My LFM Application tips

Last year at this time I had just begun the process of applying to LFM. I thought it may be helpful to let those of you who are currently in the process of applying to LFM know what I did.

My first advice is to relax! You are probably in much better shape getting your application completed than I was.

I didn't decide to apply until beginning of November, so you are already much better prepared than I was. The first thing I did after figuring out what the application requirements were was to sign up for the GMAT and contact three people I had chosen for my recommendation letters. I asked my current manager, one former manager, as well as one of my undergraduate professors for recommendation letters. I also requested my official transcripts to be sent to MIT.

I then studied for the GMAT. I only had a couple of weekends to devote to studying so I decided to focus my studies on the language sections since English is my second language. I took the GMAT on November 28th, and I did OK. I actually did really well on the language portion, but not as well on the math. So the lesson learned here is that using the GMAT study guides is very helpful and you can really boost your score through studying. Just make sure you have enough time to study for all the sections!

After taking the GMAT I had almost 3 weeks to write my essays and fill in the application. First I focused on the essays. I made sure I answered the essay questions and I used fairly recent examples (within the last year or so). I felt it was important to be myself, and not try to be something I'm not. I wrote about real experiences that were important to me and that would give a picture of different aspects of myself. I sent my rough drafts to my manager and to a few family members to proofread, and they provided lots of good feedback. I highly recommend utilizing friends, co-workers, and family to proofread your essays. I would advice not to hire a professional service. Instead pick people that are close to you, that care about you, and most importantly will give you their honest opinion. They will be happy to help you out, and they will probably feel honored that you chose to ask them for their feedback.

The last couple of days before the deadline I spent filling in the application form and finally I submitted the application the night before the deadline.

I only had one glitch, the GMAT people didn't grade my test in the promised time so I didn't have my official scores. I contacted the LFM office and they instructed me to just enter my unofficial scores in the application.

So what happens after you have submitted your application? Well, a few weeks later I received an invitation to attend the LFM interview fest. Interview fest happens in January and it is a lot of fun and gives you tons of great information. I never had a chance to visit LFM and MIT during the fall, so this was a great opportunity to meet the current LFM students and chat with the other candidates.

I prepared for the interviews by going through behavioral type interview questions and thinking of examples from my past that would be a good fit for the different questions. I also scheduled mock interviews with two of my managers, who luckily for me were also LFM alumni. If you can do this it helps to boost your confidence and to make sure that you have developed good "stories" to tell the interviewer about your experiences.

I hope this was at least a bit helpful. If you have any questions regarding the LFM applications or interviews, please feel free to contact me. Also, two of my classmates, Aimee and Sean, have posted some really helpful tips on their blogs that you should definitely check out if you want more information.

Good luck!