Oxford for MBA?

I can't cite recruitment numbers but I get the impression that the Oxford brand is highly respected in the US, regardless of their MBA ranking. LBS and INSEAD may have a better reputation with top recruiters though.

Hi TraderDaily,

The Oxford Said School of Business has a great reputation around the world. With all business schools, it helps post-graduation if the school you attended is in the location where you would like to work. The reason is because your network, and extended network, will be established in that location. Employers are also more likely to hire local candidates.

Please let me know if I can answer any other questions.

Best,

Conrad and the Stacy Blackman Team

Oxford is well regarded. But you would probably have a better chance if you start off in London and then transfer to the US office. (there might be exceptions to this route, but this is more likely to happen)

Thanks for the advice!

@TraderDaily, did you apply? Any update?

Thanks so much for all of your posts!

@Oxonian: No, I haven't applied yet.

Not sure where your undergrad was, but mine was in the US, and I found the Oxford college system initially quite confusing. If you do apply, be sure to read up on it before choosing a college.

could you elaborate a little oxonian?

At Oxford (and Cambridge), each college is an independent entity. Technically, you apply to the college for admissions, though the business school process (at least at the MBA level) has you apply to both simultaneously, and as far as I know one cannot be rejected by the college if one is accepted by the school. That said, you have two alternate colleges, so you might not get your first choice. Once a student, all administrative stuff goes through your college. Your ID, your meal plan, your housing (if you choose to live in university housing), everything goes through the college. If you need to re-schedule an exam, you do it through your college, not through your instructor or the school. It's a layer of bureaucracy that Americans/Canadians are not used to, but I will say that it's a very responsive layer. The reputation of each of the colleges is mostly rooted in their undergraduate populations. That said, it can't hurt to network in that world a little bit, but the truth is you will spend 90%-95% of your time with your classmates at the school or nearby and not really at your respective college (unless you really make a point of it).

interesting thanks for the info.

How does the ad com look at us applicants? Is it like indian / chinese applicants are looked at here? (they usually have to have higher stats)

Not sure, to be honest -- I don't have any real insight there other than what I saw in my classmates. But there were plenty of Americans/Canadians, maybe in the 30% range. Some very accomplished folks -- Olympians, entrepreneurs, bankers, lawyers, etc. -- and others who maybe just had high grades but hadn't necessarily really gotten out into the business world. Probably another 30% were Brits of various sorts (including plenty of folks whose parents immigrated to the UK from various parts of the Empire), and the balance were a mix of everywhere else. It's a highly international group, and a week doesn't go by that I don't reach out to someone in my class for thoughts or help on a work or side project.

oxford send me an email advertising their MBA program. just based on that I think its not that good.

Why so? When I was applying I got emails from many top programs -- Sloan, Columbia, Wharton, Yale, Darden, Tuck, Chicago, Northwestern...

i got this only after having taken the GMAT (i.e. did not apply for b-school), and only received emails from the worst universities (privates, names you never heard of), certainly no reputable european b-school.

I can't say I know anything about their recruiting, but if one places credence in rankings, it's #20 globally (#2 UK and #7 Europe) on the FT rankings, with a lot of good names behind it. And the new dean was the #2 guy at HBS, Peter Tufano, who has spent his entire career at HBS. I don't think he would have jumped ship if he didn't think the place was good -- and could get better. Finally, they just raised a pile of money that will improve the physical plant and the quality of the faculty and programming. I can continue to spout the marketing that they provide, but bottom line is they have objectively world-class faculty at the top or second-from-top (after Harvard) educational brand, already great facilities, good/phenomenal networking (depending on North America vs. rest of world) and I learned a ton and loved every minute. I apply what I learned on a daily basis, and I tap into my Oxford network monthly or weekly.