What Does SAID Oxford Look for in an MBA Applicant

SAID evaluates the candidates on the basis of:

• Strong Professional Experience: For being a part of MBA family at Oxford, one needs a robust work experience which must exhibit exceptional maturity and powerful leadership.
• Multi-cultural Background: One must have an international exposure in ones work with an awareness of different cultures and this quality is exemplified by the mix of its MBA class.
• Strong Academics: Strong grades shows the candidate’s capability of thriving in the rigorous MBA program and a robust GMAT/GRE score exemplifies the quantitative and analytical skills in an aspirant.
• Insightful Contribution: One must be able to exhibit bold and insightful contributions in the work with evidence of career progressions.

What Does the Application Process Look Like

The application process of SAID is a little different from other top notch schools in that it asks for a supporting statement( the essay part) and then an online assessment which tests your logical and analytical skills and how quickly you can respond to a situation. Also, you need to submit references, scores and undergrad certificates to be an eligible candidate.

What Is the Acceptance Rate for SAID MBA

The acceptance rate for Kellogg is 20%

Oxford SAID Class Profile

Financing and Scholarship Programs

The school itself provides for many scholarships and are available from Saïd Business School, Oxford University, Oxford’s colleges, and external sources. The school advises students to apply early to “maximize the number of scholarship opportunities”. As the school says, only the standard course application is usually required. If you meet the eligibility criteria, you will be automatically considered. Also, for some MBA scholarships, there are fixed application deadlines. You can get a comprehensive look of various scholarships at SAID here.

Curriculum and Student Life at Oxford

With an intense curriculum, incorporating three themes- Entrepreneurship, Global Rules of the Game, and Responsible Business, there is a range of activities at Oxford to enrich your knowledge. There are additional programs that connect theory with practice through workshops and other online resources, listed as:

• Finance Lab
• Consulting Development Program
• Social Impact Lab
• Creative Destruction Lab

Not only this, but there are also projects like Entrepreneurship project, under which you can develop a business plan and present it before invited Venture Capitalists, and there is the Strategic Consulting Project, under which you may work for any company around the world. And the community-life is not just limited here. There are over 200 clubs and societies to choose from. Name any interest that appeals to you, and you will find a club for it. There is an active LGBTQ+ community at the School. And, to make this journey even more exciting there are a plethora of competitions ranging from Academics and MBA tournaments to Rugby, Ice Hockey, and Punting. So, this one-year program at Oxford can give you the best life experiences. So, be ready to pull-up your socks and start applying to it.

The ‘Perfect’ Application

Now that you know what Oxford is and how is it’s students’ life there, you must be intrigued about what kind of essays it has and how to craft a good application. Here are a few tips and insights, especially, for Oxford. 

So, there are three parts in an application that are most vital to secure your position in any school- Essays, CV (Work-ex), LORs.

• ESSAY: TELL US SOMETHING THAT IS NOT COVERED IN YOUR APPLICATION WHICH YOU WOULD LIKE THE ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE TO KNOW ABOUT YOU. This is first and the only essay question for 1 year program at the school. For this, do not write about your professional experience or the achievements you have had in your life, because adcoms have that all in your LORs and CVs. Rather talk about you, your beliefs, your values, your passion, the experiences that shaped all of these. And make sure you talk about the skills that Oxford stresses, like, problem-solving, your influence, decision-making, and very important, your communication skills. Also, after completing your essays, show it to people closer to you and ask them if the essay is giving a glimpse of the real you because if not, adcoms will know it right in the first one minute of your interview and you already lost it. Also, there is an ONLINE ASSESSMENT, consisting of two motivation based questions, which wants to know the motivation of candidates for choosing MBA and Said. The other two are competency-based questions and a written response which are more random. For this, the school itself provides for practice sessions which you must attend if you are specifically targeting Said(Oxford).
  
• CVs: Oxford itself gives a CV template, which you must have a look at. Oxford wants people with very strong and mature leadership and so talk about how you have started a new line, or how you helped a product development, or how you impacted the organizations. Also, you must be able to connect the dots between your prior career experiences and the goal you are talking about. Your short-term goals should be very clearly talked about and connect them to the Oxford MBA program. For this, research deeply about the curriculum, the projects, and the school’s values. 
• LORs: The purpose of LOR is to provide a strong premise for your essays. Oxford asks for two professional references. Do choose recommenders who can share specific examples about your background, achievements, contribution, and impact to the organization. Don’t choose recommenders based purely on title. For Oxford, the recommender needs to evaluate the candidate on the basis of:

• Intellectual curiosity
• Leadership skills
• Ability to work in a Team
• Energy & Drive
• English language ability.

Further, a letter is to be uploaded by the recommender to elaborate on these ratings given and also indicate, for how long he/she has known the candidate and in what capacity, what are their strengths and weaknesses, and how one thinks the candidate would benefit from the program.