The London Business School 2010 thread

Hello Frns,

I have been researching for LBS facts and got stuck...would appreciate if nebdy can clarify the below mentioned points -

- Loans - Is HSBC loan program which does not require any co signor still active and does it only covers the tution ( or is thr ne self imposed ceiling 50K ?!!)
- Are ppl get 2nd training opportunities in present mkt in 2nd yr.. I saw few profiles whr ppl have done back to back training for 4-6 months ! sounds interesting but is it feasible ?
- Wat abt actual joining - ppl finishing thr program in 15/18/ 21 months join the respective co.s at the same time?
- For an Indian couple with modest living for 21 month program - 75-80K GBP a decent all inclusive budget ( excluding contigency travel/ exchange programme travel)

thnks
NJ

Ignoring incidentals and school materials and just focusing on living expenses, London can be expensive, but you can cut back quite well too. If you really decide to live frugally you can probably get by on less than 1500 GBP a month for a couple, which would be just within your budget. That would involve riding the bus, living further out or sharing a flat with other people, not eating out much, etc. To be honest though, it probably requires living there for a bit to figure out all the tricks that let you live cheaply.

Your rent will be your biggest expense, a good place to get a feel for rents in London is https://www.gumtree.com

Just a tip - when you first get here try not to lock yourself into an expensive lease, because inevitably you'll be a smarter customer after being here for a month or two (and school season tends to bump rent prices a little bit as well.)

Hey Mate

Thanks for the response...so going by your response I think 2500 GBP p.m should be decent, which equals 52500 GBP + 50000 fee...so overall 100,000 GBP for the complete program !!! I think from internships and projects one can expect to earn around 10k GBP during the course !!

Can anybody share different options for loans ( the ones which do not require co-signors or collaterals like those offered at some of the top US b school) on LBS website only HSBC is mentioned however I read at another blog tht HSBC gives only 50K GBP loan to foreign students and for students from India 40-50K GBP is big amount and banks back in India give loans upt0 25-30k GBP that too against collateral !!!

Thanks
NJ

Fee is 45,500 GPB, and students budget from 17-20K per year so, usually, folks get by on 80-85K GBP all up. Plus there is scope for about 10k GBP from internships. More info here :
https://www.london.edu/programmes/mba/fe ... ncing.html

During my trip to india I met several admits. Most of them were able to borrow between 30-40K from HSBC. One person had the HSBC loan denied, but was awarded needs based bursary. The general impression I got from admits was : "get admitted first, worry about financing later." And this seemed to work for most of them.

slightly off-topic:would it be possible to give the contact info for the HSBC-London Business School Loan representative. The scheme doesn't show up in my portal b/c the scheme doesn't include the MiM program. I would like to ask them some questions. possible?

financialaid@london.edu is probably going to be your best bet -- there isn't any specific contact information for the HSBC representative listed on Portal.

Putting my name in the hat for R1.

Good to meet you all, best of luck

Hey folks the thread is a bit quiet. I'm finally in London and am still pretty jet lagged. Will start looking for apartments pretty soon. London is AWESOME. So much culture and it doesn't feel as crazy crowded as NYC. Although, the LBS campus leaves a little to be desired for. Chicago and Stern, schools that I visited last year, boasted of finer campuses, although only Stern compares in terms of location. Furthermore, Regents park, which is right behind the campus is simply stunning. Here are a few teaser snaps for those interested (feel free to use as avatar etc.)

Count me in for R1

Nice pics bsd_lover, welcome to London. If you're free we should meet up for a pint, I'm applying for R1 and would love to know about your experience.

Welcome to London bsd_lover! Sorry about the weather

At the risk of totally derailing the thread, I will bestow some unsolicited recommendations for good-but-cheap places to eat. If you enjoy ethnic food on a budget and aren't too fussy about service they should come in handy.

Turkish (bring your own wine):
https://www.timeout.com/london/restauran ... /8099.html (my personal favorite)
https://www.timeout.com/london/restauran ... /8092.html (a bit more well known)

Chinese:
https://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ ... odanddrink (gets my chinese buddy's vote as best chinese food in London)

Punjabi (Indian/Pakistani): (you can bring your own beer/wine - everyone else does):
https://www.timeout.com/london/restauran ... 13465.html (bit run down but delightful food)
https://www.london-eating.co.uk/3012.htm (a favorite, always crowded)

Best of luck settling in!

Thanks guys. I'm waiting for prashok to get here (I think he arrives around the 8th / 9th August). After that perhaps we can enlist him and buffdaddy for a gmatclub get together in London.

ps. we were out at the Duke of Wellington in Marleybone last night. Most of the London admits and the few internationals, who've arrived early, were there. They keep having these events - real great way to network.

I know that I love London. It's good to know that I will have a free place to stay there

Enjoy your time.

kwam you have an open invite to my place any time (once i finally find an apartment).

Nice pics bsd! I'm sure you'll have a gala time.

Hi all,

Fantastic to already see such activity on the LBS thread, given that R1 is quite far out. Just wanted to pitch in about some questions which were asked.

HSBC student loans: No co-signer required, however the max loan amount will only cover tuition, not any living expenses. Hence, max loan amount can only be around £40K (or whatever the tuition for 2 years is). The average loan amount provided I heard is around £30K I believe. The loan amount given depends on your financial background info (e.g. savings, previous income, etc. plenty of docs you need to provide). It's great that LBS has such a good relationship with HSBC - it's one of the few top business schools left offering such a loan scheme (INSEAD for example doesn't offer this, and in the US you almost always need co-signers I believe).

Regarding second year projects and work: Actually already in the first year some were crazy enough to pursue part-time work. It's quite challenging, and I would only do this in the Spring/Summer semester, not in Fall, since that's the busiest semester of your entire MBA. I'd say around 10% of the class worked part-time during their 1st year. In the second year, I think most will be able to find a company to do a second year project. The difference now is that some might be unpaid. Most will also work part-time somewhere, since the work load is quite easy in the second year. That's the great advantage about being in London. Most top companies have offices here and there are also plenty of start-ups providing so many opportunities to work PT.

Then regarding good places to eat in London: Definitely check Toptable.co.uk
https://www.toptable.com/en-gb/venues/of ... category=7
Aside from finding great restaurants, they have a 50% promotion section where hundreds of top restaurants offer 50% off on the food bill. So if you dine at a really fancy place which is participating in the promotion you can easily save £30 a head on dinner. I love the site.

Let me know if you guys have any questions - happy to help out (I'm a MBA2010). Good luck to everyone!

Any idea when we can expect the applications to be opened ?
Also, Does anyone know if LBS changes it's essays from year to year ?
I am contemplating between R1 and R2 !

Cheers!