dp26389 wrote:
Hi!
I know it's a long post but I am in a major bind here. I would really appreciate your inputs especially from anyone currently studying at ISB. Even those who are applying please don't hesitate from giving your valuable inputs.
First, a gist of my present situation. I am a first year student in a top 20 b school in India (ranked between 15-20). Have a gmat score of 730 (August 2014 score) and work ex of 45 months in a multinational manufacturing firm. I could not apply to ISB last time coz I missed the deadline. Since most b schools in India don't prefer candidates with more than 4 years of experience I decided to go for MBA in 2015 itself and ended up coming here (didn't want to risk it all for ISB and didn't have the means to study abroad). But the situation here is not very good. The batch size is large and although most seniors are placed by now the median and average salaries have taken a hit (I don't think the median would be more than 10 lpa). Also, most of my peers are freshers and peer to peer learning is close to 0. Most renowned companies visit campus with a mindset of hiring students with less work ex especially in case of summer placements. Also, consultancy firms mostly come for tech consultancy functions (ERP development). The same firms hire high work ex people from colleges like ISB. Due to these reasons I want to apply to ISB. Have already written my essay and will be submitting the form soon. But I am still a little hesitant as to what should I do?
My questions are: 1.How sound is my decision to switch schools at this juncture? Both career wise and money wise(Have paid around 8 lakhs fees for 1st year here).
2.Are most people at ISB placed at good salaries and with good profiles (am mostly interested in operations profile in consulting/e commerce/startup firms) ? or are the average and median salaries high because a handful of students bag very high salary jobs.
3.High batch strength is a major disadvantage (I have a first hand experience by now !). Does the high batch strength not effect the placement quality at ISB?
4. Although my work experience is too high by my present b school's standards, by ISB standards it will be on the lower side. Will that be a disadvantage over there coz most companies visit the campus with the intention of hiring industry ready professionals?
I know that's a lot of questions for a single post but my situation here is equally perplexing. So please feel free to give your two cents on this issue. Thanks a lot guys!
Hey, I am not an ISB student (a rejected applicant in R1). But still would like to share my views on the same as I am already an MBA (from a B-school also ranked between 15-20 in India).
Current Situation: You are an outlier (unless you are at one of the top IIMs/XLRI and couple of other B-schools which has a fair amount of batch with significant years of work ex. You will always be the odd one out but you can find the right way forward if connected with right kind of people in the industry. Onus is on you buddy how you wanna spend 2 most important years of your life spending 10-15 lakhs but trust me you can do well and end up being an outlier in terms of placement/salary etc.
ISB Situation: You have a task in hand if you want to go to ISB but it may not be the answer to your problem as ISB is more competitive than your existing B-school. Although you would be in the right set of people but what could be your strength at existing B-school would become a generic thing at ISB. However, being said that, ISB is a one year program so you would end up earning your MBA at the same time. So, the call is you wanna let go the paid fees and spent another 25-30 lakhs at ISB.
In my view, 8 lakh is a small amount if we see the larger picture (i.e. you end up at ISB, get the desired placement etc). No time lost as well. The only thing is Right Justification for the switch. If you can come up with right kind of "words" during the interview, you should go for ISB as it may give you what you are looking for. You may end up at a same role or same job or same company, but the difference would be higher salary, ISB brand name on your CV (that will provide additional visibility) and zero regrets.
Apology for the long reply! Best of luck..