Can you tell us more about yourself?
My name is Lorenza. I am Italian. My mother is English so I have had the best of both worlds. I also speak French as I did a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Solvay Brussels School. I have always been passionate about gymnastics and I am a Head coach at the GymRS Auderghem spending about ten hours per week training pupils. I have just been accepted to a Masters in Management at London Business School.
What prompted you to apply for a MIM?
I have been quite disappointed with my studies at Solvay Brussels School. I was also very involved in a lot of activities and I was quite busy there. After three years at Solvay Brussels School, I felt that I had covered all that I could get from Solvay and there was not much I could get any more. Moreover, the classes were very theoretical, taught in French, with no practical aspect making the job search difficult. Secondly, I am British-Italian and I did not want to continue my stay in Brussels after my degree. Getting a Masters from London Business School would help me with a more international career while also being in the birth country of my mother.
I chose LBS as they have a great reputation and the quality of teaching at LBS is one of the best. Secondly, the location is ideal for me when I want to start my job search. And finally, LBS has an incredible network that will facilitate my job search after the completion of my Masters.
What did you find the most difficult in the application process?
The most difficult part of the application was the GMAT which was surprising as I am good at Math and I have a good command over the English language as it is the language of my mother. But I had never taken a test like the GMAT, which is a computerized test with multiple choice questions where you have to score very high. It took me six months of classes to get a score of 700 that was required for the London Business School. I attended the group classes and private tutoring with Dr. Hubert Silly at the MBA Center and that was essential for my success. There I was given the knowledge, the methods, the approach and the tools to do well.
Making my profile stand out while writing my application was another challenging aspect of the process. The only professional experience that I had had before starting my Masters at LBS was as a gymnastics coach. Dr. Hubert Silly helped me by explaining that my community involvement as a gymnastics coach required leadership skills, interpersonal skills, etc., and all these qualities could be very useful in the business environment.
What is life like at LBS?
Living in London and being a part of the LBS student body is a wonderful experience. The classes are very nuanced and informative. The teachers and the students are all very interactive and you get the sense of being in a community. The student body is actively involved in various projects and causes which you can be a part of.
What would be your advice to someone applying for a MIM program?
Make a deep introspection of yourself. It is important to understand your personal motivations for doing a Masters. Make a thorough research of the program you want to undertake. Research the school, find out its values and how it aligns with your own. Look at its location and see if that is somewhere you could work in later.
When you work on your profile it is important that you do not miss out on highlighting the experiences that show leadership and initiative. In my case, I never thought that training little girls from 4 to 6 on Saturday mornings would help to show my leadership skills to a business school but that is the magic of working with someone like Dr. Hubert Silly. He had been recommended to me by another friend of mine who also graduated from LBS and I was also very lucky to have had a chance to work with him. I believe that without his help, LBS would have remained a dream for me and I cannot thank him and MBA Center enough for all the help, support and dedication that they gave me. Going forward I would like to recommend MBA Center and Dr. Hubert Silly to all candidates seriously thinking about a MIM.