#54 Oxford Said MBA Admissions Q&A with Dana Brown – “It’s Just an Awesome Learning Experience”
“We are a young business school situated in an ancient university. As a young business school we’re entrepreneurial. We were born in the era of globalization. We’ve always had a global mindset and an openness to developments in the business environment… We also get a lot of the benefits of being part of the university. All of our faculty and students are members of the university colleges and partake in the social life of the colleges. They interact with people from other disciplines on a regular basis. What are scientists thinking about, philosophers thinking about, and future business leaders thinking about?”
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How fascinating would it be to get your MBA at an up and coming b-school housed within the oldest university in the English speaking world? This is where old and new collide.
Dr. Dana Brown, MBA Programme Director at Said Business School, joined the show this week to discuss what makes the Oxford MBA unique and its admissions process.
Being one of the most prestigious universities in the world, Said is looking for students with strong academic abilities. Although they evaluate applicants holistically, Said recommends having a minimum 3.5 GPA and Dana made it very clear that the school thinks the GMAT is important. They are also looking for critical thinkers with open minds who show ambition and purpose. Over 95% of the class international coming from over 40 countries.
Said recently revamped their curriculum to focus on global threats and opportunities, entrepreneurship and more interdisciplinary studies within the wider Oxford community. They also have one-on-one executive coaching throughout the 12-month program. Said plans to grow the class from 240 to 320 by next year.
Listen on for the insider’s scoop as I talk to Dana about Said’s culture, admissions, scholarships, careers and more!
About our Guest
Dr. Dana Brown is the MBA Programme Director of the MBA Programme at Said Business School, Oxford University. She got her Masters in Philosophy from Oxford and PhD at MIT before returning to Oxford to teach international business and corporate social responsibility. She also spent 3 years at Emlyon before returning to Oxford.
Touch MBA’s Oxford Said MBA Essentials
Program Highlights (3:08)
- Said Business School founded in 1996; first MBA program launched in 1996
- 1 intake / year in September
- Length: 12 months
- Campus in Oxford, United Kingdom
- ~240 participants/intake, plan to grow to 320 in next few years (streams of 80)
- ~40 nationalities/intake, class is ~96% international
- Students must complete 8 core courses, electives and 3 projects (entrepreneurship, strategic consulting, global threats and opportunities oxford)
- General management degree
- Rankings: #23 Financial Times 2014, #54 Economist 2013, #5 Bloomberg Businessweek 2012 (non-US schools)
- Business faculty strong in Finance, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, CSR
- Student rate entrepreneurship and CSR highest
- Accredited by AMBA, EQUIS
- Joint Programs: Oxford 1+1 MBA Program – get an MBA from Oxford and a Masters Degree (22 options) from 9 different academic departments
Admissions (15:50)
- 6 Deadlines from Sep – May, admissions decisions returned within 5 weeks
- NA% acceptance rate
- Avg GMAT: 690, minimum recommended is 650
- GRE accepted, minimum recommended 160 (verbal) and 161 (quant)
- Minimum recommended GPA: 3.5
- Avg age: 29 (range: 23-42), Avg work experience: 6, 2 years min work experience recommended
- Min TOEFL: 110 (internet), IELTS: 7.5
- Interviews done by Admissions Officers and Faculty
- Adcom values academic aptitude, open mind, critical thinking, ambition to make an impact
Financing (26:25)
- Tuition
- Full-time MBA Tuition: £47,925, about $80,430 USD
- Recommended budget: £15,000 about $25,000 USD
- Scholarships
- ~10% of participants awarded scholarships
- Scholarships awarded on academic performance, high quality female applicants, high quality applicants from developing countries, applicants with interest in social entrepreneurship (Skoll Centre), and University of Oxford Scholarships
- Some scholarships awarded with decisions; others you must apply for
- Prodigy Finance and Santander MBA loans available
Career (31:30)
- Oxford Said MBA – Full-time placement report Class of 2012 & 2013
- 89% of graduates had secured job offer within 3 months of graduation
- Average Salary (Bonus): £60,500 (£11,800)
- Graduates in 2010 experienced 91% increase in salary 3 years later
- Top recruiters: Accenture, Amazon, BT, KPMG, McKinsey, PWC, Shell, Fung Group
- 2,500+ alumni worldwide, 17 chapters around the world
Get in Touch
- Connect with Oxford MBA Admissions Office
Show Notes
- Profiles: Financial Times, Economist, Bloomberg BusinessWeek
- Oxford Said Fights Bunker Mentality (Poets & Quants)
- The Oxford MBA Comma, student blog of a 2013/2014 student
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