LBS (admitted), Judge(waitlist) and Kellogg (waitlist), reapply?

Question

Hello everyone,

I am from Asia, GMAT 750, pre-mba experience ~2 years in my own startup, 1 year in another startup as a programmer/product manager.

Post-mba goals Entrepreneurship/Product management in Tech/Tech consulting - Prefer to work in a place where I can get permanent residency easier - Australia/Canada etc although USA sounds very exciting for tech workers

Applied to a few schools, admitted to LBS, waitlisted at Judge and Kellogg.

Should I accept LBS? My concern over it is the ROI, UK and Europe are not as good as USA for tech jobs, although, I am considering recruiting for Australia/Canada etc

Any opinions welcomed, like many, I do not have a very clear direction with MBA studies.

bb · Answer

Congrats on your admits! 👍

Surprised you got admit from LBS in the waitlist from Judge. But everything happens these days. Great job with WL at Kellogg too!

LBS is great for London. It also has global reputation but strongest in London.

My suggestion would be to attend the business school in the country you intend to reside and settle. Some programs or global and portable but work permits are not. While in MBA program may have a great name, if you don’t have a work permit, it makes recruiting a lot harder.

I asked you a question about reapply, it’s a big question. You can definitely apply in round two. You don’t have much time though. Looking at your performance, unless you change some thing meaningfully for your or two applications or or to volume changes, I guess you can expect similar results. You may be successful with reapplying next year and getting better results and hiring schools or potentially securing a scholarship in the mid tier program but that depends upon your timing and your career momentum. You are on the younger side but if your career stalls next year, it’s better to go this year.

I how much is the deposit for LBS?

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GoodName19 · Answer

Deposit is 3k pounds, thank you for your thoughts on this

bb · Answer

If you’re serious about going to business school this year, and applying in round two, I would plan to pay the deposit. There’s not really a way around it...

If you’re choosing between this year or next year, then you can think about it.

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rtbs15 · Answer

For sure I'd pay the LBS deposit.

Because you got accepted to LBS, you should forget Judge, LBS is a tier higher in terms of reputation and reach. I feel that you have 4 options then:

1) Recruit in Canada from LBS
2) Recruit in Australia from LBS
3) Wait for Kellogg and play your chances in the US 
4) Apply to a US MBA either this year or next one and see if you can secure a spot there

If you're strong about the US, 3 and 4 are clear winners. End up in the US without a STEM visa is very, very hard these days.

For Canada, I would choose LBS. Kellogg might give you marginal gains (I personally consider them peer schools, others might not), but it is not certain, therefore a big risk. LBS has a good reputation in Canada, so you shouldn't have a tough time getting seen + I would see if there are exchange opportunities in Rotman, etc. Also, Canada is very welcoming with visas so you have a clear pathway there.

Australia is tougher, the MBA market is relatively small so arguably you'll have to work hard to get a job there. In any case LBS has a good reputation there as well, so don't think that Kellogg would give you an advantage worth risking the spot you already have. Same as Canada, check for exchange opportunities.

In sum, I think that LBS is a solid option for 2 out of 3 desired post MBA locations, so it is worth paying that deposit. If you get an acceptance from Kellogg great, you will add the US to your options, albeit at a high cost (LBS is c. $180k vs $250k for Kellogg), so I would only choose Kellogg if I am sure I want to go to the US.

Hope it helps!

GoodName19 · Answer

Hi,

An update, I didn't choose any in the end (because of online learning due to covid last year) and decided to reapply this year. Invited to interview at Kellogg and Cambridge this year. I guess 1 more year of work experience helped.

LBS (admitted), Judge(waitlist) and Kellogg (waitlist), reapply?

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