Update: TOEFL will be accepted in the UK under certain conditions. See Using TOEFL® Scores to Apply to U.K. Universities. Except for this paragraph and the title, the rest of this post has not been updated. If you have been preparing to take the TOEFL and plan to apply to graduate programs in the UK and will need a Tier 4 Student Visa (The student visa required for longterm stay), you should stop studying TOEFL and start studying IELTS. For my interview with a TOEFL and IELTS test prep expert, please see here. According to the UK’sGuidance on applying for a UK visa: approved English language tests: “Expiry of Educational Testing Services' (ETS) licence to carry out secure English language tests: impact on student visa applicants. The Government wants to ensure that this change does not have an impact on genuine international students who took an ETS test in good faith before the licence expired. UK Visas and Immigration are accepting visa applications which rely on an ETS certificate issued before the expiry of the licence was made public on 17 April. These applications will be considered subject to our normal checks. Applications will be accepted until new Immigration Rules come into effect and transitional provisions have come to an end.” ETS reported it this way: “Following the broadcast of a BBC Panorama program in February 2014 which highlighted an organized criminal element seeking to circumvent the U.K.'s visa-granting process, ETS has made the decision not to extend our Secure English-language Testing (SELT) license with the Home Office. As a result, TOEIC® and TOEFL iBT® testing will no longer be offered for U.K. visa-granting purposes.” If you have taken TOEFL on or before April 17, 2014, you can still use your TOEFL score as part of the UK student visa process. If you TOEFL test was after April 17, 2014, you need to take a new test. The London School of Economics posted a long explanation of the issue on their site. Since this is all very new most schools have yet to handle the issue, but the University of Cambridge (the school behind TOEFL’s rival test, IELTS) has: “The Home Office has suspended accepting ETS tests as evidence of English language ability. This includes the Princeton TOEFL test (Test of English as a Foreign Language), and as a result the University of Cambridge will no longer be accepting TOEFL test scores as sufficient to meet the language entry requirements for Graduate study.” Unless the Home Office and ETS come to some sort of agreement, if you want to attend a graduate program in the UK and you need to prove your English ability based on a standardized test, forget about TOEFL and take IELTS. Even if the schools would be happy to take the TOEFL test, it is meaningless to do so because you can’t use it for a student visa. I am assuming, the rest of the UK will follow Cambridge’s lead. I will update this story as it develops.
-Adam Markus
I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.
One marketing gimmick, used the world over, is tell potential customers/applicants/survey test takers how easy it is to complete an application for whatever. I can’t prove that the Business School Admissions offices that I mention in this post had car insurance ads or membership card applications or “Please Take this Survey” requests in mind when putting together their applications. Still Booth Chicago, Cambridge Judge, Harvard Business School, IMD and Oxford Said all have “hidden essay” content, that is to say, they require essays which they don’t call essays. I expect this trend to continue in the coming years.
I think most of this is done to somehow create the appearance that applicants will have to do less writing than would otherwise be the case. Each of these school’s applications has its unique way of hiding essay content that is actually really important.
One downside of hidden essays is that applicants can easily underestimate how much time will actually be required to effectively complete an application. As anyone who has ever completed an application form for a top MBA program can tell you, it is time consuming.
Another downside of hidden essays is that applicants will not take really important content as seriously as they should because they somehow think application form content is not as important as essay content. Underestimating the importance of applications is actually a mistake. Schools take their application form content seriously and information on an applicant’s past academic, extracurricular, and professional background is a core part of the evaluation process. I regularly review my clients’ application form content because it is an important part of the application process. Even more so when the content is extensive and contains answers to questions related to goals, why MBA, and accomplishments.
While applications are sure to change in a variety of ways for 2015 admission, let’s take a look at some some of the hidden essays used for 2014 admission.
1. The Mini-Goals/Why MBA Essay of HBS and IMD
HBS eliminated even an optional full-length Why MBA/Goals Essay a couple of years ago. For the last two years, they have been asking for a 500 character statement in the application form:
Employment Section Intended Post-MBA:
Industry:
Accounting
Advertising/Marketing
Aerospace/Automotive
Agribusiness
Arts/Culture
Biotechnology
Broadcasting
Chemicals
Commercial Banking
Community/Economic Development
Computer Software and Services
Construction
Consulting
Consumer Products
Diversified Communications
Diversified Financial Svcs/Insurance
Education
Energy/Extractive Minerals
Engineering
Entertainment/Leisure
Food Service/Lodging
Food/Beverage
Government
Health Services
High Technology/Electronics
Highly Diversified Manufac and Service
International Development/Relief
Internet Development Services
Investment Banking
Investment Management
Legal Services
Machinery and Indus Equip Mftrs
Medical/Health Care Devices
Military
Multimedia
Other Non-Profit
Paper and Forest Products
Pharmaceuticals
Printing/Publishing
Private Equity
Public Relations
Real Estate Development
Real Estate Finance
Retailing/Wholesaling
Sales and Trading
Sports
Telecommunications
Trading/Import/Export
Transportation
Utilities
Venture Capital
Function:
Accounting/Control
Consulting
Engineering
Finance: Corporate Finance
Finance: General
Finance: Investment Management
Finance: Lending
Finance: Mergers and Acquisitions
Finance: Research
Finance: Sales and Trading
Finance: Treasury/Analysis
Finance: Underwriting/Advising
Finance: Venture Capital
Fundraising/Development
General Management
Human Resources
Information Services Mgmt.
Investment Advising
Legal Services
Logistics
Manufacturing/Operations
Marketing: Brand/Prod. Mgmt.
Marketing: Communications
Marketing: General
Marketing: Research
Marketing: Sales
Medical Services
Other
Product Development
Professional Advising-Religion
Project Management
Public Relations
Purchasing
Research and Development
Strategic Planning
Teaching
How does pursuing an MBA support your choices above? 500 characters.
Quite similarly IMD (My of IMD’s essays can be found here) provides two 200 character statements: What is your career goal post IMD? What are the skills you need to develop in order to achieve your goal?
IMD gives even less character count than HBS to explain why you need an MBA and what you intend to do post-MBA. This is a major topic, which might be central to an interview at either school and will surely be a basis upon which an applicant will be judged, so it highly likely that an applicant will spend much more time thinking about the answer(s) than on the writing. This really is a “brevity is the soul of wit” situation: An applicant needs to think deeply and explain as succinctly as possible why they need an MBA to achieve their goals.
2. Cambridge Judge: Somehow make the distinction between “MBA Essays” and “Career Objectives”
My Analysis of Cambridge Essays can be found here. Anyone who thinks that the Cambridge only has has two essays is in for a bit of surprise when they actually look at the Cambridge Judge Online Application because there are actually 5 essays, not two. Strangely, a 500 word Career Objectives statement is not an “essay.” One "Career Objectives" Statement Please provide a personal statement. It should not exceed 500 words and must include the following:
What are your short and long term career objectives?
What skills/characteristics do you already have that will help you to achieve them?
What do you hope to gain from the degree programme and how do you feel it will help you achieve the career objectives you have?
I am not sure what sort of bureaucratic mind is at work that differentiates between this statement and the essays, but clearly this is an essay and a core part of the Judge application. 3. Chicago Booth: Break-up an essay into two pieces and just don’t include it in the essay section.
Booth is not as confusing as Judge, but clearly doing something a bit odd. You get 700 characters each for these two application form questions: What is your short-term post-MBA goal? What is your long-term post-MBA goal?
It seems clear enough from their application form that Booth modified what HBS had been doing. The thing is, HBS gives 500 characters, which is about 75-125 words and clearly a very mini-essay. On the other hand, Booth is giving 700 characters each for the above, which amounts to about 125-150 words each, so between the two applicants had about 250-300 words, which is actually the length of a small essay. Clearly Booth was just moving around content to make it appear that applicants have fewer essays to write than they actually do. 4. Cambridge Judge and Oxford Said: Combine essay content with a standard employment description
I have already mentioned Cambridge labelling only two of its five essays as “Essays.” Their other non-essays are: What is your most significant challenge within your current company? (1000 Characters Maximum) What is your most significant accomplishment within your current company? (1000 Characters Maximum)
1000 characters is 150-250 words, so again small essays. These two non-essays are clearly on important topics for assessing an applicant’s past experience.
Many applicants to Cambridge Judge also apply to Oxford Said (My Oxford essay analysis is here) and “coincidently” Oxford as the following non-essay questions: Please list your main responsibilities, your most significant challenge and your greatest achievement (5000 Characters including spaces, which means about 1000-1250 words maximum for answering all three of these).
These are three separate topics. The first one is simply standard current position application content, while the other two topics are actually the same non-essay questions that Cambridge asks. I think it is fine to include this sort of content in an application form, so please note that I am not criticising this, but rather simply pointing out that these are major topics for evaluating an applicant and should be taken seriously.
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet -W. Shakespeare
B-schools can call them essays, application form questions, statements of purpose, whatever. The name does not matter. The time you will to write an answer will be just the same. The value given to the answer will be just the same. Just make sure your answer smells sweet!
-Adam Markus
I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.
In this post, I an analyze the essay questions for theOxford MBA at the Saïd Business School for the 2014/15 class. I have already had one client admitted to the program for this class of 2014/2015. See here for my client’s results for Oxford as well as other schools. Oxford has six application rounds, so while this post is late, I trust it will be helpful to those making application in March, April, and May 2014. If you are considering applying to Oxford, I would strongly suggest you take advantage of their pre-application assessment, CV review as discussed on their webpage. This is a great service to applicants as it really help you know whether it is worth making an application to the program. It also is a great way of getting the attention of the admissions office. I do recommend that you submit a great CV though. I regularly help my own clients with CVs, but even if you don’t use an admission consultant, make sure you put time into making a great CV. Here is one CV template. Below are the essay questions. Keep in mind that Oxford also asks substantial questions in the application form that are in essence essays. You can find my analysis of those application questions after the reapplication essay analysis. 1) What should Oxford expect from you? Maximum 500 words.* Given that Essay 2 focuses on your goals and why you need an MBA, your focus here should be helping Oxford understand why they should admit you based on your background, values, and achievements. I would recommend concentrating on 3-4 aspects of yourself that would best demonstrate your potential to contribute to and/or succeed at Oxford and subsequently. I assume you will focus on how you will make positive impact at Oxford and subsequently. Some Questions to get you brainstorming: 1. What do you want Oxford to know about you that would positively impact your chances for admission? 2. What major positive aspects of your life have not been effectively INTERPRETED to the admissions committee in other parts of the application? 3. What could you discuss about yourself that you think would really help admissions understand you and want to admit you? 4. Based on who you are, what will you contribute to your classmates and the wider Oxford community? 5. Is there anything in your background that be a positive indicator for what kind of alumnus you will be? 2) How do you hope to see your career developing over the next five years? How will the MBA and Oxford assist you in the development of these ambitions? Maximum 500 words.* “How do you hope to see your career developing over the next five years?” Oxford Essay 1 is a completely practical question. Oxford is looking for something grounded and specific: A FIVE YEAR PLAN. Note the ambiguity in the question itself, the plan maybe written from the perspective of the present or from the perspective of after one finishes the MBA. I advise clients to treat it as as post-MBA five year plan as I think that is implied by the presence of the third part of the question (“How will the MBA and Oxford assist you in the development of these ambitions?“), but I would not insist on that. I think most applicants should treat it as a post-MBA five year plan, but if you prefer integrating the MBA directly into the plan, that is fine. WHAT IS A PLAN? A plan is practical. It has details. It shows you have really thought about what you want to do. It shows you have done research about your intended future employers and/or future entrepreneurial venture. It shows you are realistic. That does not mean that it should be boring or lack ambition, but it does mean that it has to rise beyond a level of mere abstraction. Treat it as seriously as you would treat a memo to your boss on the future direction of your department, a proposal to a client on an expensive project, or a business plan. Make sure you show how an MBA and Oxford fits the plan. If you can’t establish a tight connection between your plan and Oxford, either apply somewhere else or change your plan. And remember as long as you can speak effectively about your plan in an interview, the second after you are admitted, you have no obligation to stick to that plan. How will the MBA and Oxford assist you in the development of these ambitions? In this part of the question you need to explain why you need an MBA from Said. To really answer this question you need to know about Oxford. Fullly investigate what the program offers and how it will best help you. BIG HINT: Find one or more professors and/or research focus areas at Oxford that really meet your needs as well as discussing more general aspects of the MBA program. Another Big Hint: Oxford means more than just Said, it means the entire university as well as your college experience. If you are having difficulty explaining your plans or reasons for needing an MBA, please see my analysis of Stanford Essay 2. 3) Please chose and answer one of the two essays below: Sport is pure competition. What does it teach us about companies, individuals, and markets? Maximum 500 words. OR The business of business is business. Is this true? Maximum 500 words.* Oxford is a school for people who can think. Both of these topics require you to express an opinion. There is no right or wrong, merely answers that are well argued and interesting to read and ones that are less analytically coherent and dull. Your job is to show your thinking at your best. Neither of these questions necessarily requires to bring your own experience into the topic. A client who was admitted to Oxford in R1 wrote on one of these topics without specific to his or her experience. Instead that person’s answer was analytically sharp and revealed a unique way of addressing the question. That said, if your own experience fits here, feel free to bring it in. Unlike with most questions, I analyze, I am not going to provide a detailed analysis of what these questions mean, but rather pose some questions that apply to thinking about each of these questions. Hopefully these questions will get you brainstorming. Sport is pure competition. What does it teach us about companies, individuals, and markets? -What is meant by pure competition? Does such a thing exist? -How do you account for cheating in sports? -Do you accept or reject the very notion that something as objectively ruled-based as a sport can be applied to much more complex systems (companies, individuals, markets)? -Do you believe in free markets? -What is the relationship between competition in sports and competition between individuals in general? - In what ways do companies compete with each other in ways that are similar and different from competition in sports? The business of business is business. Is this true? -Do businesses have responsibilities beyond the conduct of their business? -Do you believe in corporate social responsibility? -Can one do business without consideration for the society one is operating in? -Is business an end in itself or does relate to something else/something greater? Finally, my advice is to think about both essay options and writing on the topic that interests you more. The more that you can show your active engagement with the topic, the better. 4) What improvements have you made in your candidacy since you last applied to the Oxford MBA programme? (for re-applicants only)Maximum 250 words. This is a very standard reapplication question. An effective answer here will do the following: 1. Showcase what has changed since your last application that now makes you a better candidate. 2. Refine your goals. I think it is reasonable that they may have altered since your last application, but if the change is extreme, you had better explain why. 3. Make a better case for why Oxford is right for you. For more about reapplication, please see "A guide to my resources for reapplicants." Application Questions On the “You at Work” page of the application, there is the following: Please list your main responsibilities, your most significant challenge and your greatest achievement (5000 Characters including spaces, which means about 1000-1250 words maximum for answering all three of these). These are three separate topics. You should address each of these topics. In addition, given that Oxford application includes no place for any sort of additional information or explanation of issues about your application (test scores, gaps in employment, etc.), I suggest including that information here rather than using up your essay word count for it. The first topic, main responsibilities relates directly to current professional position and would simply be an extended version of what you have in your CV. I assume your CV emphasizes accomplishments, so here also mention your overall responsibilities as well as your accomplishments. For the next two topics, it is my understanding that you don’t have to focus on your most significant challenge and greatest achievement at your current position, but rather can discuss these topics more generally. You can, of course, discuss these topics in relationship to other jobs or even more generally. Your most significant challenge A challenge can certainly be a weakness, failure or setback, it is surely possible that a challenge could simply be a real test of your leadership and a great way to convey an accomplishment. Structure 1. Clearly state what your challenge was. 2. Explain what actions you took. Think about what your actions reflect about your own skills and/or personality. 4. Explain what you learned and/or gained (a skill or a new opportunity, for example) from the experience. It is critical that you learned or gained something, otherwise it will be difficult (probably impossible) to explain how this experience has helped you achieve success now and in the future. Here are some types of challenges to get you brainstorming: -Challenges that relate to lack of ability or skill. For instance having difficulty completing a task or being successful because of your limited capability. Overcoming such a challenge involves a story about gaining or otherwise obtaining access to the necessary skill. -Challenges that relate to relationships with other people or groups, such as conflicts within a team. Overcoming such challenges typically involves effective utilization of interpersonal skills. -Challenges that relate to one's psychological condition, cultural understanding, or other deeper mental assumptions. Overcoming such challenges typically involves a change in mindset. -Challenges that relate to a really difficult task. It is possible that you write about a challenging situation which you use to highlight your abilities rather than a situation where you were initially deficient in some way. Your greatest achievement Please see my analysis of IMD’s Essay 1, What do you consider to be your single most important achievement and why? as that analysis fully applies here. Best of luck with your Oxford application!
-Adam Markus
I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.
Like everyone else on the Oxford Said MBA programme (using UK English here) mailing list, I received this gem of bureaucratic lies in my email today:
"In light of the recent changes to the UK Border Agency VISA entry regulations and following a high number of requests from candidates, the Saïd Business School has extended the MBA application deadline for October 2011 entry to 10 June 2011."- http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/degrees/mba/Pages/process.aspx
Said's last deadline was supposed to have been April 1st. The fact that they ADDED AN EXTRA DEADLINE is for a very simple reason: They have not filled their class. The above message is total bullshit. No program adds an additional deadline like this unless it is because they don't have enough qualified warm bodies to fill the October 2011 entry. The recent changes to UK Border Agency VISA entry regulations, which would make post-MBA employment in the UK more difficult for international students, (See http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/apr2011/bs20110415_661713.htm) has likely reduced the number of applicants to Oxford. According to the aforementioned Businessweek article:
"The new government restrictions and the debate in the media that has whirled around them over the past few months have caused concern among overseas applicants, especially those who want to work in the U.K. for a period of time after they graduate, say career services directors at U.K. schools. Many applicants have expressed worry that it will be tougher to find a job and, as a result, some schools have seen dips in applications this year. In an Association of MBAs survey of 47 accredited business schools conducted this January, 97 percent of responding schools said they believed continued restrictions on student visas are likely to affect their enrollment numbers."
It does not help Said to have TOEFL and IELTS score minimums (See here) that bar most likely applicants from East Asia. Combine that HBS level requirement with the above visa changes that will more likely negatively impact applicants from South Asia, and it is easy to imagine why the Oxford MBA programme would be having a problem.
I did not know that a school such as Oxford would change its policies because of a high number of requests, but it is so nice to know that they are open to changing their policies. :)
I think it is both pathetic and laughable that one of the world's most respected brands in higher education (Not necessarily in B-school) has to engage in such obvious lying. I guess times are tough and rounding up enough qualified students for the Class of 2012 is proving difficult. In some sense, this should not really be a surprise given that Oxford declined from 27th (2008) to 47th (2009) to 71st (2010) in The Economist rankings. Of course, Oxford rose in the FT rankings from 20th (2009) to 16th (2010), but it had been 19th (2008), so I guess you could say it is fluctuating. To the extent that rankings matter, I guess potential applicants to Said have to compare The Economist's significant declining ranking versus the generally positive ranking from the FT. Caveat emptor!
The problem with UK schools (and most non-US B-schools, IMD being a key exception) is that they lack any transparency in their admissions processes. They don't report acceptance rates, yields, or anything but very vague statements about the relative difficulty of admission. If Said was required to report its actual acceptance rates and yield, perhaps its MBA admissions staff would think twice about lying to potential applicants.
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form, which is publicly available on google docs here, and then send your completed form to adammarkus@gmail.com. You can also send me your resume if it is convenient for you. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. See here for why.
Following Oxford Said's introduction of severely high English requirements for 2010 entry, Cambridge Judge will be getting even more severe than Oxford for 2012 entry.
Oxford Said introduced new English level minimums for entry beginning in 2010:
For applicants, especially those coming from countries where getting a 109 or higher is difficult (Japan, South Korea, China, and Taiwan being the ones that immediately come to my mind), this is good and bad news. It is clearly bad news for those with scores under 109 because clearly Oxford is no longer an option. For East Asians with TOEFL scores over 109, suddenly the number of highly competitive applicants coming from their region is likely to drop significantly.
I think this is especially unfortunate for my clients in Japan, not only because it will eliminate many strong applicants from applying, but because it will likely damage the ability of Oxford to build a strong network here. Given the large percentage of company-sponsored applicants who don't have TOEFL 109 level English, I think it is fair to say that Oxford will see a significantly reduced number of Japanese with strong professional backgrounds in the coming years.
In fact, the number of Japanese at Oxford has gone down and they are all, obviously very advanced English speakers. Oxford is no longer a viable option for many candidates who would have considered it, but find all top US schools (except HBS), INSEAD, LBS, and IMD (GMAT score only) better options both in terms of rank and barrier to entry.
Not to be outdone, Cambridge will be introducing new standards of required English ability for entry in 2012:
110 TOEFL! Congratulations Cambridge, you are about to have the world's highest TOEFL requirement of any MBA program! This is a bold experiment in exclusivity designed to radically reduce non-native English speakers without extensive international experience. I know there is a Cambridge/Oxford rivalry, but..
By the way, for those applying for 2011 entry, the old Cambridge requirements-
-are still in place, but I bet they will be making it tougher than these numbers indicate.
As far as UK schools go, London Business School, with its very flexible entry requirements and top rank, proves that exclusivity per se is not the best way to be recognized as a Top B-School. For applicants who want to experience real diversity while getting the top B-school experience in the UK, I predict that LBS will be the only game in town. For those who want to experience working with only fully bilingual/bi-cultural candidates, Oxford and Cambridge should be your targets. Each option has its advantages (real diversity versus fluency) and disadvantages (inefficiency versus experiencing the kind of diversity that is the part of working with those who really don't share your linguistic and/or cultural assumptions).
For Fall 2011 admission, I have somewhat revised my post on the Oxford Said Business School MBA application essay questions from my previous post. I have taken the questions from the Online Application.
SHORTER ESSAYS: The only thing that has changed is the length of the essays. Essay 1 was 1000 words maximum and now is 750 words maximum. Essay 2 was 2000 words maximum and now is 1000 words maximum.
THERE IS MORE THAN JUST THE TWO ESSAYS DISCUSSED BELOW: Also do keep in mind that the Oxford application form contains significant space to write "essay like" content:
-FOR EACH PROFESSIONAL POSITION: 5000 characters maximum
-HOBBIES: 7900 characters maximum.
My clients have found it helpful to make full use of this space provided. Considering that Oxford takes a CV as well, there is really plenty of room here to highlight ones professional accomplishments in ways that can't be fully accounted for in the two essays below.
Oxford has two essay questions.
1)Explain why you chose your current job. How do you hope to see your career developing over the next five years? How will an MBA assist you in the development of these ambitions? Maximum 750 words. The question actually breaks intro three parts, so we will look at each piece.
"Explain why you chose your current job."
I think without being explicit about it, Oxford is engaging in a bit of behavioral questioning here. Behavioral questions (See my analysis of MIT for more about this topic) are based on the idea that past behavior is the best guide to future behavior. By understanding your rationale for taking your most recent job, Oxford can gain some insight into how you make choices. If they can understand how you make choices about jobs, they gain some insight into how you make other kinds of choices; About your career goals, why you want an MBA, and why you want one from Said. To provide an effective answer you need to explain what motivated you to take your current position. Multiple motivations are fine. The important thing is that you provide an explanation for your decision, not a summary of all your professional experiences.
Bad answers to this part of Booth's question will either take the form of general summaries of past professional experience or even an overall interpretation of one's past experience. Said wants an analysis of your decision, not an analysis of all of the wonderful things you have learned from your past work. Of course you will likely need to refer to a position (or positions) prior to the most recent one, but that does not mean that you should summarize those positions. You would discuss such experience(s) only in order to explain why you chose your most recent position.
"How do you hope to see your career developing over the next five years?" Oxford Essay 1 is a completely practical question. Unlike schools like Stanford that ask about the applicant's "career aspirations", Oxford is looking for something more grounded and more specific: A FIVE YEAR PLAN. Note the ambiguity in the question itself, the plan maybe written from the perspective of the present or from the perspective of after one finishes the MBA. I advise clients to treat it as as post-MBA five year plan as I think that is implied by the presence of the third part of the question ("How will an MBA assist you in the development of these ambitions?"), but I would not insist on that. I think most applicants should treat it as a post-MBA five year plan, but if you prefer integrating the MBA directly into the plan, that is fine.
WHAT IS A PLAN?
A plan is practical. It has details. It shows you have really thought about what you want to do. It shows you have done research about your intended future employer and/or future entrepreneurial venture. It shows you are realistic. That does not mean that it should be boring or lack ambition, but it does mean that it has to rise beyond a level of mere abstraction. Treat it as seriously as you would treat a memo to your boss on the future direction of your department, a proposal to a client on an expensive project, or a business plan. Make sure you show how Oxford fits the plan. If you can't establish a tight connection between your plan and Oxford, either apply somewhere else or change your plan. And remember as long as you can speak effectively about your plan in an interview, the second after you are admitted, you have no obligation to stick to that plan.
"How will an MBA assist you in the development of these ambitions?" While this question does not say an "MBA from Said," I would urge you to assume that. In this part of the question you need to explain why you need an MBA from Said. To really answer this question you need to know about Oxford. Fullly investigate what the program offers and how it will best help you. BIG HINT: Find one or more professors and/or research focus areas at Oxford that really meet your needs as well as discussing more general aspects of the MBA program.
2) Which recent development, world event or book has most influenced your thinking and why? Maximum 1,000 words.
This is "The Oxford Question" and just as Essay 1 is highly practical, this one is the place to think great thoughts, to show your personality, and to establish you fit at a school known for centuries as one of the great centers of scholarship. Over the years, I have worked with great applicants who used this question successfully to win admission to Oxford. For Fall 2010, I had two clients admitted and in Fall 2009, I had five clients admitted. You can find testimonials from four of them here. In addition, I had the opportunity to work with additional admits on their Oxford interviews. Each told their own story. The things that were common to all, was a willingness to take on a big subject and to show their connection to it.
THE RELEVANCE TEST: A great answer here will be on something relevant to why Oxford should admit you:
- A concept or value that has influenced a major decision(s) you have made in your life
-An important aspect of the way you view an issue critical to your goals
-Your commitment to something greater than your own personal interest
-Your inner intellectual life
-Your ethical values
-Some other aspect of who you are that will compel admissions to want to interview you
A RECENT DEVELOPMENT
A number of clients have successfully written on a recent development. Obviously the impact of a recent development is much more time-limited than a world event or book. Your ability to integrate such a development- technological, environmental, cultural, political, economic, academic or social most likely- into your own experience can be a great way to show Oxford how you think about the changing world around you. I have noticed that this topic seems to really easily connect to goals and can make for some of the most effective essays that I have read.
WORLD EVENT
While many recent developments are world events, not all world events are recent developments. Did some world event in the past deeply impact your thinking? If so, what was it? This topic can work extremely well if you want to focus your essay on showing how something in the past impacted you. This topic will likely make it possible for you to easily integrate your experiences into the essay.
BOOK
In many ways I consider this to be the most difficult topic to write on because it involves a question of taste. You really need to think seriously about what sort of book is appropriate. Based on working with clients, I suggest you select something that fits well with Oxford. If the previous sentence is not specific enough, you need to learn more about the academic culture of the place. Serious literature, serious non-fiction, academic texts, and classics are likely to be more effective than popular fiction, popular business, self-help, or other popular non-fiction. If I sound like I am being a snob, it is because, at least based on what I can determine from working with a variety of clients, it is in your interest to follow my snob advice! Know your audience and act accordingly. This is not supposed to be a book report, so focus on directly connecting specific aspect(s) of a book to your thinking and most likely your actions.
The thing that has influenced you is less important then how it is has influenced you. A good answer will focus less on the recent development, world event, or book and more on its impact on you. Focus on those aspects of the development, world event, or book that specifically impacted you. Show how it has done so.
Make certain that your explanation of the recent development, world event, or book is very clear as Oxford is using this question to determine your ability to analyze something. Be precise in your explanation and do not assume the reader has extensive knowledge of the subject. Even if the subject is well known, say "9/11" in the US, it would still be critical that you explain the exact impact of particular aspects of that event had on you.
Finally, effective answers are always personal. You may or may not be able to write about your accomplishments here, don't worry as long as it clearly helps Oxford admissions understand why they should interview you.
English Requirements at Oxford
Please see my earlier post on TOEFL and IELTS requirements for Oxford here. Take these requirements seriously because it seems to be clearly the case that Oxford is not making any exceptions to the minimums (TOEFL 109, IELTS 7.5) that were imposed on Said last year. Said now joins HBS in having the highest English minimum test scores.
Questions? Contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to.If you are looking for a highly experienced admissions consultant who is passionate about helping his clients succeed, please feel free to contact me at adammarkus@gmail.com to arrange an initial consultation. To learn more about my services, see here. Initial consultations are conducted by Skype or telephone. For clients in Tokyo, a free face-to-face consultation is possible after an initial Skype or telephone consultation. I only work with a limited number of clients per year and believe that an initial consultation is the best way to determine whether there is a good fit. Whether you use my service or another, I suggest making certain that the fit feels right to you.
My post analyzing Oxford's MBA application essay questions can be found here. For applicants who are required to demonstrate their English proficiency, the new TOEFL and IELTS standards for Fall 2010 admission imposed at Oxford University's Said Business School pose a serious hurdle:
Minimum score
TOEFL - Internet
109
TOEFL - Computer
267
TOEFL - Paper
630
IELTS
7.5
Oxford Said now requires the same TOEFL level as HBS. For advanced English speakers, this is no problem, but for many non-native applicants, this is a barrier to entry. Given Said's decline in the Economist ranking from 27th in 2008 to 47th in 2009, this could not have come at a worse time.
Last year, when I heard about the new requirements at Oxford, I had assumed that they were imposed on the Business School and this does appears to be the case. Oxford has university-wide English requirements for postgraduate studies. See here. Oxford has both "Standard Overall Score" and "Higher Overall Score" English requirements. The MBA, as a taught course falls under the "Higher Overall Score" requirements of 109 TOEFL or 7.5 IELTS.
For applicants, especially those coming from countries where getting a 109 or higher is difficult (Japan, South Korea, China, and Taiwan being the ones that immediately come to my mind), this is good and bad news. It is clearly bad news for those with scores under 109 because clearly Oxford is no longer an option. For East Asians with TOEFL scores over 109, suddenly the number of highly competitive applicants coming from their region is likely to drop significantly.
I think this is especially unfortunate for my clients in Japan, not only because it will eliminate many strong applicants from applying, but because it will likely damage the ability of Oxford to build a strong network here. Given the large percentage of company-sponsored applicants who don't have TOEFL 109 level English, I think it is fair to say that Oxford will see a significantly reduced number of Japanese with strong professional backgrounds in the coming years. Consider that IESE (Economist Rank 1), IMD (Economist Rank 2), LBS (Economist Rank 8), Cambridge (Economist Rank 11), IE (Economist Rank 16), and INSEAD (Economist Rank 23) have much lower English requirements. Even INSEAD only requires a 105. There is actually a significant difference between the 105 and 109 level. Cambridge Judge, which Oxford is most often compared with, only requires 100 TOEFL or 7 on IELTS.
To confirm that Oxford was indeed following these new requirements, I contracted them directly by sending an email to their mba-enquiries system. I posed as an applicant with 108 TOEFL score. Here is the response I received:
"If you are a non-native English speaker, proven proficiency through TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English language Test Scheme) is a requirement for admission to the MBA programme.
Please see below details of the required minimum scores:
TOEFL (minimum score required):
109 Internet based
267 Computer based
630 Paper based
IELTS (minimum score required): 7.5
The TOEFL/ IELTS test can only be considered valid if they were taken a maximum of two years prior to the application deadline for the stage in which you are applying."
Unless Oxford admissions is simply unwilling to state flexibility on this, I assume they are not flexible. Given that they are flexible about GMAT (see here), I assume they are actually stating inflexible TOEFL/IELTS minimum scores.
If any readers of this post are admitted to the fall 2010 entering class with less than 109 TOEFL or 7.5 IELTS, please let me know.
-Adam Markus
Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to.Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant."If you are interested in my graduate admission consulting services, please click here.
My more recent post on TOEFL and IELTS requirements for Oxford can be found here.
For Fall 2010 admission, I have revised my post on the Oxford Said Business School MBA application essay questions from my previous post. The most significant changes relate to an expanded discussion of the second question. I have taken the questions from the Online Application.
Oxford has two questions.
1)Explain why you chose your current job. How do you hope to see your career developing over the next five years? How will an MBA assist you in the development of these ambitions? Maximum 1,000 words. As the first and third parts of this question are similar to my analysis of Chicago, I would suggest you read that in addition to what I say here.
That said, Oxford Essay 1 is a completely practical question. Unlike schools like Stanford that ask about the applicant's "career aspirations" oreven a school like Chicago that asks for future goals, Oxford is looking for something more grounded and more specific: A FIVE YEAR PLAN. Note the ambiguity in the question itself, the plan maybe written from the perspective of the present or from the perspective of after one finishes the MBA. I advise clients to treat it as as post-MBA five year plan as I think that is implied by the presence of the third part of the question ("How will an MBA assist you in the development of these ambitions?"), but I would not insist on that. I think most applicants should treat it as a post-MBA five year plan, but if you prefer integrating the MBA directly into the plan, that is fine.
WHAT IS A PLAN?
A plan is practical. It has details. It shows you have really thought about what you want to do. It shows you have done research about your intended future employer and/or future entrepreneurial venture. It shows you are realistic. That does not mean that it should be boring or lack ambition, but it does mean that it has to rise beyond a level of mere abstraction. Treat it as seriously as you would treat a memo to your boss on the future direction of your department, a proposal to a client on an expensive project, or a business plan. Make sure you show how Oxford fits the plan. If you can't establish a tight connection between your plan and Oxford, either apply somewhere else or change your plan. And remember as long as you can speak effectively about your plan in an interview, the second after you are admitted, you have no obligation to stick to that plan. 2) Which recent development, world event or book has most influenced your thinking and why? Maximum 2,000 words.
This is "The Oxford Question" and just as Essay 1 is highly practical, this one is the place to think great thoughts, to show your personality, and to establish you fit at a school known for centuries as one of the great centers of scholarship. Over the years, I have worked with great applicants who used this question successfully to win admission to Oxford. For Fall 2009, I had five clients admitted to Oxford. You can find testimonials from three of them here. Each told their own story. The things that were common to all, was a willingness to take on a big subject and to show their connection to it.
THE RELEVANCE TEST: A great answer here will be on something relevant to why Oxford should admit you:
- A concept or value that has influenced a major decision(s) you have made in your life
-An important aspect of the way you view an issue critical to your goals
-Your commitment to something greater than your own personal interest
-Your inner intellectual life
-Your ethical values
-Some other aspect of who you are that will compel admissions to want to interview you
A RECENT DEVELOPMENT
A number of clients have successfully written on recent development. Obviously the impact of a recent development is much more time-limited than a world event or book. Your ability to integrate such a development- technological, environmental, cultural, political, economic, academic or social most likely- into your own experience can be a great way to show Oxford how you think about the changing world around you. I have noticed that this topic seems to really easily connect to goals and can make for some of the most effective essays that I have read.
WORLD EVENT
While many recent developments are world events, not all world events are recent developments. Did some world event in the past deeply impact your thinking? If so, what was it? This topic can work extremely well if you want to focus your essay on showing how something in the past impacted you. This topic will likely make it possible for you to easily integrate your experiences into the essay.
BOOK
In many ways I consider this to be the most difficult topic to write on because it involves a question of taste. You really need to think seriously about what sort of book is appropriate. Based on working with clients, I suggest you select something that fits well with Oxford. If the previous sentence is not specific enough, you need to learn more about the academic culture of the place. Serious literature, serious non-fiction, academic texts, and classics are likely to be more effective than popular fiction, popular business, self-help, or other popular non-fiction. If I sound like I am being a snob, it is because, at least based on what I can determine from working with a variety of clients, it is in your interest to follow my snob advice! Know your audience and act accordingly. This is not supposed to be a book report, so focus on directly connecting specific aspect(s) of a book to your thinking and most likely your actions.
The thing that has influenced you is less important then how it is has influenced you. A good answer will focus less on the recent development, world event, or book and more on its impact on you. Focus on those aspects of the development, world event, or book that specifically impacted you. Show how it has done so.
Make certain that your explanation of the recent development, world event, or book is very clear as Oxford is using this question to determine your ability to analyze something. Be precise in your explanation and do not assume the reader has extensive knowledge of the subject. Even if the subject is well known, say "9/11" in the US, it would still be critical that you explain the exact impact of particular aspects of that event had on you.
Finally, effective answers are always personal. Given the limited space in Essay 1 to discuss accomplishments, you may very well find that you can do so in Essay 2, but if you have a great topic for Essay 2 and it is not necessarily focused on your accomplishments, don't worry as long as it clearly helps Oxford understand why they should interview you.
Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to.Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant."If you are interested in my graduate admission consulting services, please click here.
This will be a relatively brief post on the Oxford Said Business School MBA application essay questions for Fall 2009 admission. I have taken the questions from the Online Application.
Oxford has two questions.
1)Explain why you chose your current job. How do you hope to see your career developing over the next five years? How will an MBA assist you in the development of these ambitions? Maximum 1,000 words. As the first and third parts of this question are similar to my analysis of Wharton, I would suggest you read that in addition to what I say here.
That said, Oxford Essay 1 is a completely practical question. Unlike schools like Stanford that ask about the applicant's "career aspirations" oreven a school like Wharton that asks for long and short-term goals, Oxford is looking for something more grounded and more specific: A FIVE YEAR PLAN. Note the ambiguity in the question itself, the plan maybe written from the perspective of the present or from the perspective of after one finishes the MBA. I advise clients to treat it as as post-MBA five year plan as I think that is implied by the presence of the third part of the question ("How will an MBA assist you in the development of these ambitions?"), but I would not insist on that. I think most applicants should treat it as a post-MBA five year plan.
WHAT IS A PLAN? A plan is practical. It has details. It shows you have really thought about what you want to do. It shows you have done research about your intended future employer and/or future entrepreneurial venture. It shows you are realistic. That does not mean that it should be boring or lack ambition, but it does mean that it has to rise beyond a level of mere abstraction. Treat it as seriously as you would treat a memo to your boss on the future direction of your department, a proposal to a client on an expensive project, or a business plan. Make sure you show how Oxford fits the plan. If you can't establish a tight connection between your plan and Oxford, either apply somewhere else or change your plan. And remember as long as you can speak effectively about your plan in an interview, the second after you are admitted, you have no obligation to stick to that plan. 2) Which recent development, world event or book has most influenced your thinking and why? Maximum 2,000 words. This is "The Oxford Question" and just as Essay 1 is highly practical, this one is the place to think great thoughts, to show your personality, and to establish you fit at a school known for centuries as one of the great centers of scholarship. Over the years, including last year, I have worked with great applicants who used this question successfully to win admission to Oxford. Each told their own story. The things that were common to all, was a willingness to take on a big subject and to show their connection to it.
THE RELEVANCE TEST: A great answer here will be on something relevant to why Oxford should admit you: - A concept or value that has influenced a major decision(s) you have made in your life -An important aspect of the way you view an issue critical to your goals -Your commitment to something greater than your own personal interest -Your inner intellectual life -Your ethical values -Some other aspect of who you are that will compel admissions to want to interview you
The thing that has influenced you is less important then how it is has influenced you. A good answer will focus less on the recent development, world event, or book and more on its impact on you. This is not supposed to be a book report. Focus on those aspects of the development, world event, or book that specifically impact you. Show how it has done so.
Make certain that your explanation of the recent development, world event, or book is very clear as Oxford is using this question to determine your ability to analyze something. Be precise in your explanation and do not assume the reader has extensive knowledge of the subject. Even if the subject is well known, say "9/11" in the US, it would still be critical that you explain the exact impact of particular aspects of that event had on you.
Finally, effective answers are always personal. Given the limited space in Essay 1 to discuss accomplishments, you may very well find that you can do so in Essay 2, but if you have a great topic for Essay 2 and it is not necessarily focused on your accomplishments, don't worry as long as it clearly helps Oxford understand why they should interview you.
Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to.Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant."If you are interested in my graduate admission consulting services, please click here.
