The London Business School 2011 Thread

I believe you must submit the entire package plus an additional re-applicant essay ...

Yikes ...

thanks though ...

2010 Information Event schedule is now up! Apart from the regular MBA fairs, LBS is also conducting info sessions in select cities.

https://www.london.edu/programmes/infoevents/do?progSelect=MBA&locationSelect=

Hello everyone,

I'm considering applying to LBS 2011 round and wanted to get a sense of pros and cons of LBS. I've done a lot of research into INSEAD but frankly not that much for LBS. I'm looking at building a more international profile, probably do some work in Asia but still want to build a network of some of the best and the brightest in the world. Can anyone tell me how LBS scores their applicants (i.e. what criteria are important, and how important is each criterion), any information about the process, etc? I have read through the materials on the LBS website, but didn't get as crisp an understanding of the process and criteria as I have for INSEAD.

Thanks!

Playing devil's advocate for you, I guess I have to ask the ultimate 3 questions: "Why MBA", "Why LBS", "Why now?" especially when you are aiming to be an entrepreneur. Acquiring a franchise is great for business experience, and it will probably teach you a lot more about business in some ways than B-school ever will. Strategy and consulting is great, especially if you are looking to get middle to upper management jobs in industry. I myself am looking for a career change, and will probably always work for someone else. I feel that learning from others and learning in big environments is what turns my crank. If you're looking for connections, are the types of people you really want as your connections going to LBS? Are they going to be more useful to you than other possible avenues? If you just want a big name school for the glory, probably not the best idea - you could take that 70,000 pounds in tuition and living expenses and probably use it for good seed money in a venture. What's your Best Alternative Professional Option? If you have no other decent options you can do with your money, resources, and time, then by all means go for it - LBS has its payoffs, just be sure they're the best bang for your buck.

Hi Guys,

In for R2.

Profile:
Female-27 years old-Indian
Work Ex : 6 yrs including 1yr internship (2.5 in france, 0.5 in S'pore and 3 in India)
GMAT : taking in next month (positive to score atleast 700)
Acads: 90%
Work Ex : IT ( worked in various roles including leading teams)
Extra activities: adequate
NGO activities: on lower side.

I am applying only to LBS and dreaming about it daily. Planning to apply for ISB, US schools next year or may be in R3.

What are my chances?

I am basically looking for career shift and want to be Enterpreneur.
Will my IT intensive work experience prove negative on my application?

Just found out about some GMAT stats for LBS:

Average GMAT score for class of:

2012: 702 (400 class size)
2011: 697 (400 class size)
2010: 694 (320 class size)
2009: 690 (320 class size)

Seems like scores are continuing to move up to top US b-school averages. Historically, scores of EU b-schools have been lower due to the high percentage of international students whose first language is not English (hence they tend to score lower on the verbal part).

Is there anymore information out there about US students attending LBS and returning to the US. Looks like 20% of recent admits have come from US/Canada, but <10% of LBS graduates are taking jobs in the U.S.

hi jbharris what specifically did you want to know ? The raw numbers are somewhat misleading. Several "US citizens" might not have lived in the US for a while and similarly many international students might have lived in the US for the last few years. In terms of employment - it is not difficult to imagine 40 odd US students (half of the 20%) wanting to stay and work in London (after all that is why people pick LBS right ?)

Hi Everyone,

I am looking forward to apply in R2. My profile is as below:

1) A female / 28 .
2) Undergrad in Fashion Design from India ( from one of the most prestigious fashion schools)
3) Undergrad GPA- Good
4) Above average academic records
5) 6.5 years WE . 3 years in Design (India) and 3.5 years in supply chain management (London- UK)
6) GMAT- yet to take ( expecting 710/720 as per current prep)
7) EC - Below average.

Could anyone please evaluate my profile for LBS. I am very nervous since I feel LBS gives preference to profiles from Finance and related backgrounds. Can anyone please throw some light if LBS gives importance to the profiles from art/design background.

I am attending LBS's info session on 13th Sept. in London... anyone in for this?

Count me in for LBS R1.

Indian candidate
GMAT 700/ Toefl 112
B.Tech IIT Roorkee 8.38/10

Work exp 26 months (Unilever Sales & Marketing)
Work exp 12 months (Founder of a company)
Good Co-curricular - Sports/ PR rep of an NGO etc.

Worried about my international experience - have only 45 days (that also part of the training at Unilever)

will that affect my chances of cracking LBS?

bsd,

I'm really interested in doing my MBA at LBS, but don't necessarily want to stay international. I want to come back to NYC after b-school but it seems like very few people end up in the US. Trying to make broad assumptions based on the available data related to recruiting, job prospects, etc.

Topaz,

LBS definitely doesn't have a preference in terms of professional background. Each year, LBS admits plenty of students with atypical backgrounds (e.g. doctors, lawyers, military, engineers, etc.). I guess your post-MBA goal is important in your case (meaning it should be feasible).

Jimmyfunk,

You don't necessarily need international work experience to be admitted to LBS. However, you need to be able to demonstrate that you are capable of working in an international work setting (e.g. study group) and that you have an appreciation for diversity.

jbharris,

Honestly, if your goal is to work in the US post-MBA, then go for US b-schools. LBS (or any other EU b-school) will be great schools to land you a job everywhere around the globe, less so for the US though. It's not impossible, but you will have to network harder and put in a lot more effort. Also, if you mention in your career goals essay that you want to work in the US post-MBA I'm not sure if the AdCom at LBS would view this favorable.

BSD, let me know your thoughts.

Lastly, for those interested, a link of some MBA guru ranking LBS #1 outside of the US. I personally don't think this ranking has any value (he simply averages existing rankings). Thought I'd share this anyways .
https://poetsandquants.com/2010/07/30/to ... s-schools/

@tmino

Thanks very much for your comment. I will keep this point in mind.

jbharris - the fact that many people don't end up in the US is a product of three things :
1. The motivation of most LBS students (to stay / work in UK, EU, Asia and generally internationally)
2. The location disadvantage of LBS students (to compete head to head with US students for US jobs)
3. The visa issue - most LBS students do not have US work authorisation - this deters many US employers

Having said that, if you are really keen on working in the US and your post MBA goals are clear to you, there is no reason that you cannot make it from LBS. You just need to be focused in terms of your networking / recruitment efforts (already possessing US work authorisation will help immensely). I have seen personally friends from class of 2011 taking up incredible internship opportunities in the US (not co-incidentally they were all US citizens).

But as tmino said earlier - it may just be easier going to a US school surely ?

Hello everyone,
I am new to gmatclub and started preparing for admissions less a month back. I just accomplished my 1st milestone - took the GMATPrep Practice test 1 and scored a 730!
I must be one of the youngest to apply for admissions at LBS (I started work in June 2008, so that makes it just above 3 at the time of matriculation).

I ll be writing my GMAT in October (have to work on my AWAs ) and so plan to apply in R2.

I have some questions for the folks who have already joined LBS.
1) Do you find many people my age there (~3 years of experience)? I found out that LBS had a mid 80% work exp. of 2-14, which means there are youngsters, but how many?

2) Do they intentionally take younger people (because they bring/add 'something' to the group) or is it that the kids (:P) were just better than the experienced folks from the same pool?

The main reason why I decided to take an MBA is because I realized that my potential lies elsewhere and a MBA is the way to attain it. I do not plan to return to the IT field after school (atleast not as a developer) and so, apart from closing in on the avg. age of admits, I see no reason in waiting for 2 or more years. Although confident that I can convince the adcom that I have all the qualities for a good manager, I am fearful of my poor GPA. Yeah, I am aware of the optional essay, but
3) do they give alot of importance to the GPA of a younger applicant? Can a really good GMAT score (~750) and a good optional essay give them the confidence that I can cope with the tough curriculum?

Many thanks in advance!
I am really grateful that you folks at LBS to find the time to reply to our queries.

As for the others, best of luck!
Jaidev.

I'm in a similar situation to you in the sense that I too have a low undergrad GPA. Thinking as an adcom, I would see a 750 and know you have the brains, but seeing a low undergrad GPA I might wonder about your level of discipline and endurance. Since your work experience is not yet long enough to show good career progression (discipline and endurance) then I would want to see a good reason for a low-undergrad GPA that is limited to undergrad and wont be with you going forward.

In my case I have a 7 year career progression with good forward movement, so I'm concerned about the opposite of you. I'm concerned they may be unconvinced of my brains aspect, so I took some graduate extension courses to augment my GMAT and GPA.

I think you'll need a good optional essay more than a 750 GMAT, though the 750 certainly wont hurt.