The London Business School 2011 Thread

Hi bseb,

I read your story and was already fascinated by it. I think you have a very strong application already! Your story is mesmerising how you came as intern, started your engineering career and met your wife in the US. Thanks for explaining the visa issue, as you may know I am a newbie to US student/work visa and will look at it IF I got admitted to a US Bschool, otherwise it is for me: Don’t count your chicken before they hatch.

My post MBA career goal: Move to product management with international company in branded consumer goods. I have done some volunteer work for a non profit with social mobility and outreach causes and intend to continue by volunteering as business adviser.

I get your profile fit concern as I actually went through the same dilemma after reviewing profiles of admitted countrymen at target schools. They graduated from national elite institutions and worked for a small pool of top firms. I attended a second tier uni and thought: “Am I realistic as I am not consultant/banker/Blue Chip executive or better off saving the application fee? “ Another cultural gap as non-traditional is that my organisation does not produce Bschool applicants, no synergy effects. So I have to explain stuff to my referee and get Bschool info from other sources. Good to know that I am not neurotic with my thoughts. Interestingly, at a school visit I heard the same observation from a Brazilian who realised that the few Brazilian students graduated from top engineering school and worked for MBB, kind of fraternity.

There is a narrow path between a profile that stands out and being too exotic. There are established non traditionals such as military, non profits, civil service and the oddballs. Adcoms may see too many question marks in one’s application. I am the first to admit that traditional bankers, consultants and Blue Chip executives have a stronger Bschool fit, marketable and merit a place. Having said that, LBS is best known for finance and GM with a smallish class, not exactly a hothouse for non traditional career changers.

Ross: alumni interview, Fuqua: ding without interview

Submitted yesterday..

but i dont get it, on the website they say "The application stage in which your application will be considered is determined by when your application is complete (including supporting documentation, except references), not by when the application form is initially submitted". Does that mean they can shift an application to the next round if they need to clarify sth???

Ukrainian male 25
WE as of today 3+ years - BigFour and internal audit in Oil and Gas giant.
Extensive international experience (study and work)
GMAT 740/5.5 Q49 V41
IELTS 7.5
GPA "with distinction". MiF from ukrainian university (does not calculate GPA)
English + good German in addition to native Russian and Ukrainian

could someone please explain - is interview obligatory or they can theoretically accept w/o interview?

good luck to all

I think they interview 100% of the admitted students. Regarding the submission date, I think it just means that if your forgot to upload your transcript or your resume for example your application won't be considered complete and therefore your application won't be processed during R2.

Hello Jock4MBA,

I guess all we can do is try our best and wait and see. Have you already had your interview with the Ross alumnus/a?

Hi everyone,

I'm a US applicant that has been debating whether or not to apply to LBS in R3. My main question being , is R3 for LBS the kiss of death the way it is for US schools? I know LBS has 4 rounds but didn't know if I was wasting my time by applying on the back half of the admissions rounds. Any thoughts on this (and particularly any input from other potential R3 folks) would be appreciated.

BeeSkool,

Congrats on your Kellogg admit. Just curious, why undergo the stress of LBS R3 given you have Kellogg in your bag?

Thanks Jock4MBA. Couple quick reasons:


1) I'm in investments and will be staying most likely. This favors LBS
2) Hoping to get a bit more int'l exposure both personally and as it pertains to my shorter-term goals
3) Not in love with Evanston, Illinois which is NOT Chicago. I grew up and went to college in the burbs so would like a little bit of a big-city/urban experience.

BeeSkool,

thanks for explaining, it is good to have a choice. The IM angle makes sense as LBS is strong in finance, is Kellogg good at IM? I know the school has analytical finance and accounting as majors. What is the recruiting situation like for LBS grads from the US, can you get US jobs in IM with a LBS MBA?

London is everything but suburb. Quite the opposite.

Hi BeeSkool,

Congrats on your Kellogg admit!! Have you visited the school? When I visited back in November I didn't think Evanston was that bad. It's really close to Chicago too: 15 minute care ride or 30 minute train ride. I heard that some students actually commute from Chicago.

Thanks guys. I didn't mean to turn this into a knock on Kellogg by any means! I am more than ready to go there if I decide that's the best at the end of the day.


Also, getting US jobs in the future out of LBS was definitely a concern for me but was alleviated somewhat by some comments from alumni at an info session.

Regardless, just wondering if R3 is worth the effort....

I visited and thought it was fine but commuting from Chicago (at least as a first year) seemed prohibitive.

In for round 2.

Good luck everyone

Good luck everyone!

I'm new to the forum.

Profile: Indian Female 33
LBS(R2), Stanford(R2), Wharton(R2), HBS(R2) & INSEAD(R2)
Work Exp IT Datawarehousing 8 years (India 3 + US 5) till 2008
Attempt at entrepreneurial venture in 2009-2010
GMAT 700/4.5
B.Sc Electronics - Univ 1st rank
MCA Top 3% in class
Basic French & German plus 6 Indian languages.
Strong extra-curriculars (social work)

I would give it shot if I were you. Third round is not so bad I read. There are fewer spots available than round 1 and 2 but still a chance of getting.

https://mbajourney2010.blogspot.com/2010 ... chive.html

Are you from SF?

BeeSkool,
same boat as you, wondering if R3 is just wasting my time/money.

Thanks for the info bseb. I'll probably make a decision based on any success (or not) with R2 interviews for other schools. And yes, I'm from the SF Bay area.

I live in the bay area too. I guess that makes us awesome, right?