How difficult is it to get into LBS?

In this article, we are speaking to a Capacity Planning Manager who supposedly has a regular profile of an Indian engineer with a “low gmat score” of 690 and still cracked the admissions of one of the best business schools of the world, LBS, with the power of her story. 

We are here, addressing issues like how to address your career goals essays, how much importance GMAT/GRE holds in admission, what is a good GMAT score for schools like LBS and what makes LBS unique. 

Q: WHY AND WHEN YOU DECIDED TO GO FOR AN MBA?

So, while I was working in the imported supply chain department at my company, I decided to move out of the supply chain and explore more areas in order to understand my long-term aspirations. And that is how the MBA came into the picture for me as the best way to explore the whole business world. 

Q: AFTER YOU FINALLY DECIDED TO GO FOR AN MBA, HOW WAS THE WHOLE APPLICATION PROCESS FOR YOU? WHAT HICCUPS YOU HAD DURING THE JOURNEY?

I was pretty sure of doing an MBA but beyond that, I did not know the best way to go ahead. I took my GMAT after putting in good money and effort and then, I knew I needed someone to guide me so that all my previous efforts make sense. This was a one-time investment and I could not take any risk with my apps. And with so much information over the web, you need someone trustworthy to handle your applications. 

For me, I did not have a “720+ GMAT” and so, as told by many experts I did not have anything special in my profile. And I think, not being “special” was the biggest concern for me and I needed someone who could trust in me with this profile and this score. And that is where Shantanu came to my rescue. He was the only person to say that adcoms are not checking any boxes. They do not look for your international trips or score or any fixed parameter, for that matter. They look for diversity in each and every student. They need someone who can bring a different perspective to the class. I posted my profile on GMATclub and among others, his clear, on-point response persuaded me to book a session with him. He had a good understanding of what schools want and evaluated my chances accordingly. This caught my attention and after having a consulting session with him, I started my journey with him.

Q: HOW DID YOU MOVE FORWARD IN CHOOSING LBS AND INSEAD? WHAT FACTORS DID YOU CONSIDER?

The foremost factor for me was the location. I wanted to work in Europe and since I already had a fulfilling job, I only wanted to pursue my MBA from tier 1 colleges. So, this is why LBS and INSEAD were my first choices. Also, a lot depends on the short-term path you may want to pursue post MBA. I wanted to explore Consulting and found out these two colleges can provide the best of the available opportunities in the field. Also, the third factor, for me, was the culture of the schools I’m targeting. I need to fit into the schools I wish to go and therefore I, from students and alums, tried to understand the culture and values of these schools and this is how the two schools were the best choices for me.

Q: SO I UNDERSTAND YOU WANT TO EXPLORE MORE BUSINESS AREAS DURING MBA. BUT, WHAT ARE YOUR POST-MBA GOALS AND HOW DO YOU THINK LBS CAN HELP ACHIEVE THEM?

I have always been in the supply chain and I have a pretty good knowledge of the field. But to move up the ladder, you need to experience more, diversified fields of business. And this is why I was very sure of doing an MBA to provide me with that knowledge. Consulting and finance are the two areas that highly intrigues me and LBS can be the best choice to grow in these areas for me. But honestly, I do not have a plan that I am cent per cent sure of. This MBA journey is for me to explore different options and there is a very high possibility of me pivoting to an entirely different career than what I have imagined or thought of before stepping in the course. So, I do have the reasonable motivation to pursue an MBA but I do not want to have a rigid plan post-MBA. 

Q: BUT THE NOTION THAT’S PREVALENT IN THE INDUSTRY IS YOU NEED TO HAVE CLEAR PLANS CHALKED OUT POST-MBA, ESPECIALLY, FOR SCHOOLS LIKE LBS. SO, HOW DID YOU ADDRESS YOUR CAREER GOAL ESSAY OF LBS?

For everybody who is not clear of their post-MBA goals but does have plausible reasons to pursue an MBA, I would say, the most important part is being logical. The adcoms need to know your thought-process and the clarity in your head to pursue MBA from their school. You need to ask yourself as to why you want to do an MBA. You may not have clear plans but there should be some motivation to leave a good job and pursue a degree which involves investment in every aspect. There should be some connection between your past career and MBA and future aspirations. 

Especially for LBS, it’s very important that your future aspirations connect back to your past career. That you have weaved a story that makes sense. And I think that is where Shantanu helped me. I had everything in bits and pieces and he helped me to connect them. And maybe that’s where I got the adcoms. 

Q: SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES LBS UNIQUE? WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF LBS APPLICATION THAT YOU THINK HOLDS WEIGHT IN YOUR CANDIDACY?

So, essays are the heart of applications. They summarise the considerable experiences of your life. And LBS has only one essay which talks primarily about your career. Therefore your professional experiences and goals carry a huge burden of your candidacy into LBS. For the latter part, contrary to the popular opinion, I do not believe in some rigid goals or a position that you already have decided for yourself post-MBA. But I do believe in the logic of your story. Whatever your interests are and what you want to pursue during MBA and after MBA should connect to your past experience and should be attainable through this 2-year journey. 

The other important factor, that Shantanu says, is reading the career goals of hundreds of people every day can be very boring and frustrating. So, it’s very, very important to make your essays interesting and have the adcoms stick to your application. 

My interview experience, I felt, was quite structured. What I feel is important to LBS is your knowledge of the industry and your interest in the school. They really want to know if you’re truly interested in the school and they will drill you down over this if you’re superficial. 

Q: FINALLY, HOW YOU FELT ABOUT YOUR CHANCES TO LBS BEFORE STARTING YOUR JOURNEY WITH US AND HOW HAS THE FEELING CHANGED OVER TIME? 

Being an “Indian engineer” and with many gaps in my profile, I was not confident about my chances. And I feel, all Indian applicants may have apprehensions about bringing uniqueness in their profile due to the over-representation. But still, I wanted to give it a try. While finding the right consultant for me, I had many bad experiences which shook my confidence even more. Some clearly asked me either to get a 720 or give up on applications, while others tried to talk me out to apply to Tier 2 schools. 

Shantanu was the first to believe in me. I had my reservations even after I started working with him. But as I started moving ahead, Shantanu helped me to get into the shoes of adcoms and then craft my essays. He gave me a questionnaire at the beginning which was quite drilling for me. We used to break questions into different parts and then would have many brainstorming sessions over every part. And every time I felt content with my essays, he used to push me even harder and sometimes, it was frustrating. But eventually, it all came together and when I saw my final application, I was at cloud nine. I liked myself a lot better than I used to and I discovered a lot of things about me that I never knew. And I feel the whole application process makes you a marketer which will be very useful for you when you sit in interviews post-MBA.