The London Business School 2009 thread

tuetonic - I haven't seen the campus at all. I don't think that the visit would influence the admit decision. In fact LBS pride themselves in the number of different countries and international students represented. Although I remember buffdaddy mentioning that he lives in London, so he may be able to provide some more inside info

I'd expect to see a LOT of finance industry applicants - even IT guys from finance.

I've visted LBS twice. Feel free to ask me questions regarding the campus. Also a GmatClub stalwart "Paul" would be the best person to ask.

Sales pitch for LBS
LBS has a class size of about 330 (they are going to bump it up to about 400 this year), so it is smaller than most top tier b-schools - hence strong community feel despite being in London. Think about it, only 400 students to fill MBA needs of the entire London megacity; no wonder they hire a lot from the US in London. But at LBS we'll have the first pick of jobs and the best networking opportunities.

LBS respects strong WE - and its students tend to be slightly older. The alum community is extremely tight. My interview was with a PE guy in Sydney. Not only did he gave me a fantastic recommendation (probably the reason why I was in the WL), he also introduced me to some of his class mates in London. I was able to call his colleagues on phone directly. These guys are seriously high up - Executive director level at top tier IBs (ones that are still around), HF guys etc. Some of these people turned down schools such as Wharton, HBS and Columbia to attend LBS. But all of them were so incredibly humble.

Last year, The average GMAT hovered around 690, which is rather low when you think about it. But, I feel that LBS deliberately prefers strong WE over strong GMAT etc. Although I'd say the average GMAT may go slightly higher in the next few years. LBS is truly international. Most American schools admit around 30-35% international students. LBS has way above 70% internationals. From Oceania (my region), most American schools admit 1% of its class compared with LBS, which admits 4-5% Aussies / Kiwis.

I only consider 2-3 b-schools in the world better than LBS. So, once I got the early admit, I dropped most of the schools I was doing to app to this year in R1. Last year I apped to LBS in R1, but I'm sure R2 will be no problems (LBS has 4 rounds).

I've personally seen many success stories come out of LBS. My class mate from school went there and is in Mckinsey now. My ex boss (and one of my recommendors) went there and is the country head of a multinational now. They had engineering backgrounds and were career switchers.

Oh, I nearly forgot to mention. You can finish the whole thing in 15 months if you so wished to. And, I've heard that you can work two internships while being at Uni. How's that for flexibility

Reading this thread is pure torture. Of course LBS is one of the very best, no argument there, but 45k pounds tuition... and over 1.5k (pounds, not Euro ) monthly expenses... and scholarships are not more than 20k on top of that. Internships - from the website I understand that basically you're on your own, might as well be the first student to earn zero pounds/euros/pesos during the summer.

Working in an 'emerging market' country post-MBA is out of the question, with this much money to repay. Only a (guaranteed) career in i-banking in London/New York could justify the investment, and what the hell happened to i-banking?

Many apologies for the bitter post in this otherwise happy thread

I am sorry to say this, but 45K in London is "chump change".

Most analysts starting salaries is 45K. Yes the school is expensive, but remember, you have to pay the local fare.

Nerdboy, you are right. I wont kid anyone. LBS is pricey - living in London is expensive. But compared to what exactly ? Most top tier American schools ask you to budget around 150K for 2 years including fees and living. Converted, a top tier US school costs 85K pounds (based on todays exchange rate of 1.76).

But then you earn in pounds too. Internships pay in pounds, post MBA jobs in London pay in pounds. Most people work for a year or two in London to clear off debts, which is again similar to what happens at top tier American schools. I wont dream of coming back to Australia, straight after the MBA. But then I couldn't even if I went to a top tier school in America.

About your worries about internships - if you approach a prospective employer in London saying "I'm an LBS MBA candidate looking for an internship," apparently you get a lot of attention. 99% students get internships - placements was one of the reasons why LBS was rated #2 by FT. Remember with LBS you have the option of studying for only 15 months if you want to go down the accelerated path and avoid 6 months of living expenses. Not many other schools have that kind of flexibility.

Just caught this gem : https://mbablog.london.edu/mbablog/mba_tv/index.html. The video shows orientation of the class of 2010. Pretty good insight for those who are unable to visit the place.

Also found a very funny blog by prof. Vermeulen from LBS : https://freekvermeulen.blogspot.com/

ps. Tamsin, the host, also sends admission and ding emails - just puts a face to a name

It's almost 2am in London, 5 days before the R1 deadline. The adcom lies in bed, enjoying the calm before the storm.

How are everybody's applications coming along? At the moment I am in the "Optional Essay" conundrum. I have made so many revisions to my other essays, however, I might start an optional essay as late as tomorrow. This along with all the other application parts will keep me busy till the very end.

Wow, no takers except for Teutonic and BSD (who's already an Admit!) so far for LBS.

There was even more interest for Oxbridge.

I shut myself off from the world for the last few days while finishing up my essays.

Just putting the final touches on my essays and resume, but still in-progress with actually "filling out" the online application. This one will probably be a last-minute finish, unlike INSEAD. And then I have Oxford coming up right after...

Very true -- I couldn't see it being a dealbreaker either, given the distance for many prospective students. Plus, the campus is somewhat small from what I vaguely remember -- it's up against the border of Regent's Park and it's definitely not the type of expanse one would see at Oxford or Harvard. I imagine buying a few plots of land in central London is not an easy proposition.

I'm actually moving to Australia in a few weeks for my next consulting project, so I guess I won't be visiting the campus for a while anyway.

Give me a shout if you're in Sydney.

LBS Submitted 12/10.

goodluck all!

2 down 1 to go for R1.

I am in the same boat as you Teutonic. And Oxford essays aren't an easy proposition (essay 2)!

Cheers, will do! I'll mostly be commuting between Brisbane and Darwin, but will probably visit further south once in a while...

Good luck! Just putting the last touches on mine, and I'll be done in an hour or two. My first recommender still hasn't submitted his LOR yet, though...

EDIT: Just submitted! And my recommender is finishing up his right now as well. Close call...

Good stuff you guys, hope to see you in London !!...

Hi bsd_lover,

I am a deferred admit to the class beginning in August 2009 as well. Congrats on your admit. Looking forward to meeting you in London. Lets keep in touch - you can email me at lbs.aspirant2010@gmail.com

Cheers