Why LBS rejects MiM applicants who had the grades

Oct 13, 2026

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If London Business School is on your MiM list, here's something the rankings and the forums won't tell you.

Most of the people who get rejected had the grades. Many had the test score. What they were missing is the thing LBS weighs more heavily than almost any other school: employability.

LBS thinks like a job recruiter.

After years of admits across their programs, the pattern is clear. They care less about your academics than about your employability, or your likelihood of getting a job after you graduate from the MiM: your internships, the names of the firms you've worked for, whether you've been promoted or given a full-time offer can all signal high employability.

I've seen LBS admit test scores that would have been dead on arrival elsewhere because the applicant had a full-time offer from a top firm. Their recommended 555 GMAT is a floor, and that floor is softer than you think.

So before you decide whether you'd get in, don't stop at your GPA and your score. Ask yourself: what would a recruiter see?

In this week's video I walk through where the real bar sits, how to win the Community and Goals essays with specificity, and the four mistakes that sink otherwise strong applicants, including applying in the wrong deadline stage.

Watch it → HERE.

That’s it for this week.

Keep showing up, keep cheering each other on — and as always, happy applying! 💛

Caitlin Andersen

Admissions Coach & Oxford MBA

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Why LBS rejects MiM applicants who had the grades

That’s it for this week.

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