Hey Guys...

Can any one suggest how to check the application status...its been 5 weeks now i have made my online application...still its showing the status as under department consideration.....have 7 plus exp and IELTS score of 7...no GMAT till now....

@Mitesh - why not try sending them a mail? Generally the admissions office replies pretty quickly.
January is a time when a huge number of applications pour in. So, some delay is expected. However, it might be worth to raise a concern with the admissions office.

@Jindal - Hey Congratz! Both Aston and Durham are good B-schools. I've also got offers from both schools apart from Bradford and Nottingham and am still undecided but slightly inclined towards Durham because of better placement records / student mix reported in FT and EIU.
It seems you are pretty convinced of your choice of Durham. Can you please share your thoughts for choosng Durham over Aston? There is a separate thread for this discussion (Aston vs Durham), you can contribute in there as well.

Surprisingly none of the UK schools share their placement records. I have asked for the same frm schools like Bradford, Henley, Lancaster, Aston and have never got any reply. I wonder if that is a culture in there or just a blunt way to hide placement disasters.
I think we should all try and get in touch with Indian alumni in Durham. Only that can give us a proper idea of the situation in there. I am hearing that things are pretty difficult for foreigners in UK, at least, not as smooth as in USA.

Thanks
Anirban

Hi Anirban,
I m awaiting Durham to reply back after my intreview. However I hv offers from Bradford ,Aston , Nottingham and Glassgow.

Though Bradford and Aston seem to be best out of the 4. Some how I feel that getting into Aston was quite easy without an interview!

Whats ur take on that ? Though Aston has better ranking but still it seems it tks in people easily!
Bradford ,Durham and Nottingham had long intrevies on the other hand.


Pl advise .

What is ur exp and profile?
Rgds,
Yagna

@Yagna

Aston seems to be too easy on the selection process. Makes one wonder!

As for Durham, Nottingham and Bradford, all include degrees of rigor in their selection process - either through lengthy interviews or number of probing essays or an online test to check your verbal and numerical analysis skills.
I think you can expect a better quality of students in these Univs.
However, sometimes Univs are easier on the initial few applications and gets tougher as time goes on. In every MBA class you'll find a few students who got in easier than the rest.

But the major concern is that most alumni or current students specify that job prospects are very thin...makes all these choices equally risky.

Thanks
Anirban

Well I have always been interested in Durham, specially because of it's career development tools and International study module. Though they have provided the placement record of the last MBA batch on the website but I still want to get in touch with the alumni for getting the real information about the university and the programme.

@Anirban.... lets try to locate the alumni of Durham. I am going to try LinkedIn.

Will keep you all posted on further developments.

Hi Jindal &Anirban,
Approximately after the interview when did you receive the offers..
Rgds,
Yagna

Hi Guys,

I just got a conditional offer from Durham for the 2010/11 Full time MBA. I took IELTS 7 yrs ago and apparently they need this to be renewed as the condition of entry. It took me around 5 weeks to get this offer since the first time i submitted my application.

Has anyone arranged for the accommodation yet? I've been offered some accommodation services by the postgrad colleges in Durham. I wonder if there's any accommodation available off campus.

Im also wondering if anyone's got any waiver on the tuition fee apart from the early bird discount.

Thanks.

Hi Jindal &Anirban,
Approximately after the interview when did you receive the offers..
Rgds,
Yagna

Yagna, it took the admissions office exactly 1 week after the interview to come back and offer me a place in the 2010 / 11 MBA class. The interviewer encouraged candidates to follow up to the admissions office should you not receive any confirmations within a few days after the interview.

Hi All..
I've got an unconditional offer from Durham,Aston, Henley,Solvay (Belgium) & St. Gallen's (Switzerland). Conditional offers (GMAT) from Strathclyde, Bath & Leeds. Interested in Durham..for many reasons.
Regards,
high_spirits

Hi

Congrats on making it to some very good schools.
I think you'd make a wise choice considering the combination of high standards and value for money that Durham offers.
You might want to consider Henley if you can afford it. Compared to the rest Durham is a sure winner.

Did you have an interview with Henley? Can you please share some details of the interview?

Thanks
Anirban

Hi

Congrats on making it to some very good schools.
I think you'd make a wise choice considering the combination of high standards and value for money that Durham offers.
You might want to consider Henley if you can afford it. Compared to the rest Durham is a sure winner.

Did you have an interview with Henley? Can you please share some details of the interview?

Thanks
Anirban

@Henley: It was a detailed i/v.
-why MBA ? (this qs is asked for plenty of times in all i/v as i come from a different/diversified background)
-why now ?
-why Henley ?
-strengths & weakness/critical analysis
-qoute examples to prove your managerial potential & leadership qualities
-the avr age of our participants is 38 & u r 29, so how can u add quality to the cohort
-why shall I choose u, justify.
-how will u finance your MBA ?

MY QS:
-Why Henley is never seen in FT ?
-Placement & internships
-How is Henley, for career-change ?
-Possibilities of getting a Schol ?
-Accomodation for me & my spouse.

@High_Spirits: Thanks for the info. I am wondering what was their answer on placement success. I am expecting an offer from Henley and am trying to gauge the ROI of investing 33K GBP + 3K GBP for business project trips.
You can PM me if you prefer.

Thanks
Anirban

@Takehisa: There is an early bird discount of 1K GBP. Apart from that there is a few DBS scholarships that will be decided by a panel meeting in late March.
F D Ellis (full tution schol) will be decided in June.

Thanks
Anirban

@High_Spirits: Thanks for the info. I am wondering what was their answer on placement success. I am expecting an offer from Henley and am trying to gauge the ROI of investing 33K GBP + 3K GBP for business project trips.
You can PM me if you prefer.

Thanks
Anirban

Anirban,
I can consider to join the Helney MBA, only when I get a schol, as it is quite expensive for my budget. Have u got an offer/admit in the programme ? Last yr..there wer 4 indians, in Henley MBA programme.

Unfortunately their schol is for people with previous business education. You can try for the bursaries but they are directed more towards people who have experience in emerging economies...I checked on those and none sounds applicable for me.
Moreover, there is only 1 bursary to be awarded, the other is for women.

Unfortunately their schol is for people with previous business education. You can try for the bursaries but they are directed more towards people who have experience in emerging economies...I checked on those and none sounds applicable for me.
Moreover, there is only 1 bursary to be awarded, the other is for women.

..Then in that case...I wont be interested in Henley for 36k GBP Fees..I can apply to the top tier uk b-schools, which have this fee range.

The cost of MBA in GBP is a real concern for students.
Makes us opt out of applying to top schools...arranging for funding in the range of 45-55K GBP (tution fees + living expenses+travel costs) is a real tough job.
Henley is well reputed school and is pretty well known around the globe, but in UK you are supposed to fish for your on job...as a result an investment in excess of 40K GBP is surely is very high risk. The ROI is not certain.

Which is better when it comes to Durham VS Birmingham? I understand that Durham is triple accredited, and ranking wise is better. but wat about the brand name and the city itself? Does this affect graduates when they apply for a job in the UK?

Which is better when it comes to Durham VS Birmingham? I understand that Durham is triple accredited, and ranking wise is better. but wat about the brand name and the city itself? Does this affect graduates when they apply for a job in the UK?

There is no clean comparison b/w both these schools; Durham is anytime better than Birmingham in all the rating parameters, ie. brand value, value for money, international recognition, global rankings, accreditation etc..etc. The only imp thing in Bham's favour is it's location, but then location should not be the sole criteria to select a school, it is the BRAND-NAME that matters, thoughout your professinal career. Some very good schools are located in comparatively small locations like Warwick(Coventry), Lancaster, etc; but their brand is excellent, so don't bother about the Location, but try to fetch a good school.
Hope this helps.