Question about Oxford and LBS

Question

I was surprised to find that the average GMAT scores are lower than I expected for these schools (690 for Oxford and 700 for LBS). Am I missing something as far as the difficulty of being admitted to these schools (for example, are they strict about undergrad gpa being right at the 3.5 average, do they prefer ivy undergrads for U.S. candidates, etc.?)

krudget · Answer

I cannot speak for the overall makeup, but a good friend of mine got his degree from a 25-50 US school with a 3.2 GPA and 680 GMAT and got into Saïd. Absolutely loved it. Veep at a big name bank just three years out. I am unsure how the international loan situation works.

greatps24 · Answer

As per my info, LBS consider overall profile with more (diverse & quality) years of experience ( in general, there are exceptions). It has more international focus than most US schools. LBS strive to have people with more diverse background, experience,  region   (US B schools do not focus much on this) etc

Admissionado · Answer

Also European schools tend to be less "number-crazy" than American schools. If you look at the GMAT range of Top European schools you will see that they tend to be much wider than at US schools. And I think it's because these schools (very wisely) prioritize other things as well. Remember that it's the Americans who invented the standardized test, and who rely on it (sometimes too blindly IMHO). But the schools that are top programs are TRUE top programs.

CambridgeMBA · Answer

A couple of points to add :-

i. Because most European schools (definitely Cambridge and I think LBS as well) take candidates with more work experience, the average GMAT of the entire class could be lower compared to a class with younger candidates. There is a trend that candidates who take the GMAT within 2 or 3 years of graduation score higher than people who take the GMAT several years after graduation.

ii. most schools find that above a certain point, say 670 or 680, there is little correlation between GMAT scores and performance on an MBA.

Conrad Chua
@CambridgeMBA on twitter

MBAbot · Answer

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Question about Oxford and LBS

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