It's back! -[2008] Ask ISB-Hyderabad: Admission Director answers your queries!

[Admissions@ISB]

Dear

It is a bit of a challenge to switch careers if you have a high work experience and you wish to change both your industry and function. Change of one of these is relatively easier. Since, you have been in the IT industry only for 2 years; it makes things much easier for you. With strong academics, high GMAT score and low work experience, shifts should not be a problem. This year around 81% of the students made good career shifts. A lot of students don’t want to forego the leverage they get from their prior work experience and choose better careers in their own fields. For more figures on career switch, please visit the following link
http://www.isb.edu/pgp/Placement_Hig...tml?menuid=108

Admissions Team

Originally Posted by the.underdog

Hi,
I went to the ISB information session at Bangalore on the 22nd of this month. And while interacting with one of the alumni present, I was given to understand that it is very difficult to manage a career switch after ISB. Now this is very important to me so it would be very useful at least to me if I can get your view on this.
Basically I am a IIT --> GMAT 770 --> 2 yrs of IT work ex guy who wants to get into Investment Banking post MBA. Can ISB help me achieve this? It would also be very useful if you could tell how many people on an average manage to switch from non Finance backgrounds into Investment Banking kind of profiles every yr.
The alumnus made it sound as if this kind of switch was more or less a Herculean task and he said that most IT guys would get placed in IT companies. He even went to the extent of saying that if you absolutely want to get into IBanking why dont you pursue Financial Engineering MS from some USA Univ or some other 2 yr MBA where you will get the chance to intern. So basically I am pretty dispirited now.
Would be glad if you can comment.
Thanks

[Admissions@ISB]

Dear Pawan,

2 years of work exp. is an essential pre-requisite for admission. This is counted as on start of the programme and not on date of application. For applicants who are close to this experience and have an exceptional profile we may grant deferred admission for the next year. These cases, however, are few in number.

Menon

Originally Posted by pawanjain19

Hi Sir

I have a very basic question regarding the "work experience requirement" mentioned as a part of the eligibility criteria. Does that mean 2 years work experience is required at the time of applying, or 2 years work experience by the time I join ISB?
I joined my first job (Lehman Brothers Mumbai) in July 2007. If I apply this year, it will be only 14 months experience, but if I get selected, I will have almost 2 years (22 months) of work experience by the time I join.

Please clarify.

Regards
Pawan Jain

[Admissions@ISB]

Please refer to page 3 for answer to your query.

Admissions Team

Originally Posted by prez_bbe

Hello Sir,

Thanks for your support to our endeavors at PG. Sir i have a simple question although the admission page states that however i still wish to gain absolute clarity over the same.

Is 2 years of experience an essential pre-requisite for admission consideration at ISB, irrespective of the candidate's profile and background.

[Admissions@ISB]

Dear Bosvin,


Your queries have been answered pointwise below:

1. To major in Finance, you need to complete minimum 6 modules under Analytical Finance and the maximum number of modules you can choose is 16. So, it completely depends on you which area you want to focus on, in finance. We offer more than 15 modules in Finance. To see all the modules, please visit the following link:
   
   http://www.isb.edu/PGP/ElectiveCourses.Shtml
   
2. The bidding system allows a student to get the course of his/her choice. There is a slight probability that one may not get a course of his/her choice but that usually happens if you do not have the right strategy for the bidding – this is a part of the learning process as well because you have to use scarce resources, bidding points in this case, to make the most optimal decision. Each student is given a set of bidding points which is like virtual currency. You place a ‘bid’ for the courses you wish to opt for. If others bid higher they get the course and if your bid is higher you get the course. I suggest take your steps one at a time. First step is to send in a good application. Once you get the admission offer you can start exploring these things in detail.
   
3. ISB does not offer any internship. However, we offer something better – the Experiential Learning Programme, which is a live consulting project you do for an organization. For more details please visit http://www.isb.edu/pgp/ExperientialLearningProgramme.Shtml?menuid=106
   
4. As a policy, from this year we have decided not to disclose the highest and lowest salary figures. We only disclose averages. For further details on placement statistics, please visit this link http://www.isb.edu/pgp/Placement_Highlights.Shtml?menuid=108
   
5. Apart from the Rs. 19.13 lakh listed on the website, you will have to make provision for documentation (Xerox/printing of notes), laundry, travel expenses, outings, etc. which differ from person to person depending on your personal lifestyle. You can estimate a ballpark figure of RS. 20 lakhs. Exchange Programme costs, should you decide to participate in one, will be additional and can range from Rs. 2 lakhs to Rs. 5 lakhs.
   
   I should also highlight here that ISB has a tie-up with banks which offer completely collateral free loan to ISB students for your expenses here which can be repaid over 10 years. Therefore lack of sufficient savings should not be the criteria of not applying to ISB.
   

Admissions Team

Originally Posted by BOSVIN

dear Mr. Menon,

Firstly thanks a ton for taking time out to reply to our queries. WE all appreciate it. I too have some questions and I think you are probably well placed to answer them.

My Profile :

12th - 76%
BCom - 76%

Workex :

12 months - associate in international BPO ( client - American Express )
15 months - lecturer in internationally recognized college
17 months - asst to music director ( music and sound engineering )

I am one of those guys who wanted to make a shift to finance and so I took up a job as an associate in investment servicing. Will complete 13 months in that role by Apr 2009.

Well I wont ask for a profile check here. I know you might be quite fed up of it by now. But here are my queries

1. Does ISB cover good modules for someone wanting to major in finance. At the website they say "Analytical Finance" as a specialization. I presume its good enough for a career in finance. But they dont give a further break up of the topics that will be covered in that specialization. For someone like me what are the modules available in finance that I can opt for?

2. Could you explain the system of bidding for subjects. How does this system work. I've read that some students did not get the subjects of their choice because of this bidding system. Why is it so? I dont want to spend so much money and in the end not get the subjects of my choice.

3. Is there at all any chance of doing an internship. after the 12 month period. Will we miss out on placements if we opt to do so.

4. Pls pls pls try to get this one. What is the lowest domestic and international package offered. Its something not on the website but this information will help to put the placements statistics in perspective.

5. How much will a person end up spending for this course. I am looking at an all inclusive figure. Including your laundries and weekend outings maybe. ISB website puts the figure at around 19 lakhs. Can we manage within that or are there other program related expenses we must make provision for.

Looking forward to your reply,

thanks,

Jose.

[jinesh.vasa]

<snip>

Moderator note - please be more specific and focused in your questions. Avoid general questions whose answers can be found by doing basic research on the Internet.

ISB - Online Application Portal

[vsriv]

Hello
1. Does the ISB admissions committee sort applications based on DOMAIN: meaning IT, Medico, Engineer, Army, Govt?
2. Is there a domain-wise minimum competitive GMAT? Not a cutoff, but an acceptable level used for judging readiness for academic rigour?
3. Is it hopeless to apply with 10+ years work-ex? What differentiating factors would you look for in a candidate with higher work-ex?
VS

[urefriendforeve]

Dear Sir,

I have a few of questions regarding the ISB admission procedure.

a) While going through the ISB admissions account, i could not find anywhere being asked to specify whether i am interested in Round1 or Round 2, i would request you to explain how can i choose between round1 and round 2? I am assuming that if one submits one's application after the due date for R1, it is automatically qualified for R2 provided the date is behind the cut off date for R2.

b) Does ISB allow changing Interview scheduling from a India city based personal interview to a Telephonic interview at an international site. My issue is that there is a good chance that i will be out of the country for 6 to 8 months starting july. I may just be able to make it back by the Round 2 interview dates, but i am not sure.

c) Personal interview vs telephonic interview----I am assuming that ISB does not make any disctinction whatsoever between these two, are there any stats that can reflect telephonic interview people have as much of a chance as personal interview people. Personally speaking i am always a Personal interview person, but if circumstances do not permit, then i will have no choice but to opt for a telephonic interview (Provided i am shortlisted in the first place) and hence i would like to give New Delhi as my preferred location, but as i mentioned in the point 'b' it could have to be changed later to international.

Look foward to your responses.

Best Regards
Nishant Khanna

[maxster_vain]

Hi,

The query I want to ask concerns about the eligibility criterion.

I am a student of Masters in Business Administration at University Business School, Panjab University, which has been imparting quality management education since 1968 and is consistently rated among top B-schools in India.

But because of lack of global exposure available at our institute accompanied with my keen interest in exploring avenues abroad, has made me ex cogitate of doing an MBA from a B-School which should be of global repute and which can provide me the right platform to catapult my career in challenging arenas of the corporate.

That is why I want to sit for GMAT as early as possible and start with the application process.But before that I wanted to know if having an MBA degree would be a deterrent in getting me admission to a prestigious institute like yours.Would it be seen positively or would it make me stand ineligible to apply for the MBA course?

To mention here I had a percentile of 99.37 in CAT (Common Admission Test) conducted by IIMs, a work experience of One Year and my background is Mechanical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College,Chandigarh (considered among Top-10 Engineering Institutes in India).

In hope of a positive and wise reply from your side.

Regards.

[iLive_GMAT]

Respected Menon Sir,
Before anything I would like to thank you for devoting your valuable time for us, ISB aspirants.
A brief synopsis of my profile : Computer Engineer with 4 years of experience in the IT industry. Currently working with Lehman Bros, NYC.
My questions is not driven by ignorance but the fact that since the GMAT score is not the sole criteria for scrutinizing the application, can it be submitted post the deadline?Assuming the application is complete in every other aspect.
In the last years query thread I found that Mr. Ranga Rao answered a candidate saying that he could submit his application with only the Test Center Score. However the institute will inquire about the Official GMAT score later from GMAC later.
I am interested in appying in cycle 1 and have already taken a GMAT appointment for 20th September since prior to this I was not aware the we can submit test center scores and found it too early to appear for the test in 2 months with the work schedule. The deadline however is 15th September.
In a nutshell can I submit my application on/before 15th Sept without GMAT scores, and then report Test center scores on 20th September ?
The other option is rescheduling which is the last since I would need to disrupt the schedule for the leave from work and other commitments.

Would really appreciate your help.

thanks & regards,
Abhi

[achal arora]

Hello sir...first of all thanks a lot for devoting your personal time in answering our queries..

I am a bit confused as regarding my profile...
I cleared iit-jee entrance examination..but due to a lower rank i got into IT-BHU , B.pharma . And then after 4 years of graduation when ther was as such no good offer in pharmacy sector joined infosys , then after 6 months got into a sogtware firm and then after 1 year as i am very much intrested in Finance got into a trading firm , but was not much successful there so with a determination to get an MBA in Finance and then return back to Trading i joined my previous software firm , gave GMAT scored 710 .....

now the confusion is that whether this

B.Pharma ---Software ---Finance ---Software thing goes against me in the application process..and if i want to return back to Finance after a MBA degree in finance then what would you suggest :

1) MBA and switch career to fin
2) Switch to fin firm ...work for sometime and then go for MBA in fin .
3) It is better to stay in software and do MBA and then get into some related field like IT Finance , Consulting etc .

My work ex till now is 3 yrs and if i apply this year it will be arnd 4 yr by the time of admissions .

Frankly , i believe that as i have arnd 35-40 yrs of job life remaining , i don't think the previous 3 yrs should matter very much while switiching career . As i believe that i should try to do what i really like .