Calling all LBS (London) MBA Applicants: (2018 Intake) Class of 2020!

Had my interview some few days ago.

It was definitely the most exhaustive MBA interview I've had by far. My interviewer had all of my information, specific things that LBS had requested he should find out, and he even knew to which schools I had applied!! (I guess they get this information from the GMAT report)

Overall it was a very complete and exhaustive conversation, where I felt I was permanently pushed to see whether I'd fit at LBS (I definitely think I do). The case was simple, nothing to worry about (Can't share the contents of it)

I would recommend for everyone to be really prepared for this interview. Have a clear story, career path, electives you want to do, LBS activities on which you want to participate, etc

Best of luck to everyone and looking forward to NOV22! Does anyone know if scholarships are told immediately with our offer?

Best of luck XTsarg! I've just submitted my application for RD2, well before the deadline!

Okay, interviews have kind of been a disaster for me. I'll tell all details, hopefully it helps someone prepare in areas I wasn't prepared.

In person interview

Had my interview back in mid October - and I have NEVER been so nervous in my life. I had to have a surgery this month, so I was down for at least 2 weeks of the interview period. The morning I was assigned an alumni to do the interview, I emailed him to set it up the interview. With my schedule limitations, the only time to do the interview was THAT DAY in 4 hours. I had two hours of meetings left at my full time job, had enough time to go home and throw on a suit, and then drive the hour to his office. No. Preparation. Time. Not in a good place mentally

Felt really strong the first hour. LBS is the only school I applied to in this round, I have a very clear reason I want to go there, my resume and essays told a clear story, and I know the school. He seemed very interested in press events I used to manage in Hawaii, which was one of my favorite projects, so it was very easy to talk about

In hour two, we did an impromptu a case study where I had to do quite a bit of estimation math in my head, which I was totally unprepared for. Talked about it for about 10 minutes, and by the end I was so nervous I'm sure I was pale as a ghost, because he said that we should take a little break if I needed it. Then I was worried that I was looking like I couldn't handle pressure, which of course meant I was then stuck inside my head for the rest of the interview

I feel like I did fine on the Case Presentation portion, the scenarios presented were simple enough. I could have done better, but it was okay.

I walked out a feeling like my chances of getting had all but died.

My interviewer called me about 30 minutes later and told me that he didn't want me to feel like I had bombed the interview, and that he gives very hard interviews. I thanked him for the call, and told him what a great learning experience it was! I have never been nervous in an interview before, but I'd never had an interview like this. I learned about an area I can definitely improve. So. Feels like I bombed, but maybe he was sincere when he said that I didn't?

Video Interview

I work in entertainment, so I have access to sets and photography studios. I set up my laptop in a photo studio, set up 3 point lighting, white background, the whole shebang. Tried to give any extra effort I could

Obviously, we knew the first question, so I felt fine about my answer there (I tripped over a few words, and wasn't as elegant as I was in my rehearsal, oh well). The second question was related to the single area of the program I knew the LEAST about. I know the program, I know which professors I'm most excited about meeting, I knew which courses I am looking forward to taking the most, the electives I will do, which clubs I'd like to join, the businesses based in London I'm most interested in connecting with, etc. There is ONE area of the program I really never thought much about, and that's the question I got. and I BLEW it. Terrible terrible response. As soon as it stopped recording, I knew EXACTLY what I should have said.


My Biggest Take Aways:
- No matter what you've heard about an LBS interview, be prepared for something off book
- During the interview window, make sure you look interview ready every day until you're interview is officially scheduled - you never know when schedules will suck enough you have to do an interview immediatley
- Know the WHOLE PROGRAM. Even the parts that you aren't particularly interested in or don't plan on participating.

So, now a little over two weeks of waiting. Hoping my flaws in the interview round are looked at as areas I can improve, and my strengths outshine these rough moments... trying my best to remain optimistic.

Thanks for sharing the details! My interview was only an hour and definitely on the lighter end. But I'm sure you didn't bomb it since the interviewer actually gave you a call back (so nice!!).

Praying for all of us...

Hi everyone,

Had my interview few days ago at LBS campus. Overall, the interview was more of a conversation than one-way communication. The interviewer was experienced and she interviews many candidates every year (at least that's the impression I got from her conversations). She had a questionnaire and followed a structured approach to cover as many aspects as possible about my profile:
1. About myself : She asked me to talk her through my resume and specifically asked me to focus more on "why I did" what I did. This was followed by some detailed questions wherever she was interested in my profile such as How did you find this experience etc.
2. Why MBA/Why LBS/Why now
3. How will I contribute to the school/clubs/class/study group
4. Life experience questions : Tell me a time when you worked in a multi-cultural team, what is my biggest achievement , what is my biggest challenge in my current role, what are your biggest strengths, Tell me a time when you led a project, My international experience etc.
5. My opinion : What is wrong with the world that businesses are ignoring? What should they do?
6. Presentation: She already chose the topic for me from a list and gave 5 mins to prepare. It was easy and she was focusing more on my approach and perspective than the final answer. I read in this blog that students were asked not to share the topic of the presentation. Surprisingly, she didn't ask me - may be she forgot
7. Finally, the conversation ended with her experience at LBS, what they look for in a candidate at this stage and her current role in the firm and why she chose it..

My advice to everyone will be keep your answers short, concise and structured. Moreover, be honest and enjoy the conversation. Now waiting impatiently for the result - fingers crossed. Best wishes to everyone...

Hi there,
It's been quite silent over here... really looking forward to D day next Wednesday the 22nd!

Whats happening on the 22nd?

Really? Admissions decisions for Round 1 will be sent on November the 22nd by UK midnight time

Oh I see. Decisions are coming out on the 22nd. They must have changed that date since when I first made my excel sheet because the date was Dec 13th when I first started applying to schools.

Its a lot less waiting time and im glad to hear it. I just wish Oxford also was earlier but unfortunately im not even interviewing with them till the 29th.

Then again if I get into LBS I might not even bother with Oxford.

What are your guys thoughts on choosing between INSEAD, LBS and Oxford?
Im trying to switch careers

I applied both to LBS and INSEAD and I would say both are great at switching careers (maybe LBS a bit better since you have a longer program and additional internship opportunites)

Personally I believe LBS and INSEAD are way ahead of Oxford in terms of worldwide prestige. Choosing between LBS and INSEAD I guess it's just a more personal matter of where you want to do your MBA and which format you would prefer (1 year vs 2). In case of being accepted at both it won't be easy to take a decision

counting down the days and praying everyday lol


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Will they call the successful applicants before sending the acceptance email like what the US schools do?

Based on last year's thread, no.

Im planning on travelling to UK for the dec 9th event at LBS. Does anyone know if we need to submit the passport to acquire the visa or do we get to keep it cause im also planning on applying for a schengen visa. Also do we need to submit the passport for that visa?

This is as a indian passport holder.

You have to submit your passport along with all the documents. Assuming you are going through vfs. If so, the UK visa will take 3 weeks approx, unless you apply for an express visa. If you're applying for a Schengen though, apply through Germany, it takes 2 days.

So, for the interviews it seemed like all the invites came out around the same time and then rejections were late at night, right?

Do we expect the same on Wednesday?

Based on last year’s thread, it looked like decisions (both offers and rejects) were sent together.


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