Saïd Business School is the business school of the prestigious University of Oxford. Liam Kilby, Head of the recruitment and admission of the Full Time MBA, reveals the recruitment process for this training. He also gives his advice for French people interested in the Oxford program.
The Saïd/Oxford MBA Admission Process
What are the necessary criteria to apply for the Full Time MBA at Saïd/Oxford?
It is important to fulfill certain prerequisites. You must have had professional experience before applying for Saïd’s MBA. We want participants to be able to bring their background to the course. They don’t necessarily need to be seniors. On average, our students have had 5 years of experience before joining the MBA.
Saïd MBA candidates must have had a diploma undergraduate. Our teams are responsible for finding the equivalences between your diplomas and the Anglo-Saxon system. You must also have obtained a GMAT and GRE score.
What are the important elements of the candidate’s file?
Applicants must submit two letters of recommendation in free format. It is important that they highlight your skills and concrete examples of what you have achieved. They should reflect your personality. It is possible to provide one academic letter and one professional letter or two professional letters of recommendation.
Students whose first language is not English must also submit their score on an English test less than two years old. We accept either TOEFL or IELTS. Some exceptions exist for candidates who trained in an English-speaking country, those who received 100% training in English or those who work completely in English.
What awaits the candidates, in addition to the file?
They must answer a series of questions which seek to understand the reasons which led them to opt for an MBA. They are asked why they applied to Oxford, for example. We ask them about their skills. We have a bank of 160 questions that come out randomly for each candidate. In addition, they record a short video in which they must talk about their reasons for joining Oxford.
They must also write a short 250-word essay on questions such as: “Bankers deserve their salary. Do you agree? “, “Day is better than night” or “How would you describe the color yellow to someone? » The objective is to analyze the arguments and the structure of statements in English. Candidates also have a space in which they can indicate elements that the jury would like to know and which have not been mentioned previously.
Saïd’s MBA admissions exams
How do the orals take place?
The candidates have an interview of around forty minutes, mainly on Zoom. We are interested in three subjects: motivations, career objectives and emotional intelligence. They are facing a member of the recruitment team, the program director or a career service employee.
After this exchange and once the admission results have been obtained, candidates have 30 days to validate their registration and choose the college [petites communautés académiques au sein d’Oxford, NDLR] that they wish to join.
Are international students supported once admitted to Oxford?
Our team supports students throughout the process, but also afterwards. We help them find the right one collegebut also for housing. Note that the college often offers accommodation. Some even choose their college depending on the accommodation offered. MBA graduates also give away good deals or even their apartment to new students. There is a lot of mutual support.
Prepare well for the Saïd/Oxford MBA admission tests
What are you looking for in candidates?
Our candidates are all high level. To decide between them, we base ourselves mainly on personality. We want candidates to be able to talk about what guides them on a daily basis. A person who shows vulnerability is a person who wants to learn.
Some, in the motivation questionnaire, follow to the letter the instructions that they can read on specialized sites, but that is not what we are looking for. We want that diamond in the rough. What we are looking for is curiosity, the desire to learn, the courage to express one’s opinions…
Your advice for putting all the chances on your side?
Registrations open more than twelve months before the start of the school year. From 1er July 2023, it will be possible to apply to join the Saïd MBA in September 2024. Several deadlines are offered throughout the year. It is not easier to get scholarships by applying in the first phase of admission. The only advantage is that it allows you to have more choice of colleges.
However, we advise not to apply for the first phase of admission and to really take the time to apply, once your file is solid and complete. We may regret, for example, not having had a good score on the GMAT. If you are not satisfied with your application, do not hesitate to retake your English or management tests.
What are the mistakes to avoid?
You must be careful, in your writing, not to leave the name of other schools when you apply to Saïd. Many students wear Oxford clothing or leave messages in the background while recording their video. But you must maintain a professional appearance for this element of the file.
Don’t hesitate to show your personality. At Oxford, our teams try to create a diverse and engaged cohort. Don’t be afraid to be creative in your answers to questions. We don’t need people to tell us that Oxford is the best school, but to really show us what attracts you about the program, the network, etc.
Finally, an important element is the financial aspect. The training is expensive and many candidates advance through the admissions process without thinking about financing. We offer scholarships. In total, 1 in 3 students is supported financially, but only around twenty students benefit from a total exemption from tuition fees for Saïd’s MBA. If you have any questions, you can always contact us!
