Thursday, December 27, 2007

Never underestimate Oxford!

I've received an email from my cousin today, congratulating me on LBS admission. He was asking what my plans are if Oxford would offer me a place as well. From the tone of his email, I could tell he was a bit surprised that I am thinking about turning down Oxford to go to LBS. A couple of days ago, a similar topic came up when talking to my parents. How come I would not want to go to Oxford?

I guess I have been underestimating the power Oxford label has, after centuries of educating world's most successful people. Even though the Said Business School is relatively new, people I've talked to regard the program as one of the most successful programs that provide a good mix of Finance and Economics. This is one distinguishing factor, as the degree LBS provides is purely a Finance degree.

Here's another data point. An Oxford MBA (not MFE) blogger has posted a somewhat comparison between LBS and Oxford programs. http://richardconnmba.blogspot.com/2007/07/more-lbs-questions.html

Rankings are telling a different story though. When you look at the MBA rankings (unfortunately I do not have access to Finance ratings from any other source), LBS ranks much higher than Oxford. Take a look at FT rankings for example.

FT.com / Business Education / European Business school rankings
FT.com / Business Education / Global MBA rankings

LBS ranks 2nd in Europe, and 5th globally, whereas Oxford ranks 21st in EU and 19th globally.

For now, I will keep betting that LBS name will get bigger and better known outside the UK within 10 years or so. I am also betting that it is already a big name within PE/IB circles, which is what I care for.

Comments, anyone?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

While Oxford has a great name, many postings on forums suggest that Oxfords MFE program is disappointing. Not only is the program relatively new, but it seems to be underwhelming even with lowered expectations because of the programs youth. Additionally, while the Said school is well regarded, it has no where near the reputation that many business schools enjoy.

I agree that the LBS name does not translate as well as it probably should back in the states, I think its reputation is growing, and considering that the school itself is only a few decades old, I think it has a fairly remarkable reputation that will only continue to grow as faculty members earn nobels, and alum begin to ascend the business world and rack up noteworthy achievements.

T said...

Moe,

I'm writing this after I've got my acceptance from Oxford. So I've got to make a choice now, and your comment helps a lot.

I think I will go for LBS if I cana afford it. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I'm a little biased now. I finally got the invite after weeks of waiting, and am extremely excited about going. I was going to apply to the MFE program at Oxford but ultimately decided against it. I was thinking of applying to the Cambridge program but I got the interview invite from LBS so fast that I thought it was worth waiting on LBS so I didn't have to spend the time or money on another application. Since Cambridge's program, while undoubtedly excellent, was not a top choice for me because I wasn't really looking forward to being a Guinea Pig in their first class. I applied to LSE and am still waiting to hear, but I'm all but decided on LBS. Lastly, while I considered a few programs like Princeton's, I think for me personally they are a little more quant than I am prepared for (and while that is what I am looking to build upon, it is not my background so I wasn't sure if I would get as much out of the program as I would one that had a bit more of a practical grounding) and at probably two years, a lot of opportunity cost.

All that is how I narrowed it down to LBS. You have a lot of great options, will likely have more, and undoubtedly can't go wrong, but thought my thought process might prove helpful in your decision making.

Definitely expensive, but I think our future employment will more than cover the loans we will have to incur. Please let me know if you have any more thoughts, or want someone to bounce ideas off of. What matters most is that we find the best place for each of us individually.

T said...

moe4d,

Could you send me an email to finantic at gmail ? I'd love to chat with you, seems like we're inthe same boat here.