<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"></figure>

Show Summary

In this episode of Admissions Straight Talk, Linda Abraham interviews admissions directors from MBA programs outside the United States to find out if there are any common threads among them. The guests on the show include representatives from Oxford Saïd Business School, INSEAD, NYU Abu Dhabi, and HEC Paris. The interviews cover various topics such as program overviews, admissions processes, and common applicant mistakes. The interviews also touch on language requirements, the role of the video interview in the evaluation process, and the importance of holistic review in admissions decisions. Overall, this interview provides valuable insights into the unique aspects of these MBA programs and shed light on the similarities and differences among them.

Show Notes

Welcome to the 572nd episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for tuning in. Before I turn  to today’s show, I have a question for you. Are you ready to apply to your Dream MBA programs? Are you competitive at your target schools? Accepted’s MBA admissions quiz can give you a quick reality check. Just go to accepted.com/mbaquiz, complete the quiz, and you’ll not only get an assessment, but tips on how to improve your qualifications. Plus, it’s all free. .

If you are a regular listener, you know that during most episodes of Admissions Straight Talk, I interview a guest, frequently, an admissions director or dean. Usually, our guests are leaders at a US graduate program. However, within the last couple of years, I have had the privilege of interviewing several deans or directors from programs outside the United States. Today we’re going to take specific excerpts from four of those episodes and let you determine if there are some common threads and of course, how they differ.

Today’s episode is a collection of their answers to admissions questions as well as insight into their programs. The guests on this program are:

• Hannah Griffiths, MBA Recruitment and Admissions Director at Oxford Saïd Business School





• Teresa Peiro, Associate Global Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at INSEAD





• Dr. Robert Solomon, Dean of Stern at NYU Abu Dhabi





• Sara Vanos, Executive Director of Marketing and Admissions at HEC Paris.

I’ve asked some questions of almost every admissions director I’ve spoken to, so the responses that you’re going to see, again, represent a sample. In any case. Let’s start with Hannah Griffith of Oxford Saïd Business School. 

Oxford Saïd Business School

While Saïd is a fairly new and very innovative MBA program, Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world, and Hannah provides the following:  An overview of the Oxford Saïd MBA program, focusing on its more distinctive elements; insights into the program’s admissions process, and a review of common misconceptions about Oxford Saïd.

Can you give us an overview of the Oxford Saïd MBA program for those listeners who aren’t that familiar with it, focusing on its more distinctive elements? [2:32 ]

[HG] Yes, absolutely. So the Saïd Business School is a business school that is embedded within Oxford University. Our MBA program is a one-year MBA program, and given that the business school is embedded within a world-class university, that does impact the MBA experience in a number of different ways. One of those ways being that the students can expect, in the one-year program, a lot of academic rigor. Our program is an intensive one-year MBA, it aims to include everything that a candidate would maybe anticipate finding on a two-year program, but packed into a 12-month period.

The main aim of the business school and of the MBA program is to prepare our students to be responsible business leaders and individuals who, as they move through their career in the future, are prepared to tackle world scale problems, challenges, and to really see business as a vehicle to drive change. And be that within the organizations that they work in, the sectors that they choose to work in, in their communities, and sometimes on a larger scale in the countries that they choose to be based in.

In addition to academic rigor, there are some other things to highlight that students could anticipate finding on the Oxford MBA, an incredibly diverse cohort. So our student body is largely international, our current class is 94% international, with 71 different nationalities represented across the class. And diversity of thought is something that’s very important to us on the Oxford MBA, as well. So we have a very broad range of different sector backgrounds represented in our cohort, that also means that students can expect a diverse range of career outcomes, and also a global alumni network that will be very far-reaching in terms of its depth and breadth, as well.

And obviously access to the greater Oxford community network, correct? [4:58 ]

[HG] Yes, absolutely. Which largely comes via their college membership while they’re with us in Oxford, but in terms of that alumni network, absolutely. They gain the benefit of having a network that they will have via the business school, and then obviously, another network that comes via the university as well.

What don’t people know about Oxford Saïd that you would like them to know, or what’s a common misconception about Oxford Saïd that you’d like to correct? [5:19 ]

[HG] That’s a really great question. So I would say that the school is probably best known for its focus on social impact, and its focus on entrepreneurship. So students who research the business school, and research the MBA, those are the two main areas that will stand out to them, in terms of what the school focuses on. So I would say probably a misconception, as a result of that, is that the MBA at Oxford isn’t for you if you are a finance professional, or a consulting professional, or somebody who’s maybe looking to move into one of those two sectors after the program. And actually, the reality in terms of the makeup of our cohort and in terms of the sectors that our students go on to work in after the MBA, those two sectors are actually quite well represented. So about 45% of our class will come from those sectors, in advance of doing the MBA, and about 50% of our class will go on to work in those spaces after the program.

There is large numbers of, or large aspects of the program, in terms of the curriculum itself, but also in terms of the co-curriculars that are designed to support students who are looking to move into those spaces. So obviously, in terms of the core courses themselves, there’s a large number of those that are finance-focused. So for students who are maybe looking to pivot into that space, there is the opportunity to really study those subjects in depth on the MBA. One of our most popular co-curriculars on the Oxford MBA is our Finance Lab, which students, again who are interested in either accelerating their career in finance, or moving into the space, really, really benefit from. Similarly, with students who are looking to maybe pivot into consulting, I mentioned the strategic consulting project already that they can do in the summer semester. Our career development center also run a consulting development program throughout the academic year, to support students who are looking to move into that space.

And certainly, in terms again of the finance focus