The following Oxford / Saïd MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 2 applicant who was admitted. Congratulations to them!
I had a Skype interview with Oxford Saïd in early February 2015.
The interviewer was a sector consultant and associate professor, with background in finance and investment. He told me at the beginning of the interview that it will last 30 minutes.
I read several interview reports as part of my preparation, and it seemed to me that Oxford does not have a consistent interview style, i.e, questions can vary immensely, depending on who your interviewer is. Because my interviewer was a sector consultant, I read up on general knowledge about my home country’s economy and about my sector beforehand. However it turned out that I was not asked any of those questions, the interview focused more on understanding my experience and personality to decide whether I am a good fit for the school.
The interviewer was very polite but did not show much emotion (whether he liked the answers), except for one question. He took a lot of notes.
Questions I were asked:
– Tell me about yourself
– Why MBA
– You seem to have taken several important roles at a young age. Is this because the market is immature?
– Tell me how you have progressed in your career?
– What is your short-term goal after MBA? (and some short questions relating to that)
– Why Oxford
– What is special about you? How do I pick you from a crowd?
– What are your values?
– How good are you at working under pressure?
– If you had half a day to go anywhere in the world, and this is not related to school or work, where would you go?
– Anything I have not covered and you want to mention?
– Any question for me?
My suggestions:
Be very brief and to the point in your answers. 30 minutes is a very short time. If you spend 5 minutes on an answer they may have to cut you off halfway or switch to another question.
Status: Admitted.
After your Oxford / Saïd MBA interview, be sure to add your first-hand interview report to the Clear Admit Interview Archive.
