By Kai Ming Chew, MFA2024
Big dreams, but no big pockets.
When I first received the offer to join the Masters in Financial Analysis programme at LBS, a part of me was extremely elated as LBS was my dream school, but another part of me was slightly apprehensive. There were two main concerns: (1) Business schools, in general, were not known to be the friendliest in terms of cost; and (2) whether I could fit into the culture at LBS as someone from a less affluent background. However, these concerns proved to be unfounded.
Affordability:
LBS has a large range of scholarships available to students. Each year, around 15-25% of students receive scholarships. Thankfully, I was granted the LBS Bursary Funds scholarship, a needs-based scholarship, which helped tremendously in the affordability of attending LBS. This scholarship helped me to cut down the number of hours I spent working part-time from 20 hours per week to 15 hours, allowing me to use the additional time for extracurricular activities at LBS.
Fitting in:
LBS is home to an extremely diverse and inclusive community. The First Generation, Low, or Intermediate (FLII) in Business Club is a social mobility club at LBS that champions socioeconomic diversity at LBS and a great platform to meet students from similar socioeconomic backgrounds. The FLII Club aims to reduce the impact of socioeconomic diversity on the LBS experience, and the club has achieved it through forging active partnerships with student clubs to provide subsidised tickets to FLII students for multiple events.
As my time in the MFA programme ends, I must say that attending business school has been one of the best decisions I have made. Coming from a background where my family or immediate relatives do not work in finance, LBS’ extensive alumni network has helped me to gain a deeper understanding of the industry through coffee chats with LBS alumni. Additionally, studying in a global classroom consisting of students of 72 different nationalities has helped me to forge lifelong connections that I will take with me as I begin my career in finance.