LBS MFA Interview Experience

I know there have been a few forums on this, but I wanted to write up my experience of the LBS MFA admissions process:

I got admitted in round 1, and applied right before the deadline (as I sat the GRE on that day). The essays were fine to do, I just made sure I was very specific on particular electives and societies I liked the sound of, and spoke a lot about why the international environment and being in London was to me.

The interview was unlike most business schools in that it's almost purely motivational (they ask you not to discuss too much of what they ask, but there are plenty of resources I'll detail), though I think COVID has impacted this a lot; Oxford's MFE is usually a very in-depth technical interview, but my experience with the Kira online one was that it's nothing like that. Same for Imperial.

So, the interview was as follows:

1) Intro- I'd suggest checking out your interviewer on LinkedIn before, it's usually an alum, which is nice as they are quite sympathetic. This, for me, was just him making me feel more comfortable etc

2) Why LBS/why the MFA- basic just backing up what you wrote in your essays, sprinkle in details you couldn't fit into your essay, basically show that you know the course inside out, and why LBS is the place for you

3) Career questions- these are things you should probably already know anyway, but look into why you want that career path in particular. I was open in saying that I couldn't really say where I'd be much after 5 years, but I only did that as I felt my interviewer would understand that- definitely read your interviewer from their behaviour and LinkedIn, and tailor your reply that way

4) "Technical" questions- this is very lightly technical, but depending on how you answer and which business are your interviewer works in, they may push harder, mine sort of did, but it was just a case of backing up what I said with what I knew, and it was fine. I compared things I read in a book to market data and how it mismatched, and why that mismatch interested me, but if you want to work in say, M&A, talk about a deal that interests you

5) Questions for the interviewer- every site will tell you this is vital, and it absolutely is. Not only did I glean much useful information from it, but it was a good "wind-down", and helped emphasise my earlier points on what interested me as I focused questioning on those. Ask your interviewer about their particular experiences and career path

Overall, it was a good experience; my interviewer was really nice and laid back and really took an interest in what I was answering. I then sent a follow-up email thanking him, which you really should do. Regarding detailed resources for the interview, there are two other threads here which were useful to me, but also watch the following video:

Ace Your LBS MBA Interview

And read the following pages:

VincePrep LBS Interview

EllinLolis LBS What to Expect

LBS Admission Blog 5 Tips for the Interview

(My account isn't old enough to post the links, apologies, just search for these ans they should come up and you'll know which ones)

Even if it's MiM or MBA related, the interviews are basically the same (just the MBA has a presentation section). I really enjoyed it and can't wait to start, anyone who'll be in the 2021 intake feel free to reach out, and happy to answer PMs for any more detailed stuff.