London Business School: MIF 2014 Calling all applicants!

Dear potential MiF students

Welcome all to the London Business School Masters in Finance (MiF) GMATClub thread!

You will be pleased to know that for anyone planning to apply to the 2014 LBS MiF intake, three current MiF full time students (Lott, Laszlo and Jezz) and one current part time student (Moaad) are here to answer any questions you may have. Take comfort in that we all know what you are going through in the application process, please take our helping hand for we have walked the path before!

Our varied brief backgrounds are as follows:

Lott – VP at Barclays Africa, Corporate & Investment Bank. CA, ACMA and CGMA Charters holder. Also CFA Level 3 candidate. Why MiF you may ask? A “pure diet” of finance is what I need for my next career in International Development.

Laszlo – Previously a Portfolio Manager at CIB Investment Fund Management in Hungary. CFA Charter holder and Certified FRM. I chose LBS MiF because I wanted to change location (possibly industry) and advance my career in London.

Jezz – Broad background in trading, risk management, private equity and leveraged finance, working for Lloyds Bank in London. CFA level 2 candidate. Decided to study finance at a top b-school to build on my quantitative and investment skills. Chose LBS because of its world leading reputation and unique curriculum, allowing me to specialise in my areas of interest.

Moaad – Associate at Standard Chartered Bank, where I have worked in the London, Dubai and Singapore offices. Prior to my current role, I was in Singapore with the Investment Banking Financial Institutions Coverage team.

The application process might seem daunting at first - we are more than happy to provide information, share some useful tips and simply support you in your quest to find a spot in the MiF 2014 intake.

Some useful information

Official site of the Programme: https://www.london.edu/programmes/mastersinfinance.html

Stage deadlines for the full time August 2014 intake:

Stage 1: 08 October 2013
Stage 2: 12 November 2013
Stage 3: 07 January 2014
Stage 4: 11 March 2014
Stage 5: 07 May 2014

Stage deadlines for the part time August 2014 intake:

Stage 1: 08 October 2013
Stage 2: 12 November 2013
Stage 3: 07 January 2014
Stage 4: 08 April 2014
Stage 5: 28 May 2014
Stage 6:1 7 June 2014

CV review service

To avoid your application being another “shot in the dark”, we strongly urge you to submit your CV for review before the actual application. You will receive feedback from the MiF admissions team on whether you are a good fit to apply for the program. More details can be found here:
https://www.london.edu/programmes/mif/applying.html
(navigate to "Want to know if you should apply for the Masters in Finance?" section).

Please note that encouragement to apply simply means based on your CV, you are eligible to apply. However, this does not guarantee a place on the Programme, as CV is only a part of the application. Submitting your CV for review might save you enormous amount of time and effort if your Profile is not a good fit.

GMAT pilot waiver scheme

Candidates who complete their application before 1 February will be eligible to be considered for the GMAT/GRE pilot waiver scheme. When the MiF Admissions Committee (AdCom) reviews your application, and are deciding on whether to grant a waiver, they will be looking for strong evidence of intellectual ability, for example:

• strong grades in previous university studies, especially in quantitative subjects
• professional qualifications (e.g. CFA I, II, III, ACCA, ACA)

As well as reviewing your CV and, if you are a non-native English speaker, the AdCom will be seeking to establish that you are fluent in English. For further details, refer to https://www.london.edu/programmes/mif/applying.html and navigate to “GMAT / GRE” section.

We look forward to your questions and comments!

Lott, Laszlo, Jezz and Moaad