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Calling all ISB Applicants - (2016 Intake) Class of 2017

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longfellow

Joined: 02 Jul 2015

Last visit: 13 Sep 2022

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Schools: ISB '18

GMAT 1: 680 Q49 V33 Verified score

Schools: ISB '18

GMAT 1: 680 Q49 V33 Verified score

Posts: 88

Kudos: 47

23 Nov 2015, 07:28

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kunalarora23

Hi Everyone,

I had my interview on Nov 21. Being the first slot in the morning, there was a bit of chaos in the initial stages as candidates from different time slots were there. I think there were 12-14 panels running at the same time.

My panel had 3 members, all 3 alumnis. I had already met one of the panel members outside so he cracked a joke while entering the room which helped in settling down my nerves. Below are some of the questions from my interview which I can recollect:
1. What is your single biggest motivation in life which has moved you in your career?
2. You have already invested significant time in receiving the CFA charter, why you want to do an MBA and waste that effort?
3. Connect the dots and explain all the job changes/decisions you have taken since graduation.
4. You have already worked with good brand names in the past, what will ISB add to your profile?
5. What is your dream company? Why it is your dream company?
6. What hobbies you pursue in your free time? Any team building exercise outside office?
7. Any specific questions for us?

These are the broad level/major questions being asked (excluding all the counter questions and other discussions we had realted to my profile, why ISB, why MBA, plans post ISB, hobbies etc.)

Overall, my take is they really take interest in what you say. As long as you are making sense to them, they will continue poking you with additional counter questions and clarify their doubts. And if they are clarifying their doubts, that gives you a hint that they are really interested in hearing you. I had a great time talking about myself, sharing my thoughts and getting feedback from them (me being the center of attraction for 20-30 odd minutes

).

The interview started with a joke and ended with another joke about Mohali winters.

Hoping for the best now!
Good luck to all!
You can PM me for any further specific questions. Will be happy to answer.

Hi Kunal,

What was your GMAT score? Also, can you please share a little of your profile as even my score is less than 700 ans I am trying to gauge the application criteria.

Thanks!

jktv

Joined: 24 Jun 2013

Last visit: 04 Feb 2016

Posts: 38

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Posts: 38

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23 Nov 2015, 08:04

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Still waiting for an interview invite (Indian applicant working out of US). Anyone on the same boat ? I chose skype as the preferred interview method.

Buckeye2304

Joined: 07 Mar 2014

Last visit: 01 Jan 2018

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Concentration: Leadership, Finance

Schools: Fisher '19 (A)

GPA: 3.8

WE:Information Technology (Consulting)

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Schools: Fisher '19 (A)

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23 Nov 2015, 08:50

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Finally! Mumbai, 28th Nov, All the best guys!

kunalarora23

ISB School Moderator

Joined: 29 Dec 2014

Last visit: 13 Mar 2021

Posts: 73

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Concentration: Finance, Strategy

Schools: LBS MIF '17 Insead July'17 ISB '17 (D) Rotman '18

GMAT 1: 640 Q43 V34 Verified score

Schools: LBS MIF '17 Insead July'17 ISB '17 (D) Rotman '18

GMAT 1: 640 Q43 V34 Verified score

Posts: 73

Kudos: 38

24 Nov 2015, 02:07

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longfellow

kunalarora23

Hi Kunal,

What was your GMAT score? Also, can you please share a little of your profile as even my score is less than 700 ans I am trying to gauge the application criteria.

Thanks!

Hey, in my case I think it was more of a profile based call as I work in financial services industry (more than 6 years experience) which adds to the diversity, along with some international certifications like CFA. I took my chance for R1 as I could not give my GMAT again on time.

loki2686

Joined: 10 Mar 2013

Last visit: 11 Sep 2017

Posts: 36

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Given Kudos: 2

Concentration: Other

Schools: IESE '18 (S) Duke '18 (D) Johnson '18 (WL) ISB '17 (S)

GMAT 1: 740 Q47 V45 Verified score

WE:Analyst (Commercial Banking)

Schools: IESE '18 (S) Duke '18 (D) Johnson '18 (WL) ISB '17 (S)

GMAT 1: 740 Q47 V45 Verified score

Posts: 36

Kudos: 9

24 Nov 2015, 05:17

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Hi there!! Is there anyone with entrepreneurship based goals who has already had an interview?
Some help would be deeply appreciated. Please pm me/ post here

necromancer1

Joined: 16 Nov 2015

Last visit: 17 Dec 2015

Posts: 5

Kudos: 0

25 Nov 2015, 05:40

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loki2686

Hi there!! Is there anyone with entrepreneurship based goals who has already had an interview?
Some help would be deeply appreciated. Please pm me/ post here

Earlier written by "unimportant". Quoting from him. You can thank him....

all the best

Hi all.

During my interview at ISB I had the opportunity to talk to applicants of different sectors before and after their interview. I am going to post the different questions they were asked in their respective backgrounds for an understanding of the interview questions.

Entreprenuer:_

1) after you explain what type of plan you have in mind, they will ask you to explain its revenue model, funding process, expansion ideas, what is your plan B if you fail or don't receive funds.

2) you should consider being an X rather than an entrepreneur. So basically explain why you are not suited for X or why your thought process of being an entreprenuer is more suitable to you

3) if you want to start a start up as soon as you graduate how will you cover your student loan?

4) what are the risks and how will you over come?

5)have you considered an international market like the middle west. if you say yes you will have to explain why it is or it is not suitable. ]]

6) where do you see yourself as an entreprenuer or your company in next 5-10 years. after you explain they might ask you how will you overcome a market fluctuation in that period.

7) if you are talking in manufacturer sector make sure the product is unique or better or technically too advanced for the panel to understand (:P)

will be posting the consulting questions tomorrow.

Good luck all

longfellow

Joined: 02 Jul 2015

Last visit: 13 Sep 2022

Posts: 88

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Schools: ISB '18

GMAT 1: 680 Q49 V33 Verified score

Schools: ISB '18

GMAT 1: 680 Q49 V33 Verified score

Posts: 88

Kudos: 47

25 Nov 2015, 07:21

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kunalarora23

longfellow

kunalarora23

Hi Kunal,

What was your GMAT score? Also, can you please share a little of your profile as even my score is less than 700 ans I am trying to gauge the application criteria.

Thanks!

Thanks Kunal

Will pm you for further details.

Cadaver

Joined: 03 Oct 2014

Last visit: 09 Oct 2018

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102

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Location: India

Concentration: Operations, Technology

Schools: ISB '17 Tepper '18 Oxford'17 IIMU'17 (A) Kelley '16 NTU '17 NUS '17

GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V40 Verified score

WE:Engineering (Aerospace and Defense)

Products:

Schools: ISB '17 Tepper '18 Oxford'17 IIMU'17 (A) Kelley '16 NTU '17 NUS '17

GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V40 Verified score

Posts: 114

Kudos: 102

25 Nov 2015, 08:30

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Any body from Aerospace background or Mechanical Engg background done with R1?

shyamnambiar

Joined: 24 May 2015

Last visit: 22 Nov 2017

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Status:Alumnus & GSB Prez - ISB Co17

Affiliations: PMI

Concentration: Leadership, Strategy

Schools: Schulich Sept"18 (A) ISB '17 (M) Kenan-Flagler '18 (A)

GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V38 Verified score

GPA: 3.9

WE:Operations (Aerospace and Defense)

Products:

Schools: Schulich Sept"18 (A) ISB '17 (M) Kenan-Flagler '18 (A)

GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V38 Verified score

Posts: 174

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25 Nov 2015, 09:02

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Cadaver

Any body from Aerospace background or Mechanical Engg background done with R1?

I am from almost an identical background, and am as 'done with R1"as anyone could be at the present stage of admissions!

kunalarora23

ISB School Moderator

Joined: 29 Dec 2014

Last visit: 13 Mar 2021

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Concentration: Finance, Strategy

Schools: LBS MIF '17 Insead July'17 ISB '17 (D) Rotman '18

GMAT 1: 640 Q43 V34 Verified score

Schools: LBS MIF '17 Insead July'17 ISB '17 (D) Rotman '18

GMAT 1: 640 Q43 V34 Verified score

Posts: 73

Kudos: 38

25 Nov 2015, 10:52

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longfellow

kunalarora23

longfellow

Hi Kunal,

What was your GMAT score? Also, can you please share a little of your profile as even my score is less than 700 ans I am trying to gauge the application criteria.

Thanks!

Thanks Kunal

Will pm you for further details.

Sure! Happy to help..

Buckeye2304

Joined: 07 Mar 2014

Last visit: 01 Jan 2018

Posts: 191

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Concentration: Leadership, Finance

Schools: Fisher '19 (A)

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WE:Information Technology (Consulting)

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25 Nov 2015, 12:33

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Hello guys,
How long should one speak on general question such as walk through your resume, tell me about yourself, Why MBA, Why ISB, Long-term and Short-Term Goals, Backup plan?
I read on the forum that one should speak for atleast 2-3 minutes for Tell me about yourself, does it vary for other questions that I mentioned?

Thanks in advance.

abcd12

Joined: 08 Jul 2014

Last visit: 11 May 2016

Posts: 39

Given Kudos: 7

Concentration: Technology, General Management

Schools: Ross '18 (WL) ISB '17 (A) Anderson '18 (A) Tepper '18 (A) Kellogg '18 (D) Sloan '18 (D)

Posts: 39

Kudos: 0

26 Nov 2015, 00:46

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Finally!
Dec 6th, Hyderabad!

A1991

Joined: 06 Feb 2015

Last visit: 08 Apr 2017

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Schools: Jones '19 (A$) McCombs '19 Olin '19

GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V40 Verified score

Schools: Jones '19 (A$) McCombs '19 Olin '19

GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V40 Verified score

Posts: 24

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26 Nov 2015, 08:52

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Any idea about Kolkata calls?

shyamnambiar

Joined: 24 May 2015

Last visit: 22 Nov 2017

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[2]

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Status:Alumnus & GSB Prez - ISB Co17

Affiliations: PMI

Concentration: Leadership, Strategy

Schools: Schulich Sept"18 (A) ISB '17 (M) Kenan-Flagler '18 (A)

GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V38 Verified score

GPA: 3.9

WE:Operations (Aerospace and Defense)

Products:

Schools: Schulich Sept"18 (A) ISB '17 (M) Kenan-Flagler '18 (A)

GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V38 Verified score

Posts: 174

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[2]

26 Nov 2015, 09:19

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souvilibra

I would say go with the flow, and watch the body language. If you see the panel smiling and interested, keep going on and switch to the next section you see the first hint of boredom.
That said, it would be a good idea to have a full-on and an abridged version for each of the standard questions; just in case! Good luck

varunverma123

Joined: 25 Apr 2014

Last visit: 23 Jun 2016

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Location: India

Concentration: Marketing

Schools: ISB '17 (A) Kelley '18 (D) Kenan-Flagler '18 (D) Foster '18 (A$)

GMAT 1: 730 Q50 V40 Verified score

GPA: 3.27

WE:Sales (Energy)

Schools: ISB '17 (A) Kelley '18 (D) Kenan-Flagler '18 (D) Foster '18 (A$)

GMAT 1: 730 Q50 V40 Verified score

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27 Nov 2015, 07:18

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Just got invite for interview at Mohali campus on 09.12.15

NoHalfMeasures

Retired Moderator

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27 Nov 2015, 07:37

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varunverma123

Just got invite for interview at Mohali campus on 09.12.15

Congrats! I dont see any reason why you'd not get through

newsISB

Joined: 20 Nov 2013

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27 Nov 2015, 22:00

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FROM ISB Admissions Blog: Kanav

dmn,dn,I first heard about the Economic Times Young Leaders Awards B-School Edition when I saw the picture ofa friend, Mitali Bhandari, in the Economic Times last year. She was an ISB PGP Class of 2015 student and one of many friends who motivated me to pursue PGP in management at ISB this year. When the ETYL program was launched at ISB this year, I knew I wanted to win this award.

As I went through the online personality test in Phase 1, I realized that leadership starts with effective time management and choosing your own path among multiple correct options. The second online test on analytical, verbal and managerial competencies in Phase 2 reinforced my belief that leaders should have well rounded analytical and communication skills and the ability to handle complex situations.

In Phase 3, I had to analyze one of the 6 case studies based on the Aditya Birla Group businesses across the functions of Finance, Marketing, HR and Operations. I had no background in any of the industries in cases, so I relied on my functional strengths and picked a case on Operations in Fast Fashion. Since the PGP students at ISB come from diverse backgrounds, I reached out to my classmates to get some insights about the fashion industry. I used the concepts learned in the Logistics and Supply Chain course at ISB to suggest some strategies to reduce the supply chain lead time in Online Fast Fashion.

In the Final Phase, I was interviewed by Saugata Gupta, MD and CEO of Marico Limited, and Dilip Gaur, Deputy MD of UltraTech Cement. I was amazed by the opportunity to discuss my dreams and passion with such senior executives and get first hand advice on building a fulfilling career. I was elated beyond description when my name was announced as one of the 22 winners of the Economic Times Young Leaders Award B-School Edition 2015. It was like a dream come true when I was among the 5 students from ISB to be featured as Young Leaders in the Economic Times this year.

The biggest support of ISB was in terms of providing access to a peer group of exceptionally smart people with diverse work experiences, which exposed me to different perspectives of solving problems. In Phase 3, when I had to analyze a case in fashion industry, I knew I could get some insights about the fashion industry from my peers to be able to solve the case better, which might not have been possible in other B schools in India.

The case study method of teaching at ISB and my regular participation in many case competitions helped me in analyzing the case from multiple lenses. The high quality of teaching at ISB ensured that I was able to use my core operations concepts and come up with new strategies for lead time reduction in online fast fashion.

In the final round, I was quite confident during my interview with 2 leading CEOs of India Inc. I believe that the experience of interacting with top industry leaders at ISB during events such as ISB Leadership Summit and other regular talks helped me in getting prepared for the interview.

This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it. -BB

ISBadcomBlog

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27 Nov 2015, 22:01

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FROM ISB PGP Admissions Director Blog: Kanav

vvt91

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27 Nov 2015, 23:27

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just received confirmation from the ISB admissions team that they have completed sending invited for Hyderabad location.

Disappointing

newsISB

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28 Nov 2015, 00:00

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FROM ISB Admissions Blog: ET young leaders finalist Kanav Goyal, shares his experience

I first heard about the Economic Times Young Leaders Awards B-School Edition when I saw the picture of a friend, Mitali Bhandari, in the Economic Times last year. She was an ISB PGP Class of 2015 student and one of many friends who motivated me to pursue PGP in management at ISB this year. When the ETYL program was launched at ISB this year, I knew I wanted to win this award.

As I went through the online personality test in Phase 1, I realized that leadership starts with effective time management and choosing your own path among multiple correct options.

In the second round, the online test on analytical, verbal and managerial competencies reinforced my belief that leaders should have well-rounded analytical and communication skills and the ability to handle complex situations.

In Phase 3, I had to analyze one of the 6 case studies based on the Aditya Birla Group businesses across the functions of Finance, Marketing, HR and Operations. I had no background in any of the industries in cases, so I relied on my functional strengths and picked a case on Operations.

The biggest support of ISB was in terms of providing access to a peer group of exceptionally smart people with diverse work experiences, which exposed me to different perspectives of solving problems. I knew I could get some insights about the fashion industry from my peers to be able to solve the case better, which might not have been possible in other B-schools in India.

The case study method of teaching at ISB and my regular participation in many case competitions helped me in analyzing the case from multiple lenses. The high quality of teaching at ISB ensured that I was able to use my core operations concepts and come up with new strategies for lead time reduction in online fast fashion.

In the Final Phase, I was quite confident during my interview with 2 leading CEOs of India IncI – Saugata Gupta, MD and CEO of Marico Limited and Dilip Gaur, Deputy MD of UltraTech Cement. The experience of interacting with top industry leaders at ISB during events such as ISB Leadership Summit and other regular talks helped me in preparing for the interview.

I was amazed by the opportunity to discuss my dreams and passion with such senior executives and get first-hand advice on building a fulfilling career. I was elated beyond description when my name was announced as one of the 22 winners of the Economic Times Young Leaders Award B-School Edition 2015. It was like a dream come true when I was among the 5 students from ISB to be featured as Young Leaders in the Economic Times this year.