Calling all LBS (London) MBA Applicants (2017 Intake) Class of 2019!

Here is our analysis of admission trends and acceptance chances at LBS based on our accumulated forum data of LBS applicants. We have tried to determine acceptance chances by GMAT score, admission rounds, industry, etc. and compare performance of GMAT Club applicants with overall applicant pool. The data used for this analysis is self-reported, so it's advised to use findings of this analysis with discretion. They are meant to give only a general idea of LBS's admission scenario. Don't presume that these findings will hold true all the time.

We would welcome any comments, opinions, suggestions or anything else that you might have to say about the findings of this analysis.

LBS Vs GMATClub: Applicant Pool YoY Comparison
	2012 Intake		2013 Intake		2014 Intake		2015 Intake		2016 Intake
	School	GMAT Club	School	GMAT Club	School	GMAT Club	School	GMAT Club	School	GMAT Club
# of Applicants	N/A	150	N/A	207	N/A	358	N/A	270	N/A	274
Acceptance Rate	N/A	0.23	N/A	0.22	N/A	0.16	N/A	0.17	N/A	0.21
Average GMAT	N/A	717	N/A	713	700	712	701	718	N/A	716
Average GPA	N/A	3.5	N/A	3.42	N/A	3.43	N/A	3.6	N/A	3.54
Avg Work Experience (in Months)	N/A	66	N/A	69	66	63	60	57	N/A	62
Average Age	N/A	28	N/A	29	29	28	29	28	N/A	27

Acceptance Rate by GMAT Score

• Acceptance chances increase with higher GMAT scores.
• As you score 730 or more on the GMAT, your probability of getting accepted increases to 1/3. Also you can be fairly sure of getting interview invite.

Sample Size: 558 Applicants

Acceptance Rate by Admission Round

• It’s surprising that chance of acceptance in R1 is almost same as that in R3
  
• R2 and R3 have highest probability of acceptance than other rounds.
  
• R1 is greatest round in terms of number of applicants.

Sample Size: 1251 Applicants

Acceptance Rates of Different Age Groups

• Greatest portion of LBS's applicant pool is coming from 28-30 age group and this group also has highest chance of admission. This is not very surprising because average age of LBS's incoming class has always stayed around 28 - 29.

Sample Size: 412 Applicants

Acceptance rates by Countries

• For this analysis, we have considered only those countries that have relatively higher number of LBS applicants on forum. We have not chosen the countries with less than 8 applicants with the exception of Russia.
  
• We have also shown the difference between average GMAT of overall applicant pool of a specific country and average GMAT of admitted students of that country.

Sample Size: 391 Applicants

Acceptance rates of applicants from various industries

• The first chart - line chart - shows acceptance rates of applicants from various industries and the pie chart next to it shows industry-wise allocation of applicants.

Sample Size: 514 Applicants

Incoming Class of LBS

• Here we have done industry-wise classification of students admitted between 2012 and 2016 to see representation of various industries in an average LBS MBA class.

Sample Size: 514 Applicants



As I said earlier, we welcome your views, counter-views, suggestions, etc on the analysis. Thank you!

Checking in!

I salute all here. Let's give our best and may the force be with you.

Cheers,

Ibiaçu

Hi, everyone!

My name's Leonardo Gomes. I'm a First Lieutenant from Brazilian Air Force - Logistics Career Path. And I'm intending to join LBS community too.

Good luck to all of us. I'm in the middle of my GMAT preparation (average 680 50/29). I'm fixing some issues related to verbal as I'm not a native speaker.

That's it. Focus ! Focus ! Focus !

I'm my opinion brexit won't affect employment of non-EU citizen. People from europe will experience the same issues that affect non-EU visa application. Just a formality.

For more than 300 years, London have been leading the financial markets. It won't change as expertise in private equity, islamic finance system, blockchain and emerging markets still coming from UK institutions, which improve its faculty year by year.

Everybody is afraid about uncertainty. But in such environment leader emerge and thrive. This is an excellent opportunity to teach us resilience and build upon creative solutions on finance industry. The world as we knew in 2008 changed. The future of financial markets is within Fintech.

That's what I believe.

We, applicants from Class 2019, have the commitment to drive post-brexit world economy into success.

Best Regards,

Leo

Couldn't agree more on this. Also LBS is such a strong brand that, at least in the long run it will not have negative impact on its recruitment.

Hi Guys, I just posted here a detailed analysis of admission trends and acceptance chances at LBS. calling-all-lbs-london-mba-applicants-2017-intake-class-of-221797.html#p1708081. Do take a look and feel free to put your comments in this thread.

Excellent thread thanks for all of that detailed analysis on acceptance and GMAT info. I am applying because I believe London to be such an important cultural and business hub. As someone interested in consulting for international organizations I couldn't think of a better place to get an education and use as a springboard to other parts of the globe.

Have they released their deadlines yet? I'm just trying to get my recommenders the info they need so they know what all the deadlines for submission are. Thanks!!

Yup they have!

Here's the snippet from the website:

MBA2019 application timetable (for the class entering August 2017)

Some applicants will be chosen to progress to the interview stage. The interviews are all conducted by alumni of the MBA programme and your interview will take place in the region in which you are based. Based on alumni interviewer availability, you may be asked to travel in order to complete your interview.

Round 1

Application deadline: 21 September 2016
Interview decision sent on 12 October 2016
Interview period: mid-October - early November 2016
Admission decision sent on 23 November 2016

Round 2

Application deadline: 04 January 2017
Interview decision sent on 01 February 2017
Interview period: early February - early March 2017
Admission decision sent on 22 March 2017

Round 3

Application deadline: 24 February 2017
Interview decision sent on 29 March 2017
Interview period: early - mid-April 2017
Admission decision sent on 10 May 2017

Round 4

Application deadline: 21 April 2017
Interview decision sent on 17 May 2017
Interview period: mid-May - early June 2017
Admission decision sent on 21 June 2017

All application deadlines are 17:00 UK time. All Admissions Committee decisions are communicated via email and will be sent on the deadline day at approximately 10pm UK time.

All the very best fighters!

Hi There

I do agree too. However I believe the term Fintech is totally overestimated today. Thre is not even a proper definition of this term, however, everyone uses it. Can anyone recommend a good site on where to find useful information on the LBS essay questions?

E.g. if it say max. 500 words and I am just on 320, is this bad, good or neither? Should it better be close to 500 words?

Thanks for sharing your experience

Best regards

FROM LBS Admissions Blog: How the MBA Recruitment Team can help you

Whether you are at the crucial research stage or in the process of applying for our MBA programme, the Recruitment Team at London Business School (LBS) can offer you a wealth of support.   1. WE CAN HELP YOU WITH YOUR RESEARCH INTO THE MBA PROGRAMME We understand that it can take weeks, months and even […] Read the rest of this entry... https://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/LBSAdmi ... Il2AUoC8zA

I find this to be an accurate statement. Fintech is being thrown about like cloud computing was, 5 years ago. Not to say that there isn't potential in these technologies, but it is somewhat overrated.

E.g. blockchain is a ledger system, which basically decentralises the verification of authenticity of entries within the ledger. It has certain applications in financial systems, such as trade settlement, and in legal practice, such as notary, but all in all, it is limited to such uses. A good way to think about it is to ask if there would be as much hype about the blockchain if it wasn't for it's first practical application, the bitcoin.

Now, the reason why I came to this thread, is that I also intend to apply in R1. I've submitted my resume for assessment, and will take a final call post a revert (if at all) from the Admissions team.

Hi,

I've tried looking for the one page CV template that LBS requires. I can't find it on their website. If somebody can please send me a link. Thanks !

Whoa! Less than a month left for R1 app submission deadline and this thread hardly makes any noise. Hope folks are on way with the essays and other parts of the applications.

If anyone is interested in becoming ThreadMaster for this thread, please PM your request to me. Here you can learn more about duties and responsibilities of Threadmasters be-the-coolest-guy-in-the-mba-forum-be-a-threadmaster-152204.html

Last year we conducted a chat session with two current LBS students - Pawal Kaul and Sherene Tan. I am posting here key questions and answers. Full chat transcript is available to download at the end of this post.

Could you please shed some light on life at LBS in the first and second year in terms of time spent in clubs, class and lecture related activities as well as the amount of time spent on networking. I am trying to get an idea of the life balance and a gauge on the lifestyle led by students at LBS. Thank you

LBS_Sherene: Hi Aditya, there is a good balance of academic, social and club-related activities that give you ample opportunities to network. In the 1st year, we have on average 14 hours of lectures a week and multiple clubs & networking activities almost every evening, you will be spoilt for choice. There are also plenty of speaker series and company-sponsored events


There is a myth doing round these days that work visas in UK are super tough? How the students LBS dealing with it?

LBS_Pawan: Well really not a myth but UK has been getting tough on the visa regime due to inflow from migrants from affected eurozone areas. There is no major impact for LBS students as of now. Consulting, Corporate and banks generally sponsor visa.


LBS as a school has a reputation of churning out Investment Bankers... how far behind is Consulting? And from your experience how easy is it for a non EU national to secure a Consulting job in EU/UK

LBS_Pawan: Actually placements for investment banking are decreasing. It's a function of the slowly recovering economy as well as folks opting for other areas. Consulting is a big churner for LBS. If you observe the last few years placement there has been an increase in consulting recruitment. The top consulting firms are open to sponsoring visas.
LBS_Sherene: As Pawan mention, most global companies typically sponsor work visas, with the exception of GSK, P&G, J&J


In your experience, typically how good is the conversion rate from an internship to a full time job?

LBS_Pawan: the conversion rate is pretty high at almost 90%.


What were your motivations for selecting LBS?

LBS_Pawan: My main motivations were brand, diversity and the location (London). The school is right in the heart of London and you can meet anyone at a short notice. This helps during recruiting and coffee chats.
LBS_Sherene: The school also has a very strong alumni base, its very easy to get support from them. Also its very accessible to vacations anywhere around Europe, which will be a large part of your MBA life


Can you throw some light on admission process of LBS ? GPA, GMAT, Application Essays, Interview, Work Experience, and Extra Curricular. If you asked to arrange these parameters in the order of their importance at LBS – what would it be?

LBS_Sherene: In my opinion, in order of importance: Work experience, Essays, GMAT, Extracurricular, Interviews. LBS also values diversity a lot. Interviews are lengthy and detailed, but once you get shortlisted for interview stage, your chances are already more than 60%
LBS_Pawan: The admission process is quite similar to any other bschool. The admission takes place in four rounds. The applicants submit their applications, which include about three to four essays, recommendation, resume and GMAT score. Once the applications are selected it proceeds through various shortlists for interview. I think the most important factor that one needs to highlight for LBS admissions is how are you different from any other candidate. LBS is the most diverse school around and it prides itself on that.


Any particular disadvantages to completing the course in 15 months except for the fact that International Exchange is ruled out if you do 15 months? Any other negative factors?

LBS_Sherene: The only negative I can think of for 15 months is that once you complete the program you have another 3 months to stay within the UK to find a job and then you would have to re-apply for a short term visa. Few people that complete in 15 months are typically either sponsored or have found full time jobs.


What are the classes like? More case studies or traditional? Do you study in groups? Are most jobs after LBS based in London or europe?

LBS_Pawan: Classes are more case studies focused. Yes during the first year there are groups of five to six students from different countries.
LBS_Sherene: Most jobs after LBS are indeed based in London/Europe but there are people who go back to the Middle East, Asia and US etc


Does LBS have scholarships or do they offer any financial aid or do they guarantee student loans?

LBS_Sherene: LBS does not guarantee student loans, but there are a number of scholarships - when you apply, you are automatically considered for the scholarships you would be eligible for, but you would only know the results after accepting your place at LBS. For student loans, you can check out Prodigy Finance that ties up with LBS.


How important is it to have international work experience outside of your home country?

LBS_Sherene: For LBS I would say it is quite important if you can show that you have a global outlook, so emphasising on international work experience or working for a multinational company would be a plus. However, that said, I do know classmates who have only worked in their home countries and still got into LBS.


What are the best courses & professors at LBS?

LBS_Sherene: You don't get to choose core courses, but there are a number of popular electives such as Negotiations & Bargaining, Brand Management, etc. There are many outstanding professors - Alex Edmans, Randall Peterson, Gillian Ku. Many examples!


Would you say LBS is only good for students looking to get into finance & consulting since I’m interested in startups

LBS_Sherene: LBS is definitely strong in consulting and finance, but they are increasingly focusing on entrepreneurship/start-ups/VC/Tech - there are really good entrepreneurship courses such as New Venture Development and Pathways to Start-up Success. We also have the Entrepreneurship Summer School and LBS Start-up Incubator, very valuable resources


Who has made a profound impression during your time LBS & why do you consider it worth mentioning?

LBS_sherene: Alex Edmans; He made corporate finance very interesting
LBS_Pawan: For me it would Gary, Rajesh Chandy, and Alex Edmans.


Chat Transcript

FROM LBS Admissions Blog: Early Career programmes: Applications open

Applications for the Masters in Financial Analysis (MFA), the Masters in Management (MIM) and the Global Masters in Management (GMIM) starting in September 2017 are now open. To make the process as smooth as possible, we have put together an application checklist for you to use. In order to submit a complete application, please make sure you submit the following: Online application […] Read the rest of this entry... https://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/LBSAdmi ... Il2AUoC8zA

I have exactly same issue. If you find it, please share with me the link

FROM LBS Admissions Blog: Masters in Finance – Orientation Week

The Masters in Finance (MiF) 2016 intake began their Orientation Week on Monday 15 August with a packed day of activities at the prestigious Banking Hall opposite the Bank of England. The students arrived extremely motivated and excited to begin their LBS journey. After a welcome from the School’s Dean and the MiF Programme Director and […] Read the rest of this entry... https://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/LBSAdmi ... Il2AUoC8zA

Hello Everyone - Please join me in welcoming mbaexpress as a Thread Master for LBS MBA Thread. We are thrilled to have him on the site and joining the Thread Master ranks. He joined GMAT Club community in January this year and has since then demonstrated leadership and helpfulness in forum discussions. He is applying to LBS and few other schools this year.

If anyone has any questions about LBS forum, deadlines, school stats, feel free to PM him. For now, welcome him and wish him best of luck as the ThreadMaster.

Best Regards,
Narenn