The London Business School 2010 thread

HI BSD

I came from India almost 6 years back. I have been visiting Australia in my current role and have clients from worldwide.

I understand that LBS and Insead cater for different MBA applicants as compare to H/S/W. I have almost 4 years experience in comparison to class average of 6 years. Do you think this works against me? I know some of the US schools especially Harvard and Columbia are targeting younger candidates and I assume European schools are very different in this aspect.

BSD, I believe that there are very few students from Accounting or Tax background in LBS, do you think it is just because very few candidates with CA or CPA qualification wants to pursue MBA or is it because b-schools donot like CA/CPA.

How big is the brand factor to have on your CV while applying for LBS?

Highly appreciate your guidance!!!!

Cheers

bsd_lover, thanks for adding me on the roll call. You should know that I will hold you personally responsible if I get fired over the next few days - I'm on an extremely stressful project at the moment, yet I've spent half the day reading your exploits back in 2007 application rounds. I can't believe you were waitlisted 8 months mate! But your story is an inspiration to us all.

So I'm in for R1 as well. Just wanted to say Good Luck to all the Clubber applicants here! Friday is approaching soon and nerves are starting to get to me. Fingers crossed...

Yep good luck everybody...my situation can be best summarized by a quote my mom always says about me..
The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.

LBS is a very long shot school for me and so I'm finding it a bit easy with the nerves...

I'm taking your approach too. Just curious, why do you think its a long shot? I think bschool is a long shot for some (if not, most) people, so you're definitely not alone. I'm pessimistic about LBS partly because I come from an overly represented applicant pool with a below average GMAT score for that pool (Indian/Male).

I think 4 years is sufficient as long as you kick butt in the essays. It is a myth that I would like to bust right here and now that there are very few candidates in school with CA/CPA. I personally know 4-5 students with CA qualifications or with Auditing (or other big 3 accounting backgrounds). Financial Accounting is probably the most "waived" course in first year. I see no evidence school bias against ex accountants.

Brand in CV helps to some extent. Whether we like it or not, Harvard or Mckinsey or Goldman or KKR a CV scream pedigree. However, fit and experiences matter more at LBS. There is strong emphasis on the alumni interviews and I bet if you are perceived as a pedigreed douche during the interview or in your essays, you wont be accepted.

McNerdy, dont worry, you can only go by the information available to you at the time. I think the LBS website was overhauled recently and perhaps when you wrote the essays, it showed incorrect information. So, I dont think this will be an issue - not everyone can visit London and get the absolute latest and greatest info - and the ad-coms respect that.

There are plenty of medical doctors and folks from pharma fields and LBS seems pretty receptive to folks either with the background or with aims towards the area.
Good luck.

2012 applicants, just a general comment. As you all probably already know, my path to LBS was not the most optimal one. But four months into the program, as time's flying by, I can say that this was absolutely one of the best things that has happened to me. I questioned myself about the value and the worth of the program several times as I waited for nearly a year. Ultimately I am ecstatic that I persevered. Every day I am challenged and amazed by some of the most incredible people I have ever met. Things are so busy that there is barely any time to reflect. But when I do reflect, I see my class and think about the people in the room and realise that after the MBA I will probably never be in the proximity of such extraordinary individuals in one room together ever again (unless of course there is a reunion). Its a saddening thought.

Anyway sentimental rant over. Time to study for Economics mid-term.

Best of luck and hope gmatclubbers clean up MBA2012 admissions at LBS.

Agreed with bsd_lover -- I wouldn't worry too much about this. I wrote about a company in one of my essays that declared bankruptcy several weeks later, so I would presume the adcom looks at your work from the timeframe it was written in.

In my stream of 80 students, we have 5-6 students with healthcare/pharma backgrounds, so the field is well represented here. The Healthcare Club is pretty active on campus as well.

Guess, everyone is in the same boat.
For me, everyday starts with hope, goes down to nervousness and pessimism on mentally thinking over the essays, bottoms out at depression over this unknown competition, goes up thinking that my profile is indeed good despite the below average 700 gmat score, flattens with self consolation to be happy at the current state and with a bit of enigmatic despair.

btw, i wish i were from some country with no applicant pool at all.

Thanks bsd_lover and prashok.

Guess all I can do right now is sit tight and hope that I'm interesting on paper.

Regardless of the outcome, I'm looking forward to the day after Nov. 6. This waiting is bringing out the neurotic in me...

HI Afan
Mate, your situation would still have been similar had you applied from a country with a smaller application pool.
I am applying from NZ, which supposedly have a very small applicant pool (may be .001% of India or china or US). And I have a slightly above average GMAT score of 720 but even I will be as anxious of the outcome of my application as you.
Its not only about diversity, LBS is looking for diverse and best profiles. Therefore, diversity alone cannot get you in.

Guys, I know things are anxious right now, but try not to worry too much -- at this point it's in the hands of the adcom, and it's anyone's guess as to how they will decide.

I was told that LBS and INSEAD would be distant long-shot schools for me and that the Oxbridge schools would be slightly more realistic, but still difficult. But in the end, Cambridge was the only school to ding me before the interview and the rest came through eventually. So sometimes things just work out randomly.

Conversely, there are some candidates with flawless profiles in our class that didn't get scholarships, or other excellent candidates outside of LBS that didn't get an admit. With the way the adcom "builds" the class, it is entirely possible that even the most qualified candidates can miss out simply because there happen to be too many applicants with the same profile this year, or whatnot.

Part of it is controllable (through your applications), part of it is not (your recommendations and the adcom's interpretations) and part of it is just luck. But hopefully it all comes together this week!

Hi
You have mentioned “and the rest came through eventually. So sometimes things just work out randomly”

Would you like to share, for which school have you received the interview?

Hey ankurb -- I applied to LBS, INSEAD and the Oxbridge schools in R1. Received interviews to the first three, and was waitlisted for interview at Cambridge (at which point I withdrew). I got into LBS and Oxford, but was waitlisted at INSEAD (then later accepted). As LBS was my first choice though, that's how I ended up here.

Thats great.

Would you like to share your pre-mba profile.

Thanks

I am also waitlisted by INSEAD and can't be admitted up to now......

Now I applied for R1 of lbs and is waiting for the invitation very anxiously........

do you think they will start sending the interview invitations today?
I already started checking my mailbox...