Welcome to the student led video on how to apply and prepare to come to an Oxford MBA. So I'm Catherine and I am a current Oxford MBA student from South Africa. I'm part of a group of students who got together to discuss how do we support a greater number of candidates from Africa apply to do the MBA here?

There are three sections to this video. Preparing, applying and coming to Oxford. I'll take you through the first which is preparing. So you may or may not know that the school has a real focus on Africa. Over 10% of our current class comes from Africa, all the way from Morocco to South Africa. So the information that we will share with you is applicable to anyone but it does have a focus on Africa for African candidates.

There are requirements to apply to do an Oxford MBA. They are at least two years work experience. You need to have an undergrad. You need to have career progression or be able to show career progression, among other things. All of this information is available on the Saïd Business School website. So Oxford Saïd looks for future business leaders who really want to tackle large scale challenges.

So if you're someone who this resonates with, Oxford could be a place for you. So the Oxford admissions team considers your application really holistically, so every part of it. And so it's very important that you do as much research as you can before you apply. There are two main elements to consider when you're thinking of applying. One is the GMAT or the GRE, and two is building your profile.

So the GMAT or GRE is mandatory. You have to do it, and it's a really big part of the application process. I took the GMAT at more than once. Don't underestimate the GMAT or GRE. I took three months, people take longer but it's really important. Your GMAT or GRE school doesn't determine whether you get in or not.

And for example, in my year, we have a range of schools, the lowest being 510 for the Met and the highest being 800. A median school is 690. Just to give you a range. The GMAT and GRE tests your verbal and quant skills. It's tested in a really high pressure environment and it's meant to test your aptitude.

So I know that the GMAT can be really intimidating and might not be something that you're familiar with, but my words would be, don't give up. You can try it again. The school looks at your application holisticall, and so if your GMAT score is not as high as the median, perhaps you can look at strengthening other parts of your application.

When you're preparing for the GMAT give yourself plenty of time at least three months, even more. If you're working full time and have a busy schedule. Consider resources - online resources: YouTube videos, there's official GMAT and GRE prep material if you can afford it - tutors. The GMAT really is an investment into your future because it's an investment into the MBA. As a group of students, we got together and looked at tips on what we found helpful and we realized that the theory when you're preparing is really important but don't spend too much time on the theory, it's really important to practise, to spend time on the practice questions and to ensure that you're keeping on time because timing is important for the exam.

As the school's focus is on increasing the number of African candidates, there is always assistance. If you're struggling with a GMAT and you cannot access prep material or you're really struggling with your test centre, reach out to the admissions team.

Another tip from students is to practise smart. So when you're doing those practise questions and you're getting them wrong, really understand why, try to find shortcuts and don't just keep on practising question After question without really having a strategy on how you're going to go forward. The GMAT really is an exam of strategy so think about that when you're preparing.

Also take the mock exams in full exam like conditions so you're timing it and you're doing and completing the exam. Exactly as you would on the test day that will help. When you're in the exam  just know the timing is really important that you really should aim to finish all the questions in the right amount of time because that will significantly affect your score.

The GMAT and the GRE is an adaptive test, which means while you're answering questions, the questions will either get more difficult or less difficult, depending on how you answered the previous question. And then lastly confidence is really key. Believe in yourself build your confidence so that on test day you sitting in the exam room ready to write.

So this next section is on building your profile. It's really important that you go to the website and make sure that you meet all of the application criteria. A tip might be to look at alumni profile so when you build your own profile you can see the types of profiles that Saïd Business School has had in the past. When you're looking at your profile, you might need to expand or build on certain areas so seek people out to help you with that or find opportunities to do that. You can also really highlight your unique abilities and what you bring to the Business School from Africa. It would also be beneficial to explain what type of impact you've had in Africa from an African perspective. So typical things you might want to include are your extracurricular activities, things that you've done in your life that make you really interesting and stand out. This will allow the admissions team to really get a sense of who you are.

Another tip is to make sure that your leadership and communication skills really come through in your profile and application. When you're preparing to apply to do an MBA at Oxford, use that time to really introspect. It's a great opportunity to really consider why you want to do an MBA, why an Oxford MBA, and how this all will fit into your life and what you want to achieve.

Hi, I'm Roman. I'm a Zimbabwean MBA student from the current class. In this video I will talk about part of the application process into the Oxford MBA programme. I'll focus on three things: engaging with the school, building a strong application and interviewing. So before I go into the three phases of the application, it's important that I highlight that it's crucial for one to go through the Oxford MBA website and note all the requirements and then consider applying.

One - engaging with the school. So, you have gone through the websites you have read or the requirements, you have understood what the programme offers so you now need to answer whether the programme is right for you or you are also a good fit for the programme.

But how do you answer these two critical questions? You need to reflect on your career goals. What do you need to develop in the MBA and also your path post the MBA programme.

Another step that you can do is to corroborate your understanding by contacting current students or alumni. If you don't know anyone then you can always contact the admissions team via the Saïd Business School website. They will gladly answer your responses to your questions. Finally you can also sign up for the admissions newsletter this will keep you up to date with admissions events, webinars and also open days.

Two, building a strong application. The first thing to note is that the application process is online so you need to make sure that you complete all the sections and also include the application fee otherwise your application will not be considered.

So let's talk about building a strong CV. The first thing to note is you need to use the Oxford MBA one page template that is available on the application portal. Secondly, you should summarize your experience using verbs. Highlight your actions, and quantify the results. Thirdly, review your CV and also seek other people who can review and also give you objective feedback.

One final thing to remember is remember you are of course a total individual so also highlight your extracurricular activities. Highlight the things that you are proud of, your success so that people also get to see the personality behind the applicant.

Now onto references. So this section provides the admissions team an opportunity to get a third party perspective of the applicant who should be a referee. It all depends on your circumstances. It could be a current boss, a former boss, or a client or a business partner or relationship that you have, as long as the person has got an exposure to your professional work. Also one thing to note is it's not about the title of the individual that you choose, but it's about selecting someone who knows you well and also has got the time commitment to write about your strengths, your development areas, and also making sure that your personality comes alive in that narrative. You should make sure that you inform your referees before you submit their names into the application portal.F

Finally review the FAQ page to find out more details about referees. Also note that you don't need to submit the letter yourself, just submit the name, the email of the referee.

Now I talk about written work. So note that throughout the application process there are a lot of areas the way you need to talk about your career development and also personal statements.

In this section you should be able to articulate to the admissions committee your motives of undertaking the MBA. So you should be able to basically answer why you need the MBA and why now. So I'll give you an example about myself. B efore coming to the MBA Atlanta as a chartered accountant in Zimbabwe, and I also had done CFA and I was working as head of finance.

So my motives of doing the MBA went to develop in strategy, entrepreneurship, and responsible leadership so that post the MBA I can assume broad responsibilities and this is very key. Many people believe that Africa is the next powerhouse so great leaders or be in great demand.

Allow yourself plenty of time to review your application and also remember that it will be a an interaction process that you need to go through before you actually click the submit button.

Finally, note that part of the application process is applying for scholarships, of which there are a number that relate to African students. Some require additional essays to be submitted together with the application form. My advice would be write as much as you can find creative ways of making sure that you include all your experience and also check everything before submission.

Now the final phase of the application process: interviewing. If you go to this page well done. the hard part is behind you. Prepare for the MBA interview as you would a job interview. Review application and CV and identify your past experiences that will help you to illustrate how you handled being in a team, conflict situations and also leadership responsibilities.

My tip would be find lots of interview questions, practise them out loud in front of a mirror or with a friend. You can also connect with alumni via LinkedIn to also get more tips into how to handle the interview process. Make sure you have a clear statement about your next steps and how the MBA will help you in your career and also remember be yourself.

At the end of the interview you will have an opportunity to ask questions so make sure that you prepare questions to ask the interviewer so that you can learn more about the programme and the school. Finally the interviews can be done in person or via video. So I hope hearing from African voices or encourage you to apply and for the best in your application.

Hi, I'm Vee and I'm an African MBA student in the current class I'm going to be talking about how to finance the MBA and hitting the ground running. So to start off with - how to finance the MBA. Cool, you've been accepted, gone through all the hard bits doing your GMATS, the applications and here we go. Your big question is how do you finance the MBA?

Firstly, there are quite a number of scholarships that are offered by Saïd Business School. A few of them you will be automatically eligible for and the Business School will put you through the process. You will only know whether or not you received any of these scholarships once you receive your offer. Secondly there are a bunch of scholarships that are offered by the University of Oxford itself.

These scholarships are sometimes separate from what the Business School offers, therefore, you'll have to apply for them they involve writing your essays some are based on academic merit and some are based on the region you're from. As part of the Oxford Saïd Business School's commitment to Africa there are a number of dedicated African scholarships that are awarded throughout the year.

So in terms of timing, it is absolutely imperative that you apply in the early rounds as most of the scholarships are given out in early rounds of applications. If you're like me and you apply it quite late through the application process, there are other methods and avenues available to fund your MBA. One of these would be getting a loan.

You can either get a loan with your local banks, but there are also international organizations that offer loans, which I used to get a student loan that covered my tuition. Once you sort out the financing there's one way you now have to hit the ground running and the first point is paying your deposit. It's important that this is done timelessly because you have a limited time after you receive your offer in which to pay your deposit. And once you have done this, this now takes you on to the next few stages in the process. If you have any difficulty in paying your deposit on time, whether it's due to waiting on a loan or waiting on a scholarship, it's important that you reach out to the admissions team and communicate this. So after you pay the deposit you then will become eligible to apply to a college within the university.

The college system really is your connection to the wider university as it is where you interact with other students in the programmes, whether it's undergrad or postgrad programmes. So once you place in a college it gives you access to the university and other students but also it is a friendly environment in which to interact with your fellow MBAs in which you can also interact with other families.

Colleges are very partner and kid friendly and they provide accommodation whether within the college or outside of it and private accommodation around the town of Oxford. Pre-MBA there are quite a lot of administrative tasks. This ranges from applying for your visa, quite a few tasks that you're given by the careers team which involve creating your CV, creating your LinkedIn profile and the number of exercises in which they take you through in order to build your Saïd Business School career profile.

It's important that you complete all of these tasks on time because they are quite imperative to your job search and if you are focussed on getting a job as soon as possible, do this with some serious effort and put the time in and it will benefit you in future. So the admissions team will create a messenger group in which you'll be able to interact with current MBA students and your incoming class.

These groups are really important and just being able to get to know your cohort as well as just a source to ask questions. I found it quite helpful in terms of asking questions around whether I'm keeping up on deadlines or applications for visas or any chance or just questions you generally might not have the answer to someone would likely have gone through the same thing and would have to be able to help you out.

Reaching out to your alumni network within your country is also an important thing that you can do. This gives you it will give you a more complete picture of what experience is like and at Oxford and what it is like post the MBA. I found it quite useful because there were quite a few South Africans were alums and they gave me detail around just the process around integrating myself into the MBA, what to look out for or what the post MBA career aspects are like and this added a lot more realism. And to my expectations going in

There are a lot of great opportunities and activities that you can get involved in once you are at the school. For example, there's Africa Alliance and specifically the Africa Business Forum, which I was a part of the organising committee for. It was a great opportunity to network with like-minded people, be exposed to great speakers from Africa and to get involved in the debate on how to move the continent forward.

In conclusion applying to what is a top tier university may seem like something that's out of reach, but I promise you it isn't. Trust in the process, believe that you're capable and worthy. Impossible is nothing, belief is everything. Don't let financing be the reason that you turn away from applying to a great opportunity. As an African, I hope that this video helps to inspire you to apply for the MBA and makes you realise that we have a responsibility to contribute to the African continent and what this could add to that.