Judge-Said 2013 Aspirants (Class of 2014)

MBA
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Dear All, I’m a pagal newbie :: :. Thought of creating a thread for those aspiring for Said (Oxford) or Judge (Cambridge) intake for 2013. Considering we are just 3 months away from 2013 application 1st round, it is not too early to discuss …

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Dear All,

I'm a pagal newbie :. Thought of creating a thread for those aspiring for Said (Oxford) or Judge (Cambridge) intake for 2013. Considering we are just 3 months away from 2013 application 1st round, it is not too early to discuss application strategies and other know-how.

To shed light on my profile.

I'm a Chartered Accountant from India, 30 years old, 7 years post qualification experience by the time I get into a school next year. In addition I did a 3 year internship while studying for CA.

Worked 2 years in India with Ernst & Young. Past 4 years in the Middle East, currently in an American Oil & Gas major in the Middle East in a middle level finance role.

GMAT score 640 (Verbal 35-74 percentile, Quant 42-59 percentile, Overall-74 percentile)

Target Schools (in no particular order)
1. Said (Oxford)
2. Judge (Cambridge)
3. IE
4. Cornell (AMBA)
5. Emory (AMBA)
6. HKUST

I think my pros:
- Got some world class experience in some global companies
- Currently drawing USD 82,000 which i assume is not much lesser than the average pay for graduates from decent schools
- Have wide exposure to setting budgets in a managerial role

Cons:
- GMAT score isn't excatly fabulous (not planning to retake)
- Have a measly 57% for my graduation and worse completed it only in 2006 (originally registered as a private student in 1999). Completed graduation in parts whenever i had the time since i was doing CA in another State.


Would like to hear from other 2013 aspirants. :cheers:

Regards,
Dream Team
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Count me in.

But itni Khamoshi kyun hai??
Guess not many guys are vying for Oxford this time due to economic meltdown.
My stats - M/31/CA/680/Entrepreneur
@Dream_Team_2013 How r u managing the transcript thing?? Does your University has agreed to provide it, and what about ICAI providing the transcript??
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I am applying for Emory Full Time. I didnt choose UK business schools because of their Visa restrictions. They dont give work permit if you dont find a job within 3 months it seems. You have to come back, is what my friend who has an MBA from Cranfield 2009, told me.


My stats:

Experience: 8 yrs in IT
Age: 30
GMAT: 710 (48/40)
TOEFL: 117.
Extracurriculars: Good

Any idea on job possibilities especially in the technology sector in the product management roles? I am looking for an MBA in Marketing. Please share your thoughts.
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Few considerations are

1. UK Visa issue, further complicated by very bad employment outlook. Extremely complicated by non EU status.

2. Ox is known for it's focus on entrepreneurship so job options are never clearly mentioned. Data is not encouraging at http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/mbacareers/sbs-top-recruiters.htm

3. A class size of 230-250 and definitely all are "ek se bad kar ek". That means many positive thing but at the same time, extreme competition during recruitment, specially when there are just a limited option. In good time, this is not an issue but in bad time this is an issue. In good rime too, a class size of more than 200 is not so healthy to me.

4. 1 year programme

5. 800 years of history

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@maidenfreak Huh!! So, I guessed right. The economic meltdown is keeping away the indian pool away from EU schools. But mate don't you think that keeping cranfield and oxford in one category is not fair. I think that an oxford mba should land in a satisfactory job if not a extraordinary despite such a testing time.
@WouldBeCrazy Buddy can you enumerate a bit that from where you have come across "the Ox focus on entrepreneurship"? I will also like to evaluate the information with my own perspective. Also, your interpretation regarding class size is quite interesting. Never have interpreted class size like that before.

But guys if we are keeping out the EU programs then there are not much options left in abroad locations for 1 year program. Don't you think that the two year cost + opportunity cost of extra year is a big call to justify in these testing times?
Will love to have some meaningful discussion on the above with fellas
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@paras123 Yes I agree, if you manage to get through maybe it will be easier to get a job through Oxford. But I specifically did not apply to UK because I didnt want to take the risk. And for some reason UK doesnt give me a good vibe, its not really the kind of place I wanna live in and work. And even if job opportunities are good, you have to think about the employers. What kind of employers will be able to get you a work permit or sponsor one etc., Some may want to only recruit citizens. Which is the case everywhere.
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@paras123 I don't think there is much of a difference in Cranfield and Said. Said though defienitely being an Ox brand, has more weightage to it. But I liked Cranfield's programme given their focus on practical issues , case works etc. I know a person who did his MBA from Cranfield and was offered an admit to Said as well. But he chose Cranfield because it offered more on the consulting side, focussed more on problem solving, analytical abilities, management consulting etc.
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@ankanpaul2003
There is some branding difference between Said and Cranfield in global arena as people are used to the name of Oxford. Having said that, sheer quality wise, Cranfield may not be far behind Said if not ahead of Said.

In fact, in quite a few business school rankings, Crainfield ranks better than Said.

@maidenfreak I agree to your point. It is not only the number of opportunities or printed laws or regulation that matters. What matters is, what your employer THINKS. Not necessarily they will have the right information or many a times they never bothered to do something extra, even though actually it is just perceived extra.

I had experienced in many places people directly reject foreigners as to avoid the hassles, uncertainties (the visa may get rejected) and time constraints. So, you are not even considered, forget about proving yourself.

The issue is, there are little campus interviews in UK and practically, you are on your own. Career service realistically means absolutely nothing if they can not arrange enough jobs for atleast 85% of their students.

@paras123 From my various online searches it was evident that there is a strong focus on entrepreneurship, not sure whether due to non availability of enough jobs.

I might sound too cautious but spending 1 year, spending quite a big money must result into something meaningful. It will be grossly useless to be forced to come back to India and join a Bangalore IT company with a salary just 3L more than an average fresh engineer.

I must be fully convinced that my time, money and energy will be well spent. I can sense the marketing talk of the recruiting schools!!

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Yup that is the problem. Career Services are not good in the UK. I contacted Emory, and they have separate clubs, like the Technology club, which organizes tech treks, and networking opportunities etc. Secondly, most of the H1B providers for Indians, specifically with the IT background, and most Indians do have IT backgrounds, are the tech companies. Which are mostly in the US. I am not sure how much you have in the UK. Plus to me the US is a better country to live in than the UK. I simply love the US more 😃
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@WouldBeCrazy agree on that. Its the brand that creates the perception. otherwise, Cranfield is fast catching up.
@maidenfreak having lived in UK for more than 3 years, I am not too impressed by the life in this country.(I believe atleast the amount of taxes you pay are significantly higher than in US)... But there are opportunities in the finance/banking sectors and quite a lot of them due to a lot of operations of top finance/banking companies are based here.

life in genneral doesn't only comprise of your career..You also need to account for other stuff. UK , especially London, is a lovely city otherwise...very multicultural...very open and liberal. I can't say the same for the other big cities...but I have grown to love London unlike any other cities. :)
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Yes London I heard is great. My sis lives there. But I think its also extremely costly :S

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how much work xperience is needed ..? any specific criteria for specific B-shcool..?

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@maidenfreak I have been living in Norway for last 1 year now and before that I was in Denmark and I am going to Cranfield in few days as I have chosen it despite economic blah blah...

Compared to other cities in Europe specially the scandanavian cities you will find London much much cheaper. So I believe its your personal perception how you define a city cheaper or expensive.

I did a lot of research before selecting Cranfield (I had offers from many other European schools). One of the main reasons for selecting Cranfield was that the course gives a lot of focus on soft skills which is a must if you want to move up the ladder fast. Another factor which forced me to join Cranfield was that the interview process was rather unconventional and practical compared to other schools I applied.
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hi puys .

I have applied to oxford and warwick for fall 2013 session.

I got the interview call from oxford and the interview is on 21 nov in delhi.

Is there anybody else travelling in the same boat ?

Can anybody share t interview experience with SBS and what is the conversion rate from interview call to admit????

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Any body done with their interview? how was it?

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i had my interview on 21 .Interview was very casual , interactive and relaxed .

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anyone receive an admit mail so far? had my interview on the 19th...

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I have been admitted to Oxford 2014 and will be matriculating from there :-)

Will love to connect to any other admits and also to help the other prospective candidates.