Hi, newbie here.. Firstly, thank you all for having this forum up and for helping everyone with questions related to business schools, tests, etc. I\'ve come here looking for some advice myself..

I completed my undergraduate (marketing) from an American university in London in 2007 (GPA = 3.0). During my four years at university, I managed to get a bunch of internships in the bag (Shell, Chevron Texaco, P&G, Nokia, ABN AMRO bank). Since then, I moved back home and have been working for HSBC (commercial banking) for a little over two years now, and I\'m looking to start my MBA next fall. I have recently started looking at books for my GMAT (got my hands on an OG, 10th ed.) and I plan to apply soon.

My dream school would be CASS. I understand that I\'ve got an average academic background, so any tips you folks could put up would be great help. I\'m open to suggestions about other schools (preferably in London) and how to go about my GMAT, etc.

Thanks a lot for your time! :)

p.s: I intend to try and get a job in London after my MBA.

I'd say you should focus on your GMAT test prep, maybe even take a class if you can. Your GPA is ok but your internships and work experience experience help, and a good GMAT score would be the kicker, and should put you within reach of CASS.

Not sure about other London programs in the same realm as CASS, but if you want to expand your search to other U.K. schools, make sure you look at Lancaster University, Strathclyde, or Warwick.

Ralph, thanks for the insight.

Anyone else got any comments to help me out?

Thank you.

Ralph, I'm hoping you're around to help me further. I ended up scoring a 550 on the GMAT, Cass apparently does not entertain scores below 600. I'm a little disappointed. But such is life. I've sent in the apps and everything, lets see what happens.

Is it too late to apply to another program, please keep in mind that I'm planning to attend a college within London. I am open to applying to most Msc Management programmes, but they usually state that they need a 2:1, whereas I have a 3.0 from Richmond University - which, once again, won't cut it for them.

If there's anyone who can offer any positive advice or information, I would really appreciate it. Thank you.

Guys, really looking for some quick advice.

Can I, and should I, apply to the MSc Management (or MSc Management and Strategy, etc.) programmes at LSE, Cass, SOAS, etc. Also, how is Birbeck?

Any other suggestions for MBA programmes I can apply to right now, for a programme that starts this fall. A quick summary: 550 GMAT, 3.0 Undergrad GPA, 2 years work experience as a banker, 1.5 years as a Director in my family business (commodity trading / pharmaceutical). Great references. Good essays (getting help from a Harvard MBA to write them).

Thanks everybody.

What is the point in asking.........can I apply? or will I succeed? or will I loose?......

Are you going to loose any thing by applying?You will be sparing some time on filling on line applications other than that you are not going to waste anything.......Keep trying...forget about results........Apply what ever you wish....MBA or MSc.......Out of 10 you may succeed 5 if not 4 what ever may be........

Now you got some options in your hand....On that you post your query...which could be the best.......I think that could be the smart way rather than asking with out any options....You know that you cant succeed in LBS,Cass or Oxbridge....so your options are limited....Instead of asking, I suggest you to apply first......Get the results.........

Susee, the point was exactly that. To ask for your advice as to whether I stand a fair chance on getting into the programmes I listed. I didn't list LBS, and I marked off the Cass MBA. Instead, I asked about their MSc programme. Yes, I've already applied to several MBA programmes, but I wanted some suggestions for back up programmes, as I really want to leave my country by this fall and head back to London. Moreover, the importance of a postgraduate degree, to me, is to try and get accepted into a school with a brand name that is decent, and much better than that of my undergrad school, Richmond.

Thanks for your help. I will check out the site you suggested.

Anybody else who can help out? Would appreciate it folks :)

Hi Hard Talk! It's been a while since this board has had some activity. Was wondering what you ended up doing? We have similar profiles and I'm thinking of pursuing my MBA in the next few months.

Hi Sophia,

What is your undergrad gpa like? I ended up scoring a 550 on the GMAT, as mentioned above, so Cass was out of the picture. However, I've applied to Lancaster, Kent, Exeter, Aston and Durham for their MBA programmes. I believe they were still accepting applications two weeks ago, although you'll have to check that out. I am waiting to hear from them and would love to get into Lancaster. Infact, now that I think of it, I should have been thinking of these schools from the very start! I've already lived in London for four years while I was there for my undergrad, so I don't mind being in another city/town now.

As a backup, I also applied to the following schools for their MSc in Management (or Int'l Mgt, or Mgt & Strategy): LSE, Kings, SOAS. This is incase - God forbid - all else fails and I don't get into any MBA programme.

If you're thinking of starting your MBA this Fall, you better make a move on it, and I mean as of yesterday, haha. Good luck :)

If you really want a school in London, you might want to check out Royal Holloway or Brunel's MBA bearing in mind they belong to a lower tier compared to a Cass or Imperial.

My personal experience tells me the Masters programmes are more difficult to get in than MBA for the good schools when you have less-than-ideal paper qualifications. For Masters, the admission com will review your past academic results and essays ONLY. For MBA, its more about a good GMAT score and business-related work experience.

If you did not get a good school this time, i would advise you to retake your GMAT (target at least 620), apply earlier next time (in December period) and check out other MBA schools like Warwick, Leeds, Edinburgh and Nottingham (a better fit to your profile IMO and also in the FT Top 100 ranking). Cheers.

Hi guys, just received an UC offer from Aston. As you've read before, I applied to schools outside London, keeping in mind my profile etc.

I'm waiting for replies from Kent, Exeter, Lancaster, and Durham. I understand that Lancaster is the highest ranked out of all, and I do give a little preference to the brand name. But what I'd like to know is, if I am accepted and end up going to Lancaster, would that name really stand out on my resume as compared to Aston or Durham?

Looking forward to hearing from you all. Cheers.

Oh and, can someone please shed light on the study abroad one week visits that Aston claim they send MBA students to.. Do you get to go to places like Insead, etc.? Your choice? The Aston Business School website doesn't have much information on this topic, although they mention that the cost for this week in Europe is included in the tuition fees.