2012 LBS MiF Applicants welcome!

thanks laman. hope can see you guys in LODON

I am from R4. it took me 3 weeks before an interview. so guess you can wait still? good luck.

Congrats Linsen...

Hi lifeiscricket,

I submitted my application early in the morning on the 13th March, just some hours before deadline, received my interview call on the 26th March, met with the alumnus on 30th March and received my admission email yesterday.

alumni told me the time of the interview call is very different. some received it on the day of deadline published on the web site.

congratulations to you are you gonna accept the offer?

i also waited for 3 weeks... also it merely depends at the time they get to your applicantion. as i see there is no direct correcation between the interview call and time you submitted the application - i guess, it is simply a big pile of applications which they do not seem to sort by date... anyway, good luck, and be patient! overall application process is a true torture. we are with you!

Yes, sure. it is the most suitable school for me. Waiting for the hard copy of the offer and all details:) so, see you in London in August!

laman, did the adcom ask you to resit your GMAT?

hehe here is what they wrote in their offer:
Although our offer is not conditional on an improved GMAT score, the committee strongly advises you to resit GMAT. An improved GMAT score will not only be good for your own records (and possibly for future employment purposes) but will allay the admissions committee’s concerns and prove that they made the right decision in offering you a place.
i'm now preparing to resit... i want to apply for a scholarship, and with such below-the-average GMAT i defitinely will have very little chances for the merit based scholarship... otherwise they did not insist on it very much.

I have almost the same situation with GMAT. Nalisha wrote the following:
The committee have asked me to advise you to resit your GMAT and score higher as this will make you more attractive to employers and will also bring you more in line with your class peers. It is not a condition of the offer, but it is advisable.

I want to apply for a scholarship also, but I am in a tricky situation: I have my CFA Level II exam on the 2nd June and need to prepare for it much harder than for GMAT. Hence, I do not know what to do: to risk with a scholarship or to postpone the CFA test...
did you communicate with somebody who was awarded with the scholarship?

Guys,

What are your thoughts on 1 year MBA from oxford Vs LBS MiF.

From what I can think of Oxford gives an internship and has same access to IB and other financial institutions.

LBS probably scores on the reputation (maybe), course content, and location in London.

The cost is more or less the same. although oxford has a loan option through prodigy.

Lemme know...

several days after the offer Morgane mailed me contact details of a MiF Ambassador - a current student whom you can ask anything you'd like. All those ambassadors are students with scholarships. My ambassador had GMAT of 730 and I guess this should be 700+ for all ambassadors as in nature they should reflect best part of the class...

Dear All,
if you are planning to accept LBS MiF offer, please change your status to "Matriculating" so we'd see how many people in 2013 MiF class are finally coming from GmatClub

Harh, do you take into consideration, that loan option from Prodigy is also conditional? it is not like in the US... if the only thing that makes Oxford MBA more attractive to you is availability of finance, probably you try to apply to Prodigy now? just to be 100% sure that they will give you the loan.
I'm not sure that LBS scores more on the reputation, course content is the biggest plus I think. But at the end of the day both schools have very strong brands and if your goal is to push up your career - they both will serve fine i think...

I am also studying for the Level II CFA exam this June. Personally, I wouldn't reduce your CFA preparation to retake the GMAT. If you do this, you run the risk of not improving your GMAT score + failing the CFA exam. In my opinion, I think passing the CFA exam and being a Level III candidate will make you more attractive to employers than raising your GMAT. Good luck to you either way though and congrats on your acceptance.

For non-eu candidates: the new UK visa makes it impossible to work post MiF in the UK. Is this true?

The question is a good one ! I also read the news on internet that UK Govt has abolished the Tier-1 Post Study work visa. However the LBS website has posted some stuff that might be reassuring -

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1. While the government is aiming to reduce overall numbers settling in the UK from outside the EEA/Switzerland, its reforms are supportive of graduates of UK business schools and universities. It is committed to helping the 'brightest and the best'. London Business School has been working with the government to help them understand the value of our students.

2. People coming to study in the UK can apply for a tier 4 visa: https://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas ... /studying/

3. From April 2012, the government will remove unrestricted access to the labour market for those studying in the UK. However, they have made it easier for UK employers to sponsor international students they want to hire - employers just need to have a Tier 2 licence.

4. Almost 25,000 employers in the UK are Tier 2 sponsors - the full list is available on the UK Border Agency (UKBA) website and updated regularly. For those employers who do not yet have a Tier 2 visa, this is relatively easy and cheap to obtain and London Business School is proactively providing guidance to recruiters on how to do this.

5. Previously, an employer had to advertise the role even when they had a preferred candidate. Under Tier 2 legislation, if an employer has a preferred candidate in mind, for example a London Business School graduate, they will no longer have to advertise the role more widely (previously known as the Resident Labour Market Test). This makes the process more straightforward and cheaper for recruiters.

6. This more streamlined process is only applicable to graduates of UK universities and business schools. When recruiting from inside the UK, there is no cap on the number of UK-based graduates a company can hire. This includes graduates of London Business School. By contrast, recruiters will have restrictions on the number of graduates they can hire from outside the UK, including other European business schools.

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The points 2,3,4,5 imply that LBS graduates have a good chance of finding employment in UK. LBS claims that most of the recruiters at LBS have their-2 license. Secondly, the LBS graduates will have less competition from Non-UK based school graduates.

However this also means that one has to start searching for a job immediately after joining the program - no respite during term breaks.

Another option is trying for the Tier-1 Graduate Entrepreneur visa. Difficult option but an interesting one !

Hope this answers your question. Keep googling the internet, you might find more tips on getting the better of complicated UK visa rules. I think "life is already too complicated, Politicians and Governments never shy away from expedient policies to pander their masses"

Thanks. I looked at docs on UK govt website and it is not true that for Tier 2 you can hire without the Resident Labout Market Test...there is no way around it. Even in milkround employer need to retain docs that show locals were not available for that role...so seems like they have closed all loopholes. I think class of 2013 will really feel the impact.