"adam smith was incomplete!" - john nash

Many people unfamiliar with Oxford are surprised to learn that the University is not actually a physical location, but is rather comprised of 39 colleges and 5 halls that are semi-autonomous.

Finding the University is like finding the key to the "batter's box" - it just doesn't exist. This means that Oxford students, like myself, not only belong to the University, but we also matriculate and graduate from one of these many Colleges.

The collegiate system represents the defining characteristic of the "Oxbridge" (Oxford and Cambridge) experience. Ever since the first Colleges originated during the 13th century (Balliol, Merton, and University) to protect students from suspicious townsfolk, Colleges continue to look after the welfare of their students by providing a central location for dining, housing, praying, and teaching. All four functions are conveniently located among the four walls that comprise the quintessential Oxford "quad."

Once accepted into the MBA program, the businesss school forwards the student's "dossier" (application) to their first College choice. Only 1 College can review your application at a time, and the process takes 3-4 weeks. Rejected applications are then forwarded onto the student's 2nd choice (etc.) until a match is found. All admitted students are guaranteed College membership.

The pecking order is in large order determined by academic performance, as calculated annually in the popular "Norrington Table": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norrington_Table. However, the practically minded take into account other qualatative factors such as quality of life (food and housing), as well as the history and identity of the College.

The "Oxford College Pros and Cons" article at the http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/ offers good anecdotal advice. For example, Balliol College is considered politically liberal, while neighbor Trinity College is known to lean more conservatively. Oriel College developed a reputation for rowing, while Merton College is popular with the Japanese because Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan studied there. As a Round 2 admit, I'm considering Balliol, Brasenose, Exeter, and Queens.

I loved studying "game theory" in college (A+ grade!). The whole College selection process reminds me of John Nash's equilibrium (cue "A Beautiful Mind") where, in this case, you must calculate the expected "pay-off" of getting accepted into a particular College (your 1st choice, 2nd choice, etc.), as well as the probability of getting accepted into your top choices...

...meanwhile, the College is busy at work making its own calculations and decisions independent of you. On top of all of that, the student has imperfect information regarding accurately calculating both the pay-off (unfamiliarity with the different Colleges) and the likelihood of acceptance (lack of transparency). Bring on those decision tree matrices...B-SCHOOL HERE I COME!