Oxford beckons, farewell Amsterdam

Due to my lethargy, tales of recent developments appear with quite some delay. I attended my Oxford interview on April 28 having decided at the end of 2005 that my desire to undertake post-graduate study was more intense than my desire to continue working with Sara Lee. I had flagged in my performance review in November than an MBA was on the cards though at that point in time was undecided between commencing in 2006 or 2007.

I had been confident with my application to the Said Business School at Oxford University as it was the only school to which I ended up applying and hence my preparations were suitably thorough. Nonetheless, I was quietly relieved when invited to attend the interview session.

I arrived in Oxford at around 10am having taken the day off work and flown across early in the morning. The day was well organised and consisted of the interview itself, a plenary discussion with current students, the opportunity to sit in on a lecture, a presentation from the careers team, a tour of the school and lunch with current students, prospective students and academic staff.

The day re-confirmed my desire to attend Oxford - the diversity of students and backgrounds, the quality of teaching staff, the intimacy of the school and the surrounds of Oxford all conspire to create quite an invigorating atmosphere. I must say that I had been surprised by the brevity of my interview and afterwards was questioning whether it had been due to my strong candidacy or whether they made up their minds quickly that I did not merit a place on the program.

Over the ensuing week I was a nervous wreck, not knowing which was the decision might go. Fortunately before the week was out I had cause to celebrate - I was offered a place at Oxford University. Very soon thereafter I handed in my resignation, met with surprise, disappointment but thankfully also support.