Profile for ISB YLP 2025-27 Cohort

Question

Hello everyone,
Thanks a lot for reading this. Need a little nudge/guidance regarding  new PGP YLP. 
My acads are:
 
 10th-  92.6  
 12th-  95.2  
 Grad CGPA-  7.96  
 GMAT FE-  655  
 Expected CAT-  96+

I have a degree in a research based program called  BSc Research Economics and Finance and a Minor in Sociology.  Graduated this year, 2024 from Shiv Nadar. Scored 97.8 percentile in DU JAT, 2020. The exam had discontinued since after that.
I have  passed CFA L1 . Currently working in an  Impact Consulting company as an Analyst  (campus placement).
Did a 6 month internship during the last semester in the same company.
Extra-curriculars- Passed till  Grade 5 in Guitar (Trinity college of London and Rockschool, London). 
I do have some other certifications but not a lot of other internship experience or any national level awards
Let me know if my profile needs more work.

ISBeacon · Answer

Very good profile Aarushi;

Impact Consulting  is your differentiator. Make sure you highlight this in your application.
--
Ashish.

Aarushigmat · Answer

Dear Ashish,
Thanks a lot for the advice!

ExpertsGlobal · Answer

Hello  Aarushigmat ,

The Impact Consulting experience will make you stand out and you should go through with your application as soon as possible.

Good luck!

CrackAdmission · Answer

Hello  Aarushigmat ,

Below is my analysis of your profile.

Academics: Above Average

GMAT: Average

Undergrad: Average; while the college doesn’t rank high in terms of pedigree, the choice of course is interesting.

Certifications: CFA L1 is a plus. However, do note that you need to highlight how you envision this certification to help you achieve your career goals. Ex. you leveraged the CFA learning to better analyze financial model of a client your firm was advising.

Work Experience: Above Average; lot of people aim to get a break in Consulting post MBA. Since you are already working there (be it as an analyst) adds value to your candidature.

ECs: Below Average. While you can definitely say that you can be part of the college band and contribute towards events. But then again that’s not very powerful.

As an ISB alum, CO15, and someone who has been applicants over the last 8 years, I feel the two strongest aspects of your profile are: Work Experience & Choice of undergrad course. You will need to craft a narrative in the application essays to showcase how you intend to add value to the Peer-to-Peer learning of the ISB cohort at the back of these experiences.

Another thing you should focus on in your app is leadership potential. You should ideally be talking about a situation where were your leadership was tested, provide the context, how you overcame the challenges, and what did you learn. Note this can be from personal or professional life.

Please feel free to reach out to me in case you seek professional guidance wrt your application by booking a slot from here :  https://calendly.com/crackadmission/profileevaluation

Cheers and wishing you all the very best!!

FLY.reachout · Answer

Dear  Aarushigmat

Let us start with the highlights that we immediately noticed in your profile and those are your choice of discipline for your undergrad (if its linked with your passion, it could make for an interesting story in the application), work experience (your work with impact consulting will certainly be a differentiator) and your academic scores with a continued focus on upskilling with CFA.

On the other aspects, your GMAT score at the moment seems just about average and the extracurriculars need more elaboration for us to be able to judge if they can make for impactful stories. Overall, we do see potential in your profile and if we are able to bring out good impactful stories from your journey so far, you might have a good chance.

We have also recently conducted a podcast with ISB's admissions and financial aid manager where we talk in detail about PGP YL selection criteria, score cutoffs (if any) and scholarships. You can view the video at :   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78NLGMewy5s

Further, we will be happy to get to know your profile better and support you through the admission process. To gain deeper insights, feel free to schedule a free session with our team at :   https://calendly.com/reachusfly/15min/

Warm regards, 
 Team FLY 
 http://www.teamfly.org

CrackAdmission · Answer

Below is the list of questions we collated after a debrief with the ISB YLP applicants whom we helped prepare for interviews last weekend.

1. Why YLP and not PGP YL?
2. How are you so sure that you will still want to pursue an MBA after 1.5 years from now?
3. Opinion and thoughts on Jaguar rebranding that is in the news recently.
4. Situational questions: Handling Conflict situation, Ethical practice, Moral dilemma, Leadership challenge etc.
5. ISB emphasizes social impact. Can you share an experience where you contributed to society?
6. How do you stay updated with developments in your field?
7. You seem to be a jack of all trades. How do you ensure balance between academic, professional, and social service commitments, and what strategies have worked best for you?
8. How do you foresee technologies such as GenAI impacting the industry you are currently working in?
9. Insightful questions around Internship experiences.
10. In what ways do you believe ISB's curriculum and community will bridge the gap between your current knowledge and the skills needed to succeed in your goal.
11. Asked to elaborate the context of a line mentioned in the essay.

Hope the above helps those who have interviews scheduled this weekend or coming days. Please feel free to reach out to us in case you want to do mock interviews with ISB alums.

Wishing everyone the very best!

sanchi1sibal · Answer

Hello everyone, 
 Thanks a lot for reading this. Need a little nudge/guidance regarding  new PGP YLP.  
 My acads are: 
 
  10th-  92.8   
  12th-  95.4   
  Grad CGPA-  7.6   
  CAT-  92 percentile

Professional Internships 
 
  Finance Intern at BB Advisory : Implemented pair trading strategies, analyzed international markets, and optimized investment strategies. 
  Research Intern at SRI VIPRA : Explored the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code-2016 and its corporate implications. 
  Finance Intern at IIFL Securities : Conducted data back-testing and applied market analysis for equity stocks. 
  Project Intern at Duolingo English Test : Led surveys for 500+ participants, created presentations, and contributed to a live consulting project.

Public Relations Experience 
 
  Smile Care Foundation : Managed PR strategies, wrote press releases, and coordinated promotional campaigns. 
  Aasmaan Foundation : Curated social media content and facilitated media coverage for NGO initiatives.

Entrepreneurial Initiative 
 
  Founder and President, Brainiacs - The Data Science Hub : Established a data science society, organized workshops and bootcamps, and led a team of 60+ members to promote analytics tools like Tableau and Power BI.

Leadership in College Societies 
 
 Actively contributed to societies like ASCEND (E-Cell), Adhibhuta (Sponsorship Team), and Empathise (Mental Health Society), enhancing their outreach, event management, and fundraising efforts.

Creative and Analytical Skills 
 
 Designed presentations and marketing materials on Canva. 
 Developed CRM tracking strategies during a Campus Ambassador role at Upskillz.

Performing Arts & Cultural Engagement 
 
 Member of Nritya, showcasing contemporary dance performances and contributing to cultural events.

Passion for Financial Analytics 
 
 Pursued financial forecasting and technical charting, emphasizing stocks, pivot points, and market resistance.

Volunteer Contributions 
 
 Assisted in mental health awareness campaigns and UPSC preparation initiatives through Exordium and Empathise.

Let me know if my profile needs more work.

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