Calling all LBS Applicants - (2015 Intake) - Class of 2017

Reached out to my regional representative today. They were having trouble finding an available alum in my preferred city, Philadelphia, so looks like they are setting me up with an alum in NYC. Should know by the end of the week, hopefully...

I have just been set up with an alum in Mumbai. I am looking forward to it. Anyone else from India, who's had an interview or has one lined up?

Hey there - I'm in TX so we have the same regional rep. I was trying to wait until tomorrow to reach out to give her the full two weeks. Did she mention they were having trouble finding alumni everywhere in the US? Or did she mention your area only? Thanks!

Any admit tried to get a Prodigy loan? what was feedback?

FROM LBS Admissions Blog: LGBT at LBS – webinar invitation

London Business School is very proud of its reputation for diversity and inclusivity. The Out In Business (OiB) club at London Business School represents the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community at the School. OiB is one of the strongest and most active clubs on campus and is a real tribute to the School’s diversity. […] Read the rest of this entry...

I was told that the main purpose of the presentation exercise is to test your presentation and language skills. I was clearly told that the content of the presentation will not matter and only how effectively I was able to convey my point was important.

So my advice is to relax and think logically -- make sure even if the case study is about something u have no idea about, try to be reasonable and make logical arguments but the main focus should be on the presentation itself. Be structured and use simple language, no one is judging how extensive your vocabulary is.

My interviewer was very friendly and put me at ease -- I am guessing LBS makes sure to choose the interviewers wisely so that they are helpful and are able to understand you well. Good luck!

This might be a silly question, but I just read somewhere that you should always address the school as "London Business School" vs. "LBS" during interview. Well, I had my interview and addressed the school as LBS because based on conversations with students, everyone said LBS. Is this actually a faux pas?!

I just finished my interview with an '09 LBS Alumn. The entire session was quite pleasant and conversational. For those who have yet to conduct their interviews, I would highly recommend keeping current on recent geo-political and socio-economic events, if you aren't already. Just my 2cents

FROM LBS Current Students Blog: #LifeAtBusinessSchool: How to Start a Successful Business (Intro)

We all want our business HQ’s based in Silicon Valley or Wall Street, so I think it’s about time I talk about how one goes about starting from an idea and transforming that idea into a multi-million dollar business.     As you can imagine, starting a multi-million dollar business is not easy, so I have divided this post into 4 parts: 1) How to start a successful business 2) How to come up with a multi-million dollar idea 3) How to convert my ideas into serious money 4) Going from £millions to £billions To answer the question “How do I start a successful business”, I will tell you how to start an unsuccessful business. Starting a successful business is simple- do the opposite. Next I will briefly talk about the best way to generate great ideas. This is where most people do well enough by themselves. We all come up with great ideas, but can we convert these into serious bucks? The most emphasised concept I have learned at business school is that a great idea doesn’t really mean anything. Great ideas have no basis unless you can capitalise on them and transform them into viable businesses. We address this in part 3. Finally once we have spoken about how to generate your initial £1m, the game begins. This is where people will see you making money and try to take your customers. In part 4, Going from $millions to $billions, we will talk about strategies adopted by players such as Apple and Google, that enable your company to remain competitive and invest in projects that will keep you ahead of the game, increase your market share, and grow your business. Part 1 will be out soon- follow me on social media and make sure you don’t miss it! Twitter: @umarahmed12 Instagram: @umarahmed122 YouTube: Coming Soon Official Website: www.umarahmed.com

FROM LBS Current Students Blog: #LifeAtBusinessSchool: How to Start a Successful Business (Part 1)

In order to talk about how to start a successful business, let’s look at how to start an unsuccessful business. The top 20 reasons why people fail is shown in the figure below- take a minute to look at it before we discuss.     Surprise surprise. The number 1 reason why start-ups fail is because they do not listen to their customers. Rule number 1: Before you even start developing and putting loads of money into your product, get a cheap prototype/idea and ASK PEOPLE WHAT THEY THINK. Imagine you’re developing a first person shooting game. Go and ask people who play games like Call of Duty and Halo what they think of your idea. Don’t get feedback from Facebook friends whose favourite games are Pokemon and Mario Kart and think, well these people like it so I must be doing alright.. they are not your target customer! First, figure out WHO YOUR customer is, and second, LISTEN to them. If they think the game is rubbish, then its rubbish. It doesn’t matter how cool the graphics are or the whether or not you can drive spaceships or what have you. If the people you want to sell the game to are telling you it is rubbish, go back to the drawing board and pivot. Second, I won’t give an example of every mistake, but I will highlight some important points. Get good co-founders: If you plan on developing a technology venture, then it is preferable to have one co-founder who is a tech guy, otherwise every time you need to make a change to the product (which at the beginning will be all the time), you will be relying on someone who doesn’t care about it. Think of a business model and how you plan on making money. Get investors on board so you have enough money to complete the product and don’t run out of money half way. If the product is rubbish change it. If you are only working part time, make sure some or all of the other co-founders are full time.   To conclude, the graph shows you how to start an unsuccessful business. Do the exact opposite of these mistakes, and you are well on track to starting a successful business. Stay tuned for part 2 where we talk about how to actually come up with the best business ideas. Twitter:@umarahmed12 Instagram:@umarahmed122 Youtube: Coming Soon Official Website: www.umarahmed.com

FROM LBS Admissions Blog: Masters in Finance Online Information Session – Wednesday 4 March, 13.00-14.00

Join me at our next online session on Wednesday 4 March 13.00 – 14.00 (UK time) to learn how London Business School and the Masters in Finance programme can help you advance your career and achieve your goals. The session will start with a 30 minute presentation, followed by online Q+A. Our next On Campus session […] Read the rest of this entry...

FROM LBS Admissions Blog: The value of GMAT and GRE in a classroom

The GMAT and GRE tests can sometimes seem daunting, particularly when you’ve been out of education for a long time. As one of the only schools in the UK to still have a mandatory GMAT requirement for the programme, we are able to accurately measure the current academic ability of our students. We also use […] Read the rest of this entry...

In for r3

Fingers crossed!

Any R3 applicants here?

Is it customary for interviewers to vocalize if they recommend you or not? I'm going through some of the Clear Admit interview reports just to compare my own experience, and it seems like a lot of people received that feedback. I'm preparing myself for the final decision...so hard waiting this long

In the LBS EMBA website landing page, a short introduction to the program includes the words “transform,” “transition,” and “catalyst.” Also, “accelerate” and “propel.” This is a clear message from the adcom: the program goes beyond conveying necessary skills for senior managers; it is for people who have a dynamic sense of their future and a willingness to change and grow, as well as to study and learn. Your essays should mirror and convey this dynamic sense, this energy, this vigor.

Question 1: How has the scope of your management experience affected your career objectives? (500 word max)

This is a goals question, albeit rather indirect. And the question itself reflects the dynamic perspective: rather than “what” your career goals are, it asks you to present them as a part of an ongoing process.

It’s an essay for which the most work might come before you write it – in the preliminary thinking process. Make it an exercise: FIRST, define your career objectives (short and longer term). SECOND, identify what factors influenced the development of those objectives. THIRD, of those factors, single out those related (directly and/or indirectly) to your management experience. Now, you’ve got the raw material for your essay.

In the actual essay, you could start with career objectives and work back to portray the related management experience – or vice versa. Either way, be specific in all aspects – make your goals concrete, and use anecdote and detail in describing the influential management experience.

Question 2: What was your response to a piece of feedback that you have received regarding an area of weakness? (500 words max)

The adcom wants to see how frankly you portray the feedback and your own shortcoming, and how insightfully you contextualize your experience. Secondarily, it’s about change –did you grow and change as a result of the feedback?

This essay will be most compelling and engaging if written as a story. Start right in with the story’s setting – where, who, when (ideally make it a fairly recent experience, and one that holds some meaningful stakes). Then progress through the story, highlighting not just what you and the other party said and did, but also your thinking as the story progresses. Finally, give a short example of how you have applied this feedback (or your learning from this feedback experience) subsequently – in other words, how you grew.

Question 3 (500 words max): Please choose ONE essay from the following two options:

If you could choose any three people who have ever lived to join you for dinner, who would you invite and why?

OR

If you were on the cover of any publication in 10 years, what would the headline and the content of the article be?

If the first two questions are rooted in real-world, concrete experience, this question urges you to “play” a little and use your imagination, wit, creativity, and possibly broader passions in answering.

Which should you answer? Both are equally good; it depends on which serves your needs and interest best.

There are various viable and effective approaches to this essay. One is “gut instinct” and personal appeal. I.e., if one of these questions strikes a chord with you, engages you, and you have an idea that you like, probably it will be an effective essay. Go with it! BUT, do apply some objective, focused analysis as well. Ensure that your content truly illuminates you in some new and fresh way relevant to the application, and do use detail and example to make your essay credible and vivid.

Another approach is strategic. If your imagination isn’t tickled by these questions, instead analyze and plan. What relevant and interesting aspects of your profile aren’t yet portrayed (or portrayed adequately) in the application? Identify one or two such points, and work back from that to find suitable topics for one of the two questions. BUT: don’t be too heavy handed with the essay, which wouldn’t align with the question’s tone.

Random pitfalls:
• If you choose the first question, please don’t use very obvious or overly angelic people (I’ve seen this essay answered with Gandhi and Mother Teresa more often than I can believe over 15 years.) Rather, discuss people who show your creative thinking and/or are personally meaning to you.

• If you choose the second question, don’t turn the essay into a second goals essay. Ensure that it extends the portrayal of you in some way.

[b] [/b]Deadlines:

For September 2015 and January 2016 start: Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis within 2 weeks of receipt. A final decision will come 6 to 8 weeks after submission.




By Cindy Tokumitsu, co-author of The EMBA Edge, and author of the free special report, Ace the EMBA. Cindy has helped MBA applicants get accepted to top EMBA programs around the world. She is delighted to help you too!

Related Resources:
• Ace the EMBA
• School-Specific EMBA Application Essay Tips
• The GMAT and EMBA Programs

Accepted.com's experienced admissions consultants can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages, or provide targeted assistance from picking perfect programs to designing a dazzling resume, constructing engaging essays, or preparing for intense interviews…and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top MBA programs since 1994 – we know what works and what doesn't, so contact us to get started now!

This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog, the official blog of Accepted.com.

The relatively short LBS MFin essay questions, together, convey the adcom’s interest in both who you are and how you envision and plan your career. Given that your classmates will be experienced finance professionals (the average work experience is six years), it’s important to deliver throughout and “across” the essays mature, informed insights and perspectives derived from your experience in your particular area of finance.

The essay questions are:

1. What is it about Finance that interests and inspires you? (300 word limit)

Be yourself. No need to wear a halo; while some people are inspired by the belief that finance can change the world for the better, others feel equally inspired by the high stakes and fast pace, or a technical or intellectual dimension.

This essay work best as a story – simply tell the story of how you “fell in love” with finance (whether industry or function or both—what finance means and looks like to you). This approach will allow the reader to see through your eyes what interests and inspires you about the field. And it will inherently lead you to provide the detail and anecdote to make the essay memorable and vivid.

2. What role do you see yourself in immediately after the programme? How will the MiF build on your current skills and experience to help you achieve this? In what geographical region do you see yourself working in immediately after the programme? If you are not successful in your first choice of role, is there another role you would consider? (500 word limit)

This is really four questions. You needn’t answer them in order, and I suggest combining the “geographical region” answer with the answer to the first question about where you see yourself immediately post-program. That discussion should include details such as company or type of company, specific positions and titles, and what you want to achieve in that role and why – your “vision” for this step in your career. Should you mention long-term goals? Sure, if you wish, but briefly. Sometimes they are important for understanding your short-term goals. The immediate goal should be consistent with the message in the first essay, and should be a realistic target that’s also appropriately ambitious.

The final question asks for your “Plan B.” In describing it, give a brief rationale as well for why it’s a suitable and appealing path.

3. What value will you add to London Business School? (200 word limit)

Feel free to discuss relevant factors beyond finance here (note the question asks not what you’ll bring to the MFin program, but to London Business School). Some possible topic areas include unusual work experience or industry/functional exposure, personal interests (though please don’t say traveling), formative academic or social experiences, distinctive or unusual aspects of your background, etc. Think about what will round out your profile in an appealing and relevant way to prospective classmates. With only 200 words, don’t discuss more than 3 things; you’ll still need example and detail to make the topics credible and interesting.

If you would like professional guidance with your LBS MFin application, please consider Accepted’s essay editing and admissions consulting or our Masters in Finance Application Package.




By Cindy Tokumitsu, author and co-author of numerous ebooks, articles, and special reports, including Why MBA and Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Right One. Cindy has advised hundreds of successful applicants in her fifteen years with Accepted.com.

Related Resources:
• MBA in Sight: Focus on Finance
• Master in Finance: What You Need to Know
• Princeton University Master in Finance: Is It Right for You, and Are You Right for Princeton?

Accepted.com's experienced admissions consultants can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages, or provide targeted assistance from picking perfect programs to designing a dazzling resume, constructing engaging essays, or preparing for intense interviews…and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top MBA programs since 1994 – we know what works and what doesn't, so contact us to get started now!

This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog, the official blog of Accepted.com.