London Business School

September 6, 2024
January 3, 2025
March 24, 2025

Post-MBA Goals & Why LBS

Prompt: What are your post-MBA goals and how will your prior experience and the London Business School programme contribute towards these? (500 words maximum)

This essay must answer all three parts of the question:

  1. Post-MBA goals
  2. How will your prior experience (professional and/or personal) contribute to your reaching those goals?
  3. How will the LBS program contribute to your reaching those goals?
"You don’t need to know with absolute certainty what comes next, or how the rest of your professional life will go. However, we do want you to consider where your initial plans fit on the realism-ambition scale. What’s realistic for someone from your background – how big are the changes you want to make? Are you being ambitious enough? Do you require a top school to get you there?" - LBS Admissions

In describing your MBA goals, please keep in mind some aspects that LBS seeks:

In describing how the LBS program will contribute to your reaching these goals, you cannot be generic in your description. They already know that LBS offers a global education and employs top-ranked faculty. You need to provide specific reasons on Why LBS (and hopefully only LBS) will help you as an individual. What will you be doing at LBS? Aspects that LBS looks for includes:

Pro Tip: Describe your relevant experience in some detail. Remember, this is to tell LBS what they don't know about you already, so do not simply repeat your resume or CV. Instead, make this section a bit more personal (even if you are elaborating on a professional experience).

Optional Essay

Prompt: Is there any other information you believe the Admissions Committee should know about you and your application to London Business School? (500 words maximum)


Use to address:

Use this essay to turn a potential weakness into a strength. Tell the Admissions Committee what happened and why it happened. Be honest in your self-evaluation. Most importantly, tell them what you have learned from the negative experience, and how this learning has influenced future actions.

Gap in your work experience?

Instructions from LBS: Your one-page resume is uploaded as part of the online application form. Please give reasons for significant gaps in employment history on a separate sheet.

London Business School usually has several additional questions to answer in the application. Think about all the aspects that you want to tell the Admissions Committee about.

Secret Super-Short Essay: International Experience

Prompt: Please tell us your most significant international experiences to date. (100 words maximum)

Secret Essay: Interests & Activities

Prompt: Tell us about your main interests and activities in your free time (400 words max).

The key word here is "free time." The interests and activities should demonstrate that you hold interests beyond your strictly professional life.

Secret Short Essay: Family Support

Prompt: We encourage applicants to take into consideration the impact of study on family and friends. Who have you discussed your plans with and what was the response? (300 words max)


For applicants in the Americas, this essay must emphasize to the Admissions Committee that you discussed the move, and they are in full support. They wish to avoid situations in which the applicant wants to go but cannot due to counter-family pressures and obligations.

Secret Short Essay: LBS Connections

Prompt: If you know any London Business School Alumni or Students, please give their names, graduating class and tell us how you know them. (300 words max)