wp .............................................................

Hello Sir,

I'm a mechanical engineer working as a project manager in a heavy machinery giant. I've learnt & contributed a lot to my workplace since i joined 2 years back. The only problem however is that my organization is having a very harsh attitude towards managers who leave the organization for higher studies etc. Since i'm handling many critical projects, i'm not even sure that my bosses will recommend me for higher education fearing that i'll leave the job if i get admitted. Or worse, they will ruin my reco.

Kindly advice.

Hi Sir,

I want to know how much weightage is given on 10th, 12th score?

TIA

Hi Sir,

I 'm 2011-12 session applicant to ISB and looking forward to file my application before Aug 30. My questions are:

1. I have an usual combination - a 670 in GMAT but an experience of 10 years in an industry that does not have many applicants for an MBA. My 10 years experience is in Education Test Prep and comprises of all that an Entrepreneur would do in his 10 year career - starting thing from scratch, managing products and divisions. How do you evaluate such applications wherein the GMAT is well below the average but the experience is well above the average?

2. How can a year in ISB help me pursue my dream career in Product Management? How would i find a way to the top management keeping products in mind and how is doing management from ISB a sure option for my goals against going simply for a Product Management certification?

3. Do you have a quantitative weight-age each for GMAT, Essays, Experience and recommendations? If No, can you give a rough percentage figure for the same.

Thanks,

Dear Sir,

Having done mechanical engineering and a PG Diploma in Manufacaturing systems and management from University of Manchester (UK), I want to know what chances do I stand to get through ISB's flagship 1 year program.

My profile :

UG: BEng Mechanical Engineering - RGPV Bhopal - 71 % overall.

PG: PG Diploma - Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Systems Management - University of Manchester(UMIST) - UK - Pass

Work Exp: 4 years by the time of applying.

I belong to a business family and have been working here since I completed my postgraduation. Initially I worked as a trainee for 1 year, getting involved in every domain and understanding how things work in business. Since then, I am working as one of the directors of the firm. I have been primarily working on costs and finances and have also started recently into production department.

Please put some light on how should I go further to work on my profile.

Thanks,

Regards,

Chaitanya

You would obviously need to explain why you chose your family business. what is the tangible value that you have added in the last few years. How do you see the ISB adding value and where do you intend to take the business, going forward.

Dear Sir,

I am Abhishek Arohi, I have a work experience of 4 years in IT industry. Domain wise I am strong in Banking (have 2.5 years of experience). My purpose of pursuing MBA is a career shift. Hence my queries are as follows:

1. If I want switch my career to Banking and Finance Domain whether ISB PGPM will give me desired results?
2. Do we have to provide a preference to elective courses at the time of admission? If yes then are we allowed to change the preference at a later stage during the course?

Regards
Abhishek Arohi

Career Shifts at the ISB have been amply demonstrated over years. More details on how/where are available on our website in the placement section. But more importantly, what needs to be kept in mind are that career shifts do not happen by chance. they happen when students put in the hard work by choosing the right courses, joining the right clubs, doing the right ELP projects, etc., The school functions as a facilitator by bringing the right companies on campus. It is for the student to play his cards right and get the opening that he is looking for.

For the second question, the answer is No. we do not ask for preferences to elective at the time of admissions.

Dear Sir,
I have been working for the past 3 years in my family business which runs few educational institutions at ug and pg level. I have a querry about the recommendations part. My clents are basically students of the organizations that we run and I guess I cannot ask them to recommend me. We dont really have a long standing relationship with any of our vendors, as depending on the qoutations and market scenario, they keep changing. Who do you feel will be appropriate recommenders for my application?

This is not an easy question to answer and to be very honest there are not straight answers to this one. My suggestion is that you choose any one whom you know who is not only well conversant with the kind of work your do but also can comment on your capabilities. So long as the person is not related to you can choose any one.

Dear Sir,

My query is about the minimum workex at ISB. Doea ISB really accept people with work ex little below 3 years ( 2.75yr to be specific)?

If you can throw some light on this workex criterion at ISB , what kind of importance is given to it during selection process then definitely it will help many applicants.

The work experience criterion at the ISB is minimum of 2 years full time work experience post undergraduate qualification (or post graduation as the case may be). So a person with a little less than three years as in your case is certainly eligible to apply. The minimum work ex is the threshold level for application. What we look at more closely is the quality of the work experience. Achievements at the work place are a good indication of the quality and you should be highlighting these in your application.

Dear Sir,

Before joining ISB (assuming I am selected), to improve my performance at the ISB, I have decided to study for and get the CABM certification.

My question is, if I applying in the first round, I can mention that I am studying for the CABM certification, while if I apply for the second round I may be able to state that I now have the CABM certificate.

Everything else being equal, will this difference make a significant impact on my application and thus eventual approval by the admission committee ?

Sincerely

Saurabh

Any additional qualification will be looked at favorably by us and as you rightly said all things being equal a CABM will add value to your application. Obviously a completed CABM will be better than a work in progress so my suggestion would be to complete it and apply in the second cycle.

Dear Mr Menon,

I am CA with 4 yrs work ex working with one of the big 4 consulting firms. I want to make a career in finance post my MBA from ISB. Wat i have heard from seniors is that ISB is an excellent b school for management consulting but doesnt attract the best of investment banks for placements. Just wanted some clarity on this.

Regards
Prashant

To be very honest the last few years have been weak as far as investment banking roles on campus have been concerned. Banks like Deutsche Bank, CitiBank, Credit Suisse etc have been on campus with Investment banking roles but the numbers they have recruited have been small. The financial sector has been relatively weak (compared to sectors like consulting and technology) though 14% of our last class did find jobs in the sector. The outlook for the future though is much better and we hope it will only get better in two years time when the class of 2012 graduates

Hello Mr Menon,

My query is two fold query

Part 1
How does ISB help a student in shaping consulting acumen. Like I am coming from an IT background and would like to change my industry from IT to consulting. How ISB will help me in my quest. Also, beyond classrooms what are the opportunities for learning, for ex to learn beyond d classroom in consulting are there any clubs or student bodies who help in this.

Part 2
I have an inclination towards entrepreneurship, and would like to major in that from ISB if selected. While evaluating the applications, if my goals says something on entrepreneurship and still I have not achieved anything substantial in this field, can I mention those in application?

Thanks a lot for your help in advance

Q.1 Apart from the regular course of study in the class that aims at providing all the inputs in terms of knowledge of business essentials we have a number of project courses that help students who aim to take up a career in consulting. ELP or experiential learning programme is one such. Here students in small groups of 4 to 5 work on live consulting projects that are given by companies. The students are guided in the project by a faculty member and the project is also evaluated once it is completed.
The consulting club takes care of the outside class learning. Consultants from leading consulting companies spend a considerable time on campus interacting with students who are members of the club giving those inputs on careers in consulting, preparations for such careers etc.

Q.2. If you do intend pursuing entrepreneurship as a long term career go ahead an mention it in your essays. We do accept that not all who have entrepreneurial aspirations would have done something in that direction at the time of application so that is fine. Having said that if you do say you want to become an entrepreneur you need to have some idea on what kind of an enterprise you would start.

Dear Sir,

I wanted to understand, is there some specific kind of weightage allotted to the parameters you evaluate in the candidates. For example: a particular percentage to the GMAT score, work experience and essays?

Thanks,

Vishal Gaba

Yes, we do have weights for each parameter of the application. My only request is please dont ask me what the weights are. All I can say is that the weights are adequate for each parameter.

ravi.catch22 Says

I am a dentist by profession and working as a lecturer in some dental college. i will b completing my 2 year work-ex in dec.2010. i would like to know what are d scopes in the health n pharma sector if i persue MBA from ISB. thanx a lot.

All the major hospitals and pharma companies recruit from ISB. Most of them do prefer to recruit doctors. We have Healthcare club completely run by students which conducts among many things career counselling for those seeking a future in this sector. The club typically will have senior students from this sector. Alums who are currently in this sector will play a crucial role in advising you too. We have a HTo that extent the opportunities available to people with your background is good. Needless to say you will have to show case your past experience and you future goals effectively in your application.

Sir,

We met at the MBA Fair at Hyatt, Delhi.

Just a mail to thank you for the kind words of encouragement you had for me when we spoke.

I have given my GMAT today. Have scored 700. Will be applying to ISB.

Regards

Kumar Saurabh
Lawyer
Delhi

All the best Saurabh!

Hello Sir,

Does a full fledged startup experience of a year valued at par with 2-3 years of relevant work ex. ?

Regards

Unfortunately for you no. We really cannot do that and you will appreciate that if we do that for experience like yours we will get inundated with other requests to view their work experience in a similar manner. Having said that what you can show case is the quality of your experience in your essays. If overall we do find your case exceptional we can short list you for the interview even though it is apparent that you do not have two years of work experience. If you do well at the interview there is a possibility that we can offer you a deferred admission to the next class.

Sir

I am a reapplicant this year. Last year, i applied to ISB and got the interview call. Unfortunately, i could not perform well in the interview hence got rejected lateron.

I received the feedback from ISB which says that i should apply to ISB with an improved GMAT score ( I have a GMAT score of 700) and more work experience (I have a workex of 4 years till date in Supply Chain management in EPC industry for L&T;, which will be 4 yrs and 9 months by the time i join ISB CO2012).

I always thought that i got rejected because my not so good interview and not because of my GMAT score hence i never thought of improving GMAT score. Since the feedback came quite late in the June, i am left with no time to prepare GMAT again amidst so much work pressure in office.

I feel that i had a fantastic last 7-8 months at my work and added very strong credentials to my work profile which i can reflect in the reapplicant essay.

I wish to apply to ISB R-1 this year with the same GMAT score but i have slight doubt in mind. I heard people saying at various forums that ISB rejects candidates (even ISB doesn't call for interview) who doesn't work on ISB's advice and reapply.

Seek your advice on the matter before i put my application and thanks for reading the whole thing.

The improved GMAT advice is obviously because your 700 score would have been low in comparison with others with a similar background. Improving your score will certainly help. The work experience advice has been given probably because you have not been able to showcase your experience effectively in the interview. To that extent the cause of rejection has go to do with how you performed at the interview. If you have significantly improved your overall profile and as you say you have had a fantastic 7-8 months, you certainly can apply again showcasing these new achievements. When we see a reapplication we see the overall improvement and if there is a feedback given we also see if action has been taken on the feedback. However if we find the there has been genuine effort put in by the re-applicant to improve than we do give that effort adequate weight at the time we review the application.

Just as an after thought you must apply when you feel you are ready. If you feel you may not be ready by the first cycle due to work pressure etc apply in the second cycle. You must be ready in all respects when you apply and not rush in an application.

Dear Sir,

I am a re-applicant and in the feedback I got last year, it said that my AWA score was low (4.0).
Though I have a good GMAT score, but do I need to take GMAT again because of low AWA score or can I use something else in my application to cover it. I have a toefl score of 105.

When the applicant pool is extremely competitive even small slip ups like a relatively low AWA score can make a difference. However if you have made significant improvements to your overall profile like significant contributions at the work place you can still apply with the same score. The changes in your profile will have to be elaborated in your essays so that it stands our when you apply.

Dear Mr. Menon,

Sir i have heard from some of the applicants that one would get admission in isb if one had a high score in ungraduate school.. Sir as mention in eligible requirements that one should have a valid gmat score.. So will you pls put some light on valid gmat score and about score in ungraduate school..

thank you..

Regards,
Piyush

Dear Piyush,

We look at each application in a holistic manner and undergraduate scores and GMAT scores are just two parameters that we look at. In addition we look at your essays, you experience and achievements at the work place, the extracurricular activities and the recommendation. All these are factored in before we take a decision whether or not to interview a candidate. Once the interview is complete the interview performance is also factored in. Obviously those who have stellar undergraduate scores stand a better chance of getting called for the interview. The GMAT score is valid for a period of five years from the date you take the test. When you apply to ISB the GMAT score should be valid.

regards,

Dear Sir,

I'm an Engineer with 10 years of work exp in Telecom domain (post-sales & pre-sales). I have worked mostly on technical side but now looking for a functional shift in my career in same industry.
I have noticed that the intake of class 2011 students with 10+ years of experience is very less. Does this factor (of more work exp) will count negative for me ?
Also, suggest if FUNCTIONAL SHIFT at this stage of my career is possible? If yes, which one do you suggest (sales/mktg.....) ?
Also, pl let me know how can i get in touch with a current student for more info on admission process etc ?

Many Thanks !
Amit

Dear Amit,

With 10 years experience in the technical side of telecom in predominantly post sales and pre sales roles, an ideal shift would be into sales and marketing within the same industry. With your kind of experience making drastic changes of both function and industry would be difficult. The best is to stick to the same industry and try for a different function which in your case could be sales and marketing. The profile of our class depends on the applicant pool. As you can see the number students with high work experience is around 10% and the applicant pool too has around 10% applicants with high work experience. An overwhelming majority of our applicant pool consists of people in the experience band of 4 to 7 years and the class profile also reflects this. Please mail us at pgpadmissions@isb.edu and we will get you into contact with a current student with a similar profile to yours.

regards,

Dear Mr Menon,

I am a power sector professional with 2 yrs of work-ex as on date.

- Please tell me kind of opportunities available at ISB for power sector professionals, the companies that have visited ISB in past.

- ISB has very low representation from power professionals (The co2011 has 4% energy professionals, and the number of ppl from power industry is obviously lower that tha). What is the possible reason that in spite of it being a high-growth sector, power industry has low representation in a typical batch of ISB. Is it because there are fewer applications, or there is lack of opportunities for ppl from this sector.

PG teams deserves special appreciation for this initiative


Thanks
Vivek Sinha

Dear Vivek,

Around nine companies recruited in the energy sector last year and the roles ranged from Strategic to Operations head to Executive Assistance to the Managing Directors. Companies come to campus based on the number of potential recruits they see available on campus. If such numbers are low as is likely the case with people with prior experience in the energy sector the number of companies coming to campus will also be low. Yes it is true that the number of professionals representing this sector is low in the class in spite of the fact that the sector is seen as high growth. This is largely because of the number of applicants who apply from the sector and not because of lack of opportunities in the sector. A typical applicant pool has a hand full of people from that sector and the selectivity from this sector to our program is the same as is the case with any other applicant.

regards,

Around nine companies recruited in the energy sector last year and the roles ranged from Strategic to Operations head to Executive Assistance to the Managing Directors. Companies come to campus based on the number of potential recruits they see available on campus. If such numbers are low as is likely the case with people with prior experience in the energy sector the number of companies coming to campus will also be low. Yes it is true that the number of professionals representing this sector is low in the class in spite of the fact that the sector is seen as high growth. This is largely because of the number of applicants who apply from the sector and not because of lack of opportunities in the sector. A typical applicant pool has a hand full of people from that sector and the selectivity from this sector to our program is the same as is the case with any other applicant.

Dear Sir,

Having done mechanical engineering and a PG Diploma in Manufacaturing systems and management from University of Manchester (UK), I want to know what chances do I stand to get through ISB's flagship 1 year program.

My profile :

UG: BEng Mechanical Engineering - RGPV Bhopal - 71 % overall.

PG: PG Diploma - Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Systems Management - University of Manchester(UMIST) - UK - Pass

Work Exp: 4 years by the time of applying.

I belong to a business family and have been working here since I completed my postgraduation. Initially I worked as a trainee for 1 year, getting involved in every domain and understanding how things work in business. Since then, I am working as one of the directors of the firm. I have been primarily working on costs and finances and have also started recently into production department.

Please put some light on how should I go further to work on my profile.

Thanks,

Regards,

Chaitanya

Dear Sir,

I am Abhishek Arohi, I have a work experience of 4 years in IT industry. Domain wise I am strong in Banking (have 2.5 years of experience). My purpose of pursuing MBA is a career shift. Hence my queries are as follows:

1. If I want switch my career to Banking and Finance Domain whether ISB PGPM will give me desired results?
2. Do we have to provide a preference to elective courses at the time of admission? If yes then are we allowed to change the preference at a later stage during the course?

Regards
Abhishek Arohi

Dear Sir,
I have been working for the past 3 years in my family business which runs few educational institutions at ug and pg level. I have a querry about the recommendations part. My clents are basically students of the organizations that we run and I guess I cannot ask them to recommend me. We dont really have a long standing relationship with any of our vendors, as depending on the qoutations and market scenario, they keep changing. Who do you feel will be appropriate recommenders for my application?

Dear Sir,

My query is about the minimum workex at ISB. Doea ISB really accept people with work ex little below 3 years ( 2.75yr to be specific)?

If you can throw some light on this workex criterion at ISB , what kind of importance is given to it during selection process then definitely it will help many applicants.

This post is deleted

Dear Mr Menon,

I am CA with 4 yrs work ex working with one of the big 4 consulting firms. I want to make a career in finance post my MBA from ISB. Wat i have heard from seniors is that ISB is an excellent b school for management consulting but doesnt attract the best of investment banks for placements. Just wanted some clarity on this.

Regards
Prashant

Hello Mr Menon,

My query is two fold query

Part 1
How does ISB help a student in shaping consulting acumen. Like I am coming from an IT background and would like to change my industry from IT to consulting. How ISB will help me in my quest. Also, beyond classrooms what are the opportunities for learning, for ex to learn beyond d classroom in consulting are there any clubs or student bodies who help in this.

Part 2
I have an inclination towards entrepreneurship, and would like to major in that from ISB if selected. While evaluating the applications, if my goals says something on entrepreneurship and still I have not achieved anything substantial in this field, can I mention those in application?

Thanks a lot for your help in advance

Dear Sir,

I wanted to understand, is there some specific kind of weightage allotted to the parameters you evaluate in the candidates. For example: a particular percentage to the GMAT score, work experience and essays?

Thanks,

Vishal Gaba

I am a dentist by profession and working as a lecturer in some dental college. i will b completing my 2 year work-ex in dec.2010. i would like to know what are d scopes in the health n pharma sector if i persue MBA from ISB. thanx a lot.

Sir,

We met at the MBA Fair at Hyatt, Delhi.

Just a mail to thank you for the kind words of encouragement you had for me when we spoke.

I have given my GMAT today. Have scored 700. Will be applying to ISB.

Regards

Kumar Saurabh
Lawyer
Delhi

Hello Sir,

Does a full fledged startup experience of a year valued at par with 2-3 years of relevant work ex. ?

Regards

Sir

I am a reapplicant this year. Last year, i applied to ISB and got the interview call. Unfortunately, i could not perform well in the interview hence got rejected lateron.

I received the feedback from ISB which says that i should apply to ISB with an improved GMAT score ( I have a GMAT score of 700) and more work experience (I have a workex of 4 years till date in Supply Chain management in EPC industry for L&T;, which will be 4 yrs and 9 months by the time i join ISB CO2012).

I always thought that i got rejected because my not so good interview and not because of my GMAT score hence i never thought of improving GMAT score. Since the feedback came quite late in the June, i am left with no time to prepare GMAT again amidst so much work pressure in office.

I feel that i had a fantastic last 7-8 months at my work and added very strong credentials to my work profile which i can reflect in the reapplicant essay.

I wish to apply to ISB R-1 this year with the same GMAT score but i have slight doubt in mind. I heard people saying at various forums that ISB rejects candidates (even ISB doesn't call for interview) who doesn't work on ISB's advice and reapply.

Seek your advice on the matter before i put my application and thanks for reading the whole thing.

Dear Sir,

I am a re-applicant and in the feedback I got last year, it said that my AWA score was low (4.0).
Though I have a good GMAT score, but do I need to take GMAT again because of low AWA score or can I use something else in my application to cover it. I have a toefl score of 105.

Dear Mr. Menon,

Sir i have heard from some of the applicants that one would get admission in isb if one had a high score in ungraduate school.. Sir as mention in eligible requirements that one should have a valid gmat score.. So will you pls put some light on valid gmat score and about score in ungraduate school..

thank you..

Regards,
Piyush

Dear Sir,

I'm an Engineer with 10 years of work exp in Telecom domain (post-sales & pre-sales). I have worked mostly on technical side but now looking for a functional shift in my career in same industry.
I have noticed that the intake of class 2011 students with 10+ years of experience is very less. Does this factor (of more work exp) will count negative for me ?
Also, suggest if FUNCTIONAL SHIFT at this stage of my career is possible? If yes, which one do you suggest (sales/mktg.....) ?
Also, pl let me know how can i get in touch with a current student for more info on admission process etc ?

Many Thanks !
Amit

Dear Mr Menon,

I am a power sector professional with 2 yrs of work-ex as on date.

- Please tell me kind of opportunities available at ISB for power sector professionals, the companies that have visited ISB in past.

- ISB has very low representation from power professionals (The co2011 has 4% energy professionals, and the number of ppl from power industry is obviously lower that tha). What is the possible reason that in spite of it being a high-growth sector, power industry has low representation in a typical batch of ISB. Is it because there are fewer applications, or there is lack of opportunities for ppl from this sector.

PG teams deserves special appreciation for this initiative


Thanks
Vivek Sinha