LBS Essay Questions and Deadlines
Anything in black is from the London Business School pages at the links provided below. I am writing the red copy.
London Business School Application Deadlines:
Stage 1: 20 October 2006
Stage 2: 05 January 2007
Stage 3: 23 February 2007
Stage 4: 27 April 2007
(Applications must be submitted by 17.00 London time).
London Business School MBA Essay Questions
The Admissions Committee met ... to determine the essay questions for the coming admissions year, and this is the result. One or two changes have been made to last year’s questions, notably that Question 1 has been split into two. Following a little bit of confusion last year, the wording of Question 4 has been tweaked in order to make it clearer (Tip: There is no need to think of a club that does not currently exist).
New to this year’s application, Question 6 has been added following several queries as to where applicants might submit additional information that they wanted to relay to the Admissions Committee. However, this question is optional.
Question 1 (500 words)
In what role do you see yourself working immediately after graduation? Why? How will your past and present experiences help you achieve this? How will the London Business School MBA Programme contribute to this goal?
This is a clear goals question with the focus on your short-term goals -- what you want to do immediately after you receive your MBA. How did you develop this goal? Why does it appeal to you? How did your experiences shape your goal and how do they reveal the appropriateness of your goal. (If you are a couch-potato or klutz, don't say you want to be a professional athlete.--which wouldn't be a match for b-school anyway.) Finally, how will LBS help you achieve your goal?
Question 2 (200 words)
Where do you see your career progressing five years after graduation and what is your longer term career vision?
Here come the long-term goals. As LBS noted above, LBS decided to split the goals question in two. That doesn't mean the two unrelated. Far from it. Although a separate short question, your long-term goals should flow naturally from your short-term goals and previous experiences, including your hoped-for stint at London Business School.
Question 3 (500 words)
Please describe your experience of working in and leading teams, either in your professional or personal life. Given this experience, what role do you think you will play in your study group, and how do you intend to contribute to it?
First of all learn about the role of student life at LBS, in particular the role of study groups. Also, reflect on your experience in teams. If you have been involved in teams outside of work and your other essays focused on work, then this essay presents an opportunity to discuss another facet of your life. Have you been able to both lead and occasionally take a back seat when others with skills or qualifications your lack are better prepared to lead your team? After thinking about your team experience and the role of study groups at LBS show how your past experience will help you contribute to your study group.
Question 4 (400 words)
Student involvement is an extremely important part of the London MBA experience and this is reflected in the character of students on campus. What type of student club or campus community event do you envisage yourself leading? How would you set about becoming involved in a leadership position and how would you align and communicate the goals and vision for the club to the wider School community?
Again, you need to research student life at LBS before you can answer this question. The best answers will directly respond to all elements in the question by showing that you have been involved in similar college, community or professional organizations in the past. And you will be able to illustrate your abilities to contribute at LBS by discussing your earlier contributions.
Question 5 (150 words)
Describe any significant experiences outside of your home country. What did you gain from these?
This question reflects the importance of international and cross-cultural experiences for LBS. Note the tiny word limit here. Short and sweet. What was the most 1-2 significant experiences you have outside your home country and what did you learn from them.
Question 6 (300 words) (This question is optional)
Is there any other information that you believe would help the MBA Admissions Committee when considering your application?
Please see "The Optional Question: To Be or Not to Be "
If you would like help with your LBS MBA application, please consider Accepted.com's MBA essay editing and admissions consulting or a LBS Comprehensive Package, which includes essay editing, interview coaching, consultation, and a resume edit for the LBS MBA application.
The London Business School 2008 essay questions, deadlines and tips are available now. We are closing comments on this article. If you have any questions about the London Business School's application, please post a comment to the London Business School's 2008 application article or a question in MBA Admissions Forum.
References (5)
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Source: LBS Student Videio Diaries -
Source: LBS Application Deadlines -
Source: LBS Essay Questions -
Related: Goals in MBA Admissions: A Must -


Reader Comments (18)
Specific to Q5 on LBS...Word limit is 150 words...and the question mentions "experiences"... what is more prudent??... mentioning a specific event in the PAR framework or getting a generic gist from all the experiences??
Also..i am eagerly awaiting analysis of the Darden Essays... how soon will we get to see it?
Regards
Vineet
Thanks for reminding me about Darden. My tips should go up early next week.
I am planning to apply for full-time MBA course. What is the demerit in applying for the same in second or third round?
Vibha
In the third and fourth LBS essays, where can I find information on the Study Groups and the clubs? Doesn't appear to be much info on the site on how exactly the study groups work or details on the goals/objectives/activities of the clubs. In Essay 4, should I stick to one club or mention 2 or 3?
1) There are fewer spots available because some have gone to applicants in earlier rounds.
2) The second and third rounds tend to have greater numbers of applicants.
3) If you are seeking financial aid, there is less money available, especially by the third round.
4) If you are applying to a school in a country where you are not a citizen or permanent resident, you will have less time to deal with visa issues if you apply in later rounds.
Neither one of these reasons nor a combination of them justifies rushing your application and submitting something that is less than your best to a top school like LBS. Remember Linda's Rule: Submit during the earliest possible round PROVIDED you don't compromise the quality of your application. For more, please see http://accepted.typepad.com/admissions_almanac/2005/07/mba_admission_t.html .
For more information about specific clubs, please see http://www.londonsa.org/dynamic/club_list.php .
With regard to Q5, where we need to mention an experience abroad, what do candidates with no experience abroad do? This doesn't seem to be an optional essay.
Nikhil
Can you say that you have worked with others abroad? (even though you were still in your home country.)
I went through all adcom chats and your tips on LBS and it was very useful. Thanks a lot.
And also, I have few queries:
Q2) Word limit is 200 words and its about long term vision. Do I need to be very superficial while explaining that and not get into specifics?
Q1) Word limit does not do justice to the array of Questions that are asked. Short term goals - substantiated with past and present, Why LBS? Any specific tips here?
Thanks,
Sunny
Thanks for your reply (link at Columbia). I'll nevertheless apply to LBS.
I wanted more clarity on Essay 3.
Great if you could help.
In Essay 3 (experience in team work etc), how many words should I devote on explaining my experiences, and how many words on my role in the study groups?
Thanks in advance.
I'm glad you find the information helpful.
Q2)Long-term goals tend to be general to begin with. So try to make them as specific as possible within the word limitation. The key is for the long-term goals to flow logically from what you have previously done.
Q3) Focus. Focus. Focus. Choose the 1-3 events that have been most influential and demonstrate the appropriateness of your goal as well as your qualifications for LBS.
There are several posts on this blog about tightening language and they may also help you. How you say things can bloat your writing. Please see http://blog.accepted.com/acceptedcom_blog/2006/12/18/essay-tip-the-editing-funnel.html and the articles referred to in it.
I now feel word limit there was just about perfect :-)
On Q3
1. Experience with working or leading teams -- Can I pick 2 or 3 experiences?
2. Role and contribution to it? I have strong values that I bring to the study group but concerned about fitting those into a specific ROLE. Can you please advice?
Thanks,
Sunny
To answer your questions:
1) yes.
2) As a result of the roles you have played on other teams, what roles will you play on an LBS team? Are you going to be the team conciliator, comic, leader? Or are you flexible enough to change as the team needs? Are you going to be the technical expert or the marketer?How you have contributed to teams in the past may just indicate how you will do so in the future.
Good luck!
Regarding Q5 of LBS:
I immigrated to Canada 10 years ago. Does my experiences in Canada count as my international experience?
And do they have to be professional?
Thanks,
RM
I am Alexey from St.Petersburg, Russia.
Can I prepare for writing essays through reading books.Can you recommend me something to read or how to write an profound essay.
Thank you !
Alexey.
Great Application Essays for Business School by Paul Bodine.
How to Get Into Top MBA Programs by Richard Montauk
MBA BlastOff (an ebook) by myself and Maxx Duffy.
The latter is available at (http://www.accepted.com/ecommerce/blastoff/blastoff.aspx ) The first two are available from Amazon.
Good luck!