Justin Roberto, London Business School’s MBA Class of 2025
Justin Roberto, London Business School’s MBA Class of 2025Age: 29
Hometown: Danville, California
Undergraduate Institution and Major: Stanford University – BA in Public Policy
Pre-MBA Work Experience (role, company, years): 5.5 years (2.5 years at Accenture Strategy as an Analyst/Senior Analyst and 3 years at Jasper Ridge Partners as a Private Equity Associate)
Why did you make the decision to attend business school? Why now?
Having started my career in consulting before transitioning to private equity, I had always considered attending business school because MBAs are relevant and useful in both industries. Additionally, many of my colleagues and mentors went to business school and spoke very highly of their experiences and the personal and professional growth that their MBAs enabled. I decided to apply last summer because I was at a point in both my career and personal life where it still made sense to do so, but the window likely would’ve closed if I had waited much longer. My GMAT (which I took in 2019) also would’ve expired after this year, and I really did not want to take it again!
Why did you choose LBS? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
I’ve lived, studied, and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area for my entire life, so I viewed business school as a way to experience another geography in addition to reaping all the professional benefits associated with an MBA. As such, location was very important to me, and London is one of my favorite cities because of its social, historical, and business vibrancy. Having the opportunity to live here, study at a premier business school, and make friends from around the world who are additive to my U.S.-heavy network is truly the best of all worlds.
What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the London Business School Class of 2025?
Consulting and private equity seem to be two of the more popular career aspirations amongst my classmates. I think I can offer valuable perspective on what it’s like to work in these fields, as well as recruiting and networking advice for peers hoping to break into either industry. I’m also very enthusiastic about traveling and athletics, so I hope to bond with my classmates by leading trips to cities that are on my bucket list and becoming an active/managing member of the golf, running, and swimming clubs.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself that didn’t get included on your application: I love exercise and physical activity, so I started doing yoga a few years ago to help my body recover from running, swimming, cycling, golf, hiking, etc. I now do yoga four or five days a week and am more flexible than I’ve ever been in my life!
Post-MBA career interests:
Return to private equity/family office investing
Advice for Current Prospective Applicants:
Make sure your application has a coherent story and gives a complete representation of who you are, both personally and professionally. Use every word/character allotted for the essays and short answer questions to paint your picture without being repetitive or omitting key details. Also speak to as many alumni and/or current students as possible to get a sense of what it’s like to attend the schools you’re applying to. This will help you better articulate why you want to attend when asked on the application and in interviews.
What is one thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process?
I started my applications early and applied to a manageable number of schools (only three). Applying to business school can be stressful and time-consuming (especially if you’re working full-time), but you can help yourself out a lot by managing the process well, which I think I did.
What is one thing you would change or do differently?
While I think reading sample essays is helpful to get a feel for the style/flow and potentially inspire what you want to write about, the reality is that everyone’s story is different, and there isn’t a right or wrong way to write your application. I eventually figured this out, but if I could go back I would adopt this mindset from the beginning because it gave me more freedom and confidence as I was drafting my essays and responses.
What is one part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it?
I find the behavioral interview questions difficult to prepare for because there are so many different things you could be asked. I navigated this by creating an exhaustive list of possible interview questions (which I found online) and then consolidating them around common themes that could be addressed with the same response. By doing this, you only need to have maybe five to 10 stories from your personal or professional life ready to go rather than a few dozen, and some of your stories will probably be fungible across several thematic categories.
What is your initial impression of the LBS students/culture/community?
The LBS culture is 100% as advertised – students come from all over the world, which facilitates diversity of thought, experience, and perspective. On top of that, everyone is really enthusiastic about being in the cultural and business hub that is London, and the level of energy that people bring both inside and outside of the classroom has made the experience even more exciting so far.
What is one thing you have learned about LBS that has surprised you?
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the number of students who came to LBS with significant others. My fiancée moved to London with me, and there is a very supportive and inclusive culture for partners on campus and across the student body (including a dedicated club for partners) that has made the transition to London a lot easier for both of us.
What is one thing you are most anxious about in your first year?
Like most of my classmates, figuring out my Summer internship is a key priority that I try to spend at least a little bit of time on every day. Given my career goals, I likely won’t participate in structured recruiting processes for the larger companies that come to campus and instead plan to rely on a network-driven approach to find a more unique opportunity, which takes a bit more creativity and hustle.
What is one thing you are most excited about in your first year?
Other than meeting my classmates and making new friends, I’m really excited to become a London local and travel throughout Europe. We’ve been taking advantage of the good weather recently to explore the plethora of fun neighborhoods within London and also have some exciting trips planned over the next few months that I’m really looking forward to.
