2009 March | Apphelp Blog

Applying to ISB

March 18, 2009 — admin

ISB is one of the top Bschools in India and now features amongst top 15 Bschools in the world according to the latest FT rankings.

No doubt, the increase in the number of seats at ISB (560 for the class entering in 2009) and the new ISB Mohali campus are great news for all aspirants as their chances of getting admitted go up.

ISB’s selection process, though in a nutshell is similar to all US Bschools but is actually different if we look closely.

Firstly the pool of applicants to ISB is skewed with 95% Indians. Also a large number of applicants are still from IT and ITES though this trend has been changing.

ISB application doesn’t have direct essays like “Tell us about your career goals” or “Why MBA” or “Why ISB” barring one essay which asks you “Why should ISB take you”. ISB has been asking for essays like Case study on team dynamics, to ethical dilemmas like Zumba dam to GSB president’s note to writing a cover letter for a dream job post ISB. None of these essays give you a chance to sell yourself directly. But eventually ISB is like any other good Bschool. It also wants to judge how different you are and they want to judge that through your thought process, through the way you deal with situations, through how to project yourself and so on.

ISB’s application and essay are an important decision factor simply because of the fact that ISB gets more than 6000 applications per year and it has to finally admit around 500. So a large number of applicants are chucked at the essays stage itself.

ISB’s interview is also very different in the sense that unlike US schools, ISB has a dedicated admission committee which travels all across India and interviews applicants.

Another thing which only a few applicants know and can crack is getting an alumnus reference. ISB allows each alum to refer one applicants and although no one knows but I think ISB takes this seriously because they have a process defined for this and a mail follows once your referred applicant is selected or rejected.

So, basically to crack ISB get to know ISB system well, talk to alumni and if you are planning to take services from Admission consultant do make sure that they have good success rate at ISB.

Posted in ISB. Tags: ISB application, ISB essays, ISB selection process. 2 Comments »

Accelerated MBA Programs

March 2, 2009 — admin

Four of the top-ranked U.S. business schools offer an ‘accelerated’ or (in all but one case) one-year MBA option.

These full-time MBA programs are designed for students who already have a business or management background, who are eager to return to work quickly, and who do not want or need an internship to help them enter or change careers or industries. They do not require as much work experience as EMBA programs do.

The programs are:

The Columbia Business School
Program: The Accelerated MBA Program

Length: 16 months, beginning in January and ending the following May. Students follow the same program that 2-year students do, but without the summer internship.

Prerequisites: None stated.

Application deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, beginning in late April. The final application deadline is October 11.

Recent Class Profile:

Class size: 195

Average age: 28

Average GMAT range (of all MBA students) 660 – 760

International: 40%

Cornell University – Johnson
Program: The Accelerated MBA (formerly the TMO, ‘Twelve Month Option,’ program)

Length: 12 months, beginning in May

Prerequisites: Ideal applicants already hold a master’s or Ph.D. in a scientific, technical, or other quantitative field.

Application deadlines: Same as for 2-year MBA program

Recent Class Profile:

Class size: 48

Average age: 29

Average GMAT: 710

Average GPA: 3.6

International: 31%

Emory University – Goizueta
Program: The One-Year Program

Length: 12 months, beginning in May. Students take intensive core classes over the summer and then join 2nd-year students in Goizueta’s 2-year MBA program in the fall and spring.

Prerequisites: Most applicants have an undergraduate degree in business or economics. Applicants from other quantitative fields, such as engineering and science, and those with business backgrounds are also considered.

Application deadlines: Same as for 2-year MBA program

Recent Class Profile:

Class size: 58

Average age: 28

Average GMAT range: 570 – 710

Average GPA: 3.4

International: 41%

Northwestern University – Kellogg
Program: One-Year MBA Program

Length: 12 months, beginning in June. Students take intensive core courses over the summer and then join 2nd-year students in Kellogg’s 2-year MBA program in the fall and spring.

Prerequisites: Most applicants have undergraduate business degrees. Other applicants will be considered so long as they 1) graduated from college within the last 7 years and 2) have completed a course in accounting and in 5 of 6 other business subjects.

Application deadline: Same as Round I and Round II deadlines for Kellogg’s 2-year MBA program. One-Year MBA programs should not apply later than the Round II deadline.

Recent Class Profile:

Class size: 72

Average age (of all MBA students): 28

International (of all MBA students): 28%

GMAT range (of all MBA students): 650 – 740

Posted in Choosing Bschools. Tags: 1 Year MBA, Accelerated MBA, Columbia Business School, Cornell Johnson Business school, Emory Business school, Kelloggs. 2 Comments »

What to write in an Application?

March 2, 2009 — admin

An application is all about showcasing yourself. Just like a presentation to a client highlighting features and USP of product or service, an application highlights your achievements and career goals etc and tells the school why you can be the right student they are looking for.

In a nutshell, though it might appear a little blunt but you have to sell yourself to the school and application plays an important role in that.

According to us the best way of writing application essays for schools like Harvard, Stanford, Duke, Ross, Oxford , ISB, Insead etc is to start with a laundry list of whatever you have done in your life right from schooling, to college to all companies you have joined. Don’t forget extra curriculars. After that think which ones are good and will be valued by the B school. This is where B school alumni’s experience comes handy and can make the difference. Make sure that you are selling right thing packaged rightly to the right school.

Complete your drafts and get it reviewed by people who have applied to schools, current students or alumni. Don’t be fussy about stuffing good words because that’s not what adcom wants to judge.

In the end, don’t forget that the story line should be strong and should look distinct and not like any other application.

Posted in Writing Essays. Tags: Essay reviewing, MBA application, MBA essays. 1 Comment »

One year versus two year MBA

March 1, 2009 — admin

A large percentage of MBA aspirants are not sure on whether they should go for one year or two year MBA.

Well, both have pros and cons and should be chosen depending on the aspirants profile and goals. e.g. If i am an aspirant with 3-4 years of work ex. , then it makes all the more sense for me to go for a 2 year MBA to learn the concepts better. On the contrary, if I have already worked in the industry for 10-12 years and i m currently in a managerial position then i can go for a one year MBA to fill the gaps, to get branding and create network. 12 months program will allow me to return back to the industry and will give a jump to my career graph.

Geographical region preference also plays an important role in deciding between 1 yr and two yr programme. Most on the programmes in European and Asian region are 12 month programmes as opposed to 21-23 month programmes in US. Though I have an option of accelerated MBA but there are only half a dozen schools in US which have accelerated MBA programmes.

Most schools which offer one year programmes cut on internships and exchanges etc to shorten the duration of programme. So, if you feel that you can compensate that by extra projects or self initiatives that may be a one year MBA will make sense for you.

Posted in Choosing Bschools. Tags: 1 year vs 2 year MBA, Choosing B schools. 2 Comments »

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Applying to ISB

Accelerated MBA Programs

What to write in an Application?

One year versus two year MBA

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