MBA Decoder

An MBA Grad’s journey from Social Sector to Consulting

How does one create social impact? By being on-the ground, living among the beneficiaries and understanding their problems first hand, in order to provide the best solutions. Subham Chirania did just that. An IIT Kanpur graduate, he started his career in the banking sector, but the itch to work upon the societal issues that had […]

ISB PGP Essay Analysis for 2019-2020

If the MBA Decoder team was to think of consistency in essay topics, we would first rate Stanford and INSEAD and then ISB at number 3. Many, many years ago, ISB used to ask guesstimate kind of hypothetical questions, but over the years, those evolved into the “uniqueness” questions and this has consistently been asked […]

Looking For Reasons To Admit, Not Reasons To Deny

Several years ago, an admissions manager at ISB told me, we look for reasons to admit applicants, not to deny them. This was a perplexing statement given the astounding number of applicants that apply to top business schools every year and the abysmally low conversion rates. However, over the years, I have repeatedly heard this […]

ISB Essay Analysis 2018-19

Essay 1: At ISB we value diversity as it enhances both the in-class and out of class learning experience. Tell us how would you contribute to the same? (400 words max) This essay requires you to acquire deep knowledge of the ISB MBA program. You will need to research the MBA program by talking to students […]

Chasing the American MBA Dream: Applicant with Multiple Admits

The MBA Decoder team was fortunate to interact with Nishant Verma who had applied to several American b-schools for the Fall 2018 intake and got into some top programs such as Austin McCombs, UNC Kenan Flagler and ISB. Nishant tells us about his goal of getting into product management post-MBA, how this impacted his b-school […]

ISB’s Early Entry Option: Q&A with the ISB Admissions Team

Recently. we had a chance to chat up with Sanjay Dhingra, Senior Manager in the admissions team at ISB and incharge of the Early Entry Option. He gave us some sound inputs that will help Early Entry Option applicants make their application stronger. Here is the interview: 1. Who should apply to the Early Entry Option? […]

ISB Essay Analysis 2014-15

The biggest change in ISB’s essay line-up this year is that they require substantial self-awareness and analysis. ISB clearly wants serious contenders in the game – people who have spent time pondering over their strengths and weaknesses, gaps and opportunities; and they are now raring to make a year-long investment in themselves. Another change is […]

ISB Essay Analysis – 2013-14

Attitude, skills and knowledge differentiate people. Elaborate with two examples on how you would differentiate yourself from other applicants to the PGP. (300 words max) A: ISB has been asking applicants a question on their differentiating factors for many years now. This year, they have added a slight twist to it. They have specifically asked […]

ISB Essay Questions (2013-14)

ISB has released its application for the PGP class of 2013-14. Interestingly, the b-school has added a new section- a video upload. They have also  changed essay 1.      Application Deadline  Offer Decision  Round 1  September 15, 2012  November 15, 2012  Round 2  by November 30, 2012  by February 15, 2013   Please make […]

ISB Doubles Scholarships to INR 8 crores

– One in every seven students to receive an ISB scholarship – Additional scholarships available for aspiring entrepreneurs   ISB has announced the doubling of its scholarships from INR 4 crores to INR 8 crores for the incoming class of 2013. Through this increased outlay, one in every seven students studying at the school will receive […]