How to Get Into the London Business School MBA: What Actually Works

Below are the statistics of test scores.

GMAT Focus Edition: 645 average

GMAT Classic Edition: 700 average

GRE: 163 verbal and 164 quantitative average

Your test score is one piece of a much larger puzzle, and LBS reviewers are explicit about this. The school sees applicants from around 65 different nationalities with wildly different educational systems, so a GMAT or GRE score is simply an indicator that you can handle rigorous analytical coursework, not a guarantee of admission or rejection. A score in the 600 to 700 range does not disqualify you if your work experience is compelling, your essays are thoughtful, and your recommender can speak to your leadership. Conversely, a 760 GMAT paired with a weak application story will not carry you over the finish line. The school has explicitly stated that they will ask some applicants with below-average scores to retake the test before offering admission, but they will also admit people below the median when other parts of the application demonstrate genuine potential.

The LBS admissions committee is genuinely looking for evidence of your thinking, not just your credentials. They want to see whether you have done homework on the program itself, whether you understand what makes LBS different from other top business schools, and whether you can articulate why this specific community will accelerate your goals. This is why the essays carry so much weight: they reveal whether you are thoughtful and intentional or just treating LBS as one box to check on a spreadsheet. The committee reads thousands of applications, and they can tell when an essay sounds generic versus when it sounds like it came from a real person with real ambitions. They also value diversity in its broadest sense: yes, geographical and gender diversity matter, but they are equally focused on bringing in people with different professional backgrounds, different industries, and different perspectives on business itself.

Your referee plays a role in this evaluation, but perhaps not the way you think. LBS specifically asks for a professional reference from someone who knows your work context deeply, not necessarily the most senior person you know. They ask your referee to compare your performance against others in similar roles and to explain how you respond to feedback. This tells the admissions team whether you are coachable, whether you show growth, and whether you deliver results. Your referee is essentially vouching that you will contribute meaningfully to classroom discussions and team projects during your MBA. Choose someone who can write with specific examples and authority, not someone impressive but distant.

About 34 percent of the LBS MBA class comes from consulting before matriculation, with representation from the Big Three as well as regional and boutique firms. Another 21 percent come from finance and accounting, including banking, private equity, and corporate finance roles. Technology and IT account for roughly 7 percent of the incoming class, with representation from companies like Google, Amazon, and early-stage startups. The remaining 38 percent comes from nontraditional backgrounds, including nonprofits (9 percent), media and marketing, healthcare, government, entrepreneurship, and industries you might not think of when imagining MBA candidates. The takeaway: If you come from consulting or finance, you will have peers with similar backgrounds, but nearly two-thirds of the class is bringing fresh perspectives from outside these sectors. This diversity is intentional and valued by the school.

Admitted students average 5.5 years of work experience, but the school accepts candidates with as few as two years and as many as thirteen. What matters is not the number of years but what you have accomplished in those years. Many successful applicants have moved into leadership roles early, managed significant budgets, launched products, or navigated career transitions. The typical LBS admit has taken on responsibility early and can speak to concrete impact. About 90 percent of the incoming class is international, representing 65 nationalities across six continents, and roughly 45 percent are women, which LBS has actively increased over recent years. This means the school is actively recruiting from underrepresented groups and backgrounds, and if you come from a nontraditional path, an underrepresented country, or bring a unique professional perspective, that works in your favor. Your undergraduate degree does not need to be in business or engineering; LBS sees strong candidates from liberal arts, sciences, humanities, and every field imaginable.

Essays are your opportunity to let the admissions committee see you as a person, not just a resume. While your GMAT might be slightly below the median, your work experience might look similar to hundreds of other applicants, and your recommender's letter might be strong but generic, your essays are where you differentiate yourself completely. The admissions director has explicitly noted that effective essays demonstrate thoughtfulness about the specific ways LBS will contribute to your goals, genuine understanding of what makes the school unique, and clarity about your career direction. Essays that read like they could have been sent to any top-ten program will not move the needle, but essays that show you have researched LBS deeply, spoken with alumni, and thought hard about your own trajectory will make you memorable. Between two equally qualified candidates with similar test scores and work experience, the one with essays that compel the reader to say "I want to meet this person" will win.

The LBS essays are intentionally constructed to test multiple things at once. The school is not asking you to gush about London or about their prestige, they are asking you to articulate specific post-MBA goals, explain how your past work has prepared you, and describe exactly which parts of the LBS curriculum will help you get there. They want to see that you have clarity, not vagueness. An essay that says "I want to work in strategy" loses to an essay that says "I want to move into corporate strategy within a technology company within eighteen months of graduation by leveraging the LBS strategy electives, particularly the Leadership in Complex Organizations course, combined with mentorship from the faculty advisors in the tech-focused clubs." This specificity signals that you are serious, you have done the work, and you understand how to use a two-year MBA as an investment in a particular direction. The admissions team also emphasizes that this is not a job application, so avoid narrowly defining yourself as someone who just wants one specific role at one specific company. Instead, frame the MBA as a platform for growth and perspective expansion.

You should check out the how to write the London Business School MBA essays article to see details on how to write the London Business School essays.

Your resume needs to tell a story of impact and ownership, not just a list of job titles. Use numbers and concrete outcomes wherever possible: instead of "Improved marketing campaign," write "Led redesign of email marketing strategy, increasing open rates from 18 percent to 31 percent and generating £200k in additional revenue." Admissions reviewers will use your resume as the foundation for your interview, so make sure every bullet point is something you can speak to with depth and enthusiasm. Keep it to one page if at all possible, two pages only if absolutely necessary. Make your formatting clean and easy to scan because your interviewer will have only this document in front of them during your interview. Highlight moments where you took initiative, led cross-functional projects, or drove change. The admissions committee wants to see that you did not just show up to work, you showed up and made things happen.

Your resume should also clearly show a trajectory toward your stated MBA goals. If you are applying to transition into venture capital, your resume should contain evidence that you understand startup dynamics, have made investment-like decisions, or have operated in high-ambiguity environments. If you are pivoting from finance into sustainability, your resume should show early interest or side projects in this space. The committee is looking for evidence that your MBA goals are not a random aspiration but a logical extension of where you have already been heading. This does not mean you need to have done your dream job already; it means your resume should demonstrate a directional alignment with your stated goals. Use strong action verbs instead of corporate jargon, and remember that the admissions team reads hundreds of these, so clear and specific beats flowery and vague every single time.

Your recommender should be someone who has directly observed you work and who can speak to your strengths with specificity and authority. LBS prefers a current supervisor or close colleague over a prestigious but distant executive, because they want someone who actually knows you in a work context and can provide examples of your performance, your collaboration style, and how you handle feedback. If you cannot ask your current employer for reasons of confidentiality or company policy, that is fine, but explain this briefly in the application. Take time to have a real conversation with your recommender about which accomplishments matter most to your candidacy, which gaps you want highlighted, and what story you are trying to tell. You might even share a short bullet-point summary of your MBA goals and key professional achievements so your recommender has a framework for writing.

The most compelling recommendations go beyond saying "this person is great" to providing comparative context and specificity. A strong recommender will describe how your performance stacks up against other high performers in similar roles, will highlight a specific challenge you overcame and how you handled it, and will speak to your collaboration style, your integrity, and your potential for growth. They might say something like "In my fifteen years managing strategy teams, I can count on one hand the number of people who have moved as quickly from individual contributor to team lead while maintaining the trust of their peers." That kind of comparison gives the admissions committee real information. Give your recommender space to write authentically; do not try to script what they should say. The online reference form LBS uses asks for specific things like key strengths, areas for improvement, and how the applicant compares to others, so your recommender will have a clear structure to follow.

Your interview is a pivotal moment because roughly 50 percent of interviewed candidates are ultimately admitted, meaning this conversation can swing the decision either way. The interview is conducted by an LBS alumnus or admissions officer and typically lasts 45 to 60 minutes, and your interviewer will have only your resume in front of them, so you are starting fresh without the context of your essays or recommender letter. This is actually an opportunity because it means you can bring your application to life, tell stories, and show personality in ways a written essay cannot. The interviewer is assessing your leadership potential, your communication skills, your genuine interest in LBS, and your fit with the school's community. Expect questions like "Walk me through your resume," "Why are you pursuing an MBA now," "Why LBS specifically," and behavioral questions about teamwork and challenges you have faced. Practice telling your story in a natural, conversational way without sounding rehearsed.

Successful LBS interview candidates prepare thoroughly but remain flexible and genuine. Research the program deeply so you can answer "Why LBS" with specificity, mentioning professors, clubs, courses, and opportunities unique to the school that align with your goals. Practice the STAR method for behavioral questions, but focus on telling an authentic story rather than sounding polished. Ask your interviewer genuine questions about their experience at LBS, their career trajectory, and the culture of the program, turning the interview into a conversation rather than an interrogation. Show genuine curiosity about the school and the person across from you. If you do not know an answer to a question, say so honestly rather than bluffing. Remember that your interviewer was once in your shoes and is looking to understand who you are as a person, not just to verify that you meet a checklist of qualifications. Be warm, thoughtful, and yourself.

London Business School is right for you if you are genuinely excited by studying in a global financial capital, want access to world-class employers in consulting, finance, and technology, value learning from a cohort of 65+ nationalities, and thrive in a collaborative environment built around tight-knit study groups combined with the resources of a larger institution. The program is also excellent if you want flexibility (you can graduate in 15, 18, or 21 months), prioritize a global perspective in your MBA experience, and see the degree as a springboard for rapid career acceleration. However, LBS may not be the right fit if you prefer a smaller, insular community over international diversity, need a program outside a major city, strongly prioritize entrepreneurship over other career paths, or want a program with a distinctly American network. The best MBA program is one where you will genuinely thrive and build relationships that last a lifetime, so make sure LBS excites you beyond its rankings.