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Learn what truly sets the UC Riverside MBA apart and how it helps in your professional growth
Updated on: 27 Aug 2019, 07:54
Originally posted by MBADecoder on 20 Aug 2019, 06:31.
Last edited by MBADecoder on 27 Aug 2019, 07:54, edited 5 times in total.
Last edited by MBADecoder on 27 Aug 2019, 07:54, edited 5 times in total.
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If the MBA Decoder team was to think of consistency in essay topics, we would first rate Stanford and INSEAD and then ISB at number 3. Many, many years ago, ISB used to ask guesstimate kind of hypothetical questions, but over the years, those evolved into the “uniqueness” questions and this has consistently been asked for a while now. With some changes in the essay question last year that also asked applicants how they would contribute to ISB, the b-school is now back to asking the basic question- What makes you unique and worth admitting?
ISB’s goals essay also remains on the essay question list, with some variations here and there. This year, they have specifically asked about a long term goal and also increased the word limit by a 100 words – this is another first for the career goals essay.
Over to the essay questions:
There will be 900 students in the class of 2021. Why should you be one of them? (400 words max)
ISB’s first essay question has remained unchanged, although its delivered in a different wording this year.
Before we start off with our essay analysis, we’d like you to understand what is the composition of this 900 strong student class. Here’s a look at their class profile. The students’ age ranges from 22 to 46 years (Average- 26.6 years) while work experience ranges from 2 to 20 years (average 4.3 years). There are both men (61%) and women (39%), engineers (68%) and non-engineers (32%). There’s a wide range of industries representation including IT, consulting, financial services, pharma, manufacturing, FMCG, energy, entertainment, PSUs, armed services, and more. This is tremendous diversity! In effect, there is room for every applicant.
Wait! We will say that again.
In effect, there is room for every applicant, so long as they make a strong case for themselves.
Every well-ranked business school in the world tries to compose a well qualified and diverse class, with students bringing insightful experiences that will be invaluable during class discussions and group studies. With this in mind, what unique skills, personality traits or experiences do you bring to ISB, such that the admissions team feels compelled to admit you?
From the application perspective, uniqueness could be of several kinds:
1. Academic: You could have excellent academic grades and GMAT score, which will definitely make you more desirable to ISB. However, this will be visible via reporting your standardized test scores and your academic transcripts. Unless you have some other academic uniqueness which would be relevant to a business school, this point may not be worth talking about here in the essay.
2. Professional uniqueness: What kind of skills have you acquired served with an extra overloaded helping, that others around you lack? What kind of unique experiences have you garnered at work? Has your career progression been better than your peers’? Have you got some leadership experiences, not just of leading people formally, but driving initiatives informally? Lastly, what kind of impact have you created at your workplace? Have you added value to your client or to your organization? Brainstorming along these ideas could lead you to important experiences in your career that are worth telling in the essay.
3. Noteworthy extra-curricular activities: These are another good way to differentiate yourself from other applicants. Have you had unique experiences where you made a positive impact on other people’s lives? Are you passionate about a sport or a hobby and actively participate in it? Have you become an entrepreneur and are running a successful business alongside your day job?
4. Unique experiences such as international travels or difficult experiences that taught you life’s most important lessons and helped you better your personality.
These are some areas where you can data mine information for essay fodder. We believe a 400-word essay gives you a chance to tell 2-3 impressive stories about yourself. These could represent any of the ideas above, or more ideas of your own.
Eventually, do bear in mind that you are telling the adcom any of the above with a purpose in mind: You wish them to see that your experiences are worthy and that you will be able to add value to the class. While selecting stories for your essay, ask yourself – is this relevant? What will this tell the admissions team about me? Will it be valuable for someone’s learning?
End the essay by summarizing how you will use your unique skills, traits, and experiences to contribute to the ISB class. About 5-6 lines should be good here. You could also tie in your personal values with the values of ISB, thus pitching a strong case for why you are a good fit for each other.
READ OUR ANALYSIS FOR :
ISB Career goals essay
Reapplicant Essay
Scholarship Essays
ISB’s goals essay also remains on the essay question list, with some variations here and there. This year, they have specifically asked about a long term goal and also increased the word limit by a 100 words – this is another first for the career goals essay.
Over to the essay questions:
There will be 900 students in the class of 2021. Why should you be one of them? (400 words max)
ISB’s first essay question has remained unchanged, although its delivered in a different wording this year.
Before we start off with our essay analysis, we’d like you to understand what is the composition of this 900 strong student class. Here’s a look at their class profile. The students’ age ranges from 22 to 46 years (Average- 26.6 years) while work experience ranges from 2 to 20 years (average 4.3 years). There are both men (61%) and women (39%), engineers (68%) and non-engineers (32%). There’s a wide range of industries representation including IT, consulting, financial services, pharma, manufacturing, FMCG, energy, entertainment, PSUs, armed services, and more. This is tremendous diversity! In effect, there is room for every applicant.
Wait! We will say that again.
In effect, there is room for every applicant, so long as they make a strong case for themselves.
Every well-ranked business school in the world tries to compose a well qualified and diverse class, with students bringing insightful experiences that will be invaluable during class discussions and group studies. With this in mind, what unique skills, personality traits or experiences do you bring to ISB, such that the admissions team feels compelled to admit you?
From the application perspective, uniqueness could be of several kinds:
1. Academic: You could have excellent academic grades and GMAT score, which will definitely make you more desirable to ISB. However, this will be visible via reporting your standardized test scores and your academic transcripts. Unless you have some other academic uniqueness which would be relevant to a business school, this point may not be worth talking about here in the essay.
2. Professional uniqueness: What kind of skills have you acquired served with an extra overloaded helping, that others around you lack? What kind of unique experiences have you garnered at work? Has your career progression been better than your peers’? Have you got some leadership experiences, not just of leading people formally, but driving initiatives informally? Lastly, what kind of impact have you created at your workplace? Have you added value to your client or to your organization? Brainstorming along these ideas could lead you to important experiences in your career that are worth telling in the essay.
3. Noteworthy extra-curricular activities: These are another good way to differentiate yourself from other applicants. Have you had unique experiences where you made a positive impact on other people’s lives? Are you passionate about a sport or a hobby and actively participate in it? Have you become an entrepreneur and are running a successful business alongside your day job?
4. Unique experiences such as international travels or difficult experiences that taught you life’s most important lessons and helped you better your personality.
These are some areas where you can data mine information for essay fodder. We believe a 400-word essay gives you a chance to tell 2-3 impressive stories about yourself. These could represent any of the ideas above, or more ideas of your own.
Eventually, do bear in mind that you are telling the adcom any of the above with a purpose in mind: You wish them to see that your experiences are worthy and that you will be able to add value to the class. While selecting stories for your essay, ask yourself – is this relevant? What will this tell the admissions team about me? Will it be valuable for someone’s learning?
End the essay by summarizing how you will use your unique skills, traits, and experiences to contribute to the ISB class. About 5-6 lines should be good here. You could also tie in your personal values with the values of ISB, thus pitching a strong case for why you are a good fit for each other.
READ OUR ANALYSIS FOR :
ISB Career goals essay
Reapplicant Essay
Scholarship Essays
Archived ISB Discussion
Hi there,
You've stumbled upon an old discussion from our ISB Forum
that's now outdated and has been archived. No more replies are possible here.
Interested in current discussions? Feel free to dive into our dedicated ISB Forum
for all fresh things related to the ISB MBA program.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
20 Aug 2019, 08:30
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What are the core values of ISB, according to you?
20 Aug 2019, 10:05
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nitesh1357
Well, ISB has not published a mission and values statement, but this is what I gather. These are not core values of ISB, but this is what they envision to provide as part of their education. More research on these by the applicants and gaining understanding on where their own experience fits in this realm can help them give a meaningful and personalized answer.
Here is some text from ISB's website. I have highlighted the parts I think as important:
This lends a unique perspective to our students allowing them to capitalise on the new opportunities in the global economy. With a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship, the impact of technology on commerce, and the emerging markets, programmes at the ISB focus on managing business in fast-evolving environments..
Learning at the ISB has a pragmatic approach with a clear business focus, valuing individual vision, intellectual discipline, and a sense of teamwork. A research-oriented faculty pool, global curriculum, high level of corporate input through guest lectures and workshops, innovative pedagogical methods enable students to maintain their edge.
"At the Indian School of Business, we are driven by the vision of creating an impact on business and society by grooming our students to be responsible leaders of tomorrow."
