford MBA and mediocre work experience could I get a decent job out in Europe? It seems hard for this to happen. 
2) How is the Oxford MBA regarded in the States? I sense that it might not be seen as "good" as Ross and my fear is that I could get the Oxford MBA and struggle to find a job in the US afterwards.

In short, my concern here is based on my mediocre prior work experience and I'm not sure how much "pull" Oxford, as a 1-year and a European MBA would have for someone in my situation. As for Ross I feel somewhat confident that I could probably land some kind of internship and then segway that into a okay post-grad MBA job. With Oxford I'm a little less certain but Oxford's brand and its 1 year length is def attractive to me

elPatron434 · Answer

Congratulations on your admits! Those are certainly some good choices to have.

In my view the pros for Said would be
1. A bigger brand than Ross. Oxford is a wonderful name to have on a resume
2. A more welcoming European market (I think). I've seen a lot of people transition from the UK to US and vice versa. So down the line moving from Europe to the US I feel would be more down to individual choice and performance.
3. Cost. I believe that the Said MBA is less expensive compared to the program at Ross. 
4. Lesser anti immigration rhetoric in Europe (atleast compared to the US)

In my opinion pros for Ross would be
1. A good brand in the US. So if you want to stay in the US, this would be a good option.
2. Course duration, I feel considering the current climate, staying in a program for a longer time would help one ride out the Covid-19 uncertainty. Ross' would have a clear advantage here.

These are things at the top of my head. Feel free to ignore if they don't make a lot of sense.

All the best!

Posted from my mobile device

chand2211 · Answer

Congrats on the admits.

I really recommend that you interact as much as you can with the Oxford community incase you didn't get a chance to go there in person. I went to Oxford for an interview this year during an earlier round and left rather unimpressed and although I was accepted I ended up going with another school instead. Personally, I felt that Oxford was rather concerned with putting down its main comparative school and they just didn't seem as on top of things as others. It was apparent that this was a newer program and just didn't do things top notch. Also the school seems quite left in its political leanings and I felt that was becoming part of their culture..

Do take that all with a grain of salt, that was just personal experiences. There were others that did Oxford interviews during the same week and ended up going with Oxford. Take your time to learn more about the program before you make a decision. Its a big decision so talk to current students, ask admissions to put you in touch with alum and learn more about colleges for accommodation etc. Also Oxford will probably give you some $ if you name drop the other program you have admission too. Best of luck.

rtbs15 · Answer

I would take Ross here. A T15 school in the US carries more weight than a tier 2 school in EU. I would also think that working in EU from Ross will be easier than going to the US from Said. And while Oxford is a great brand, Said is not, as I don't think they've had the same success that Yale SOM had, for example.

I'm a fellow South American from the deep south, if need anything please let me know, and good luck!

henryisla · Answer

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henryisla · Answer

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ANALysis · Answer

voted for Ross

Wolf3132 · Answer

rtbs15  if Oxford (and I assume Cambridge) are Tier-2 schools in Europe, what's tier 1? Just INSEAD and LBS?

rtbs15 · Answer

Yeah INSEAD and LBS are in a league of their own in EU.

Admitted at Ross and Oxford (Said); no $ at each

Ross or Said?

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