ISB 2006 - Make or Break

[capreal26]

this is arun kr nv a new guy on isb forum.....this year i had also applied for isb but with my cat scores...i m having 25 months wrk ex with an ngo...done b.tech in civil engg and currently going to complete my mba in international business frm k.j somaiya mumbai.....
can anybody tell me what kind of questions they generally ask in the interviews ........
waiting for replys .........

Cant really say about 'typical' set of questions. Some people have a cake walk talking about their work ex, motivation to do MBA, timing, etc whereas others have stress interviews. Totally depends on your profile, application essays, applicant pool, etc. But some sureshot ques are the obvious ones like Why MBA, Why now, Why ISB, Why you, etc

Can any one pls clarify me what is a "a conditional offer " here...Do they give more waitage to GMAT or GRE alone...since i am applying thru CAT . i am planning to give GMAT by JAN/FEB..is 680 is suffient ..how much percentile in CAT is good for ISB.

conditional offer means that you need to get a 680+ in GMAT by a specified date. That however is only the case if you have applied thru CAT. GRE scores standalone are sufficient. GMAT / GRE .. I have no idea which ones are preffered. I guess use the ones in which you have got better scores. Suitable CAT %ile .. dunno.. no such stats available ..

IS 680 sufficient.. It is necessary but not sufficient. Even a 750 is not sufficient. Other parts of the app matter.

Guys... see this post from a fellow ISBian:

ISB Admissions committee has created an email Id called “askastudent@isb.edu”, where prospective applicants can write to o current students and from this mail id the queries will be forwarded to the concerned student/s for an interaction/reply.
Visit the following link, http://www.isb.edu/pgp/visit/Talk_to_Students.htm to know the profiles of students who will be answering your queries. This is a nice mechanism. Whereby all queries will be channelized through a single gate. As time goes by, common queries and answers can be identified and answered through automatic replies. Only difference between Yahoo groups and this is, the queries are not available for others to see. I will suggest them to create a web page for recent queries and answers posted.
This is a nice initiative, I hope prospective applicants can benefit from this through a faster and relevant response.

Hope this helps,

amit

[great_one]

Originally Posted by arun_simsr

hello everyone

this is arun kr nv a new guy on isb forum.....this year i had also applied for isb but with my cat scores...i m having 25 months wrk ex with an ngo...done b.tech in civil engg and currently going to complete my mba in international business frm k.j somaiya mumbai.....
can anybody tell me what kind of questions they generally ask in the interviews ........
waiting for replys .........
hope to have good relations with the forum friends of isb.......

arun

http://whymba.blogdrive.com/

Look for ISB Interviews on the right hand side.

-Ramki.

[isb4me]

Hi Folks,

I am aiming for the ISB class of 2007 starting April 2006. I did not do well on my GMAT (660 Q50 V30). I took the test yesterday and am contemplating whether to take it once again in the next one month or so.

I have 5+ years of experience as program lead and senior software engineer at a fortune 500 company in the Silicon Valley. My growth with in the company over the past five years is fair enough(I would not say 'outstanding' or use the 'a' word) to claim an admission.

I have a masters degree in EE from a decent enough university in the US with a GPA of 3.33(completed the program of study in 11 months) and a bachelor's degree in Engineering from Nagarjuna University, AP India with 76%. (GPA Eq to 3.82 as evaluated by a standards body in the US )

I was very active in extra cirricular activities in my undergrad. I did not spend much time in these activities in the US other than some minor social activities like community education etc.

Can you guys please comment on my prospects for an admission into ISB. I may improve my GMAT score but it is very difficult for me to take out any time to prepare for the exam.

[Psychodementia]

Originally Posted by isb4me

Hi Folks,

I am aiming for the ISB class of 2007 starting April 2006. I did not do well on my GMAT (660 Q50 V30). I took the test yesterday and am contemplating whether to take it once again in the next one month or so.

I have 5+ years of experience as program lead and senior software engineer at a fortune 500 company in the Silicon Valley. My growth with in the company over the past five years is fair enough(I would not say 'outstanding' or use the 'a' word) to claim an admission.

I have a masters degree in EE from a decent enough university in the US with a GPA of 3.33(completed the program of study in 11 months) and a bachelor's degree in Engineering from Nagarjuna University, AP India with 76%. (GPA Eq to 3.82 as evaluated by a standards body in the US )

I was very active in extra cirricular activities in my undergrad. I did not spend much time in these activities in the US other than some minor social activities like community education etc.

Can you guys please comment on my prospects for an admission into ISB. I may improve my GMAT score but it is very difficult for me to take out any time to prepare for the exam.

I know the big guys would say that there is no "cut off" as such. A 700 might get dinged (i know someone) while a 640 might get through (Simba).

But I saw a line similar to mine so Im replying here. I took GMAT a couple of years ago to score a 660. I did awfully bad on the exam date (63%ile in Verbal) for some funny reason. If I had taken the test again within a month I could have cracked a 700+. But I waited and had a billion reasons - GMAT is just a number, its too expensive, there is only so much I could have done etc. etc.

Now when Im contemplating a Bschool again the GMAT seems to be a lot further away --thanks to my test taking ability getting rusty. I just want to caution you that if you wait like I have did (almost 3yrs now) it will be very, very hard to gain the tempo again. Let's be frank, the GMAT scores these days have forced NASA to revisit their space shuttle orbital plans. So if you think you did particularly bad on that day and have chances of improving it, the investment in taking GMAT is piddling.

Arun

[isb4me]

Hi Arun,

Thank you for the reply. I beleive that I had a bad day at the GMAT, I thought was crusing well along my verbal section but I was surprised to see the score on the screen. It is definitely possible that I was walking on the moon at that time. However, spending time for the GMAT is something that I can't afford at this time. Though it is a wise investment, I don't have the capital (read as time).

Another main reason against taking the the GMAT again is that I am planning on applying only for one school this time or in the next one or two years. We don't have that many schools in India which cater to the needs of people with 4-5 years experience. The IIM-A PGPX looks promising but I need to wait for the first batch to come out.

[arun_simsr]

dear great_one and capreal26

thnx for ur replies well can u pls tell me what kind of replies they expect frm u......
what exactly they look in a candidate......
if u know can u share in with the pgites

arun

[Bunty4Billi]

Hello capreal26,

Thank u very much for ur quick reply.

-> I have only option left ii.e ISB... i thought it is better to give GMAT and score more than giving both CAT and GMAT...Pls advice on this..

-> If u suggest to go for GMAT alone then pls let me know the time required for preparation.....so that i will be able to apply for Cycle 1 of ISB admissions.. or Is it better to apply in second cycle so that i get ample time to prepare for GMAT.

-> also whts the difference btw Cycle 1and Cycle2 apart from timelines..i read the chances of getting accepted is more in cycle 1 then cycle2.

Many thanks for ur reply.
Bunty4Billi.

Originally Posted by capreal26

conditional offer means that you need to get a 680+ in GMAT by a specified date. That however is only the case if you have applied thru CAT. GRE scores standalone are sufficient. GMAT / GRE .. I have no idea which ones are preffered. I guess use the ones in which you have got better scores. Suitable CAT %ile .. dunno.. no such stats available ..

IS 680 sufficient.. It is necessary but not sufficient. Even a 750 is not sufficient. Other parts of the app matter.

Guys... see this post from a fellow ISBian:

ISB Admissions committee has created an email Id called “askastudent@isb.edu”, where prospective applicants can write to o current students and from this mail id the queries will be forwarded to the concerned student/s for an interaction/reply.
Visit the following link, http://www.isb.edu/pgp/visit/Talk_to_Students.htm to know the profiles of students who will be answering your queries. This is a nice mechanism. Whereby all queries will be channelized through a single gate. As time goes by, common queries and answers can be identified and answered through automatic replies. Only difference between Yahoo groups and this is, the queries are not available for others to see. I will suggest them to create a web page for recent queries and answers posted.
This is a nice initiative, I hope prospective applicants can benefit from this through a faster and relevant response.

Hope this helps,

amit

[capreal26]

dear great_one and capreal26

thnx for ur replies well can u pls tell me what kind of replies they expect frm u......
what exactly they look in a candidate......
if u know can u share in with the pgites

arun

Dude Arun... gimme a lil break. First you ask the questions asked in the interview.. now you expect answers to them. Plan to do some groundwork yourself.. What they look for in a candidate is pretty generic.. If you have been doing some research on B schools admit process you would know that qualities like leadership, clarity of purpose in doing an MBA, career progression shown, academic track record, analytical skills, maturity, stress handling capacity, etc etc etc... Log on to the isb-pgp Y! group I have mentioned elsewhere in the thread & look up the archives. Most of your questions would be answered there.

Hello capreal26,

Thank u very much for ur quick reply.

-> I have only option left ii.e ISB... i thought it is better to give GMAT and score more than giving both CAT and GMAT...Pls advice on this..

-> If u suggest to go for GMAT alone then pls let me know the time required for preparation.....so that i will be able to apply for Cycle 1 of ISB admissions.. or Is it better to apply in second cycle so that i get ample time to prepare for GMAT.

-> also whts the difference btw Cycle 1and Cycle2 apart from timelines..i read the chances of getting accepted is more in cycle 1 then cycle2.

Many thanks for ur reply.
Bunty4Billi.

Bunty ..If ISB is your only option, GMAT is the way to go. Giving CAT doesnt make sense since you will anyways have to give GMAT again. & dont focus too much on GMAT or CAT or whatever the exam be. In ISB's process, GMAT is a major portion of application's weight but not entirely like CAT's process. So, get done with it & focus on other parts like essays, recos which demand a lot of work too.

Ideal time for GMAT -- varies from person to person.. on an average.. keep aside about 1.5-2 months for preps. Look up other relevant threads for better advise.

Preferably, apply in round I. Round II more junta applies so it does get difficult. But if you think that extra time can strengthen your app in a significant manner (like much better GMAT score, some significant award, etc) then wait for Round II. Else choice is clear.

hth.

amit

[arun_simsr]

hello dear capreal

well dude u took the other way round....i didnt mean u to answer any questions rather i wanted to know wheter the answers shoud be crisp or elaborated....thts it.....well dear it generally happens the interviewer expects something else and u give something else....as it happened with me at the iiml interview on 25th march.......this time i had filled only 1 form and thats of isb so i cannot afford to take any chances.......i hope u got what i want to convey .....well dear i got the id where last years isb questions were there...........i got an idea of the questions.....and i m preparing for the answers....cannot wait for them to call and start at the last moment.......my prep will also help me for my execs at somaiya..........
well keep posting

arun

[kack]

hi guys ,

wanted to know about the loan option for ISB...

i know that for US b-schools, one doesnt need to give a security to the bank for the loan .. but i know many people who have been refused loans to study in india coz they coud not provide adequate security..

does ISB help in arranging such 'security free' loans .. if not , can a somebody throw some light how they are going to go about with this ..
thanks

kack

Originally Posted by arun_simsr

hello dear capreal

well dude u took the other way round....i didnt mean u to answer any questions rather i wanted to know wheter the answers shoud be crisp or elaborated....thts it.....well dear it generally happens the interviewer expects something else and u give something else....as it happened with me at the iiml interview on 25th march.......this time i had filled only 1 form and thats of isb so i cannot afford to take any chances.......i hope u got what i want to convey .....well dear i got the id where last years isb questions were there...........i got an idea of the questions.....and i m preparing for the answers....cannot wait for them to call and start at the last moment.......my prep will also help me for my execs at somaiya..........
well keep posting

arun