Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

Hi! Many of you have taken GMAT already and have some extra time in hand. Use it well at work to take initiatives, create leadership opportunities and build rapport with people you may have identified for your recommendations. While you may be keen on making it to ISB, it is wise to explore some global options as well. Cost isn't always as high as it appears on paper. Several universities provide as much as 100% scholarship and several others provide cosigner-free loans. You can always choose ISB eventually, but it's good to have some bargaining power in hand.

Also, if you are applying to foreign schools, try taking some MOOCs in Maths and Stats, if that part of your profile isn't clearly strong. If you haven't had any exposure to advance maths, it's good to take up some online courses. This will not only strengthen your application, but will also give you some meat for your optional essay. Some of the relevant courses may be:

https://www.coursera.org/course/statinference

https://www.coursera.org/course/exdata

Feel free to reach out to us for any further assistance.

All the Best!

'ISBmantra / EssaySunday Consulting'

https://www.isbmantra.com/people.html

[The only company with former ISB Admissions Officials on board]

10th: 86%

12th: 83.4%

GRADUATION
B.Tech. in Computer Science from IP University, Delhi with an aggregate score of 72.6% (First Class)

GMAT: 740

WORK-EX:
Working with Samvardhana Motherson Group (SMG) (World's 5th largest group) for past 2 years as a Software Engineer. Involved in different roles for 2 years. Was a JAVA developer for the first 12 months and worked on a project related to automobile industry wherein we tracked all the activities of major automobile players (like Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen etc.) and their manufacturing plants. In this project I proposed a module which involved scanning of invoices, of which I proposed the algorithm, to potentially reduce the effort at customer's side. This brought a business of 60.2 Million INR to organization. Received Star Performer of the Year award for the initiative taken.
In lieu to this initiative taken, after 1 year in the organization, I was shifted to Business Intelligence Team to use the critical data like revenue; budget etc. of the organization to track down the lacuna's to suggest possible changes to be made for organization's benefit. Working under this team, I proposed the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) which shall mitigate the re-work done in few teams in the organization. Upon review it was implemented in the organization. I inked down the proposed SDLC and got it converted in form of a research paper, published in a prestigious journal.

Total Work-Ex at the time of ISB 2016-17 application will be 2 years 8 months.

OVERSEAS EXPERIENCE
Went with project leader and other team members for installation and demo of the project to the client for duration of 3 months in Hungry during my tenure as a JAVA developer in initial 12 months

EXTRA-CURRICULAR
I have categorized extra-curricular into following categories.
Scholastic Achievements:
"¢ Have 5 research papers being the 1st author published in prestigious journals with a high impact factor. For one of the research paper published, was selected as a reviewer at the same journal (Science Alert) where mostly doctorate and post-doctorate professors are selected.
"¢ Was selected to represent my school in a competition of Mathematics and English conducted by University of New South Wales.
"¢ Winner of 3 state awards in technical events conducted at Delhi College of Engineering (DCE). Runner-Up in 4 technical events conducted at Delhi College of Engineering.
Dramatics
"¢ Winner in 1 competition and runner up in other organized in IGIT.
"¢ Played Football at National Level. Represented Delhi and scored a hat trick and helped team to reach semi-finals. Was also adjudicated Man-of-the-tournament by sports head of IIT during an intra-college football tournament in my college.
"¢ Organized literary events during college fests in the year 2011-2012-2013. Recoded higher participation with each successive year.
Debating and Literacy
"¢ Winner of 3 State level debate competitions organized at Delhi College of Engineering.
"¢ Winner of 3 State level extempore competitions organized at Delhi College of Engineering.
"¢ Winner of 3 State level essay competitions organized at Delhi College of Engineering and 1 essay event organized in my college.
"¢ Contributed to college and school magazines and remained an active blooger in my organization monthly newsletter.
Social Initiative
"¢ Involved with an NGO for past 3 years. Working as a treasurer now. During my time I organized events to raise fund for the NGO and used the same money to prevent cow smuggling and prevent slaughtering of cows in the small villages of Haryana.
"¢ A short 3 months internship at AIESEC under the program Iccha, to help slum children identify the basic cause of malaise. Helped them identify major pollutants and areas acting as a breeding ground of mosquitoes. Drafted a survey on the area visited and was adopted as a blue print by the local residents to palliate the waste.
"¢ Worked for 5 months at Children Home, Delhi Government foster home to orphan kids. Provided pedagogy to students and was involved in various teaching drives organized at foster home during those 5 moths.
"¢ Active member of CSR committee of my organization. Awarded for an active role in donation and social drives.


Is the GMAT score enough to compensate for low GPA and low work-ex while applying to ISB 2016-17 batch ? Or do I need to retake GMAT and try to score > 750 to offset the low GPA and work-ex ?

vipulaggarwal wrote:10th: 86%

12th: 83.4%

GRADUATION
B.Tech. in Computer Science from IP University, Delhi with an aggregate score of 72.6% (First Class)

GMAT: 740

WORK-EX:
Working with Samvardhana Motherson Group (SMG) (World's 5th largest group) for past 2 years as a Software Engineer. Involved in different roles for 2 years. Was a JAVA developer for the first 12 months and worked on a project related to automobile industry wherein we tracked all the activities of major automobile players (like Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen etc.) and their manufacturing plants. In this project I proposed a module which involved scanning of invoices, of which I proposed the algorithm, to potentially reduce the effort at customer's side. This brought a business of 60.2 Million INR to organization. Received Star Performer of the Year award for the initiative taken.
In lieu to this initiative taken, after 1 year in the organization, I was shifted to Business Intelligence Team to use the critical data like revenue; budget etc. of the organization to track down the lacuna's to suggest possible changes to be made for organization's benefit. Working under this team, I proposed the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) which shall mitigate the re-work done in few teams in the organization. Upon review it was implemented in the organization. I inked down the proposed SDLC and got it converted in form of a research paper, published in a prestigious journal.

Total Work-Ex at the time of ISB 2016-17 application will be 2 years 8 months.

OVERSEAS EXPERIENCE
Went with project leader and other team members for installation and demo of the project to the client for duration of 3 months in Hungry during my tenure as a JAVA developer in initial 12 months

EXTRA-CURRICULAR
I have categorized extra-curricular into following categories.
Scholastic Achievements:
"¢ Have 5 research papers being the 1st author published in prestigious journals with a high impact factor. For one of the research paper published, was selected as a reviewer at the same journal (Science Alert) where mostly doctorate and post-doctorate professors are selected.
"¢ Was selected to represent my school in a competition of Mathematics and English conducted by University of New South Wales.
"¢ Winner of 3 state awards in technical events conducted at Delhi College of Engineering (DCE). Runner-Up in 4 technical events conducted at Delhi College of Engineering.
Dramatics
"¢ Winner in 1 competition and runner up in other organized in IGIT.
"¢ Played Football at National Level. Represented Delhi and scored a hat trick and helped team to reach semi-finals. Was also adjudicated Man-of-the-tournament by sports head of IIT during an intra-college football tournament in my college.
"¢ Organized literary events during college fests in the year 2011-2012-2013. Recoded higher participation with each successive year.
Debating and Literacy
"¢ Winner of 3 State level debate competitions organized at Delhi College of Engineering.
"¢ Winner of 3 State level extempore competitions organized at Delhi College of Engineering.
"¢ Winner of 3 State level essay competitions organized at Delhi College of Engineering and 1 essay event organized in my college.
"¢ Contributed to college and school magazines and remained an active blooger in my organization monthly newsletter.
Social Initiative
"¢ Involved with an NGO for past 3 years. Working as a treasurer now. During my time I organized events to raise fund for the NGO and used the same money to prevent cow smuggling and prevent slaughtering of cows in the small villages of Haryana.
"¢ A short 3 months internship at AIESEC under the program Iccha, to help slum children identify the basic cause of malaise. Helped them identify major pollutants and areas acting as a breeding ground of mosquitoes. Drafted a survey on the area visited and was adopted as a blue print by the local residents to palliate the waste.
"¢ Worked for 5 months at Children Home, Delhi Government foster home to orphan kids. Provided pedagogy to students and was involved in various teaching drives organized at foster home during those 5 moths.
"¢ Active member of CSR committee of my organization. Awarded for an active role in donation and social drives.


Is the GMAT score enough to compensate for low GPA and low work-ex while applying to ISB 2016-17 batch ? Or do I need to retake GMAT and try to score > 750 to offset the low GPA and work-ex ?

Hi @vipulaggarwal! Your acads aren't low enough to be so worried. You have some very interesting elements to your profile and if presented well, it is very likely that ISB will be interested in your application despite the low workex. It will be important to use your essays well to demonstrate strong maturity and leadership potential. Though GMAT cannot offset a low workex, if you think you are likely to score 750+ if you retake, it can certainly add value to your overall application score.

All the Best!
'ISBmantra'

https://www.isbmantra.com/people.html
[The only company with former ISB Admissions Officials on board]

Hi Vipul,

Your GMAT score is good and wont be a hindrance. Your work ex duration is less but if you can defend the reason for MBA at early stages of your career, you will get an interview call. Your 2 years have been good and we can see lot of achievements. So, use them well in essays.

Overall, years of experience matter but if your essays / recos make you sound mature and adcom understands that your exposure, learnings and skillset is equivalent to a typical IT applicant with 4 years of experience and you are clear about your goals and need for an MBA, you will be good.

Feel free to contact us if you have any queries.

goISB Team

Hi Team

Please find my profile below:

Class 10th: 94.4%
Class 12th: 85%
IIT Delhi: 7.43

Working in Flipkart- 3years

Extra Currics in Cricket, Dramatics

Was part of startup in college, founded one startup while doing job and won several B Plan comps.

Was Director, E Cell IIT Delhi; Awarded best student of school and few academic achievements.

Pls evaluate my profile.

AmeenGupta wrote:Hi Team

Please find my profile below:

Class 10th: 94.4%
Class 12th: 85%
IIT Delhi: 7.43

Working in Flipkart- 3years

Extra Currics in Cricket, Dramatics

Was part of startup in college, founded one startup while doing job and won several B Plan comps.

Was Director, E Cell IIT Delhi; Awarded best student of school and few academic achievements.

Pls evaluate my profile.

Hi @AmeenGupta! Things look good till here. Your academic scores may not be extraordinary, but being from IIT should help. If you have played cricket beyond the Flipkart cricket tournament that concluded recently, it's worth discussing in your essays, else the B-plan competitions and your startup should give you enough fodder. Focus on GMAT now and you will be placed comfortably well with a 730+.

All the Best!

'ISBmantra'

https://www.isbmantra.com/people.html
[The only company with former ISB Admissions Officials on board]

AmeenGupta wrote:Hi Team

Please find my profile below:

Class 10th: 94.4%
Class 12th: 85%
IIT Delhi: 7.43

Working in Flipkart- 3years

Extra Currics in Cricket, Dramatics

Was part of startup in college, founded one startup while doing job and won several B Plan comps.

Was Director, E Cell IIT Delhi; Awarded best student of school and few academic achievements.

Pls evaluate my profile.

Hi Ameen,

Your candidature looks decent. IIT brand will help. GPA is neither great nor bad.
We just googled your profile. Given that you are into finance related job at Flipkart you can better present your candidature as compared to applicants with tech profile.

Entrepreneurial experience should help if you can highlight the learnings well.

Focus on getting a 720+ on GMAT and you can expect an interview call if your essays are good.

Feel free to contact us for any queries.

goISB Team

Hi GoISB,

It's great that you are giving inputs to ISB aspirants. Can you please share your inputs on my profile?

I will more than 10 years of experience in IT with Cognizant & Tata Consultancy Services by April, 2016, in that Onsite Experience (USA) is close to 4.5 years.

Work experience:
1) All the IT experience is in Healthcare & Banking domains.
2) PMP Certified. Other Technical certificates: Oracle & Data warehouse
3) Lead & supported Associates from my Company, Client, and other vendors.
4) I have been part of Modernization projects, Upgrade Projects, Government Compliance Projects, and worked in accounts that grew in size form a handful to hundreds, etc.
5) Trained in Sig Sigma Green belt & worked in all phases of IT Projects.
6) Worked as Quality auditor & have been part of Recruitment drives

Academics:
X - 73%
XII - 82 %
B-Tech (IT) - 74% (College affiliated to Anna University)

Major Extra-curricular activites:
1) Co-Founder of a NGO Trust, through which we are selecting & sponsoring expenses of School students for last 4 years. Before starting the trust, we have been helping Students for another 4 years.
2) Have been Class representative & Association committee head in Under-grad
3) Conducted various competitions at Office & in Under-grad
4) Have won Second prize in zonal level Essay competition during school days
5) Initiated Account level participation & contribution to Haiti earthquake

I am planning to take GMAT in October,2015 with a target score between 700 and 720. I am currently working in USA and planning to apply for April 2017 batch.

Questions I have-
1) Does my plan to join by April 2017(by then having about 11.5 years of W.E.) sound too late?
2) What you think is a good GMAT score for my Profile?
3) Sometimes I hear people say, when someone is having more than 10 years of Work experience, we should not think of ISB as it takes Students from 2 years of W.E. Do you think ISB can still be a good place for my growth upon selection?

Thank you in advance!

Regards,
Ram

Would love an evaluation of my profile:

Undergrad: Dual Degree Civil Engineering from IIT Kharagpur
GPA - 7.9
GMAT - 730
1 Year with NTPC
4 years running own business in Water Supply infrastructure in MP / ORISSA.

satwikpanda wrote:Would love an evaluation of my profile:

Undergrad: Dual Degree Civil Engineering from IIT Kharagpur
GPA - 7.9
GMAT - 730
1 Year with NTPC
4 years running own business in Water Supply infrastructure in MP / ORISSA.

Hi there!

Congratulations on the solid GMAT score! Academically, you're in a great place.

With a strong application, justifying the need for an MBA and how it will add value to your career, you stand an excellent chance at ISB and any other schools you're targeting. Good Luck with it!

satwikpanda wrote:Would love an evaluation of my profile:

Undergrad: Dual Degree Civil Engineering from IIT Kharagpur
GPA - 7.9
GMAT - 730
1 Year with NTPC
4 years running own business in Water Supply infrastructure in MP / ORISSA.

Hi @satwikpanda! You have a really unique profile and your essays will be key in helping you put up a strong application. But with 4 yrs into your business already, you should introspect on what exactly you want to gain from your MBA. There are options like MFAB at ISB that can serve specific purpose. Or if you want to expand your business/clientele globally, there can be other interesting options. We can discuss more to help refine your options.

All the Best!
'ISBmantra /EssaySunday Consulting'
https://www.isbmantra.com/people.html
[The only company with former ISB Admissions Officials on board]

Watch our clients speak : https://youtu.be/S4iMb-NYb6Y

Hello Everyone!

Would like to have my profile evaluated as well, so that I could focus on what to correct and what to retain.
I'm aiming for ISB EEO.

10th - ICSE - 92.8%
12th - ISC - 83%
Grad - CGPA - 8.08 (B.Tech in Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering from KIIT University, Bhubaneswar)

WORK EXPERIENCE:

11 months as Business Technology Analyst at Deloitte USI COnsulting Pvt. Ltd.

Project name: WellPoint Inc.
Industry: Health care
Client is one of the leading American HealthCare companies, looking to provide the best of health
insurance policies to its customers.
Project involves a dashboard that has been developed which will facilitate its user to understand
the usage of the insurance policies being provided to its employees
Role includes looking into discrepancies that may arise in the existing databases. Delivering
a solution after thorough analysis is a major pre-emptive towards fixing the problem


EXTRA-CURRICULAR:

"¢ Core team member at TEDx MasterCanteenSquare '13, Bhubaneswar
"¢ Worked as a Senior Editor for a college start-up called Brogels.com
"¢ Member of the Student Editorial Board for College Magazine 'Kutumb'
"¢ Worked as a SIFE Activist
"¢ Participated in several Model United Nations(MUN) Conferences, debating & Business-oriented competitions across the country. Organized several literary events at KIIT University.
"¢ Former columnist for Bewakoof e-Magazine
"¢ Learnt painting(Diploma) for four years

I am planning to write my GMAT this September so that I can apply for R1 applications.
Please let me know where I stand and what I need to work on.

Thank you!

Cloveisse wrote:Hello Everyone!

Would like to have my profile evaluated as well, so that I could focus on what to correct and what to retain.
I'm aiming for ISB EEO.

10th - ICSE - 92.8%
12th - ISC - 83%
Grad - CGPA - 8.08 (B.Tech in Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering from KIIT University, Bhubaneswar)

WORK EXPERIENCE:

11 months as Business Technology Analyst at Deloitte USI COnsulting Pvt. Ltd.

Project name: WellPoint Inc.
Industry: Health care
Client is one of the leading American HealthCare companies, looking to provide the best of health
insurance policies to its customers.
Project involves a dashboard that has been developed which will facilitate its user to understand
the usage of the insurance policies being provided to its employees
Role includes looking into discrepancies that may arise in the existing databases. Delivering
a solution after thorough analysis is a major pre-emptive towards fixing the problem


EXTRA-CURRICULAR:

"¢ Core team member at TEDx MasterCanteenSquare '13, Bhubaneswar
"¢ Worked as a Senior Editor for a college start-up called Brogels.com
"¢ Member of the Student Editorial Board for College Magazine 'Kutumb'
"¢ Worked as a SIFE Activist
"¢ Participated in several Model United Nations(MUN) Conferences, debating & Business-oriented competitions across the country. Organized several literary events at KIIT University.
"¢ Former columnist for Bewakoof e-Magazine
"¢ Learnt painting(Diploma) for four years

I am planning to write my GMAT this September so that I can apply for R1 applications.
Please let me know where I stand and what I need to work on.

Thank you!

Hi,

Your profile looks decent from an EEO perspective. Deloitte is a good brand and analyst experience will be valued more than a developer experience as you can highlight some business/ consumer related understanding. Wellpoint is one of the biggest insurance carriers in US. So, that together with Insurance industry understanding will help you if used well.

A lot will depend on how you blend your experience with post MBA goals. Your experience can be channeled into analytics, strategy consulting or product mgmt experience post MBA. Also, GMAT score plays a crucial role for EEO applicants as applicants have little work ex to differentiate themselves.

Focus on GMAT and target a 730+.

Feel free to contact us for any queries.

goISB Team

ISB info sessions calendar for upcoming sessions in Kolkata, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mohali. ( details available at: https://www.isb.edu/events/admission-events)

Kolkata
August 09, 2015 | Sun | 11:00 Taj Bengal Hotel, 34-B Belvedere Road, Alipore, Kolkata, India, 700 027

Mumbai
August 16, 2015 | Sun Grand Central Hotel, ITC Grand Central,287, Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, Mumbai, India, 400012

Pune
August 23, 2015 | Sun | 11:00 Vivanta by Taj Blue Diamond Hotel, 11 Koregaon Road, Pune, India, 411 001

Hyderabad
September 06, 2015 | Sun | 11:00 Hyderabad Campus, Khemkha Auditorium, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, India, 500032

Mumbai
October 18, 2015 | Sun Grand Central Hotel, ITC Grand Central, 287, Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, Mumbai, India, 400012

Gurgaon
October 25, 2015 | Sun The Westin Gurgaon, Number 1, MG Road, Sector 29, New Delhi NCR, Gurgaon, Haryana, Gurgaon, India, 122002

Bangalore
November 01, 2015 | Sun | 11:00 ITC Windsor Hotel, ITC Windsor, 25 Windsor Square, Bangalore, India, 560052

Mohali
November 29, 2015 | Sun | 11:00 Mohali Campus, Knowledge City, Sector - 81, Mohali, India, 140306

Hyderabad
December 13, 2015 | Sun | 11:00 Hyderabad Campus, Khemkha Auditorium, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, India, 500032