As we mentioned yesterday, Business Week Online just hosted a live chat event with a current London Business School Student and the school’s acting Associate Dean of the full-time MBA program. Those prospective students who tuned in were treated to an hour and a half of discussion about London Business School’s academic programs and application process. While the transcript will be available on the BW website in the coming days, we wanted to highlight a few of the key takeaways from the event.
Many participants in the chat were concerned about potential weaknesses in their files and wondered how their materials might be perceived. Associate Dean David Simpson offered a good deal of information and advice that, while framed in terms of the LBS admissions process, is also in line with the perception of admissions officers at most leading MBA programs. For instance, he acknowledged that many applicants are unable to obtain a recommendation from their current supervisor and stated that the adcom is understanding about this; candidates need only explain this in the “Other Information” section of the LBS application (for other schools, the optional essay is often the most appropriate place). He also echoed a piece of age-old recommendation selection advice that we’ve been dispensing to applicants for years, asserting that the adcom will not be impressed by a recommendation from a company’s CEO if that person does not know the applicant well. While it might be obvious that it’s best to obtain a letter from someone who knows you well and can write about your work in detail, he added the insight that the adcom evaluates an applicants choice of recommender along with the content of their letters.
As for other admissions insights, chat participants were advised to present their personal and professional achievements in their essays, and to focus on telling their unique story as opposed to worrying about standing out from others in a certain demographic (this last comment was addressed to an Indian applicant with a background in IT, one of the most oversubscribed groups in the MBA applicant pool). Applicants with just a few years of work experience were cautioned that they will need to convince the adcom that they could contribute alongside more professionally seasoned classmates (current LBS students have between 2 and 13 years of work experience, 5 on average), and all prospective students were advised to be very clear about their interest in attending LBS and their reasons for pursing an MBA at this point in their careers.
The chat also yielded a number of insights about the program. While incoming students are able to specify how long they will spend in the program – the LBS MBA can be completed in as few as 15 months and as many as 21 – Simpson reported that the school is flexible and allows students to adjust their timelines once they become immersed in the MBA experience. Current student Manish Gajria added that because there is a tremendous amount to learn and so many opportunities available, many students choose to spend more time in the program to take advantage of all it has to offer. It’s much more common, Simpson reported, for a student to spend 18 months at the school than it is to complete the degree in 15.
When asked about the reputation of the LBS MBA in the U.S., Simpson reported that this country boasts the second largest concentration of London Business School alumni, suggesting that the degree is recognized and well-regarded by firms in the States. LBS graduates are especially well-prepared, he commented, to succeed in U.S. based companies with an international reach.
That’s our quick rundown. Those MBA aspirants who are planning to apply to London Business School should absolutely keep an eye out for the full transcript on the BW site. Happy reading!
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