ISB applicants - Ask GyanOne!!

Hi niksguitar,

We don't think its a case of just stamina, because that would have meant you would have faced the same issues in quant too. Perhaps you are not timing yourself well, or not practising under test conditions, which is a must. This is self-analysis which you must do yourself - are you tripping up on harder concepts or just taking too much time? If it is the former, you might want to brush up your concepts again, and if the latter, practice is the key.

Another key factor to keep in mind here is that a lot of people face issues with RC, which ends up taking too much time, and therefore skews the rest of the section as well. Ensure that you are focusing specially on time and accuracy management in this area.

Finally, keep in mind that 48Q + 48V is already an overall 710, so you are knocking on the door of a good score. If you can push quant up by 1 more point to 49, and get even an overall 40 on verbal, you still get 730 overall. Remember, the objective is not to get a 40+ on verbal (though of course you should try for it and maximize your potential), but to get a strong overall score.

All the best!

Thanks a lot for your expert advice GyanOne, my RC has been at a consistent 90% accuracy, though CR and SC need a more methodical approach as I still keep approaching them in my natural way and don't apply any methods such as Kaplan's or Manhattan's structured approach, I have already been through the GMAT once, and this time I want to ensure that I get as close to 750 as possible.

Also I feel the scaled score in Quant doesn't accurately depict my weaknesses, since even though I get a 48 or 49 mostly, I know I have messed up on some sections for sure, mostly data sufficiency, combinatorics and probability questions.

I thank you for all of your help, I'll try to rise up the plateau.

Sounds good.

On probability, combinatorics, and permutations, our experience has been that more people get them wrong because of the assumption that questions from this type will be hard. Not saying that you are necessarily doing that, but generally, questions from probability and P&C have a lower difficulty level than corresponding questions from other quant topics.

All the best and do let us know once you achieve that great score.

Most Delhi interview calls have now gone out, though some continuing to trickle in.

Most Mumbai calls also done. Some continue to trickle in. Chennai calls also going out.

My first time post on this forum. gyanone, you are doing tremendous job with profile evaluations. Request you to also please evaluate my profile also.

GMAT 730 but first attempt was 660 only
3 years of work experience working for TCS in Analytics
Decent extra-curriculars (football captain in college, active debater, some NGO work also)
Got promotion ahead of peers in TCS (will this count?)

My questions are:
1. Is this profile ok for ISB?
2. Should I apply now or wait for Round 1 next year?
3. After MBA I want to work for Mckenzie (my preference), does that firm recruit at ISB?
4. What areas should I improve on in my profile?
5. Will my first attempt of 660 harm me?

Hi,
I got interview invite via email dated 18th Nov (no call) which says to click on the link and confirm your acceptance within 48 hours. However, I checked my mails today i.e 21 Nov 2015 and gave my confirmation by clicking on the link. As 48 hours period has already passed, will this create any problem for me?

No, this should be fine. In case of any issues, you can contact ISB and let them know that you could not respond sooner. Many people have faced this situation, and ISB is not rigid about it. However, do make sure that you follow up with ISB on this - do not just wait for things to happen post clicking the link. Email ISB or call them.

Hi

Please provide some more details and context into your profile. Also, please note that the firm is called McKinsey, and yes, it does recruit from ISB.

**post deleted**

Hi! Posted on the wrong forum! Please ask this question on Admissions Consultation.

Hi Rachit

Thanks for posting.

A broad view says that your profile is pretty good. An MS from the US definitely gets you a lot of credit, and the fact that you are working at Ford right now in a program engineering role in the US is a further plus. Your internships and overall work profile seem solid. Not sure about the number of years of work-ex you have (time spent at Ford not mentioned), but assuming that it is north of 2 years, with 18 months already at Fiat-Chrysler.

ECA seems good as well with broad-ranging interests and some good hobbies to showcase too.

On the GMAT front, don't accept 650 - try and take it as close to 700 as possible, if not beyond. If push comes to shove, a 650 might still work with your profile, but it will be below your true potential given your other achievements.

On product development as an area - it might not be as rosy in India, especially in the automotive sector. If you are moving from the US to India, you might need to explain how India is the right place to do that. Still, those considerations are a little time away, so focus as of now on only your GMAT. Your profile is certainly good enough to get you there otherwise.

All the best and please feel free to come back with further questions as needed.

Hi

Some more profile details listed here

Engineer by education from one of the NITs. College acids were not good (less than 60% - is this a big concern?), but I was involved in organising many student events and also headed the sponsorship committee for them. Also played football, and worked in some student teams that volunteered for an NGO close to campus.

At TCS my work involves programming and customising TCS solutions for different clients and I usually work on analytics as my area of speciality. I have worked with clients from Germany and Japan, and of course India. I have also been onsite for 2 weeks once but rest of experience has all been in India. I like analytics and would like to continue in it after ISB also. If possible I am seeking placement in top consulting firms, but I have heard they don't look at candidates from IT backgrounds. Please tell me if this is the case.

Hope this will suffice. Please tell me if you need more specific info on something.

Congratulations to all ISB admits, including several GyanOne clients - more than 30 in number and counting as we contact more.

One notable point in ISB admissions (R1) this year - many people with scores significantly below 700 (650, 660,670,680 to mention a few) offered admits.

Hello,

I intend to apply to ISB in R2 this year. Please evaluate my profile for the same. The details are as mentioned below.

I have taken the GMAT thrice, last in Dec’15 when I scored 680 [Q 47, V 37, IR 6, AWA 5.5]. In my previous two attempts in Sep’15 and Nov’14 I had scored 600 [Q 49, V 23, IR 5, AWA 5] and 610 [Q 45, V 28, IR 5, AWA 5] respectively.

I will have completed 7 years [2009 – 16] of work experience in Mar’16. Throughout these 7 yrs I have worked in two infrastructure development companies in a project management role for construction projects. For the first two years I was in a hydro electric power plant construction project in Sikkim and for the remaining period I worked in a metro railway viaduct & stations construction project in Kolkata.

My academic qualifications are briefly mentioned below

Class X - ICSE 2000 - 89.83%

Class XII - ISC 2002 - 81.33%

B. Tech (Civil Engg.) – NIT Surat [2003 – 07]– CGPA 8.16 / 10

PGPACM – NICMAR, Pune [2007 – 09] – CPI 8.16 / 10

Right after my graduation, I have done post graduation in Advanced Construction Management, which is a course especially designed for project management in the construction industry and is not comparable to any other MBA course.

Also, I was the lead author (there were 2 co-authors) of an article regarding application of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in construction project selection that was published in ‘DECISION’ the IIMC Journal (Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta) in 2011.

I presented technical papers in some Technical Festivals during at IIT Roorkee, NIT Trichy, and in my own college NIT Surat.

Also I was event coordinator in one of the events during our college Techfest.

During my tenure in my first company, I had taken up a few CSR initiatives for the company.

Apart from this I was enthusiastic in playing cricket and football and represented my hostel / class / company in some small tournaments.

As is obvious from the above, I don’t have much ECA to speak of. Also, there is a one year gap after my Class XII boards, when I prepared for competitive examinations. Will these two factors be a major drawback in my application? Will the article that I published work as an advantage ?

Also, please give your views on my overall profile.

Also, please suggest which other B-schools may be targeted with this GMAT score and profile.

Hi x1Alpha,

Thanks for posting and happy new year! Sorry for the delay in response - the team was caught up because of upcoming deadlines.

Your profile overall is pretty good. Experience is decent (slightly on the higher side but not so much that it will be a problem) and you come from the infra development/project management industry, which is a plus. Acads are good, and ECA is not a concern at all - not sure why you feel that way. The one year gap will not matter (though will have to be explained). The research papers will help to a limited extent to showcase expertise in your own domain.

The only slight area of concern is your GMAT score. At 680, you may still get in, but it places you a bit on the margin. Still, given that this is your 3rd attempt, you have shown good improvement and may not like to retake. This is a score at which you can apply.

On other schools, difficult to comment unless you specify geography/preferences.

Hope this helps. Feel free to come back with further questions.

Can you please evaluate my profile?
I am a mechanical engineering graduate working in automobile product development (R&D) for Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles.
I have got two promotions in 4 years and I have been recommended for promotion to next level.
I have 7.5 months of international experience where I worked with the product development team to solve some serious issue and was awarded for the same.
I got 'best employee recognition' award twice - One for initiating new team development and other for leading and solving a serious issue during product launch.

10th - 83%
12th - 86.5%
Undergrad - 81%
GMAT - 710 (Q48 V40)

Total experience: 4.5 years by March 31, 2016

I have got the State's Governor award for Social Service.
I am an avid trekker, trekked in Michigan, Himalayas and western ghats. I also like adventure sports (been to river rafting, skydiving).
I have run 10k marathon.
I have founded and work on a hardware startup (2 months old).
I have been invited by a startup accelerator to demo my product in their startup Fair happening in Hong Kong because they like my product idea.

What are my chances?

Thanks!