Editorial
student voice
“Help! I’ve got to study again!”
An MBA applicant’s experiences
Adam davies, London Business School, Sloan 2008, talks us through the labyrinth of decisions
he had to make when deciding on the right business school, about the reasons for wanting an
MBA for career change, and about the wisdom of Thierry Henry!
o I am off to London Business School legal rather than commercial or financial By this stage, Cambridge (Judge Business
S
in August. This wasn’t the easiest of background. The London Fair started with a panel School) was the clear front-runner. They seemed
choices. I was also offered places at discussion which answered a few simple questions to like me, I liked them, the rankings couldn’t say
Oxford University and Henley right from the word go. After listening to executives anything bad about the place, and it was only an
Management College. Plus the from a few schools discuss student collaboration hour away from where I live. Their open day had
decision was made harder by the fact that, unlike versus competition, one- versus two-year programs, been great, and they didn’t even charge a fee to
for Oxford and Henley, I didn’t apply for the MBA wasted unclaimed scholarship money and studying apply! So I shot off a rushed application form in
at LBS, but rather their “Sloan Fellowship” abroad, I decided to focus on one-year courses at time for their next approaching application
program; a kind of MBA for old fogies (or, as they UK schools, or at foreign ones where there seemed deadline, and quickly turned my attention to the
put it, “senior managers”) like me. to be a high chance of getting some form of dreaded GMAT.
I am 38 years old, an ex-“film lawyer”, and financial aid.
have more recently become a self-taught film I wandered round the large exhibition hall, How did you choose which schools to
finance consultant and author on the sector. approaching stands of business schools that I had apply to?
heard of. Surprisingly there were quite a few, and Boosted by a pretty decent GMAT score, I decided
Why go to Business School? on the whole the admissions people were a to apply to more schools. I visited a few other
I felt I had taken my current career about as far as it friendly, welcoming bunch. One or two were keen schools, telephoned admissions departments
would go. I had run the legal departments of several on asking about my background in detail, and that around the world, and had another long look at
listed companies in my industry and, literally, written put me more at ease. websites and rankings. In particular, the
the book on the sector. Other personalized rankings at
than at the film “studios” in topmba.com/scorecard,
Los Angeles, there weren’t which are interactive,
many legal departments helped me to order the
bigger than mine, and in any schools in relation to
event I was looking for a new my own preferences.
set of challenges. I am My personal feeling
intrigued by what makes a was that the US programs
successful business, and feel I were too long at two years
want to move into something and too internally
more large-scale managerial, competitive for me, and
strategic, or entrepreneurial. some European schools -
And perhaps away from clearly ignorant of the UK’s
film altogether. age discrimination laws -
I was discussing all this said that I was simply too
with a friend from QS old. Ultimately, following
Network and TopMBA, and some insightful personal
he suggested coming down to meetings with yet more
the World MBA Tour in schools at QS Network’s
London to get a feel for One-to-One event in
whether this might be the London, I created a shortlist
right time to make the move. The most important thing I took away from of 3 schools - Oxford (Saïd), Henley and London -
the Fair was encouragement. I started to research and a larger fall-back list of second and third
How did you start the ball rolling? rankings, read brochures, check the notes I’d made choice destinations. I would only apply to three at
I wasn’t confident at first, being conscious that I on business cards, and contact anyone I know who a time because the admissions fees alone were, in
was over the typical age of applicants, and from a had done an MBA before. my view, extortionate.
90 TopMBA CAreer Guide www.topmba.com
MBA_FALL_08_pp_066-287.indd 90 14/8/08 17:42:46
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