It's back! -[2008] Ask ISB-Hyderabad: Admission Director answers your queries!

MBA
1

Dear all :), We are back with an all-new Query thread featuring the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad Admission Director for the 2008 admission season! This thread is where *ISB’s Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Mr VK…

2

Dear all :),

We are back with an all-new Query thread featuring the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad Admission Director for the 2008 admission season!

This thread is where ISB's Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Mr VK Menon answers all your questions about admissions, scholarships, placements, faculty, infrastructure, culture and student life.

Now since a large number of people are going to be using this thread, there is likely to be chaos and redundancy. We will thus have to lay down a few ground rules for all those who wish to ask their questions here.

The Do's

  1. Go through the thread pages first, most probably your question has already been asked by somebody else and asking it again will be a redundant activity. By reading through the thread, you will also learn a lot of interesting facts about ISB through other users' questions.
  2. Go through the ISB Admission FAQ page for answers to the most commonly asked questions.

  3. If your question or a similar question has NOT been asked before, you can post your questions about ISB Hyderabad or MBA careers here by hitting the 'Post Reply' button on top or by clicking here.

    NOTE - Those asking repeat questions without going through the thread first will be BANNED from asking questions here for the entire year.

  4. Dr Menon and his team, who will watch this thread will answer all your queries on a regular basis.
  5. So once you post your question, you can come back to this thread in a couple of days to find your answer or even better, Subscribe to this thread by clicking on the 'Thread tools' link on the top-right side at the top of the thread.

The Don'ts
  1. NO PROFILE CHECK questions allowed - 'The following are my marks and my work experience so What are my chances at ISB?' - such type questions are not allowed and will simply be deleted. This thread is not meant to be a dipstick test to measure your admission feasibility. Those who are looking to find answers to such questions - please read last year's ISB Admission Director thread. Every permutation and combination of 'What are my chances' questions have been answered there.
  2. No asking redundant questions. First read through the thread. If you don't find your question already asked, only then ask.

ISB's eligibility criteria

To be eligible to apply to ISB Hyderabad, you need:
  1. A Bachelors degree
  2. A valid GMAT Score
  3. 2 years full-time work experience after graduation
  4. TOEFL or IELTS score only if language of instruction during undergraduate education was not English

Dr Menon's PG User ID is Admissions@ISB.

Good luck to everyone!

Cheers
3

Hello Sir,

I would like to know the relevance of the Graduate level academic scores in the admission process at ISB and whether the quantity or quality of my work exp. would be able to compensate for an average academic record (60-70%)?

Regards
Abhishek

4

Hello Sir,

Could you please let us know if there is a minimum GMAT score for applicants. Also, if a person has given GMAT twice, then how do you evaluate his score? Do you take the average of both the GMAT tests or just consider the latest test score.

Please advise..

Thanks,
Nataraj

5

dear Mr. Menon,

Firstly thanks a ton for taking time out to reply to our queries. WE all appreciate it. I too have some questions and I think you are probably well placed to answer them.

My Profile :

12th - 76%
BCom - 76%

Workex :

12 months - associate in international BPO ( client - American Express )
15 months - lecturer in internationally recognized college
17 months - asst to music director ( music and sound engineering )

I am one of those guys who wanted to make a shift to finance and so I took up a job as an associate in investment servicing. Will complete 13 months in that role by Apr 2009.

Well I wont ask for a profile check here. I know you might be quite fed up of it by now. But here are my queries

1. Does ISB cover good modules for someone wanting to major in finance. At the website they say "Analytical Finance" as a specialization. I presume its good enough for a career in finance. But they dont give a further break up of the topics that will be covered in that specialization. For someone like me what are the modules available in finance that I can opt for?

2. Could you explain the system of bidding for subjects. How does this system work. I've read that some students did not get the subjects of their choice because of this bidding system. Why is it so? I dont want to spend so much money and in the end not get the subjects of my choice.

3. Is there at all any chance of doing an internship. after the 12 month period. Will we miss out on placements if we opt to do so.

4. Pls pls pls try to get this one. What is the lowest domestic and international package offered. Its something not on the website but this information will help to put the placements statistics in perspective.

5. How much will a person end up spending for this course. I am looking at an all inclusive figure. Including your laundries and weekend outings maybe. ISB website puts the figure at around 19 lakhs. Can we manage within that or are there other program related expenses we must make provision for.

Looking forward to your reply,

thanks,

Jose.
:-P

6

Hi Mr Menon,

I had a few questions related to very specifically to the application process. I would be very glad if you could answer it for me -

1) Recos - There is an option called HOD in the relation - is that good enough for describing my boss' boss or is it only for college HODs?

2) Also, I know my HOD for 6 months (January, that is when he took over), is it good enough for him to recommend me?

3) Coming to Awards and Activities - For awards it is mentioned that "You may submit certificates to corroborate these significant awards mentioned by you, at the time of interview, if short-listed". What if I do not have any certificates to prove this? How are these certificates verified?

4) In the awards can I list Professional awards and letters to my parents stating my "brilliant" work? If so, The Area of Award should be "Others"?

5) In the case of Activities, I helped a social club in charity and collection of money and have a letter of appreciation from them. Should it go as an activity or as an Award? Also, do I require to have a proof for Activities section?

Sorry if some questions sound repetitive

Regards,

7

Hi,
I went to the ISB information session at Bangalore on the 22nd of this month. And while interacting with one of the alumni present, I was given to understand that it is very difficult to manage a career switch after ISB. Now this is very important to me so it would be very useful at least to me if I can get your view on this.
Basically I am a IIT --> GMAT 770 --> 2 yrs of IT work ex guy who wants to get into Investment Banking post MBA. Can ISB help me achieve this? It would also be very useful if you could tell how many people on an average manage to switch from non Finance backgrounds into Investment Banking kind of profiles every yr.
The alumnus made it sound as if this kind of switch was more or less a Herculean task and he said that most IT guys would get placed in IT companies. He even went to the extent of saying that if you absolutely want to get into IBanking why dont you pursue Financial Engineering MS from some USA Univ or some other 2 yr MBA where you will get the chance to intern. So basically I am pretty dispirited now.
Would be glad if you can comment.
Thanks

8

Hi Sir

I have a very basic question regarding the "work experience requirement" mentioned as a part of the eligibility criteria. Does that mean 2 years work experience is required at the time of applying, or 2 years work experience by the time I join ISB?
I joined my first job (Lehman Brothers Mumbai) in July 2007. If I apply this year, it will be only 14 months experience, but if I get selected, I will have almost 2 years (22 months) of work experience by the time I join.

Please clarify.

Regards
Pawan Jain

9
Dear all :),

We are back with an all-new Query thread featuring the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad Admission Director for the 2008 admission season!

This thread is where ISB's Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Dr VK Menon answers all your questions about admissions, scholarships, placements, faculty, infrastructure, culture and student life.

Now since a large number of people are going to be using this thread, there is likely to be chaos and redundancy. We will thus have to lay down a few ground rules for all those who wish to ask their questions here.

The Do's
  1. Go through the thread pages first, most probably your question has already been asked by somebody else and asking it again will be a redundant activity. By reading through the thread, you will also learn a lot of interesting facts about ISB through other users' questions.
  2. If your question or a similar question has NOT been asked before, you can post your questions about ISB Hyderabad or MBA careers here by hitting the 'Post Reply' button on top or by clicking here.

    NOTE - Those asking repeat questions without going through the thread first will be BANNED from asking questions here for the entire year.

  3. Dr Menon and his team, who will watch this thread will answer all your queries on a regular basis.
  4. So once you post your question, you can come back to this thread in a couple of days to find your answer or even better, Subscribe to this thread by clicking on the 'Thread tools' link on the top-right side at the top of the thread.
The Don'ts
  1. NO PROFILE CHECK questions allowed - 'The following are my marks and my work experience so What are my chances at ISB?' - such type questions are not allowed and will simply be deleted. This thread is not meant to be a dipstick test to measure your admission feasibility. Those who are looking to find answers to such questions - please read last year's ISB Admission Director thread. Every permutation and combination of 'What are my chances' questions have been answered there.
  2. No asking redundant questions. First read through the thread. If you don't find your question already asked, only then ask.
ISB's eligibility criteria



To be eligible to apply to ISB Hyderabad, you need:
  1. A Bachelors degree
  2. A valid GMAT Score
  3. 2 years full-time work experience after graduation
  4. TOEFL or IELTS score only if language of instruction during undergraduate education was not English
Dr Menon's PG User ID is Admissions@ISB.

Good luck to everyone!

Cheers


Our thanks to the PG team for facilitating this discussion thread. It will be my pleaure to respond to your queries. My colleagues in the admissions team will help me in responding to these queries as well.

Menon
10

Hello Sir,

Thanks for your support to our endeavors at PG. Sir i have a simple question although the admission page states that however i still wish to gain absolute clarity over the same.

Is 2 years of experience an essential pre-requisite for admission consideration at ISB, irrespective of the candidate's profile and background.

11
Hello Sir,

I would like to know the relevance of the Graduate level academic scores in the admission process at ISB and whether the quantity or quality of my work exp. would be able to compensate for an average academic record (60-70%)?

Regards
Abhishek


Dear Abhishek,

Definitely. Since we do a holistic evaluation of your application, an average performance can be compensated by a spectacular performance in another arena. In your case you should aim for a very good GMAT score and provide instances of accomplishments in your job which signal the quality of your work experience.

Menon
12
Hello Sir,

Could you please let us know if there is a minimum GMAT score for applicants. Also, if a person has given GMAT twice, then how do you evaluate his score? Do you take the average of both the GMAT tests or just consider the latest test score.

Please advise..

Thanks,
Nataraj


Dear Nataraj,

We have no minimum GMAT score requirement. However a very low score becomes uncompetitive because each applicant is vying for limited number of seats at ISB. Try and give GMAT your best shot.

If one has taken the GMAT more than once we consider the highest valid score even if it is not the latest score.

Menon
13
because the question is too general.

Moderator note - please be more specific and focused in your questions. Avoid general questions whose answers can be found by doing basic research on the Internet.
14

Greetings sir, could you please answer my query which I have posted on page 1 ...thanks.

15
Dear Sir,
I am currently working in Visakhapatnam. I want to attend an information session and talk to your team in person. Are you coming to Visakhapatnam this year? It will be great if you can provide me with the registration link so that I can register and attend the event. What is this Reliance Web world session in Visakhapatnam (there are other cities as well in the list) all about?
Thank you
Vamsi
16

Dear Mr.Menon,
I would like to know what is the right way of stating the qualification on one's CV after successfully completing the 1yr full time programme at ISB: MBA (Indian School of Business) or
Postgraduate certificate in business management (ISB)
I am concerned about how much difference it would make to my career progression in the future: of flashing a MBA degree versus a PGPcertificate.
I thank you in advance for your response to this query and truly appreciate it.

GoGreen Srini

17

Hello Sir,

I am an Indian national but all my work experience(of 3 years) has been in US and none of it in India. Will that go against me?

Thanks,

18

Dear Forbidden Apple,



I will answer your queries pointwise:

  1. HOD can mean both Head of Department in an organization or in an educational institution. Usually we use it to for the organization since we prefer recommendations from your work place rather than your school/college.
  2. Its your personal choice. If you think he knows you well, then there should be no problem. 6 months should be good enough for him to know you. Please also note that the most appropriate person to get the recommendation from is your immediate supervisor. If you do not work very closely with your HOD then do not go for a recommendation from him/her just because of their designation.
  3. Usually people get some certificates for awards and not for activities. If you do not have certificates, please explain in the optional essay.

  4. Brilliant work is not an award; it is a letter appreciating your work. You can mention this in your application to signal how your organization values you.

  5. This is an activity. Again list the letter of appreciation somewhere in your application to highlight your qualities.

Hope your queries are answered.
Menon

Hi Mr Menon,

I had a few questions related to very specifically to the application process. I would be very glad if you could answer it for me -

1) Recos - There is an option called HOD in the relation - is that good enough for describing my boss' boss or is it only for college HODs?

2) Also, I know my HOD for 6 months (January, that is when he took over), is it good enough for him to recommend me?

3) Coming to Awards and Activities - For awards it is mentioned that "You may submit certificates to corroborate these significant awards mentioned by you, at the time of interview, if short-listed". What if I do not have any certificates to prove this? How are these certificates verified?

4) In the awards can I list Professional awards and letters to my parents stating my "brilliant" work? If so, The Area of Award should be "Others"?

5) In the case of Activities, I helped a social club in charity and collection of money and have a letter of appreciation from them. Should it go as an activity or as an Award? Also, do I require to have a proof for Activities section?

Sorry if some questions sound repetitive

Regards,
19

Dear Vamsi,

Yes, we will be holding an information session at Visakhapatnam on 28 June, 2008. The session will be conducted through Video conferencing at Reliance web world outlets at Agra, Gwalior, Ranchi, Allahabad, Patna & Visakhapatnam. The info-session will include a presentation by the Admission staff and a Q&A; round. To register yourself, please follow the link http://www.isb.edu/pgp/IndiaLocations.Shtml

Menon

Dear Sir,
I am currently working in Visakhapatnam. I want to attend an information session and talk to your team in person. Are you coming to Visakhapatnam this year? It will be great if you can provide me with the registration link so that I can register and attend the event. What is this Reliance Web world session in Visakhapatnam (there are other cities as well in the list) all about?
Thank you
Vamsi
20

Dear Movi,

Not at all. It will not go against you. A smart applicant will use this to his/her advantage.
Menon

Hello Sir,

I am an Indian national but all my work experience(of 3 years) has been in US and none of it in India. Will that go against me?

Thanks,