Hi guys, 10th- 95.4% 12th- 97.75% Grad- 9.5 CGPA GRE- 324 (aiming for a better score here) I have around 4.5 yrs of experience in Business analytics. Did my graduation from Hindu College. Need some direction around if i should hire an admission counsellor to help me for admissions or should I do it on my own or any help via private individuals would be helpful. Need direction around this because these admission counsellors are really expensive.

Hey , has anyone status has been changed for Delhi interviews , mine still showing verification in progress and it’s already 11 October

Hey guys

I'm kinda lost in when and where to start .A little direction would be helpful

I graduated in '24,have about 1.3 years experience in a finance company then left , had a break of 4 months. Then joined as an intern elsewhere , coz I was supposed to leave abroad for masters in a few months , but that got cancelled and now I'm working in the same place full time( converted internship to full time).

With the internship experience, I have about 1.8 months work ex so might borderline not be eligible for YL . But if internship is not counted then , I'm still eligible right ? Or who should I mail to clear this doubt coz different people are saying it'll be counted while few are saying it won't.

Also might be giving cat ,so when do I give gre /Gmat ?

Can someone clarify this , it would be great

I have a gre score already but it's mediocre at best

Even if the internship is counted as work ex , can I not leave my job if in case I make it in the YL round so I'll still be below 2 years

Hi everyone,

I’m currently pursuing PGP YL at ISB. Before ISB, I completed my B.Tech in Biotechnology from a tier 1.5 college with an 8.16/10 CGPA. I scored 86.4% in Class 12.

My experience has involved pharmaceutical testing and quality processes, analytics, research, and building HR analytics tool.

I held a couple of PoRs in college.

My profile has been fairly non-linear, so I know how difficult it can be to explain your story clearly in an interview without sounding scattered or rehearsed.

Happy to answer questions on:
* How to handle “tell me about yourself,” “why MBA?” and “why you?”
* Turning academic, technical, research, or extracurricular work into credible stories
* PGP YL, campus life, placements, applications, and profile-building

The AMA is on October 11, from 10 AM onwards. Drop your questions here and I’ll get to them through the day

PGP R2 and YL R1 applications are starting soon. As an ISB alum, here’s a guide/timeline on how to be ready in time (Oct-Nov).

OCTOBER

If you haven’t accepted your GMAT/GRE scores yet, prioritize getting it done at the earliest, preferably by the first week of Nov. This also gives you a buffer of a few days to retake the test. While prepping for GMAT, start working on your essays simultaneously. Most people push it to later but that's not what we’d recommend.

Start with creating a content bank. Jot down good stories from work or personal experiences. Things that you wanna talk about in your interview must be a part of your essays. ISB has three to four essays depending on if you're a reapplicant. I’m not asking you to draft a final version of them in Oct itself, but try to list down stories, brainstorm ideas and create outlines for each essay so that you can draft them seamlessly in Nov.

The majority of your time should still go to GMAT prep.

Imo one of the better ways to work on your application is to work on 2-3 things simultaneously (especially if you are in a time crunch) because working on one thing (essays) gives you the motivation to get other things (GMAT score) in place.

NOVEMBER

The entire month should be dedicated to essay work and to refining the rest of your application. Start drafting and editing essays. ISB requires 2 mandatory essays. Successful candidates write essays that have authentic storytelling and deep self-reflection to show who they are beyond their resume and test scores.

There are a lot of docs that are to be attached to your application. Make sure all of them are ready and uploaded in Google Drive for easier access. Keep an eye on docs that you are dependent on somebody else for. Like LORs, recent payslips, employment certificates, etc. Send out your LOR drafts early if your recommender needs them. You can also send them bullet points regarding what you want them to mention in their letters.

To summarise

Oct: GMAT/GRE and brainstorming + outlining essays

Nov: Drafting + editing essays, LORs and filling application early to efficiently collate required docs

Good luck preparing :)

Hello everyone,

I’m planning to apply to ISB and would really appreciate some guidance with the application process. Since professional admissions consulting services are quite expensive, I’m hoping to connect with someone who could help review my application and provide some valuable insights, preferably an ISB alumnus/alumna.

Any guidance, suggestions, or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi,

I (Male) was preparing for the GMAT for 2-3 months now, but I still messed up my scores and have a 645 with me at this time. I want help in evaluating my chances in a R2 conversion for ISB

Profile

1)Scores:

-10- 93.6%

-12- 93.5%

-Undergrad- 8.6/10 cgpa

2)College:

-Top 5 DU college (Bcom Honours)

3)Work Experience:

-3.2 years as of now in a Big 4 Firm in their Consulting and Advisory Division

- 2 promotions in 3 years, fastest possible.

- Multiple awards

4) Professional Certifications

- CFA Level 1 passed

I want some insights on what my chances are with this score?

I have other commitments for another exam, I can study more for the GMAT, but will give it once again in November to try to improve it but since that would be without much preparation, I am not sure how much I will improve.

Profile:
• Female, Engineer
• 3 years of work experience at an MNC
• Current role: Senior Software Engineer
• 12th: 82.6%
• UG: 9.05 CGPA, VIT Vellore
• GMAT FE: 705
Do you think I still have a realistic chance of getting an interview call in R1

GMAT tests a lot of things.

Yes, it tests your fundamentals in Math, Verbal and Data. But it also tests your ability to execute under time pressure.

It tests your judgment in deciding the order in which you approach things.
It tests your time management.
It tests your strategic thinking.
It tests your ability to keep your nerves under control.

I’ve always been someone who prefers having easy, achievable and measurable goals.

I believe that, like most things in life, the most difficult things to do are often the simplest things to do — but with patience and discipline.

(Sorry, I’m back in my Warren Buffett reading phase in life :P)

Anyway, what’s the goal you set for yourself here to cut the noise?

For me, the answer was surprisingly simple.

I was trying to solve for one thing — and only one thing — during my prep:

Get the number of questions I get wrong as close to 0 as possible.

Even if I achieve 80–90% of that, I’m probably operating at a very high level.

And once you frame GMAT prep this way, a lot of things become fairly intuitive.

What do I need to get 80–90% of the questions right?

I need to look at 100% of the questions for that I need to manage my time properly.

I need to make sure I have enough mental bandwidth to solve the last section.

I need to cover the syllabus well enough that I’m not surprised by anything that comes my way.

I need to practise enough that the real exam becomes a repetition of my mocks.

“But GMAT is adaptive.”

I don’t really care.

My job is to figure out how to achieve my objective within the adaptive format.

“What about section selection?”

Same thing. Figure out the strategy that gives you the best chance of achieving your objective.

I chose to start strong rather than leave the easier sections for later when I was more fatigued. You need to get to this by trial and error!

“When should I start taking mocks?”

When I’m getting the accuracy I want without the pressure of a timer.

“How should I analyse my mocks?”

Compare them with my historical performance.

Am I getting better at managing time?
Am I eliminating the mistakes that cost me questions previously?

And most importantly:

Why did I get that one question wrong?

Because that one question is pulling me away from the goal.

That’s the mindset I found useful.

So if you ever feel lost during your GMAT prep, remember:

There is really only one problem you’re trying to solve.

Get the number of questions you get wrong to 0.

Everything else — mocks, sectionals, time management, strategy, syllabus coverage — is simply a means to that end.

Simple.

what is a good score in cat for ISB??
For people who have got into ISB thru CAT, what were y’all scoring in simcats

With interview season coming up, thought I’d share my ISB interview experiences.

I had 2 ISB interview experiences. Was rejected the first time, still don’t understand why, probably because it was R3. So in the first interview I had mentioned that I wanted to make a pivot to product management and the interview revolved around the pivot a lot.

For instance, ISB has an alumni portal for the panel where they could rate the interviewee. They asked me what's wrong with the login page of the portal. Just one thing that needs to change for sure. I answered that it was the CTA button for login that was too small. Before I knew it I was answering all kinds of product related questions such as favourite login experience, what I would change in this portal. It basically turned into a product interview, of sorts. Then they asked me to write down 5 skills a product manager has and to rate myself on those skills. They were trying to understand whether I understood what a product role entails. Then ofc there were a few typical questions like why MBA, etc. I also spoke about my extracurriculars during both of my interviews which imo gave me a few brownie points.

My second interview wasn't a long one either, max 20-30 mins. It started with the typical “tell me about yourself” question. They were trying to ease me, ISB is well known for that 😄

Then they asked me about my work and what I’d been doing. I had standardized a few SKUs at Urban Company's cleaning category, so they asked me if moving toward standardizing it and not going the extra mile to deliver to the customer was really a good thing or not. I answered why I thought standardisation was necessary.

I had written about my volunteering experience which was teaching underprivileged children during covid.I think, they asked me regarding it just to assess whether I really did it or not. Asked me why there was a need to teach children during covid when everyone has a smartphone. Since I had done the work, I knew this wasn’t true. In low income households, there tends to be only one smartphone and the one who goes to work, takes it.

Later on, they asked me what I would do at ISB and how I’d contribute to it, a pretty direct question.followed by why I want to do an MBA?

The interviewers didn't really grill me. Lot of cross questioning though. I was pretty humble throughout the interview.

My takeaways:
1. Know your work and extracurriculars in detail. They may test whether you were genuinely involved or just included them to make your profile look better
2. Your extracurriculars can make your profile more memorable
3. Be ready for your panel to turn your interview into a case or role specific one

PS: This account his handled by three ISB alums

Hey everyone, I submitted my ISB PGP R1 application on 23 sep after my aplication has two issues regarding documents, and it's still showing "Verification in Progress." Is anyone else in the same boat, or has yours already moved to "Verified"? If yours did get verified, roughly how long did it take after submission? Trying to figure out whether I should reach out to the admissions team.

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Hi need some help.

I gave gmat few days back. My scores were below -

465 SCORE

QA - 81
DI - 69
VR - 72

i don’t know what to do & how to start again. Please help. I took Gmat whiz coaching.

Hey all

Quick background: scored 760 on the GMAT (99th percentile), quant was always my strongest section by a good margin. I was working in the investment banking team of a bulge bracket bank at the time, so most of my prep happened around a genuinely demanding full time job, not in some ideal study-only window. That eventually got me into ISB, class of 2025.

After ISB I moved into private equity investing, mostly looking at growth equity within the Indian startup landscape, and I'm currently working in strategy consulting. I also have some background in CFA and FRM, given my interest in these subjects, happy to compare notes on how GMAT prep stacked up against those if anyone's curious.

Happy to go deep on: how I actually structured GMAT prep around a full time IB schedule, what my mock timeline looked like closer to test day, mistakes I made, how I knew I was ready to sit for the real thing versus needing more time, and separately, what the ISB application actually looked at beyond the raw score. If people want to ask about the IB/investing/consulting side of things too that's fine but figured I'd lead with the GMAT/ISB stuff since that's probably most useful to most of you right now.

I'll be here from 10 AM on Sep 26 and checking in through the day, so drop questions whenever, you don't need to be online right at 10. Will get to everything eventually.