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agaamit
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 16 Oct 2009, 22:33
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Hey all

I am in serious need of an advice. I gave gmat yesterday and managed to get 660 (Q50, V28). The result came in as a surprsie as I was do going well on GMAT prep and Manhattan with a median score of 680 - 700. I want to do Mba in finance from ISB. Considering other personal reasons, i have to get an admit in ISB for 2010

My profile:
1. Working as Business Analyst in IT firm (one of the top 3 IT firms in India) with around 6 years of work experience in BFSI
2. Passed Chartered Finance Analyst Level2 (USA) and would be giving level 3 next year
3. Certifications: SCJP, Green Belt, Lean Six Sigma, NSE beginners module
4. Have received awards and appreciation from clients.
5. Can get a recommendation from VP of an asset managment firms with whom i was working earlier.

It would be really appreicated if someone can advice. Also, how beneficial is post graduation? I was looking at XLRI and SP Jain Dubai Global Mba. Any comments ?
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 20 Oct 2009, 18:17
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bigoyal
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bb

Last year, the acceptance rate was 4% and the class size was 579, so total applicants must have been 14,475, that's assuming the numbers are correct here: international-schools-rankings-class-profiles-and-comparison-83394.html

whoa! I hope that's not true. If the remaining apply for cycle 2, I am doomed !!

4% is under % international, not acceptance rate.

I think last year it was somewhere near 4200+ applicants (including both rounds). By today end of day we'll come to know number of applicants for R1, my wild guess is it would be somewhere near 1500+ :P
Show more

Hi Buddy,

Now that your essay has won interview for you, could you please share your experience about the 3 essays....basics of what we should focus and what not, given the fact that it is all 300 words, i was not even able to write one real life example completely.
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 23 Oct 2009, 03:07
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ISBtarget
Hi Buddy,

Now that your essay has won interview for you, could you please share your experience about the 3 essays....basics of what we should focus and what not, given the fact that it is all 300 words, i was not even able to write one real life example completely.
Show more

Hey, I still haven't crossed the final hurdle :| . Anyway if my suggestions could be of any help to you, here it is.

  • When you start writing the essay, don't worry about the word limits, write as much as you want - maybe 400-500 words or even more. Once you think you have written all the things, start deleting the sentences / words which you think are not important.
  • Once you are done with one of the essays, leave it and start focusing on other essay. After a break of 3-4 days go back to your previous essay and you would be surprised by the new ideas coming to your mind.
  • Get it reviewed by your friends / wife. It would be really great if you can get it reviewed by ISB alumni.
  • Be honest, remember during interview the adcom can grill you on anything from your essays.

Essay 1: Give 3 reasons as to why you should be selected to the class of 2011. These reasons should ideally differentiate you from the applicant pool and should be backed with some data. (300 words max)

  • List down all the points which you think are your strong point. It will take a few days, but think think and think about all the accomplishments / initiatives / ECs etc you have participated in since your college days. Ask your friends about your positive points. Once you think you have listed quite a few qualities, choose the best three among them.
  • Remember all the qualities should be backed with some real life example
  • Try to relate some of your qualities with ISB programs / clubs / subjects etc. A basic example - extensive exp in your field can add value to the ISB case studies.

Essay 2: Describe a challenging assignment you have handled (at work or outside) to date. What were the challenges and how did you handle them. What were the personal learnings you derived from this assignment. (300 words max)
  • This essay would be more like a story. The assignment could be any assignment from your professional or personal life.
  • Remember, MBA adcom wants to hear something big. So finding a bug in ten thousand lines of Java code can be challenging for IT professional, but may not impress adcom. So focus more on bigger picture.
  • Try to write in such a way that it would sound as if it was kindda complete disaster for you. For example, you can say I was completely devastated with the situation and wanted to run away, but still you (along with your team) overcome all the hurdles and did blah blah blah.
  • Mentioning about team success is a good idea, as it will present your leadership and teamwork qualities

Essay 3: Briefly assess your career progression till date along with your assessment of your future career goals. Discuss how your career goals will be met by the ISB’s one year program. (300 words max)
  • Again, this essay would be like a story. You can start from your under graduation, mention why you chose the subject and how you moved to the particular industry.
  • Mention your achievements / major awards / promotions in the essay.
  • Also mention what you have done so far to move towards your post-MBA career goal.
  • Be very precise and clear on your thoughts about why MBA will help you achieve your career goal
  • Be very specific about your career goal and clearly specify role, industry, sector etc. For example, if you say consultancy, then make sure you specify what kind of consultancy, sector (IT, HR, Management etc) and what companies you are targeting (specify 2 or 3 names). Also make sure that these companies visit ISB campus ;)
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 23 Oct 2009, 04:11
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ISBtarget
Hi Buddy,

Now that your essay has won interview for you, could you please share your experience about the 3 essays....basics of what we should focus and what not, given the fact that it is all 300 words, i was not even able to write one real life example completely.
Show more

Check out this site, it has quite a good number of different essays
https://www.businessweek.com/bschools/mb ... ssays.html
I found this link while working on my essays.

Also, I found the analysis done by thinkISB really helpful. I have posted the link to their essay analysis in one of my previous post.
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 23 Oct 2009, 07:03
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Hi Buddy,

Now that your essay has won interview for you, could you please share your experience about the 3 essays....basics of what we should focus and what not, given the fact that it is all 300 words, i was not even able to write one real life example completely.

Hey, I still haven't crossed the final hurdle :| . Anyway if my suggestions could be of any help to you, here it is.

  • When you start writing the essay, don't worry about the word limits, write as much as you want - maybe 400-500 words or even more. Once you think you have written all the things, start deleting the sentences / words which you think are not important.
  • Once you are done with one of the essays, leave it and start focusing on other essay. After a break of 3-4 days go back to your previous essay and you would be surprised by the new ideas coming to your mind.
  • Get it reviewed by your friends / wife. It would be really great if you can get it reviewed by ISB alumni.
  • Be honest, remember during interview the adcom can grill you on anything from your essays.

Essay 1: Give 3 reasons as to why you should be selected to the class of 2011. These reasons should ideally differentiate you from the applicant pool and should be backed with some data. (300 words max)

  • List down all the points which you think are your strong point. It will take a few days, but think think and think about all the accomplishments / initiatives / ECs etc you have participated in since your college days. Ask your friends about your positive points. Once you think you have listed quite a few qualities, choose the best three among them.
  • Remember all the qualities should be backed with some real life example
  • Try to relate some of your qualities with ISB programs / clubs / subjects etc. A basic example - extensive exp in your field can add value to the ISB case studies.

Essay 2: Describe a challenging assignment you have handled (at work or outside) to date. What were the challenges and how did you handle them. What were the personal learnings you derived from this assignment. (300 words max)
  • This essay would be more like a story. The assignment could be any assignment from your professional or personal life.
  • Remember, MBA adcom wants to hear something big. So finding a bug in ten thousand lines of Java code can be challenging for IT professional, but may not impress adcom. So focus more on bigger picture.
  • Try to write in such a way that it would sound as if it was kindda complete disaster for you. For example, you can say I was completely devastated with the situation and wanted to run away, but still you (along with your team) overcome all the hurdles and did blah blah blah.
  • Mentioning and team is a good idea, as it will present your leadership qualities

Essay 3: Briefly assess your career progression till date along with your assessment of your future career goals. Discuss how your career goals will be met by the ISB’s one year program. (300 words max)
  • Again, this essay would be like a story. You can start from your under graduation, mention why you chose the subject and how you moved to the particular industry.
  • Mention your achievements / major awards / promotions in the essay.
  • Also mention what you have done so far to move towards your post-MBA career goal.
  • Be very precise and clear on your thoughts about why MBA will help you achieve your career goal
Show more
awesome man....thanks a lot
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 24 Oct 2009, 05:25
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agaamit
Hey all

I am in serious need of an advice. I gave gmat yesterday and managed to get 660 (Q50, V28). The result came in as a surprsie as I was do going well on GMAT prep and Manhattan with a median score of 680 - 700. I want to do Mba in finance from ISB. Considering other personal reasons, i have to get an admit in ISB for 2010

My profile:
1. Working as Business Analyst in IT firm (one of the top 3 IT firms in India) with around 6 years of work experience in BFSI
2. Passed Chartered Finance Analyst Level2 (USA) and would be giving level 3 next year
3. Certifications: SCJP, Green Belt, Lean Six Sigma, NSE beginners module
4. Have received awards and appreciation from clients.
5. Can get a recommendation from VP of an asset managment firms with whom i was working earlier.

It would be really appreicated if someone can advice. Also, how beneficial is post graduation? I was looking at XLRI and SP Jain Dubai Global Mba. Any comments ?
Show more

For ISB the 80% GMAT score distribution is 680-760 with average being 716. At the sametime ISB has admitted applicants with score as low as 600.

Though I don't wanna scare you, but since you are from the most typical pool - IT Indian Male - I would suggest if it is possible you should consider a GMAT retake. A good gmat score will keep you competitive :) .With the current score of 660, you'll need to have something extra-ordinary in your application and must have very strong essays.

To get suggestions from thinkISB (ISB consultants and Alumni body) you can drop in your queries on the below thread:
please-join-me-in-welcoming-thinkisb-to-gmat-club-84103.html

Regarding XLRI and SPJain, these both are very reputed institutes, but I think you already have missed the application deadlines of SPJain. Checkout the below link for all Indian B-Schools accepting GMAT score:
indian-b-schools-accepting-gmat-scores-82525.html
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 26 Oct 2009, 22:20
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ISBtarget
awesome man....thanks a lot
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Added one more point to the career essay:
  • Be very specific about your career goal and clearly specify role, industry, sector etc. For example, if you say consultancy, then make sure you specify what kind of consultancy, sector (IT, HR, Management etc) and what companies you are targeting (specify 2 or 3 names). Also make sure that these companies visit ISB campus ;)
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 29 Oct 2009, 01:44
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hi guys,

I am in for the R2. Gave my GMAT this september. Got 700(V39 Q47 AWA 5). last time around it was 640(V29 Q48 AWA 4.5).

I went for a campus visit earlier(just a couple of days before the R1 deadline) and met one of the admission officers. From our brief discussion I could make out that there isn't any drastic change with the no of applications this year since last. And that they are having a 50/50 allocation for each round.

Some things which she wanted me to have in my mind,

Don't fret over the gmat scores, anything around 700 (+-20) is pretty good for ISB's non-traditional applicant(non IIM!). For IT friends 740(+-20 shud be good).

GMAT and GPA are something which are out of our hands now. Essays are something which we could work upon from now. Try to get the best story out in our essays. MAKE SURE there are no repetitions of info. given elsewhere in the application. Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors are taken VERY VERY seriously. Also dont try to cook up stories, they wud easily find out. Start working on the essays as soon as you can and get it reviewed by atleast 2-3 ppl.

Though I have these things to say, I am no good either.

I haven't got even my first draft till now for any of the essays. I thought of listing all those accomplishments of mine in a CV like format and then draw information from it when constructing my essays. What do you guys feel?

I hope I would be able to work on the essays smoothly once I get a start. But that is being a problem now, a big one!

Btw I am a civil engineer (Apr2007), Chennai, 2Y10M work ex by Apr10, First year with an Architect and currently in my family business, decent extra curriculars(symposium,papers etc).

Hope we all can connect together here for the application preparation, the interviews and then at the class of 2011 ISB!

Vijay
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 29 Oct 2009, 23:10
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great post Vijay! Being an IT professional, I agree with you on the gmat score range for IT background applicants (the most typical profile of applicants).

herovijay
I haven't got even my first draft till now for any of the essays. I thought of listing all those accomplishments of mine in a CV like format and then draw information from it when constructing my essays. What do you guys feel?
Show more
In my case what I did was to list down all my accomplishments as bullet points on my note-book. I kept adding the points whenever something hit my mind. Keep extra space between each point in case you want to add some extra details later. Ask your friends, colleagues, relatives to help you identify more and more points.

Now from this list I picked those points which seemed to be the most important one.
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 30 Oct 2009, 00:40
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bigoyal,

when are you expecting result of interview?
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 30 Oct 2009, 02:53
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bigoyal,

when are you expecting result of interview?
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It would be sometime towards the last week of November. This waiting is really killing me :(
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 30 Oct 2009, 08:54
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Hi

In order to start with I gave my GMAT on 29th OCT and got a score of 580 ( Q-44, V-27) ...I know the scores are not gr88 but still would like to know what is that i could get in this score in mba schools across the world .

I have been working 4 yrs into it industry , in companies like Capgemini and Deloitte Consulting . I am a very good hand at paintaing and done a 8 yr course in that .always participated in various kinds of plays and extra curruclar activities and also in my current organisation that is Deloitte ...

I have done my engineering from Pune University , with 60 % agrregate marks .
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 02 Nov 2009, 07:55
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Hi,
Today I gave the GMAT and got just 710. In Nov 2008, I had gotten 620. I am from the Indian IT Male (IIM) pool too. Do I have any chances now for ISB...?I cannot even take the GMAT again, since I need to wait till Dec 3, by which time R2 deadline is over. I have total 5 yrs exp now(2.5 yrs onsite exp).

Waiting for some replies...
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 02 Nov 2009, 21:56
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gmatbestshot
Hi,
Today I gave the GMAT and got just 710. In Nov 2008, I had gotten 620. I am from the Indian IT Male (IIM) pool too. Do I have any chances now for ISB...?I cannot even take the GMAT again, since I need to wait till Dec 3, by which time R2 deadline is over. I have total 5 yrs exp now(2.5 yrs onsite exp).

Waiting for some replies...
Show more

Your GMAT score is still on the higher side. I would say give it a shot. Make your application and essays strong by highlighting extra-curricular, awards, achievements and your onsite exp.

I'm also an applicant like you. To get answers from ISB experts, you can also post your query with some more details on the below link:
please-join-me-in-welcoming-thinkisb-to-gmat-club-84103.html
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 02 Nov 2009, 22:21
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Hi preetibaronia,
I would strongly suggest you to consider retaking GMAT if you are applying for ISB. Your extra-curricular looks good, but remember IT Indian males comprises of the most typical pool of applicants, though being a female gives you a very slight extra advantage.
For ISB the 80% GMAT score distribution is 680-760 with average being 716. At the sametime ISB has admitted applicants with score as low as 600, provided the application is very very strong.

To get suggestions from thinkISB (ISB consultants and Alumni body) you can drop in your queries on the below thread:
please-join-me-in-welcoming-thinkisb-to-gmat-club-84103.html

Checkout the below link for other Indian B-Schools accepting GMAT score:
indian-b-schools-accepting-gmat-scores-82525.html
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 02 Nov 2009, 23:35
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Hi preetibaronia,
I would strongly suggest you to consider retaking GMAT if you are applying for ISB. Your extra-curricular looks good, but remember IT Indian males comprises of the most typical pool of applicants, though being a female gives you a very slight extra advantage.
For ISB the 80% GMAT score distribution is 680-760 with average being 716. At the sametime ISB has admitted applicants with score as low as 600, provided the application is very very strong.

To get suggestions from thinkISB (ISB consultants and Alumni body) you can drop in your queries on the below thread:
please-join-me-in-welcoming-thinkisb-to-gmat-club-84103.html

Checkout the below link for other Indian B-Schools accepting GMAT score:
indian-b-schools-accepting-gmat-scores-82525.html
Show more

Thanks for the reply , the only problem is if i give the exam again then i would be able to apply after dec 1st 2010 which is the last deadline for this yr as i need more then a month to increase my scores . Is there any possibility that i apply and submit my scores later. Let me know about it
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 03 Nov 2009, 01:00
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preetibaronia

Thanks for the reply , the only problem is if i give the exam again then i would be able to apply after dec 1st 2010 which is the last deadline for this yr as i need more then a month to increase my scores . Is there any possibility that i apply and submit my scores later. Let me know about it
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Though I think there are few days given for sending the official score from mba.com, but still in the application you have to mention your gmat score without which probably you'll not be able to submit your on-line form. Regarding the exact dates for sending the gmat score, I would suggest you to get in touch with isb.
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 03 Nov 2009, 01:05
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Btw, I would just put a disclaimer that I'm not an expert and above suggestion is what I felt. I'm also an applicant like you, applied in R1 and waiting for the results. So you may like to get a feedback / suggestion from an alumni or an experienced person.
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 05 Nov 2009, 09:38
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Hi...Thanks for ur reply...
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Indian School of Business 2010-11 thread 07 Nov 2009, 10:31
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I remember seeing in the ISB website that though the official GMAT score can be sent after the deadline, the candidate should have taken GMAT before the deadline. The unofficial GMAT score needs to be mentioned in the application form. And AFAIK, you can't update the GMAT score after applying. Check it once for yourself. I couldn't find the exact place where I read this.
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