MBA admissions

For consultants, bankers, traders, quants and engineers applying to M7, London Business School and INSEAD. Not a generalist MBA consultant — the one for the quantitative applicant.

Why the quantitative applicant is a specific problem

The strongest technical candidates write the weakest MBA essays, reliably and for the same reason. They describe what they built. An admissions committee is not reading for what you built; it is reading for judgement, consequence and the shape of a career. The two are not the same document, and no amount of polish converts one into the other.

I did the LBS MBA after a career in quantitative finance. I can read a trader's or an engineer's story and tell you which parts a committee will find compelling and which will simply not land — because I have been on both sides of that translation.

GMAT or GRE preparation — 99th percentile on both, included within the programme
School selection — which programmes actually reward your profile rather than tolerate it
Positioning — the through-line that makes a technical career read as a trajectory
Essays — as many rounds as it takes; I edit hard and do not write for you
Curriculum vitae — rewritten for a committee, not for a desk
Recommenders — who to ask, and precisely how to brief them
Interviews — including the case and the technical probing that finance applicants get and others do not
Scholarship strategy — when to negotiate, and when asking will cost you

Programmes

Single schoolFull support for one programme: positioning, essays, curriculum vitae, recommender strategy, interview preparation.

£7,500

Three schoolsFull cycle across three programmes, with school selection and a differentiated case for each. The most common engagement.

£15,000

Unlimited schoolsThe complete application year, however many programmes it takes, including reapplication strategy if it comes to that.

£24,000

For reference, comparable firms charge $16,000–25,000 for a full cycle and $395–650 an hour. I am not the cheap option and would be a poor one. See how an engagement runs and common questions.

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Timing

Round one deadlines fall in September, round two in early January. Essay work should begin eight to twelve weeks before a deadline; earlier if the GMAT or GRE is not yet settled. The July–August window fills first every year.