5% Acceptance Rate: How Cathy Got Into the LSE MiM

Updated 2026/10/16

About the LSE Master’s in Management (MiM)

The LSE Master’s in Management (MiM) ranks among the top 3 management master’s programs in the UK (according to the QS Business Masters Rankings: Management 2022). Admissions data published online put its acceptance rate at just 5%, so getting an offer is very hard.

Students from any academic background can apply. The coursework covers quantitative subjects such as accounting, finance and statistics, and the school recommends that applicants have taken related courses. A GMAT/GRE score is recommended, and it is required for applicants who did not earn their undergraduate degree in the UK.

According to the official website, the program takes an in-depth analytical approach so students can critically evaluate the latest trends and theories in management and gain a real understanding of the social, economic and political forces that affect global organizations.

The school also offers business projects and international field trips. The aim is to train capable, analytical managers who can use their insight to build practical management solutions for real situations.

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Today, Cathy, who was admitted to the LSE MiM, shares what she learned from applying to grad school abroad.

[How I applied] Agency, DIY or semi-DIY? Why did you choose that route?

Semi-DIY. I had a native speaker edit my personal statement and my interview answers for grammar and flow. You will always care about your own application more than anyone else, and you know best what courses you took and what you got out of them, so you can show who you really are and what your strengths are more fully in your application essays. I was also worried that an agency would fit my essays into a template, and I doubt admissions committees want to read the same PS over and over, so I chose to spend more time working on them myself.

Why did you choose this program? What did you consider? (academics, industry, career direction, interests)

1. I was considering consulting as a career, but my undergraduate course options gave me few chances to learn about the field.
2. Small classes: the program has fewer than 100 students.

Why did you end up choosing this school?

1. Reputation: LSE has ranked second in the world and first in Europe for social science and management for eight years in a row.
2. Location: it is in one of the world’s three biggest financial centers.
3. It is a target school for the finance industry.

How did you rank GPA, language scores, GRE/GMAT, essays, summer school/exchange and internships/research? What did you trade off?

GPA > essays > internships > summer school/exchange (I did my undergraduate degree in the UK, so I did not submit language scores or a GRE/GMAT score.)

Which experience do you think helped you outshine other applicants?

1. During my internship, I made a marketing video for the company’s financial derivatives, and it ended up on the company’s official website.
2. Lancaster University Business Plan Competition
3. An exchange semester in the Department of Finance at National Taiwan University

What are the basic requirements for this program? What kind of profile helps?

Basic requirements

1. At least an upper second-class UK undergraduate degree (UK degree classes: 1st, 2:1, 2:2, 3)
2. A GRE/GMAT score if your undergraduate degree is not from the UK
3. An IELTS score

What I think makes a profile stronger

1. Three months or more of relevant work experience (internships count)
2. A basic quantitative background: statistics, accounting and finance
3. Evidence of leadership (group presentations, competitions, president of a student organization, and so on)
4. Evidence of an international outlook (exchange programs or any other exposure to different cultures)

Where would you recommend looking for information about grad school applications?

CHASEDREAM.COM, for interview questions and for following the progress of other people applying to the same program.

How did you balance coursework and applications in the first semester of senior year?

Use the summer after junior year to prepare your materials (internship certificates, recommendation letters, CV, PS)

Once the semester starts, exams and deadlines keep coming, and it is hard to also find time to think your PS through. And even if you get an offer, most grad school offers are conditional, so your final grades still have to meet the threshold before you can enroll.

Stay steady and don’t let anxiety hurt your productivity

The real test of endurance starts after you submit. The first thing I did every morning and the last thing I did every night was refresh the schools’ application portals. It often made me too anxious to sleep, and I had insomnia for almost three months. In the first semester of senior year I was also taking a CFA Level 1 prep course (it counted toward my senior-year grades), and with all that pressure my chest often felt tight. Then I found that meditation helped: I focused on the pace of my breathing and slowly pictured myself having already reached my goal. That calmed my anxiety for a while and gave me the energy to keep going.

Find a regular way to relieve stress

Building a regular stress-relief habit matters a lot during this period. It helps you handle a heavy senior-year workload efficiently, and it is also early practice for the pressure of working life. For exercise, whenever I felt overwhelmed I went swimming. In the water I only had to focus on breathing, and in that moment I could relax and stop thinking about the future. Socially, on quieter weekends I spent two hours walking in nature near my friends (studies show that walking in the woods does reduce stress…

Application timeline: how should you prepare at each stage, and what do you suggest for each year of college?

1. Freshman year: protect your GPA in every course, take electives you want to explore, and read widely.
2. Sophomore year: use the courses you are good at and enjoy to figure out what career you want, and look for summer internships. From that hands-on experience, look at the gap between what you imagined and reality, and ask yourself whether you still want to pursue the same field. If the field you want is different from your undergraduate major, a master’s degree can fill in the knowledge you are missing.
3. Freshman and sophomore years in short: protect your GPA, and ask your professors whenever you have academic or career questions. You will understand your subject more fully, and you will leave a good impression, which makes it much easier to ask for recommendation letters later. In the summer after sophomore year, think about whether you want to do a master’s. If you do, start researching programs and pick electives related to the field you plan to apply for.
4. Junior year: research grad schools and program requirements. Start preparing for the GMAT/GRE and language tests in the first semester of junior year (or in the summer before it).
5. Once you have settled on schools in the second semester of junior year, talk to your professors about recommendation letters. Try not to leave this until senior year.
6. Summer after junior year: get your PS and CV ready. If you have time, do another summer internship to build more practical experience and get clearer about the field you want.
7. Senior year: submit your grad school applications in the first semester and keep your grades up in every course.

Do you have any regrets about your applications or your time in college?

Not applying as early as I could

Most UK programs use rolling admissions: the earlier you apply, the earlier you are reviewed and the better your odds. Applying in the first round (September) gives you a better chance of an offer than the two later rounds, but I only submitted in early March, so I was especially nervous during that time. Still, the most important thing is to be fully prepared before you submit. Don’t rush and hand in something you are unhappy with because you are anxious.

Freshman career planning course (Professional Skills): Failed

The course carried no credits, and I had just returned to Taiwan when the pandemic began and was still adjusting, so I neglected it. As a freshman I also had no clear idea of how grad school applications worked, and I did not know that even though the course gave no credit, it would still appear on my final official transcript.

Whether or not you know at the start of college that you will go on to grad school, my advice is to do everything in front of you patiently and well, so you won’t regret it when it matters later.

A few words for younger students…

Along the way you may hear a lot of discouraging voices: an agency’s assessment, professors, parents, even your own doubts. I hope you remember why you wanted grad school, or your dream, in the first place. Don’t write off all your hard work because one person disagrees, and don’t hold back from applying to your dream school because you doubt yourself. If you apply, you have a chance, and sometimes the result will surprise you! Good luck with your applications. I hope you all get where you want to go and become who you want to be.

Q&A

What do schools like to see in an SOP? Do they prefer internships, extracurriculars, or are grades most important?

From my own experience, relevant internship experience matters most. In your SOP, describe the projects you did in detail and put numbers on your contribution to the company (revenue, click-through rates). Above all, show the school why you are an outstanding, well-suited candidate, and make it clear how your past experience and future plans both lead to this program at this school.