London Business School MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2020 – 2021]

London Business School boasts one of the most diverse student bodies, with 92% of the class of 2021’s 497 students hailing from a total of 66 countries outside the UK. If you are looking for a globally focused MBA program in a city bursting with culture, finance, and industry, then LBS is certainly a program to consider. 

London Business School 2020-2021 MBA application essay questions

London Business School required essay question

What are your post-MBA goals and how will your prior experience and the London Business School programme contribute towards these? (500 words)

This is a mainstay in the LBS application, a straightforward career goals question. You need to demonstrate in the first paragraph that you know what you would like to be doing after the MBA, and it had better excite LBS. They are looking for applicants with a global outlook, committed to challenging the status quo and making an impact on business.

In general, I find that this essay needs to apply one-third of the word limit to defining your goal, one-third to summarizing what you have gained from your career and how it has prepared you for your goals, and one-third to how the London Business School education will complement that experience to propel you to your goals. Please note: 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 are guidelines, not rigid rules.

London Business School optional essay question

Is there any other information you believe the Admissions Committee should know about you and your application to London Business School? (500 words)

LBS has allotted a decent amount of space for this essay, which is a subtle hint that they are open to hearing more from applicants here. I always advocate writing the optional essay, but in this case I am highly recommending it since the one required essay will leave you little space to share details about your past experiences.

In particular, examples of your leadership, changing the status quo, making an impact, or navigating cultural differences would make great use of this space if you didn’t have room for them in the required essay.

For expert guidance with your London Business School MBA application, check out Accepted’s MBA Application Packages, which include comprehensive guidance from an experienced admissions consultant. We’ve helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to b-school and look forward to helping you too!

London Business School MBA application deadlines for 2020 – 2021

Round 1	September 11, 2020
Round 2	January 5, 2021
Round 3	March 4, 2021
Round 4	April 27, 2021

Source: London Business School website

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***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***

By Jennifer Bloom, admissions consultant at Accepted for 20 years and Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW). She is an expert at guiding you to produce application materials that truly differentiate you from the rest of the driven applicant pool. If you would like help with your application, Jennifer can suggest a number of options that work with any budget. Want Jennifer to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

• Why MBA?, a free guide to writing about your MBA goals
• Early Career Management and European MBA Programs with Jamie Wright, a podcast episode
• Diversity and International Innovation at LBS