London Business School LBS 2013 - Calling all MBA Applicants

AZN, do you have an alternative ready? I'm apprehensive as to what you want to accomplish with the letter, ask for another interview or just point out that the experience was not great?

This could go 2 ways: They agree and offer another interview and waive this person's feedback (unlikely though, at best they will probably still consider their feedback and you may have highlighted what you considered an unpleasant experience, whereas the interviewer might just be a genuine jerk-face, like mine, and it was nothing personal, and she may have even liked you), OR they just say "tough luck and sorry to hear but we're sticking with that assessment"..
Do you have a back up?

Yeah it would be nice to have an alternative. Honestly, I don't think I'd even care if I had an acceptance from one of the other three schools. She was by no means a jerk face, in fact she was very appropriate... which is why I know she was not playing hardball.. she most likely has a prejudice against people in finance or maybe didn't like my face. It is highly improbable that she could have given a good assessment, I mean she didn't really ask any questions that would elaborate on my experiences or stories... It was not even a behavioral interview.. it was just awkward. My logic for the letter is as follows: 1. I have nothing to lose; 2. Rather do it before the decision making process before after; 3. Maybe they will take my feedback into account when evaluating the full application...

I can tweak the email to make it less bitchy i guess.. should i?

I guess the issue is what is your ask from the email. Currently its just pointing out that you felt their questions were not inquisitive enough and (from what I gathered) you could not gather much about LBS. Their response could be "that's your opinion"and "did you probe with the correct questions towards the end?". Sorry this may come across as a bit harsh, but I'm trying to evaluate worst case responses from LBS. As the mail is now, I would say no don't send as it doesn't really accomplish anything specific. I won't say make the tone stronger and complain/ask for another interview, that's too drastic.
What do others think?

Btw, do also speak to LBS alumni to get their perspective before sending, probably the best source for these doubts.

AZN84 I agree with the previous comments. you seem to be only cribbing in your entire email and really not pointing towards a suggested way forward - possibly request another opportunity to interview etc. Also if you are really looking forward to joining LBS, by all means go ahead and shoot an email. Personally i wouldn't want to regret later on a missed opportunity. However IMHO your current email needs a serious revamp. If it helps consider this as a 250 word essay in which you have to push for a re-interview (which seems to be the only solution now).

First time poster so hope I can add some value.

Azn84,

It looks like your interviewer might have been testing you by throwing you a whole lot of questions to put you off to see how you would react to them. At this point, you don't know if you're dinged or if you handled it in such a way, your interviewer saw that you could deal with adversity.
You mentioned that she was never rude.

You can look into sending in a message once you hear back from the Adcom on your admit/ding decision. Right now, I don't see how your proposed message will result in any kind of positive resolution.
Have you considered emailing your interviewer with something along the lines of.....
"I felt that that the interview got off on the wrong foot and snowballed from there. Is there anything that I could have done differently etc"
See if you receive constructive feedback/a brutal response or no response at all. She might be your best bet for what you feel might have gone wrong.
Hope this helps!

Even though I had very similar experience to yours, I think you are over-stretching you point.

Firstly, there is always a subjectivity factors which is in play, both in your perception and in interviewer style. I would give a credit of trust to LBS adcom to consider interview only as a part of evaluation. Secondly, I am not sure that public bashing of LBS will help you to secure the place in the programme. Sincerely, I think it can have only adverse effects. As everyone else you have a contact person with LBS with whom you can politely raise your concern. Thirdly, personally for me, the interview is also part of a decision making process. So if they don't take me after such interview, I will ask myself whether I really want to be there.

Let's chill and wait

issokayireloaded very interesting approach... didnt strike me earlier.. but this seems like a safe bet, for the interviewer would have by now submitted her response. Thus her current response to the suggested email may give an indication if she was testing azn84 in some weird way.

However, Azn84 expressing his/her dissatisfaction after the result would be too little too late. Ad-coms dont generally reverse decisions.. on the contrary if an objection is raised now, it can be referenced later if necessary rather than complaining in retrospect. Complaining after the results may easily be interpreted as 'blame game'.

Thank you all for discussing this.. I really do appreciate the help. This is more of a personal dilemma as opposed to LBS bashing. Clearly I care to go to LBS, hence all this obsession of making sure I do all that I can before its too late. From all my interaction with LBS, she was really the exception and not the norm, and I can't help feel that perhaps it was because she had completed a part-time program, and the expectation and views on the program are different from someone who is pursuing a full-time program. Who knows

@Aximili85 - Thank you for raising the point - perhaps I should be more clear on what I want - I don't think an alternative interview is an option.. but honestly I want them to take this into consideration when evaluating the application as a whole. Perhaps I should send the email to the adcom member I have met in person here as opposed to the liaison in London. Given that the person has met me in real, he can perhaps provide some perspective. I really want this to be an FYI - please be aware. Honestly, most likely there won't likely be a response from LBS and I'll get a ding letter shortly. But, as mentioned earlier I have nothing to lose at this point, I just want to ensure I don't come across as a childish whiner. Does the email sound whiny? I have tried to be factual. I spoke with a current student about it and they were just surprised, and said, well your overall application is so strong, they will not base the decision solely on her feedback, however it can’t harm me to let my perspective be known. Also, he hadn’t heard of a any person in his class who had such an interview (so again most likely a ding)


@ vibhav – Thanks for the feedback – yes I really wanted to make sure I don’t sound like I am cribbing and being unprofessional. I thought I was being kind of factual… if you have any specifics I should eliminate or tweak, PM me. Really appreciate your help. I have been really selective in the schools I want to attend, and as mentioned earlier, if I had an admit from one of these other places, I would have shrugged it off, But I want to make sure I don’t regret it later.

@ issokayireloaded - You know I thought so too –coz she said it twice “I want to see how you work when provoked” which is fine, I’ve done that when interviewing people as well. But usually you test it a few times and then at the end when the person is asking you questions, you try and be as informative. Even when I asked my questions, she was like “I disagree, I found XYZ school to be a better fit”. The interview just never ended on the “conversational” note. Very choppy if you may. I did send her a Thank you note (the professional that I am ) and in that note I acknowledged some of the differences we might have had, and how I can appreciate it, and how nice it is to learn a new perspective, and how I am so awesome and how LBS would be lucky to have me, and how I appreciated her thoughts on XYZ. I think asking for direct feedback is a big “no no” for all schools. And that’s the thing, nothing went “wrong” per say, it wasn’t a fight, I just don’t think she cared to learn anything about me to add color/flavor to my application. Someone else mentioned this earlier, even this interviewer didn’t take any notes. And it’s the feeling right, I walked away from the meeting thinking “WTF WAS THAT” – can’t imagine her feeling any different.

@Simeon2013 – This by no means a public bashing, its more of a personal dilemma. While I would have liked to say “F U I DON’T WANT TO GO THERE” its not true. I do think LBS is an amazing school, and its unfortunate that after all the positive interaction, this is what I had for the one interaction that really mattered. I cannot imagine the interview feedback not being critical to the school’s decision making process because they are so detailed (although mine was not). Lastly, I do work for a large bureaucratic organization and deal with varied perception and all that great BS, and this was just off.

I do think that maybe the middle paragraph I should just cut out, like leave out the details and make the email more like “Hi – love you guys, FYI - interview was whack, but im still awesome, hope you think so too, xoxo”

I know I am taking up more of my share of the forum, but appreciate all your input. thanks guys! So the consensus is -cut out the detail and keep it shorter?

Hey Azn84, no worries! this is better than sitting around and doing nothing while waiting to hear back from schools
Words I would remove from the letter: strong adjectives and other words ie acutely, underwhelming etc.

Sentences I would personally remove from the letter:
- "Having worked in a corporate role for six years" - they already know that and it comes off as a little "know it all-ish"
- The whole second paragraph, you start by telling them what their interview style is (which can be perceived as condescending) and then go into a she said-she said situation, where the alums word will usually prevail.

I would frame the response more along the lines of, "Whoa, what just happened, this doesn't seem normal from all the other responses I've seen/heard. Is it normal?"
They already know you're awesome, hence they invited you for an interview

Thanks.. I wasn't certain on the content of that email - hence I dillydallied and haven't sent it yet.. so I guess the one below works better - let me know?

I would like to provide feedback regarding the format and content of the interview. I found my interview to be incomplete and underwhelming – there was no formal walk-through of my resume or any questions regarding my past experiences, challenges and achievements. It is important to note that the interview was decorous and by no means contentious; however, I did not get the insight into LBS and the program as I had hoped. While I understand that every interviewer and conversation is unique, my experience was somewhat jarring and contradictory to my previous interaction with LBS community which have all been positive.
I would like to reiterate that LBS remains to be my top choice, and if there is anything I can do to further my candidacy at this time please do let me know.

Hoping for the best,

Azn84
That response seems more amiable in nature.
Just looking at all of the clear admit interviews of LBS candidates, it seems like a lot of people have not been asked for a resume walk through. To be interviewed to get into a top flight B School, they already know that your measurables are stellar, so it could be an unconventional approach of the interviewer to see how your intangibles measure up that can only be experienced in person.
LBS interviews have been all over the board, there was one 45 minute interview where the alum didn't seem interested but the person got an admit (yes, I read a lot of boards/sites) and 3 hour interviews where the candidate thought it went great, but were dinged or waitlisted.
Don't lose hope, but also don't make the mistake of giving the adcom a reason to potentially change their mind on an admit.

Yeah, I understand that - which is why I have discussed this with a variety of people, reviewing part by part making sure I am not reading too much into it etc. I also have interviewed with other schools, so you get the sense. But after going through an interview where the person asks you nothing about you... I cannot imagine what one can write as an assessment from that.

I reviewed those clearAdmit interviews too.. atleast there are questions like - why LBS, How will you contribute to LBS etc.

I know the email will be pre-emptive and runs the risk of being reviewed negatively, but then post decision its a moot point anyways.. Rather proactive than reactive... i'd think. Thank you for letting me think this out loud. Shorter email it is.

ps. I didn't even get a response on the thank you note (not that that indicates anything)

Shorter is definitely better

"Dear ________,
Thank you again for accommodating my schedule and assigning my interview to _____ in ______. As notified previously, we met at her office on ________ to complete this interview. While I wished to be writing to you on a more cheery note, I would like to express concern regarding the interview i underwent.

The original starting to me appears better. You may wish to stick with it. Also develop the line of thought where you are essentially saying, measured agianst the previous positive interactions with LBS the interview experience was a downer. Btw make sure you shoot this email sooner than later. Also it would be best to send it off to the regional co-ordinator as it is their responsibility to ensure smooth interview process.

Hi All.

Going crazy while waiting... and trying to get any info.

According to 2012 gmatclub statistics on LBS https://gmatclub.com/forum/calling-all-london-business-school-2012-applicants-117398.html there was only 1/3 accepts after R2 interview which was significantly lower than in R1 (about 2/3). Was it just gmatclub sample representativeness issue or is it the real case here? Any thoughts ?

Fyi: I reached out to an alum, and she has agreed to reach out to adcom on my behalf. THIS IS WHY LBS IS SO AWESOME! Yippie

Thanks guys!

Posted from my mobile device

qwerty2008.. dont worry much the unknown final decision group can skew it either way. Possibilities are limitless. Lets just believe we have 50% chance of getting through and leave it at that.