This is a thread for ISB 2014 aspirants I'm sure there'll be other forums/threads better suited for school selection type of queries.

As far as your profile is concerned, it all looks in place. Shoot for a 720 or higher in gmat and execute well on the essays and recos and you will present a solid case.

Plz evaluate my profile . I am planning to appear for GMAT this year.

Xth 84.8%
X11th 88.00
Grads(engineer) 7.93/10
Work ex- 2 years 2 month as of now with reputed IT firm(working for investment banks as clients
Good Extracurriculars

International internship

Please help. Also any other college that I can apply to within India or Asia. And all the best to everyone

And also when u apply work ex is counted till which month?

Hi-fi referees can help in that they elevate the overall level of your app. However, if they end up giving a generic reco, then that can harm your application. You want to tread that fine line - a referee with impressive profile AND with intimate knowledge of your work AND belief in your potential. Think of these as 3 parameters with weightage (my personal opinion of course):

1. Referee's profile/designation (3 points).
2. Intimate knowledge and appreciation of your work and its caliber (5 points).
3. Belief in your potential as an MBA student and future manager (2 points).

As an engineer, I find it easy to parametrize and judge to the best of my ability. Its not a science but 'feels' appropriate. Rate potential referees around you pick the ones who score the highest.

The very fact that business schools require or prefer at least ONE recommendation from a direct manager is for this very reason. They want to know more about you from someone who has seen you take and execute orders. They don't want referees who know 'about' you - they want people who can give insights into your profile from a 3rd person perspective that you, as a candidate, can never provide.

If you're going to use a 'hi-fi' recommender, make sure you have an understanding that you'll be able to read and edit (or have him edit) the recommendation. If ethics of this process concern you, then just find those who you know will do their best for you anyway.

The school asking for designation is a double edged sword if you think about it. If you're an entry level employee and your referee's designation is that of a 'C' level employee, you better have something in your essays that explains how the senior executive knows you and your work well. On the other hand, it also helps the school in identifying those recommendations that have been submitted by peers or juniors.

Using a peer for reco is fine as long as he/she has more work-ex than you. Using a junior is rarely advisable unless there's something very special about you that you know the junior wants to express. Using your old classmate-now-companymate (ie same workex) makes sense only if both of you have a lot of workex. If you have dealt with clients, then I would highly recommend getting one reco from one such client.

Guys, amazed to see the ferocity, pride and mental strength in you all ! As luck of the draw would have it, you will get to graduate in an even numbered year :)

Anyway, I just thought I'd pen some thoughts/introspective questions - these are exactly the questions I'd have asked myself if I were bracing up for another attempt:

GMAT
1. Is my GMAT score up to the mark?
2. Do I feel that it'll keep pulling me down and keep making me nervous?
3. Can I find time and strength to bump it up by 30/40 points and enter the 'next' zone?

Acads
1. Can't be improved. So no point in worrying about them. Yayiee!
2. Am I missing some more interesting and useful activities from my past?
3. Is it possible that some of the stuff I have considered NOT important enough to bring forth in my application, really important while some others that I'm happy about, not so useful after all?

Extra Curriculars
1. Is there something going on right in my backyard that I've been ignoring but that can help tremendously with the application and as a talking point?
2. Is this the time to go on an interesting and challenging trip or picking up a hobby that'll serve me not only from an application point of view but also in life in general?
3. Is there an opportunity to amp up the current extra-curriculars that I'm already proud of?

MBA
1. Now I have a good year to further refine the 'God question' - "WHY MBA". How can I use the now-more-experienced-me to improve the answer?
2. At work, is there something I can do that can be used well during the interviews - low effort-high bullshitting-power-giving-work.
3. Have I been underselling my work and experience - is there a way to spice it up - marketing & branding is everything - am I making sure that my words about my work are imparting the same intensity as my heart?

Options
1. Now that I don't have an ISB admit this year to tie me down, are there other options that I should read up and research further? Is a MS in Management or MS in Finance etc. a better option for me?
2. Recommenders - did I choose the best set of people or the most intimate set of people? Was I able to balance credentials with personal knowledge of my work and capabilities? Am I going with hi-fi recommenders who don't know crap about me - helps with ego, but not with app. Should I switch to perhaps a teammate who appreciates my work and knows me well?


.......
So far, that's all I could think of. But I'm certain that some of you may find yourselves asking the same questions and in my opinion, asking the right questions is the only path to getting the right answers.

Good Luck! I'll be around as always to help !

I currently live and work in NYC.

..and @Rs. 1,500,000! I'd be willing to join ISB Patna with that scholarship

Congratulations to all the R2 admits! Looking forward to meeting up with y'all !

All 2014 applicants, Good Luck! Will do my best to be around and give 'on-site' reports

I had my interview yesterday night over Skype. It went well.
Can someone tell me if I should email a Thank you note. The interview was taken by two alumni, I don't remember their names, and obviously don't have their email addresses. Do you guys suggest sending one anyways on pgpadmissions email address?

Ajay, if you happen to know the email ids of the interviewers, then you should (must) send a thank you email. But if you don't have that info then no point in sending the thank-you-note to the poor admissions email address that's swamped with tons of other mails.

I was also interviewed via skype. We didn't exchange email ids at any point in the interview process and so the thank-you-note issue was a non-starter.

nish21in Says

I don't think so. I think if they plan to contact, they will confirm with you first.

You're absolutely right. There's no way a school will want to mess with a candidate's personal/work contacts without first informing the candidate. Business schools are well aware that a large number of applicants will want to deal with workplace contacts etc. in their own way with regards to release of application related information- the school won't just go ahead and screw it all up

guyz one question from my end,

any idea regarding the email contacts that we fill in the isb application... do the isb guyz call these managers at our current work location for verification...is it done after selecting the candidate finally for seat at ISB or before calling the candidate for interview??

Recommenders and/or managers are generally NOT called before OR after any particular stage in the admissions process. ISB may contact them via phone or mail ONLY if there is something mentioned in a recommendation or in your application that 'really' requires clarification/validation or proof.

If, for example, the recommender is using gmail or non-work email id, then ISB may (theoretically) want to confirm - although I've heard of no such instance.

In case your manager is not involved in your application process - meaning; you're not using his recommendation for some reason, ISB will definitely NOT contact him. Since contacting him may reveal your MBA plans to people that you may not want to share this info with.

Basically, no business school will ever contact people who're not recommenders - they may at best contact the company to verify your employment but that too is rare and can only happen if the school has decided to admit you but the proof you've provided is shady. Business schools will rarely contact even the recommenders unless there's an insanely good reason for it. I would imagine that if the admit decision itself hinges on contacting your recommender then maybe, just maybe, some school may do it.

So if all your paperwork is in order then the school will definitely NOT contact anyone at your workplace or anyone mentioned in your application. Even if they do decide to contact, that'll happen AFTER you've been admitted. All business schools that I know of run 'background-checks' only on admitted candidates, if at all.

Hope this helps.

Hi Guys,

I have a question I got a promotion post my isb interview.

Do you think its a good idea to write to ISB as I mentioned my current project as one of my achievements.

I told in interview that I am promoted but my formal letter id due in Jan.

I was interviewed on Dec 25.

Thanks for your guidance.

Regards
Nik

Hey Nik,

I'm sure they already believed you when you mentioned your promotion in the interview but there is definitely no harm in putting papers out there to prove it. If I were you, I'd definitely send a mail to admissions with the letter attached and with a note stating the context. Can't weaken your case.

Good luck!

Best of luck.. I think it has gone well..

BTW, what are the typical answers to typical questions like Why not IIMA or Why not Mohali?

I wasn't asked these questions but I'd love to take a stab at them and will welcome your reviews.

Q. Why not IIMA?

A.
1. Better faculty. International scope. Learning will be relevant and current.
2. Well rounded, experienced students to interact and share experiences with.
3a. 1 year program means focused learning and ability to be back and contribute in the industry quicker.
3b. The fast pace of this program and its rigor will help in developing/further refining a fearless and disciplined approach in all aspects of life --> This will help immensely in the pursuit of leadership positions in the industry. What's considered an asset in business is in fact a necessity at ISB!
4. As per most rankings, ISB is head to head with the IIMs already - going by this rate of ascent, it will leave the IIMs far behind in 10 years.
5. Job profiles offered are more likely to respect previous work-ex. Many employers seek IIM grads for entry level management positions.
6. Beautiful campus - best facilities available in India. As a city, Hyderabad is far more cosmopolitan and alive than Ahmadabad - better located from recruiters' perspective as well.

Q. Why not Mohali?
A.
1. Mohali is great for those with a focus in XYZ(list all the focus areas that the Mohali campus is going to be famous for - the one that comes to mind is Healthcare). Since my focus is ABC/(HYD - IT /consulting etc). my career goals will be better served at the HYD campus. There are plenty of courses being offered at HYD campus that I will definitely want to attend and transferring from Mohali may become logistically difficult at some point in time.
2. (This definitely what I would've said but may not make much sense to most people) - Mohali will get pretty cold in the Winters. After having faced terrible winters for the last 5 years of my life, I want to make sure that weather issues do not affect my life at all - hyderabad will stay the same pretty much the same throughout the year. (btw, at the time of writing this down, Mohali is at 8 deg C and Hyd is at 20 degs ).
3. If you can name a relative that's closeby- that should also work. For example, my brother lives in Bangalore so it'll be easier for us to visit each other at Hyd.

Please, for God-sake, don't mention 'new campus' or 'unknown recruitment scene' or something that may show that you just fear the unknown more than anything else. In fact, a good answer to this will show the depth of your selection process and clarity of motives.

Let me know what you guys think - did I miss any interesting point or say something that would've backfired?