Writing a B- school application is a very introspective and time consuming process. It is your pitch to the school highlighting your personal and professional qualities, career aspirations and fitment. A well thought out narrative which presents your case in a compelling manner enhances your chances of securing an interview call.
If you are serious about applying to ISB, we recommend that you start writing your application at the earliest and continue preparing for your GMAT/GRE simultaneously. Once you get your test center report, you can plug in the score and submit your application on or before Oct 15 for consideration in Cycle 1 and on or before Jan 15 for Cycle 2. While test scores are important, they are just a small part of the selection process and remember, it takes multiple iterations to write a compelling application.
Take that first step: register on the ISB portal and fill out the application form correctly and with due thought. It is important to make sure that the details you fill here are accurate. We’ve put together some tips to help you fill the application without missing crucial details.
- Employment details: The very first screen will ask you for your employment details. This needs to be filled in reverse chronological order. I.e. latest job first. On this screen, you also need to specify the number of years of experience you have. Note that you need to calculate this number as of March 31, 2017, i.e. until your year at ISB begins.
- Fulltime employment & part time employment : ISB considers only full-time employment after graduation as work experience to evaluate your profile. There cannot be an overlap between two jobs you’ve held. If you have worked for more than one organization during the same time period, please enter the less significant engagement as part-time employment. You need to have two years of full-time work experience to be eligible to apply to the PGP. However, if you don’t fulfill this criteria, you can apply through the deferred modes of admission (EEO& YLP).
- Essays: Stick to the essay word limit. Essay #3 is not mandatory. Use it only if you have to share something that has not been covered anywhere else in the application. Re-applicants can use it to explain what’s changed in their profile. Do not repeat things you’ve already described elsewhere.
- Re-applicants: Only those who have submitted a complete application in previous years will be considered as re-applicants. If you have created a login ID last year but didn’t submit your application, you are not a re-applicant.
- Letter of evaluation: Your evaluator needs to use his/her corporate email ID in order to complete the evaluation online. If she/he does not have a corporate ID, please write to us and we will provide an alternative solution.
- GRE/GMAT Scores: You may submit your application using your unofficial/ test centre scores. However, your official score report needs to reach ISB within 2 weeks after the application deadline. Only after we receive this will your application be evaluated. The last day on which you can take the test and apply to cycle I is October 15th.
- Scholarships: All applicants will be automatically considered for the merit scholarships we offer. There is no separate essay you have to write for this. The scholarship essay that’s part of the application needs to be filled only if you’re applying for a need-based waiver, the diversity waiver, the ISB-AIESEC waiver and the Bridge to India scholarship. Read more about the scholarships we offer here
- Editing your responses: At first look, the application can seem long and complex. But the good news is that it need not be completed in a single session. Take your time with each section, verifying details and thinking through your answers. Don’t forget to save as you go, so that your responses get recorded. You can go back to modify it any number of times until the application deadline.
- Navigation help: Click on the ‘Come back later’ button on each screen to go to the next section without filling the page. If you’d rather fill in as you go, don’t forget to hit ‘Preview and Save’ after each time
- Supporting documents: All pages of a particular document should be scanned together in one PDF file. For instance, scan the first and last page of the passport together in one PDF. Scan your mark sheets for all semesters together into a single PDF file.
- Preview: When you click on the Preview button, you can see what you have filled out so far. But remember that the documents you’ve attached will not show up here.
- Application Submission: After you complete all the sections and make the payment, you will have to click on the Submit button in the Application portal, only then the application will be sent to ISB. We recommend that you make you payment earlier to avoid congestion issues on the deadline.
Do make sure you get a printout of everything at the end for your own reference. If you’re stuck at any point, do reach out to us at apphelp@isb.edu, we’d be glad to help.