Received interview invite 4 days before the interview
Scheduled Interview Time: 12 Noon
Platform: Zoom (Meeting details got updated on the portal)
Panel: 2M 1F (all alums; did not provide details beyond names; one spoke about his graduation year - was recent as far as I recall). There was an AdCom member as well (no questions from him; video was off as well)
My profile: Analytics Consulting (1st-time applicant; 18 months until Dec'20; EEO Applicant; Round 2; IT Engineer; Non IIT/NIT/BITS; GMAT 750; Decent ECs in college; Taught Maths and Phys. to 11th and 12th students; IT Engg - 8.15/10; 12th PCM - 84.48; Post MBA Goals - Strategy Consulting)
I received a call from an ISB AdCom member at ~12:20 PM. He told me that the previous interview was still going on and mine would start at around 12:35 - 12:45 PM.
The interview began at 12:35~.
The panel was very friendly and mentioned that this will be genera discussion so please do not take any stress.
The very first question was regarding my take on the Healthcare budget (I'm assuming that is because I come from that industry).
I spoke mostly about the positives and mentioned a couple of shortcomings in the end. Then there was a follow-up question on the budget - they wanted my opinion on a certain aspect.
Post that, I was asked about 3 challenges that I face at work. There was a short follow-up and they asked me to give an example of one of the challenges (they specified which one).
The discussion then shifted to my post-MBA goals (why consulting specifically, why not a start-up, what drives you, why not stay in the same company). There were a couple of questions (not directly though) regarding why ISB and a minor cross-discussion regarding online courses with a similar structure.
I touched-down upon points regarding the course structure, diverse peer group, the case-based program, how ISB ties in very well to my post-MBA goals and career aspirations etc. There was a follow-up question regarding what I would want to take/gain from the diverse people that come to ISB.
There was one in-direct comparison (not b/w b-schools overall, but something that other b-schools also offer). I believe all these points tie to the fact that I was not asked the "why ISB" directly. We also discussed the cost-factor (they mentioned it a couple of times).
There was also a discussion around my hobbies (I did to have a lot of them - had mentioned long-drives along with two others). There was a good ~3-minute discussion around driving (why I love driving on highways and not city/town roads).
There was a guesstimate a couple of minutes before the interview ended (I also got an opportunity to speak about my stint at teaching mathematics and physics here).
They asked me if I had any questions for them and I asked one (one alum answered).
Overall, I felt that the alums were really interested in listening to what I wanted to say.
For my interview preparation, I took help from ISBMantra (overall guidance + mocks) and Team Preppie (1 mock).
Preppie - to the point questions and detailed feedback - gave ideas to improve and speak about a couple of specific things.
ISBMantra - overall guidance regarding my career goals and how I can position my thoughts, work-ex and ECs, to the point questions in my mocks and detailed feedback and ideas to improve.
Both the teams have been really wonderful in their own ways
