Sanskriti is from India and started a Masters in Management (MIM) at London Business School in 2017. In her blog, she describes why she decided on this programme, the admissions process and her first impressions of London Business School.

As I’m writing this post sharing my experience of my first term at London Business School (LBS), I feel strangely nostalgic. I am amazed at how seamlessly I have integrated with LBS and its community in just four months. But I guess that’s just the nature of LBS - the amount of love, warmth, and support that you get from everyone here is unparalleled.

Let me start by telling you about myself. I have an undergraduate degree in Fashion Technology from India. During my studies, I undertook various internships which ranged from retail to product development to industrial engineering. Through these experiences and after talking to various mentors, I realised that I wanted to explore a career in consulting. It was after my graduation, in August 2016, that I decided to apply for a Masters in Management to help me achieve my goals.

What I initially thought would be the toughest part of the application process eventually ended up being the easiest. I thought that selecting the colleges that I wanted to apply for would be hard, but after doing online research and speaking to current students and alumni, LBS stood out as the clear choice. With its focus on experiential learning, its reputation for diversity and academic excellence, and its close-knit and rich alumni network, LBS was exactly what I was looking for.

The application process was straightforward, especially with the admissions team, the student ambassadors and the webinars providing all the information that I needed. I would be lying if I said that I was confident of my chances of getting in, so when I got invited for the interview, I was surprised! I gave my best in the interview, which was easy because of how friendly the interviewer was. We had a casual chat over coffee, where he learned about me and I learned about life at LBS. It was just like chatting with a friend. I remember freezing for a second when I got my offer from LBS – I couldn’t believe I had made it!

In August 2017, I found myself in London, ready for a notoriously fast-paced year at LBS. The transition process was smooth because of all the emails, information and support that we had been receiving from the programme team over the summer. With job applications, LBS club applications, company presentations, career centre workshops, academics, and socialising, the first term whizzed by. Some of my key experiences were:

• Community - we started the term with an ‘away day’, where we did team building exercises with our study groups in an adventure park. We learned about each other’s strengths and weaknesses and discussed areas in which we would need support. It was the perfect start to our collective journey of growth and development. At LBS, you’ll find people applying for the same job helping each other out, and I’ve met some truly incredible people from whom I still continue to learn. And let me tell you, everything you’ve heard about the LBS alumni network is true! If you need any sort of support or advice, you just need to drop an email to an alum or a current student on any programme and they will almost always take the time to chat and help you.
• Academics - as I come from a non-business background, every single module that we have done so far has been entirely new. I really enjoyed learning in depth about practical things that I previously only had superficial knowledge about. In this term, we also bid for our elective courses. A really great thing about LBS is that the electives are common for all programmes, bringing people with all levels of experience together in a classroom.
• Clubs and societies - LBS has a club for any activity you can think of. You can explore a sport that you’ve always wanted to try, or volunteer for a cause that you’re passionate about. You can decide the level of engagement that you want to have with each club; for example, I am on the Executive Committee of the India Club and the Expedition Club, and I also regularly attend events run by the Consulting Club and the Women in Business Club. Through clubs, you also get to meet like-minded people from other streams and programmes.
• Global Immersion Field Trip (GIFT) - GIFTs are immersive international trips which are centred on a particular theme. I participated in the Silicon Valley trip at the end of term 1. This GIFT was about entrepreneurship and innovation; we got to spend a week in San Francisco, where we visited the Google campus, LinkedIn office, Stanford D-school and plenty of other companies doing incredibly cool work. There were also social events planned throughout the trip and it turned out to be a bonding experience as well as a learning experience! Most of us stayed in the USA to travel around before heading home for the holidays. It really was the perfect way to end the term!

I am now back in London and after a very relaxing break, I look forward to re-immersing myself in the intense activity of LBS. I am grateful that I made the decision to come here, grateful to all who have consistently helped and supported me, and grateful for everything that I have already learned and for everything that I will learn in the coming terms.

Thank you for reading about my journey at LBS and do not hesitate to reach out if you have any question at all!