This 12-16 month long program is geared towards those who have recently graduated from university and have up to 2 years of work experience. Participants in the program come from a variety of backgrounds and should want to gain a business education or build upon existing business knowledge. The program prepares its graduates for careers in banking and finance, consulting, and industry. The degree is most beneficial for people looking to transition to or to continue their career in the UK or in Europe. Of the 2019 graduating class, 50% found jobs in the UK and 27% found employment in Europe.
There are 2 main essays for this application.
Essay 1: How will the Masters in Management help you to achieve your academic and professional goals? (600 words)
It is important to note the word choice that is being used in the prompt. You are asked to detail both academic and career goals. This means that you should have a clear idea about what you want to learn while studying for the Masters in Management as well what you want to do once your studies are complete.
Regarding academic goals, it is important to review the curriculum in detail, to understand the core classes, and to identify which electives you will be interested in. I would also take note that the MiM program includes multiple experiential learning opportunities. These opportunities can be mentioned as examples when you would hone both academic skills and professional competencies.
It is also possible to link your academic goals with your professional ones. For instance, gaining knowledge of topics covered in the Advanced Corporate Finance elective could be an academic goal in order to further your finance knowledge. It could also lead you to be better equipped to gain a job as a corporate finance analyst after you complete your studies. These types of statements, when written in a way that is personal to you, can be very effective at covering both the academic and professional.
The use of goals in this prompt is vague. Typically, an application would specify if you should address your short-term goals only or both your short-term and long-term goals. While the focus of the essay should be on your immediate goals after the program, I also suggest mentioning your long-term goal as a way of showing what you are striving towards and to give additional insight into what you are passionate about.
During your time as a Masters in Management student, how will you contribute to the School community? (400 words)
One of the things that is unique to LBS is the size of their community and the opportunities that you will have to interact with others who have similar interests but who may be in different points in their careers. LBS offers multiple Masters degrees geared towards everyone from recent university graduates to executives. By virtue of these differing programs, there will be a wealth of knowledgeable people on campus at any given time. Additionally, the clubs on campus are accessible to all students, allowing for the opportunity to explore your interests outside of the classroom with people who you might not have interacted with otherwise.
Given the large number of clubs, conferences, trips, and student-organized events that take place at LBS, extracurricular involvement is a major component of the student experience. This level of involvement is something that Masters students will not get at every school. Therefore, you want to take the time to do your research into life at LBS and the student clubs and activities where you might get involved. You can learn a lot from the school’s website; however, I also recommend to go deeper into your research and to speak to current students or recent alumni. That is the best way to get a true understanding of what your time in the MiM might look like.
The admissions committee wants to admit students with academic aptitude, professional drive, and who can demonstrate social involvement. Your participation in the community can go in one of two directions. You might want to join clubs that are similar to extracurricular interests that you have already had and that you took part in while at university or afterward. Or this essay might revolve around new interests that you have yet to explore. In either case, your response should find the balance between discussing both personal interests as well as professional activities that go hand in hand with your career goals.
There is one other factor to take into consideration when answering this question. Will there be opportunities for you to get involved in some type of leadership capacity? This does not mean that you need to be the president of a club or similar. However, there is a difference between the student who spends time alone and the student who gets others involved in the activities that interest them. For instance, the student who spends time alone might enjoy painting, visiting art museums, and French wine and would explore these interests by themselves. In contrast, that same student could organizing a painting class for the cohort, a trip to an art museum, or a short vacation to France to learn about wine in the Bordeaux region. The second example, of someone who can take their passions and gets others to engage with them, is the type of person that the admissions committee wants to admit to the program because they will enrich the social fabric of the LBS community.
Rona Aydin is the founder of Oriel Admissions and she holds an MBA degree from the Said Business School. Rona has helped many prospective applicants complete their applications to London Business School. If you would like to learn more about our services, please contact Rona at rona@orieladmissions.com.