Ask APPHELP - for MBA Application/ Essay review queries

Hi,

Please let me know whether I should apply in R1 or R2.
I will be done wih my GMAT on 20 Aug. Do you feel that 10 days is good enough for essays.
I cant start working on my essays right now as my work schedule does not allow me to focus on both GMAT prep and essay.


Thanks in advance
Binod

Hello,
In re-application, is it advisable to re-use the essay or shall new essay be written?

To be specific, in IIMC PGPEX essay "Narrate an important/unusual incident of your life when you had to face a very demanding/challenging situation. How did you overcome the situation? What lessons did you learn from this incident?"

not everyday we run into such demanding situation in life. So is it advisable to reuse this essay?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Sumit,

Yes. You will be assigned an ISB alumnus for sure as Apphelp has a team of top B school alumni only.
The process is totally confidential.

Please let is know if you have any queries.

Apphelp Team

Hi Megha,

No. You can mention different goals provided your story looks coherent and you back that well in the interview. As you can very well admit this in the interview that last yr you did not have great clarity on your goals but this time you have thought it through.

Please let is know if you have any queries.

Apphelp Team

Hi Binod,

If you can devote good amount of time during those 10 days you can make it. But the application has lot more than just the essays..the recos..the transcripts all need to be in place. Your official score should also reach ISB by 30 aug which might not be the case if you take GMAT on 20 aug.

So we would advise not to rush it through and submit a well baked application in R2.

Please let is know if you have any queries.

Apphelp Team

Hi Tarun,

Yes in this specific essay you can reuse the content.
Otherwise in essays like career progression or strengths you can resume majority of content with the new additions/ modifications.

Please let is know if you have any queries.

Apphelp Team

Hi all,

Here are some tips for ISB essays for Class of 2012:

Essay 1: If we were to admit one more student to the class of 2012, make a compelling argument as to why that student should be you? (300 words max)

Tips : This is same as the first essay last year. You have to market yourself to ISB and tell them 3 traits that differentiate you and will help you add value to the class of 2011. e.g. Entrepreneurial venture and the experience you gained there, or business development skills etc. As ISB has mentioned, make sure that you quote some examples or numbers like I bought new business worth XXX or developed a venture with top line of XXXX. Make sure that you highlight something that is actually a differentiator. Working on client site for an IT services company for 2 months is not a great differentiator unless you have done something really different.


Essay 2: What are your short term and long term goals? How will the ISB help you achieve the same? (300 words max)

Tips : This is the standard career goals essay. So, in the first paragraph talk about your short term goals. In the next paragraph discuss your long term goals and future plan. Make sure that you don't use more than 150-170 words in discussing you career goals. In the final paragraph talk about why MBA is important to achieve your goals and how will MBA from ISB specifically will help you. To do this create a story line and fit in MBA. Also, do some research about ISB programs, clubs, faculty, industry interaction and mention how these will help in your learning.


Essay 3: Please provide additional information, that will significantly affect the consideration of your application to the ISB. (300 words max)

Tips : This used to be an optional essay every year but looks like this year ISB has ran short of essay questions. So this is mandatory. Biggest mistake which applicants commit is that they provide all sorts of not so important information in this essay. Don't write something just to fill space. Mention something important or a big achievement like receiving an award from the PM or selling a successful venture or something else. Also, don't use this essay to discuss your low GPA or GMAT score as that will make your weakness/ low points look bigger.

Hi all,

Apphelp will be publishing, in 2 separate posts, important DOs and DON'Ts regarding ISB application/ essays. Here is the first one in the series.... what should you DO for ISB application..

DOs

Do the homework – Find out about activities/ curriculum/ culture in ISB. Read the website, blog (official ISB blog and other non official blogs as well). Talk to alumni. Attend ISB talk sessions. Basically, do all that is relevant and feasible to gain knowledge about ISB.

Be honest – Be honest while providing facts/ figures and while describing any personal or work related experiences in the essays. Please note that if you are not genuine, you can be caught in the interview and this is the last thing you would want to happen.\

Recommendations- Get recos from people who know you well instead of just hunting for recommenders with fancy/ hi profile designations.

What to do when you are in doubt – If you wish to clarify any point related to the application, it is advised to consult somebody directly related to ISB. It could be the adcom, alumni, ISB students etc.

Plan well and ahead of timeline – Avoid the last minute rush by submitting your application in time. Some people tend to revise/ review their applications till the last minute which is something strictly not recommended. Last minute changes in the application are more likely to lead to mistakes.

Hi all,

Here is the 2nd post in the series - " Important DOs and DON'Ts for ISB application"

DON’Ts

Careless mistakes – any mistakes such as spelling errors, typos, basic punctuation misses, grammatical errors etc, should be strictly avoided. Such things show carelessness on the candidate’s part

Stick to the limits – I am referring to word count here. Do not let your essays / other answers in the application overflow by any chance. The other side of this issue is equally important i.e. you should not answer with too less words. For eg- you should not finish an essay question with word limit of 300 in just 200 words. Point to be noted – do not repeat points in your essays just for the sake of completing word count.

Don’t fake – Faking stuff in ISB application is dangerous, most of the times to a degree beyond imagination. ISB is very particular about ethics and plagiarism. So, providing wrong information is a clear No.

Inconsistency- Your application must indicate a persona that is consistent. Any disagreeing statements must be avoided. For example – you can’t quote team work as a weakness if you have indicated it as strength at some point in your application.

Hello,

I have a GMAT score of 710 and about 5 years of work ex. Want to apply in Round 1 but somehow could not find time so far to write the application n essays.
Can you guys help? I want reviews and all help to be done by ISB alum only.. Please let me know if it can be done n also will 1 month be sufficient to prepare the essays.

Heyy
I hav 7 yr workex in fashion desgn n wanna pursue mba nw. I wanna do it from asian bschools (except China- dunno mandarin) only as I dun wanna spend too much.
I wanted some inputs on how many and which schools shud i apply to.. wil apprciate any help on dis...

Jenny

Hi MBAaspo,

Definitely. We can help you with essay reviews. The entire process is handled by top b-school alumni and we can assign you an ISB alum to help you out. 1 month is good enough to complete the essays.

Hi Jenny,

Some of the good schools in Asia will include ISB, NUS, NTU, INSEAD Singapore... (Not including CEIBS as you have ruled out China). Exactly which schools you can focus on will depend on the detailed profile/ GMAT score etc.

Please feel free to call us/ write to us for further discussion.

Halo
wanted information on this one: Is his okay for a person with hard core IT experience of 9 years to say that she wants to change her field to Finance/ Consulting???

This is confusing me in my goals essay for mba apps

Neha

Hi Neha,

It might not sound very convincing to the adcom especially given the fact that both consulting and finance companies prefer people with less work ex because consulting requires that the person should not be entrenched into a domain and should be willing to travel.

Finance on the other hand also requires people to work long hours.
Your story might become all the more weak if you don't have any experience in these domain.

So, for getting an admit stick to the conventional goals and then you can always decide once you get into a B school and have a better clarity.

Regards
Apphelp Team

Thanks APphelp for the response!!

m keen to put app in ISB and INSEAD Singapore but regd NUS and NTU Ihave heard from some people that they hold a bit less value in India... m sayin so cos I want to come back to India after mah MBA....

Also can u tell me abt Great Lakes... ppl say it is the next ISB??

byeeee
Jenny

Hii Jenny,

NUS and NTU have good brand name and come in high ranked b-schools. While I agree that ranking of others maybe higher than these schools. Also, it is a noted fact that relative importance of a b-school in home country vs other regions is slightly different so don't worry about this as an issue.

Regarding Great Lakes, it is a good institute making rapid strides. The brand name is in process f building up. Great Lakes offers a very good value for money though so you can definitely consider this.