The London Business School (LBS) MBA application is quite pragmatic, but the school has added an essay that allows a welcome opportunity for candidates to get creative and show how they stand out.
To the longstanding required LBS essay about your post-MBA goals, the essay added for the 2024-25 application season asks, “What makes you unique?” It’s seemingly simple, but like new essays at other schools this year, it’s likely to cause a bit of head-scratching.
As the former Senior Manager of MBA Admissions at LBS, I believe that this new LBS MBA essay question on what makes you unique, paired with the question about your post-MBA career goals and how the LBS program will help you achieve them, will give the Admissions Committee a well-rounded view of you as a candidate and potential contributor to the incoming class.
When I sat down for a virtual conversation with LBS Admissions Director David Simpson and asked about the qualities he’s looking for in an MBA candidate, Simpson said:
“Above all for me is the idea of an inquiring mind — someone who’s fascinated by other views gathered from around the world, somebody who is open for personal growth.… In addition: ambition, a collaborative nature, curious and questioning with a global outlook and desire, reflective and self-aware with some humility — these are factors that everybody needs in business and in society.”
With this in mind — and always remembering the global outlook central to life and learning at LBS — your answers to the LBS essay questions are the place to convey a high level of self-awareness and ambition while conveying your uniqueness to the Admissions Committee.
How To Tackle the London Business School Essays
LBS Essay 1
What are your post-MBA plans and how will your prior experience and the London Business School programme contribute towards these? (500 words)
LBS has retained this question for a long time; if answered well, it should tell the Admissions Committee exactly what they need to know. The question pulls no punches — it doesn’t make you read between the lines — but its seeming simplicity is what makes it so tricky. At a minimum, you need to make a compelling case for needing an MBA to achieve your professional goals. Then you need to demonstrate how London Business School is uniquely positioned to help achieve them.
The best answers go a little deeper, giving the admissions committee context into what has motivated your post-MBA career goals and showing an advanced level of self-awareness.
Like all schools, LBS wants to see you’ve done your homework, so you’ll need to showcase deeper knowledge of the program and community than you can glean from a quick review of their website. This is your opportunity to highlight your school research and show your love for LBS. Think about how specific classes, professors, clubs or other on- and off-campus initiatives will factor into your success, and importantly, how they are relevant to your career goals.
LBS Essay 2
What makes you unique? (200 words)
The challenge here is that the. question asks you to differentiate yourself in just 200 words. How do you find something new to tell the admissions committee that is not already covered by the application data form, resume or the many other essays?
Candidates will need to be careful not to duplicate information. There are already short-answer questions that address extracurriculars and international experiences, and then the longer 500-word optional essay on a topic of your choice (see below).
You will need to spend a bit of time in self-reflection for this LBS Essay. Everyone is unique, but what is it that will make you stand out in the context of a business school application? Think deeply about the personal qualities and characteristics you bring to the table that will be valuable in a classroom and b-school community context. Maybe it’s not just one thing that makes you unique, but a combination of traits or experiences.
What makes you unique might also be your passion for a particular cause—but how have you demonstrated commitment to that cause? You could speak to a defining value—in which case, how is this value or belief evidenced in your behaviors and actions? Be careful to avoid clichés, an overstated list, or something so random that the readers will want to run for the hills.
The word limit is a brief 200 words, so the admissions committee will be looking for a succinct essay that’s to the point. If you waffle, you’re going to run out of room pretty quickly.
Optional LBS Essay 3
Is there any other information you believe the Admissions Committee should know about you and your application to London Business School? (500 words)
In many business school applications, the optional essay needs to be used to explain a less-than-stellar undergraduate performance or low GMAT. However, London Business School asks you about your prior academic performance specifically in their application form. If you have another weakness you’re concerned about — perhaps you were let go from a job or took an extended career break— you should use this section to explain.
Otherwise, use this section to strengthen the case for your candidacy by highlighting another aspect of your profile that makes you a great fit for LBS. Perhaps you have another passion, not directly related to your career goals. This is your chance to tell the committee what you’ve done with that passion, and what you’ll do to share it with the community, showcasing your leadership, team skills and international outlook along the way.
Our clients always come up with some great examples for this LBS essay. Some of the most memorable include:
- a candidate who had overcome learning disabilities and wanted to help connect learning-disabled students at LBS with the resources to help them succeed in the program;
- an amateur photographer who had organized exhibitions who wanted to revive the LBS photography club; and
- an LGBTQ+ rights advocate who had been a senior organizer of his city’s Pride parade and wanted to take a leadership role within the Out in Business (OiB) club on campus.
View our MBA Admissions Essay Masterclass featuring London Business School, INSEAD & HEC Paris, above. Additional sessions from our MBA Admissions Essay Masterclass series are available on Fortuna’s YouTube channel.
Want More Advice?
For more insights and advice on LBS MBA essay questions, view our related articles and videos:
- How to Get Into London Business School
- Why London Business School Should Be On Your Shortlist
- London Business School MBA Interview: Everything You Need to Know
- INSEAD & London Business School: Insider Admissions Advice (7-min video blog)
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Fortuna’s Emma Bond is an expert MBA admissions coach and former LBS Senior Manager of MBA Admissions. She has been rated as the top MBA admissions consultant in the world by Poets&Quants.