2013 LBS MiF Applicants welcome!

From what i've heard, the london finance job market this year is absolutely brutal, and LBS students are getting killed. Very few are getting bulge bracket bank jobs, and buyside is virtually nonexistent.

Could you please elaborate on this a little bit? What have you heard exactly? And why is 2013 so much worse than 2012 or 2011?

Finance in general is getting hit hard, but London is especially in bad shape due to the eurozone crisis. A friend just did an exchange at LBS, and he said the MBA and MIF students were all struggling to get decent finance jobs. Total bloodbath. Problem with LBS is that even for London finance jobs, the students lose out to U.S. M7 programs. And the name brand is very weak once you leave Europe.

Shawshank,
It is true that many LBS students are nervous and job hunting aggressively. I'm not sure that it's fair to say that it's a 'bloodbath," but certainly many people felt that the job hunt would be easier than it has been. This said, I had heard from career services about a month ago that more students in this year's MiF class had found jobs than the 2012 class at the same point last year. I can say from my own conversations though that banking hiring is definitely low, which is reflective of the industry as a whole.

I have sent some requests for more information to the career services reps and will post some more details once I have them.

Rk

Well that is true regardless of LBS alumni or otherwise.

A good education alone does not get up the career ladder. It is a combination of factors and luck plays a large part of it.

Sure, but it's a matter of degree. From talking to a lot of people, it seems like LBS is doing a lot worse than u.s. schools such as wharton/booth/columbia. And london finance in particular is getting hit harder than NYC.

I would love to see concrete job placement stats from rwk. That would be quite helpful.

I agree that latest job stats would be helpful to quantify current placement rates. One bad year does not necessarily mean a bad business school.

London is doing worse than NY because the European economy is stuck in a rut vs. the US economy that has grown. Non-US schools will be at a disadvantage given name recognition etc but there are advantages to being at LBS that is not readily apparent. The initial exposure through classrooms or workshops to other students or to visitors can have longer-term benefits that is not immediately quantified in job placements.

That being said, while LBS does not have the same name recognition that US schools, it still is a recognised business school with a great league table ranking.

Sure, but it's a matter of degree. From talking to a lot of people, it seems like LBS is doing a lot worse than u.s. schools such as wharton/booth/columbia. And london finance in particular is getting hit harder than NYC.

I would love to see concrete job placement stats from rwk. That would be quite helpful.[/quote]

I agree that latest job stats would be helpful to quantify current placement rates. One bad year does not necessarily mean a bad business school.

London is doing worse than NY because the European economy is stuck in a rut vs. the US economy that has grown. Non-US schools will be at a disadvantage given name recognition etc but there are advantages to being at LBS that is not readily apparent. The initial exposure through classrooms or workshops to other students or to visitors can have longer-term benefits that is not immediately quantified in job placements.

That being said, while LBS does not have the same name recognition that US schools, it still is a recognised business school with a great league table ranking.[/quote]


I think LBS is a great school, but does LBS MIF have any advantage over top u.s. mba programs such as wharton/booth/sloan/columbia in terms of finance recruiting? There was an old businessweek thread where this was discussed; basically there are very few LBS alums (i'm including mba as well) who were in leadership roles at major banks, asset management firms, and hedge funds, while the top u.s. programs have a plethora. Also, even for london/hong kong/singapore finance jobs, where LBS name carries more weight than in the U.S., the top U.S. b-schools easily win out.

I'm not trying to be overly negative but given how expensive the program and the city is, I think it's worth pointing out what the exact value is to the program.

I agree that latest job stats would be helpful to quantify current placement rates. One bad year does not necessarily mean a bad business school.

London is doing worse than NY because the European economy is stuck in a rut vs. the US economy that has grown. Non-US schools will be at a disadvantage given name recognition etc but there are advantages to being at LBS that is not readily apparent. The initial exposure through classrooms or workshops to other students or to visitors can have longer-term benefits that is not immediately quantified in job placements.

That being said, while LBS does not have the same name recognition that US schools, it still is a recognised business school with a great league table ranking.[/quote]


I think LBS is a great school, but does LBS MIF have any advantage over top u.s. mba programs such as wharton/booth/sloan/columbia in terms of finance recruiting?

Why do we compare a MiF program with an MBA one? Does LBS MBA have any advantage over M7 US MBA? Certainly not, I think... In business (and other) education US universities are the best, they have the most money, attract the best talent, etc. Nobody questions that.

There was an old businessweek thread where this was discussed; basically there are very few LBS alums (i'm including mba as well) who were in leadership roles at major banks, asset management firms, and hedge funds, while the top u.s. programs have a plethora. Also, even for london/hong kong/singapore finance jobs, where LBS name carries more weight than in the U.S., the top U.S. b-schools easily win out.

Again, that's true. However, European business schools (see INSEAD for instance) are more international compared to their US peers, where 50-60% of the students are American. Someone going for this may choose a school outside the US even if it is less top-notch.

I'm not trying to be overly negative but given how expensive the program and the city is, I think it's worth pointing out what the exact value is to the program.[/quote]

MiF is considerably cheaper than an MBA at LBS (GBP 37k vs GBP 61k) and also shorter (10/16 months vs 15/18/21 months). For example HBS full tuition is roughly GBP 69k for 2 years. Yeah, I know GBP 69K is nothing for a HBS MBA that will pay off handsomely in the future, plus you get more financial aid in US school, plus the career opportunities, etc. Still looking at the price tags I can't see why MiF is so much overpriced... Living in NY for 2 years while attending the Stern is so much cheaper? Look at the Cambridge MiF program, it also costs exactly GBP 37k! LBS MiF should be compared to Cambridge or INSEAD MiF in terms of costs/length/career opportunities/etc not to US MBAs even if they will also compete with us for jobs.

Hi Scubadiva.,

They are primarily looking for people who will give back to the school and represent the school and the student body to alumni, prospective students, donors, etc. It would be valuable to highlight your communication skills, your enthusiasm, and similar attributes.

I helped some students with their scholarship applications last year and received one of the scholarships myself. If you have more specific questions or want additional input, feel free to pm me.

rk

I've also been admitted, and look forward to meeting everyone in August!

Happy to help any R5 applicants wherever possible.

Jezz

Congratulations to the ones that have been admitted!!

I am a bit dissapointed because I have been waitlisted... ( I am a R4 applicant)

What are the chances of being finally accepted?

How can I make my profile competitive enough?

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum and I submitted my application for R5 on April 30th.

The reason for applying so late is that I'm currently CFO of a tech startup based in London but competitive dynamics in my segment of the industry (and thus fundraising) have changed materially recently so I decided to apply for my graduate degree earlier than originally planned. I'm planning on going back to private equity afterwards.

Does anyone have any guidance on turnaround time from the Admission Committee? I'm a Canadian citizen and since the website indicates that the final decision for R5s will be communicated by July 5th (assuming I have the interview) I'm worried that the response will come in too late and that it will force me to make decisions earlier for economic and career reasons (e.g. returning to Canada).

FYI - I'm 29 with previous experience in PE and IB.

Any guidance will be appreciated.

Thanks,

HR

I think you have already made your profile competitive enough since 1, you have been invited to an interview 2, you have not been rejected after the interview. Most people don't even make it to the interview in the first place... I would say that you certainly have a good chance to get admitted, maybe the AdCom want to wait for the 5th (final) round and make a decision when they see all the applicants.

Hello HR,

If you have a good profile you will receive an interview invite 2-3 weeks after submitting your application. Arranging the interview takes around 1 week, then your interviewer will have to write his/her report on you. So in another 2-3 weeks' time after the interview you can get a final answer, that's less than 2 months altogether. In your case it can be somewhere around the middle of June. Hope this helps!

It does, thank you very much! HR

Hi HR,

I'm in the same stage with you, submitting my application in R5 and now waiting for my interview invitation:)