Calling all ISB Applicants - (2015 Intake) Class of 2016

Hi All,

I was thinking about something of this sort for a long time. This is a collection of all the relevant posts on the previous years thread, the ISB blog and the essay analysis by various consultants.

After the essay writing is done, applicants can refer to this post for the interview preparation. This will have the best debriefs along with all the gyan that was shared in the last year's thread. I will make sure to update this post as and when I find something important.

Also, I will try and incorporate some of the relevant and important questions which Mr. Bisht answered.

I hope you all will be benefited from this collection.


For all the topics, you can visit the ISB blog,
I have mentioned a few which i felt were important for an applicant.

Should you go to B School?

Faculty at ISB

Evaluations

How to showcase your awards and achievements

ISB Myth Busters?

Interview Preparation

ISB vs Studying abroad

Beyond the Classroom-ISB ELP

The benefits of Indian MBA


Essay analysis by Gyan One

Essay analysis by MBA Decoder

Application analysis by Llewellyn DSouza

How to get started with the essays


General Interview Tips

How to tacke do you have anything to ask question

Thinking to be done before interview

Oneword Essay before Interview

Interview Question Categories

Interview questions for aspiring Consultants and Managers



calling-all-isb-applicants-2015-intake-class-of-170219-280.html#p1423677


saicharantej

Kaustubh Joshi

KartikDatwani

gmatbugsme84



calling-all-isb-applicants-2015-intake-class-of-170219-780.html#p1470847

If someone has something more to add, he/she is most welcome. You can let me know what to add and I will add it to this post.

All the best and happy essay writing!
_________________

Hi All,

We have collaborated with the ISB admissions team and will be having a Chat session with Mr. Rupesh Bisht.

Timings for the session: 8.00 AM Pacific Time (8.30 pm Indian Standard Time) on 1st September 2014.

Place: GMATClub Chat Room


NOTE: We will also be sending chat notifications through PMs to all applicants who have added ISB School to their profile, so if you are interested in getting the notification, make sure ISB Program (Class of 2015) is added to your GMATClub profile. (Click here to add the Program to your profile)

All the best! and happy essays writing
Ankur


_________________

Sorry for the delay. Here it is:

One Word: Orange-Wrote about spirituality and Lord Hanuman

Interview was scheduled at ISB campus at 12:00. Reached there at 11.00 AM. Interacted with a few applicants. One CA, 1 Businessman, 2 from Deloitte, 2 from Infosys. Got recognized as Ankur from Gmatclub by some of them and they thanked me for my job. Asked them to post the debriefs also, but do not see any.

Felt good and pumped up.

Interview Panel had all the alums A1(2005), A2(2008), A(2010)

A1: So Ankur You have taken your GMAT multiple times, applied to ISB in 12, 13 and now. You seem to be pretty sure about doing an MBA. Why MBA?

A1: I know a bit about consulting Explain a bit about what do you think consulting is.

A1: You live in Hyderabad from 4 years, must be well aware about it. Let me give you a case to solve. Number of petrol pumps in Hyderabad
Started off with total number of people, number of people with vehicles and then lost track.
I could have done much much better. This is one particular question I am not sure at all about how I performed.

A2: What if you do not get into Business consulting

A2: Find out the best ERP package for Grasim Industries. How?

A2: Wouldn’t you want to know about the concentration of the strength and the number of offices.

A2: What if you are a manager and you have to choose a team for client. Who would you choose.

A3: Tell us about your job responsibilities.

A3: Challenges at Job

A3: Typical day at work.

A2: Why do you need to give time. Is it a job?

A3: What will you do if you have highest priority work and someone shouting for help at gmatclub

A2: How did you improve from the last time you applied

A2: You have written in your essay that 3 years after your MBA you want to be a Management consultant. Why this gap?


A2: What will you bring to ISB

A3: Any question for us


Left satisfied barring the case study answer.

All in all it lasted for around 30-35 minutes.

Apart from the guesstimate question, I do not think I could make a drastic change in the answers I provided.
Leaving all to the 15th of November. Lets hope for the best

All the best to all!!!

P.S. Removed my responses after being advised for the same. PM me if you need details.
_________________

Hi all the R2 hopefuls. I have compiled this post with all the debriefs of this season.

Make sure to go through these before going in for the interview.
Also, I think most of these members are active, so feel free to ask your queries...

calling-all-isb-applicants-2015-intake-class-of-170219-320.html#p1426219

calling-all-isb-applicants-2015-intake-class-of-170219-320.html#p1426329

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calling-all-isb-applicants-2015-intake-class-of-170219-780.html#p1469023

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calling-all-isb-applicants-2015-intake-class-of-170219-840.html#p1476164

calling-all-isb-applicants-2015-intake-class-of-170219-860.html#p1477448

calling-all-isb-applicants-2015-intake-class-of-170219-840.html#p1474806

calling-all-isb-applicants-2015-intake-class-of-170219-860.html#p1477456

calling-all-isb-applicants-2015-intake-class-of-170219-860.html#p1477764

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calling-all-isb-applicants-2015-intake-class-of-170219-880.html#p1479959

Let me know if you need anything else
All the best guys!
_________________

On a sidenote,
I saw on the left hand side that I am just one short of 500 kudos.
I wish some kind and gentle soul would give me the happiness to reach 500 kudos
_________________

Sorry for the delay, but as promised, here is the post about preparation of interviews.

First things first, Get a notebook.
Bifurcate your questions broadly under the following heads:

Questions about YOU
Eg: elevator pitch, strength, weakness etc.

Questions about what you do
Eg: job profile, challenges, team skills, leadership skills etc

Questions about what the company does
Eg: clients, market trends, domain etc

Questions about learning and experience
Eg: what did you learn at work place, extra curricular. How did you use it etc.

Questions on Goals
Eg: Long term, short term goals. Ho to achieve without MBA, ISB

why MBA
The must question

why ISB
Another one. Make sure you research well. Go through the brochure, website, find clubs etc.

Post MBA questions
Eg: Post MBA industry, desired job profile. what if you do not get it.

what if not MBA
Plan B

Think of as many questions as you can and put them under one or the other category. Now think about the answers to each question.

After this, open your essays. Read them and try to find as many questions as you can find.
For Eg: if you have written some number, make sure you know how that is derived.
Questions bout your innovation. hat else could have been done etc.

Give your essays to someone else and ask then to find the questions from the essay.

One final thing: while thinking of the answers, try to focus on the learning not the task performed.
For instance if you worked for a NGO, tell what did you learn and what did you contribute.
do not just say that you worked for the NGO. Not gonna help...

That is it for now.
will update the post if I come up with something else.

If any one has some suggestions, please come ahead and contribute and please post

For more information on interview preparation, click on the "ISB Preparation kit" link in my signature.

All the best!
Ankur
_________________

Hey guys done with the interview.
Interview location : ITC Grand Central, Mumbai.
Panel No. 1.
26th January.
Interviewing just a day after your birthday sucks

One word essay topic- Surrealism. Do a google search of the word to find out what we would have felt at that time. Everyone managed to write something though

Panel members:- One lady (adcom member) and one gentleman( ISB Alum).
The interview was very conversational and relaxed.
Lots of questions on work experience and leadership examples.
Many questions asked about my NGO work.
One question on post MBA goal.
Asked them 2 questions over which we talked for about 10 minutes.
That's it!
Interview lasted for a good 40-45 minutes though. Almost no cross questioning.

One pointer for the guys who are yet to interview - While narrating your stories, do not forget to put forward your learnings/lessons/results. They are interested in knowing what you learnt from the experiences you had in life more than anything else.

Walked out of the interview content after warm handshakes.
Still don't know what to make of it.
Valentines day couldn't come sooner!

Snapshot of my profile:

GMAT: 710 (QA 50,VA 35,AWA 6, IR 7) 760 (Q50 V42 AWA 5.5 IR8)
GPA: Pretty average
WE: years - 4.5 years in IT Services- Oracle, Infosys, Tech Mahindra
Currently working as a Functional Consultant at Tech Mahindra

Extracurricular: Good

Young Professional Ambassador of Teach for India.
Make a Difference volunteer teacher.
Badminton district level player.
Cricket awards at Oracle.
Painting awards at Oracle.
Event management at Oracle.

Professional Achievements:
Accolades for my documentation and work.
Helped in preparing a sales pitch for a client and won the client for Oracle
Rated among the best in my team at Oracle
Early promotion at Oracle
Active member of the CSR group at Oracle.
Started working as a consultant. (my short term goal after ISB)

Hoping to get lucky the 3rd time No luck the third time either
ISB Class of 2014 - Dinged after the interview (My ISB Interview)
ISB Class of 2015 - Not shortlisted for the interview most probably because of the re applicant essay
Take Aways: I know what not to do both in the interview and the application :D

ISB Class of 2016 - To be updated Dinged after the interview (Dn't know what to say )

One more thing which i consider a big achievement is this
isb-class-of-2015-calling-all-applicants-151341-620.html#p1319981
And he converted the call

If someone can add anything new to the template, please feel glad to do it!!

P.S. I have included all the important links from the previous year's thread in my signature.
If you think I have missed something or you have something important, please do post and share with us.
_________________

!	An important announcement!

Hi All,

We have collaborated with the ISB admissions team and will be having a Chat session with Mr. Rupesh Bisht.
Here is a snapshot of his profile at ISB.

"Rupesh Bisht heads PGP International marketing and the Young Leaders Programme at ISB. He is Associate Director with Admissions and Financial Aid Department at ISB and also an alumnus from the class of 2009."

Timings for the session: 8.30 pm IST on 4th August 2014.

By that time, all the people applying in R1 must have completed a significant portion of their essays and some might be on the verge of submitting the application. Collect all your questions and get them clarified from Mr. Bisht.

Will post further details after some time.

All the best! and happy essays writing
Ankur
_________________

I was rejected after the ISB interview 3 years back.

Now that I have your attention, I wanted to highlight what I did wrong during that time, and thus what you should avoid:
1. Keep your calm during the interview: I didn't. I was jittery and nervous. Since I was one of the younger applicants (2 yrs work ex), I think the interviewers were testing how I could handle stress.
2. Don't over-prepare: I know it's counter-intuitive but don't spend too much time preparing - this is not the UPSC. If you over-prepare, your mind gets tricked into believing that this is some impossible task. You need to convince yourself that it's just a 30 min conversation.
3. The 4-5 "must-prepare" questions should be spot-on: This is not contradictory to point 2 above. The Why MBA/Why ISB/Why now/Goals/Introduce yourself will be asked and you have no excuse not to prepare for these. But (hopefully) you already know the answers to these.
4. It's not the end of the world: I got rejected and I won't lie - it sucked. Now, things aren't that bad; (caution: bragging ahead) earlier this year, I got accepted into Wharton, Kellogg, INSEAD and withdrew after interviewing from Booth and LBS. You should definitely give it your best shot but bear in mind that ISB (or any other school) is not a necessary or sufficient condition for success. Sure, the stakes are high but you need to avoid the paranoia by accepting that there will be things you can't control.

I'll stop my rant now. Reviewing this, it seems more of a Philosophy 101 discourse than a b-school interview guide. I feel old.

Feel free to reach out for any specifics.
Abhishek.

Reposting from Pagalguy: Llewellyn Desouza's tips for ISB interview

_______________________________________________________________________

Congratulations to the first set of people who have a call for an Interview...

As requested here are some tips for the Interview:


1. The interview at ISB is a test of what you know and not what you don't . This is the difference between other schools in India and ISB.

2. By design it is supposed to test your strengths and not grill your weaknesses.

3. It is not a stress interview unless you are stressed out or get intimidated. Yes they do try to get under your skin especially if you are from the IITs.

4. Most of the questions (90%) are based on what you have put in your profile. So read your application in detail ... Not just your essays but the entire app.

5. Remember the panel gets only about 10 to 15 mins to read your profile so your application and essay quality matters.

6. Panelist know that you are not looking at ISB for NETWORKING and KNOWLEDGE but Career Progression. Be candid it helps and save yourself the trouble to camouflage your aspirations.

7. Most evaluation at the interview is aimed at finding out if you can be PLACED post ISB. This is natural. Especially people with 7 plus years of work ex need to be very clear where they see themselves after ISB and how do they plan to get there even if the Placement Team from the School cannot help.

8. Your Plan B should inspire confidence and not stress them out. Usually your long term goal is of little interest to anyone but interviewers have a tendency to ask for it so that your plan A & B can be tested. Ideally Plan A & B should lead to the same long term Goal.

9. Every MBA worth the salt wants to be an Entrepreneur in the long term. So this is a given... How you plan to bide your time getting there is the interesting part that interviewers are interested in.

10. You may want to anticipate questions but do not forget to practice your answers at mock interviews.

11. Remember the key is crispness (not sharpness) of the response.

12. It is better to give a short answer and then be probed than give a long answer that makes panelist switch off.

13. Never argue at the interview... you cannot win.

14. Last but not the least ... 7 out of 10 times you may think you aced the interview but at ISB you can still be dinged on the basis of the rest of your profile.

15. Also remember unless you practice right and get your answers validated by a pro there is no sense practicing. By doing Mock Interviews with your friends you are getting nowhere.

Wish you all the best...

Llewellyn Desouza

Principal Consultant Hash & CMO Felecidade Villa

in.linkedin.com/pub/llewellyn-desouza/1/6a1/a52/

________________________________________________________________________________
_________________

Hi
gave my interview today , went off well . please excuse me for the msg language
To start the had two people both alums one young (35-40) and one a little elder, both were super friendly and enthusiastic throughout the process, by the end I was joking with them
The questions were mostly normal ones about introduction and about goals, though the method was a little different when it came about things I did , they gave me situations and asked me about how I would act or react to the same , a small estimate question to check my reasoning and logic
Yes I had a few hickups but they were small, all went fairly well
Now the important , advice I would like to share from this experience (this was my first b school interview , so may be you already know it)
1 take time before you answer, dont start as soon as they end , its always better than saying a line then stopping , take as much time as you want before you start ( even a minute) , these people were kind enough to tell me after each question to take my time , if i hurried they would say you can think and if you want you can use this paper . Others may not be so kind . I would suggest wait think and answer not the other way around
2 yes practice but not very much , believe me I dint get a chance to say any answer I had planned , so just keep the relevant points in mind and if possible memorize them so that you can frame in a way the question asks , dont frame any answer from the while preparing.
3 You brain will work at 50% capacity when you sit there , so dont too many things in you mind , concentrate on how to answer the particular question dont think about anything else.
4 take a pencil for the essay so you can erase and dont have to cut or overwrite ( I dint but I saw someone do it , so dats a greats idea I thought)
5 converse a lot in the waiting room , anything personal or professional, this would set up an momentum and you feel way more comfortable plus that alleviate the tension by diverting your mind . You need to keep rehearsing you answers till the last moment , this will only have a bad effect.
6 dont drink too much water while waiting , you know its effects during the interview

P.S.
I havent proofread it so dont judge me on the mistakes and if you have any questions please say , I ll be happy to help

Regards
Avinash

I wish you all good luck for ISB results that are a month away. And guys those who are gearing up for Nov 30 deadline - make sure you give your best shot. I wish to contribute a lot here, but ISB is keeping me quite busy. I m sure all selected applicants would agree next year.

But still, I will try to visit this thread and resolve some queries. I had promised this earlier, so please accept my apologies for not being upto mark.

Just one word suggestion for upcoming applicants - GMAT is not the only criteria !!

On side note, make sure you follow everything about ISB at all channels of facebook and twitter. The more you know about the school, the better your chance of presenting a sound application.

These links should help :

https://www.facebook.com/ISBadmissions
https://www.facebook.com/ISBedu
https://twitter.com/ISBedu
https://twitter.com/ISB_PGP
https://blogs.isb.edu/admissionsdirector/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk--qM ... _XbSN9BGew

What's the life at ISB?

Do not forget to like https://www.facebook.com/LifeAtISB?
Follow Twitter : https://twitter.com/LifeAtISB

With a little over 40 days to go...

I thought this would help people who are finding it difficult to start on their essays for ISB...

How to start developing the essays?


Yes the start is usually the toughest and sometimes consumes up to 40 to 50% of the time invested in doing up the MBA essays.

Well for starters go back to the basics and understand one thing that this MBA application is also essentially a selection process and there are fundamentally only two aspects to any selection from the recruiter's point of view:

1. What is it that the candidate brings to the table?

And

2. What is the expectation of the candidate from the recruiter?

Think about it ... Even if you have ever hired a domestic maid servant (or a CEO for that matter) these two have been the fundamentals of your selection.

As an MBA applicant for you the 'Recruiter' is the school and you are the candidate.

So start by asking 3 simple questions:

1. Who you are? - this will help you determine your diversity

2. Where do you want to go? and

3. How does the school fit into the scheme of things? - Both 2 & 3 will help make it very clear to you as well as the school what your aim is.

The B School application is primarily an introspection exercise but with a twist.

Start of by enlisting 'Who you think you are?' and do it like a brain storming session to come up with a long list of things you think will differentiate you. From experience I can say competencies you believe you have fit best in this list. I know it is tough but so did 304 of last years candidates also tell me... Today 286 of those who persisted with my advice are in ISB.

For God's sake remember that by DNA you are different and thus if you think you cannot come up with anything differentiating about you, you have not thought enough.Once you have a reasonable long list get it validated by your most ardent critic. Women with mother-in-laws are at a distinct advantage here. Men too can try it with your father-in-laws but do not add too much soda to his Whiskey.Jokes apart connect with someone who knows you real well to validate this list and once done look at the list yourself to understand if this is what you think you can contribute to the class's knowledge quotient.

Fit these differentiators in as things that made you do or think differently in the given situation in Essay 1. I am guessing cooking up the situation is the easy part.Now look at 'Where do you want to go?'

Connect the dots carefully to show a logical sequence. Stick to fundamentals of knowledge and qualification based steps rather than drive, passion or even interest. If you are coding software and want to go into investment banking you will have to show what steps you have taken besides applying to the school to get there. MOOCs, Apprenticeships, probono work, reading, research,etc... all can come to your rescue here.While showcasing your aim (goal immediately after MBA) try and workout a way in which you can show that you have thought through your plan but are still flexible. This flexibility is important as it will help you depict humbleness.

Now 'How does the school fit into the scheme of things?' Well this is the part most people get wrong. It is important for you to explain why you need that MBA so much in this part of the essay.

Unnecessary references to Projects, Programs (ELP), People (faculty), Clubs, etc... just do not help. I have only been too amused to read that candidates who know nothing about the life at a B - School write about how they will participate and organize activities for a club. It is too obvious to a seasoned essay reader that your research about the school is restricted to either its website or at max an infosession. This will not be appreciated.

Most schools expect you to know at least the why you need an MBA and you should not only be able to put this across well but also be able to defend it if interrogated.

A good consultant may be able to help you on how to put your points across but you will still have to do the leg work and come up with the 'What.'

So get up tomorrow... Have your cup of Tea and START working on that list...

​Llewellyn Desouza
Principal Consultant Hash & CMO Felecidade Villa
in.linkedin.com/pub/llewellyn-desouza/1/6a1/a52/

Here's my ISB Interview Debrief:

I had initially opted for Hyderabad as the interview location, but later mailed the AdCom and requested for change of location to Mumbai.
Luckily, I got the interview call and the location was Mumbai. The interview was slotted on 19th October 5pm at Vivanta by Taj, Mumbai

The one-word essay was common for all those present in the Waiting Room. It was "FORUM". We had to submit it to the interviewers at the time of the interview.

My interview started about 45 minutes late. The panel consisted of two ISB alumni (2007 and 2012, with no experience in my work domain - Real Estate)
They asked me to justify my job switches (3 jobs in 3 years) considering my recommendations were very strong and there seemed no reason to change jobs, if I was performing exceptionally well at work. They tried to understand my past and current job profiles in detail and if it made sense to switch the jobs. They also asked me about my biggest learning from my jobs.
Then, they discussed about my interests - Food and Travel, in DETAIL. They probed me seriously on this and asked me to describe my "Wackiest Food Outing" and 3 of the offbeat locations I had been. One of the interviewers happened to know about the restaurant that I visited and the other interviewer happened to visit the offbeat location I described, so they actually probed me further to confirm if I was bluffing or not.
The next half of the interview was basically "Why MBA", but conducted in a very subtle manner. They kept asking me how MBA would fit in the scheme of things and tried to convince me that I probably don't need it. They really probed deep inside to get answers out of me. At a point, I got disoriented and nearly lost track, but I recovered well and gave them a genuine answer that prompted them to say, "Do you have any questions for us?" I asked them about themselves and how the journey post ISB has been so far. The interview lasted for about 30 minutes and was completely friendly and stress-free.

Advice for Interviewees:
1. Practice as many mock interviews as you can. Try to iron out your weaknesses and don't end up saying something that will give the interviewer a chance to probe you unnecessarily.
2. Don't bluff anything or say something that you cannot back up with evidence. I was asked minute details on anything the interviewers found interesting enough to probe.
3. You should be 100% confident about your "Why MBA?" answer. If you show even 1% of uncertainty during the interview, you are finished. You should stick to your guns and your answer should make perfect logical sense. The interviewers are smart, they will use your words against you and play mind games. Be strong headed and determined to succeed. All the best!

Hello all you anxious peoples.
I know what it feels to be in this period.

One small tip: While you wait, start preparing for the interviews, go through the application, try to find out possible questions from your essays and application.
Know how to back the numbers (if any) you have written in the application.

Here is a post about how to identify the questions:
calling-all-isb-applicants-2015-intake-class-of-170219-220.html#p1419164

Now coming to specifics.
All those with a goal to become a consultant,
I would strongly advise you to go through the guesstimate question. Be sure that you will be asked one of these in the interview and will be judged strongly on this.

The questions can be some thing like:

How many petrol pumps in a city
How many pot holes in a city
How many barbers in a city
How many stars in the sky and the likes.

There is a set format to solve these and I would strongly recommend you all to practice these.

Apart from these, consulting specific questions as to how would you analyse a situation, work flow of consulting etc.

All those with the goal of Management,
Know you team well. How many people, what are their roles and responsibilities.
How will you form a team, what factors will you consider.
Try to incorporate the market factors also in your answers.

In the end, do not forget to utilize the "Interview Preparation" section of this post
calling-all-isb-applicants-2015-intake-class-of-170219-140.html#p1395539

Hope these pointers help you all in the interview.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

All the best!
Ankur
_________________

Interview Date: 27 Dec (mid-day)
Location: ISB, Hyd

Reached way earlier than my scheduled time. Chit-chatted with other candidates.
About 1.5 hours before my scheduled time, I was taken to a separate room and strip-searched asked to write 50 - 100 words on the topic 'Normal'. Done in 20 mins. Noticed there was too much scratching out and bad handwriting. I asked for another piece of paper and re-wrote my life's work rubbish.

Used the rest of the time to chit-chat again with other candidates. We often observed some panel members coming out for a break, and one of them looked particularly in a bad mood. I just hoped he wasn't my interviewer.
About 15 mins before my scheduled interview time, the same man came out and called my name. Not a good omen!

I followed him into a room where there was an elderly lady already seated. They introduced themselves (let's call them Grumpy Man (GM) and Inquisitive Lady (IL) for now).

GM: Please take a seat.
Me: Thank you. May I take a moment to switch of my cell phone, please?
GM: Sure.
Switched off my phone and put it back in my pocket.
GM: So you have an interest in astronomy? Tell me about Rosetta.
Me: It was in the news recently, but I can't recollect exactly...
A horrible start
GM: OK. So, you work in the semiconductor industry. Which part of it - design, fabrication, raw materials vendor..?
Me: Explained my job. Tried to bring in some intl experience angle into the talk.
GM: So you're already working where you are making maximum impact?
Me: Correct!
GM: Then why MBA?
Gave my reasons.
GM: So as I understand it, the semiconductor value chain works like this. (He went on to explain his understanding of the value chain).
Me: That's correct.
GM: Can you draw a parallel from there and talk about the value chain of this table (pointing at the table in front of me)?
Tried to do my best to come up with an explanation.
IL: So what is your style of working when you're in a team, and when you're leading a team?
Me: I have experiences with both. While working in a team, I am a complete team player. While leading a team, I tend to be more integrated into the team than some of the other leaders I have worked with.
IL: So do you have an example where there was a tough team member you had to deal with?
Gave an example of a person who had ego whom I (unsuccessfully) tried to motivate. I fumbled along explaining this incident while recalling from my memory.
IL: Why ISB?
Gave my reasons
IL: What if you don't get admission at ISB?
Me: Frankly speaking, I'm applying to a couple of other schools outside India as well.
IL: So if you don't get admission at ISB, then?
Me: What can I do then? I can't force my way in, right?
IL: No, I mean, let's say you get into 2 other B-schools and you are denied admission at ISB, then would you reapply next year, or would you accept an offer from one of the other schools?
I thought this was a pretty redundant question. I have already admitted to applying to other schools. If my intention is to reapply to ISB next year, why would I apply to the other schools this year?
Me: I would go to another school.
IL: Okay (smiles).
IL: Tell me about anything you want to talk about.
Me: Umm.. anything?
IL: Yes, tell us about anything that is not in your essays.
Me: Okay. Took the opportunity to talk about extra-curriculars.
IL: Alright. I think we're done. Oh wait, do you have any questions for us.
Me: Actually, I do have a couple of questions.
IL: Sure.
Me: ISB has a 1 year compressed curriculum and finance is a core subject. As such I don't have any background in this subject. Before beginning my MBA stint, would it be wise do some basic course on this subject?
IL: IF you get admitted to ISB (and she really stressed on the "if" part)... and she went on to explain why I wouldn't need any pre-course, but suggested I read ET and some other newspaper regularly.
I asked a few follow up questions
Me: One more question: How do you decide whether an admitted candidate would go to the Hyd campus or the Mohali campus?
IL: There's an algo based on certain parameters. We basically look at where you with your experience would be more impactful. But if 2 students want to switch, we allow that as well.
Me: Ohh, you do?
IL: Yes, but finding someone who would be willing to swap with you is rare.
GM chipped in about how the learning experience is the same, rather slightly better at Mohali due to the building being designed more recently.
Me: Okay.
IL: You still look like you want to ask something more.
Me: No, that's it.
I stood up and thanked them for their time. Total time was ~ 25-30 mins.

Rest of the afternoon was spent in talking to some current students at ISB and enjoying a cuisine in their cafeteria.

So, not a good interview experience. I just hope my pre-interview score is high enough to cover up for my lapses in the interview. That's my only hope!

Just a random update.
I checked the forum for last year, the forum had 759 posts at the end of the season in April and accounted for a discussion of 38 pages.
We are here in January only and we have surpassed that mark and have accounted 766 posts (including this one)
And I believe that the contribution has been useful and not random discussion (barring the times of the results )

Thanks for the contribution all you wonderful people
All the best for everything!!!
_________________

My Interview Debrief

Bangalore, ITC Windsor, 12 pm, Panel 2

Three interviewer (probably profs). The questions below may not be in the exact order as asked during the interview.

Q. What are you working at your Current_Company ?
- I spoke a while on this. One of the interviewers asked for an analogy to understand the details.

Q. One of your recommenders from Previous_Company says you worked on project XYZ. Can you explain us the project?
- Took time to explain this. They had a few questions in between, nothing major though

They asked the following follow-up questions:
Q. What was your role in the project?
Q. What are the 3 market segments the market would target?
Q. What are the skills you learnt through this project?

Q. What were the skills you developed at Previous_Company that your Current_Company found attractive and hired you?
Q. Which of the two companies (previous and current) do you think focuses more on innovation ?
Q. What were the qualities/skills you had which made you the youngest innovator at Previous_Company?

Q. You want to move into product management after an MBA. Why not stay in the current company and make the transition?
Q. I had mentioned that my aspiration to build my own firm and build products that impact people. Was asked a few questions about the kind of product I want to build, if I have any ideas in mind.

Q. What are your two biggest failures? (This caught me a bit off guard.)
Q. When do you think 'aggression' as a quality benefits one? (This question came out of the blue. I suppose I was too excited while answering questions.)
Q. Have you applied to foreign b-schools? Which ones? (That's it. No follow up questions. It was though they were collecting statistical data points )

Q. Do you have any questions for us?
(I asked about alumni who had background and aspirations similar to me who joined ISB and did they fit into the culture and were they able to achieve their goals. This spurred a discussion on how the students achieved their immediate goals, speaking objectively but they have no data on whether these people are actually innovating in their roles and making huge impact. They also talked about how making a difference doesn't necessarily mean having a breakthrough innovation, but innovating in simple things. I said I couldn't agree more and cited a few examples. This was probably the only part in the interview where I thought we had a discussion. For most parts, it was me speaking about my work)

I wasn't crisp in answering all of the questions. And all of the questions were targeted at my work. Nothing about why MBA, why ISB, your interests etc. I thought they already had a perception about me before the interview and had a decision ready already. I hope it was a positive perception and favorable decision . I have no clue if the interview would result in a positive or negative outcome

I have to mention that the 'ISB preparation kit' prepared by Ankur is an excellent resource and a must-do before the interview. Thanks man! I really appreciate the effort you have taken to put this together. The interview debriefs helped me a lot in preparing myself to respond to varied questions. Kudos to this thread and keep up the great work!

Good luck everyone!