Sabrina is from Australia and started a Masters in Management (MIM) at London Business School in 2016. In her blog, she describes why she decided on this programme, the admissions process and her first impressions of London Business School.

Hey everyone.

I just started the Masters in Management (MiM) programme at London Business School (LBS). I’ve been in London for exactly two months. What can I say? Things have flown by so quickly and I’m sure you will see more blog posts from me throughout the year. I just want to point out to any prospective students reading this blog post that I was in your shoes a few months ago reading all these blogs, thinking I’ll never be at LBS and thinking I’m not good enough for it. The reality is, that is simply not true. I surprised myself by getting an offer followed by a scholarship a few days later and then a top-up scholarship. So do not lose hope, make sure you apply when you can.

What did I do before LBS?

Before LBS I was studying a double degree: a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Marketing) and a Bachelor of Arts (Japanese and Chinese Studies) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia. Until three years ago I was on the professional tennis circuit. I finished my degree in July 2016. While at UNSW I was lucky enough to do seven different exchanges, including to the London School of Economics and Political Science, Copenhagen Business School, Rikkyo University, EWHA Women’s University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. I also was lucky enough to intern in five different cities, including New York, Hong Kong, Flagstaff (Arizona), Beijing and Sydney.

Why the MiM at LBS?

Honestly, there are so many reasons.

Firstly, the culture of LBS as a whole is just amazing. The collaboration of not only the MiMs and MFAs but also the MBA, EMBA and MiF students is amazing. Honestly, there is no other university in the world where I believe you can get this exposure. Just a quick example, a fellow MiM had an interview coming up and reached out to me to find someone who worked in the firm he was interviewing at. I asked my MBA friend in Australia if he knew anyone and straight away he gave me an email address. They met up for a mock interview and chatted about the company and the MBA’s experience there. When they say everyone is open and willing to help at LBS, they really mean it. I heard about the culture before I came but now seeing it happen in real life is amazing.

Secondly, the clubs, resources and support is just amazing. Perhaps you fancy wine tasting, or joining a professional club like consulting or finance. There are also so many sports clubs such as tennis, squash or football. There is literally everything here. And even if there is not, you can just create it yourself! These clubs are so interactive, there are stock pitches going on, treks (will explain later), company presentations, practices and various meet ups.

Thirdly, I was attracted to the treks and Global Immersion Field Trips (GIFTs) on offer at LBS. GIFTs are for MiM, Global MiM and MFA students only. There are many destination options for GIFTs; personally I am going to New York for mine but there are other options such as Silicon Valley, Milan/Munich, Barcelona, Shanghai/Hong Kong and Paris. Treks are organised by the student clubs, there are honestly so many treks going on I cannot keep up! I personally plan to go on the Ghana trek, the Tel Viv trek, the Healthcare trek and a few more. Some of these are just for fun and others are career based.

Lastly, my values suit both the MiM programme’s and LBS’s values very well. One thing you will realise at LBS is that it is a very proactive atmosphere, no one sits at home and does nothing. There are so many opportunities that the MiM, LBS and London can offer you. I am an extremely proactive and ambitious person, which is why I came here. I love the fact that if I ever want to go to an event I can do it at almost any time. I am currently a Student Ambassador, on the executive committee of the Australia and New Zealand club and will be volunteering as a tennis coach later this year. These are things I wanted and made happen. LBS supports us in chasing our goals, which is what I love about the MiM and LBS.

The admissions process

The admission process was very positive for me. I submitted my application quite late. I met with an MBA recruiter in Sydney through an LBS information evening and I had a coffee chat with an admissions manager before applying, who gave me many valuable tips as well as introducing me to the MiM recruitment team. I’ve never found a process to be so personal before. Before deciding to apply to LBS, I had reached out to many different schools such as the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, LSE, UCL, Imperial, ESSEC, HEC and WHU and these schools weren’t as personal in their responses. A MiM2016 student ambassador even took out 40 mins of his Sunday to Skype with me.

A few tips when applying:

• Get GMAT done early, even if you do not plan to apply for the next few months
• Go to the LBS recruitment events
• Reach out to the student ambassadors – get some insider tips and if you are abroad we will be happy to Skype you
• If you cannot attend our recruitment events, we have webinars too – feel free to join
• Do your research online about the MiM and MFA programmes to decide which one is best for you
• Submit a CV review
• Last but not least – be honest and be yourself in your application. I wrote a story about one of my tennis matches in my essays – I know it is not what normal students do but it is who I am.

If you would like me to talk about any specific topics in my next blog or if you want to find out more about LBS or the MiM, please email me at sxu.mim2017@london.edu