Calling all LBS MBA Applicants: 2025 Intake Class of 2027

While LBS emphasizes a holistic review, a lower score, particularly for candidates from highly competitive applicant pools, can become a limiting factor. If the rest of a candidate’s profile is strong, including work experience, leadership, and clarity of goals, LBS may encourage a retake to improve competitiveness.

This kind of feedback from LBS can come at different stages of the application process. In some cases, candidates who interact with admissions through webinars or informal chats before submitting their application may receive early suggestions to improve their test scores. More commonly, applicants are advised to retake the GMAT or GRE either during the application review process, before interview decisions are finalized, or after being placed on the waitlist. Among these, the waitlist stage is where such suggestions occur most frequently, especially when the test score is a clear outlier in an otherwise compelling profile.

If you’re currently applying or have already submitted and are unsure whether your score is competitive enough, it may be wise to consider a retake proactively. LBS tends to be transparent in their communication, so if they see potential but believe a higher score could make a difference, they’ll typically make that clear. Good luck!