University of Oxford Said Business School Admissions Interview

Many European MBA programs are reporting a large influx of American applications. One example is University of Oxford Said Business School in the United Kingdom. Though the program is only in its twelfth year, Said Business School has already had great success in attracting talented candidates from all around the world to its MBA program.

Here is a recent interview with Anna Farrus, Admissions Manager at Oxford Said Business School.

Has Oxford seen an increase in applications over the last year? Do you expect this trend to continue in the next recruiting cycle?

Farrus: Yes, we have seen an increase in the number of application of around 20%. We were not very sure what was going to happen this year due to the economic recession. We thought we were going to see an increase, but we were not positive because we've never seen a crisis of this caliber before. But we have seen an increase. Next year, we don't know what will happen, but I wouldn't expect such a high increase.

What do you think is Oxford's most distinguishing characteristic(s) when compared with other MBA Programs?

The MBA Program is quite young - it's only 12 years old. I think one thing that is quite different is this fact; we still have a lot of energy to change things, to improve things, to make the program look as we want and to make sure that it reflects what's happening in the business world. But at the same time, Saïd Business School is part of the University of Oxford which has more than 800 years of history. I think this combination of a very old university with lots of tradition and experience in the education world with a business school that is new, is a very powerful combination.

So that's one thing that makes Saïd unique. Also, it's a very international school. Ninety five percent of our students are international, so it's very diverse. When I talk about internationality, it's not just the countries of origin or nationalities, but also that our students have a very international background from living and working all over the world. So I think that the experiences that they can bring to the classroom are very interesting and unique.

Also, the school is very strong in social entrepreneurship. Right now entrepreneurship is very strong in many business schools, or is something that many business schools think is more and more important. But as far as I know, not too many schools have this social component in entrepreneurship that we are teaching. We have the Skoll Center for Social Entrepreneurship that basically promotes everything that has to do with that.

You mentioned that Saïd is a very new school, but is part of a university that is centuries old and steeped in tradition. Can you explain which Oxford traditions extend to the Saïd community?

The students are members of the university and the colleges. Pretty much all the traditions that are part of the University of Oxford extend to our students. For example, wearing the gown when they matriculate and sit exams; participating in formal, black-tie balls and formal dinners where a prayer is given before it starts. All of these are very characteristic and our students take part in these traditions that have been going on for centuries.

In addition to participating in Oxford traditions, belonging to the broader Oxford community and Oxford experience is something that attracts many of our students. As a student, you're not only interacting with MBA students, but also with students from the rest of the university, so in your college (students have to be members of one of the colleges) maybe you're interacting with a student from astrophysics or medicine. I think the way this can open one's mind is unbelievable. Many people come here with an idea of what they want to do in the future and they are very set in their ways, but after interacting with students who have nothing to do with business, they may change the way they think or the way they want to do things.