Indian School of Business

FAQ

Admissions

The Class Profile

The ISB Class of 2019 comprises 887 students, with 601 at the Hyderbad location and 286 at Mohali. Similar to previous years, the class was 66% male and 34% female and the mean age of the Class of 2019 was nearly 27 at the time of matriculation. The range of GMAT scores for the class was 600 to 780, with an average GMAT score of 709. Sixty-five percent of students came from academic backgrounds in engineering. Students boasted an average of 4.2 years of work experience.

Application Procedures

To submit a complete application to ISB, applicants must fill out its online data form, respond to several essays, report their GMAT score, submit their undergraduate transcripts and provide the names of two recommenders.  ISB prefers applicants to have at least two years of full-time experience to be considered for the PGP, and highly qualified candidates with less experience may be eligible for deferred admission.  Applicants must also pay an application fee of INR 5,000.  ISB has two cycles, or rounds, of admission for Indian passport holders occurring in mid-October and mid-January.  Applicants will learn whether they have been accepted by early December for the first round and early March for the second.  International applicants are evaluated on a rolling basis, with a final deadline in mid-January.  Interview invitations are extended to select applicants and are conducted in person in three locations in India and over the telephone for international applicants.  Applicants are given 10 days from the time of their acceptance offer to notify ISB whether they will enroll.

Application Checklist

• Online Application
• Application Fee
• Passport Size Color Photo
• Passport Copy
• Academic Mark Sheets & Certificates
• Two Recommendations
• Proof of Income
• GMAT, TOEFL/IELTS Scores
• Interview

Interview Reports

Indian School of Business Interview Report: Round 2 / Alumnus / Off-Campus

The following Indian School of Business interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 2 applicant. Good luck to them! I interviewed in February in ITC Sheraton, Delhi. The interview results were announced just 4 days before, so we had very less time to prepare. I interviewed with 2 alumni from the school. The interview started […]

Indian School of Business Interview Report: Cycle 2 / Panel / Off-Campus

The following Indian School of Business interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Cycle 2 applicant. Good luck to them! Three member panel…consisting of one member from their ad-com, one alumnus and one alumna. The interview lasted 35 minutes and was conducted at the ITC Hotel in Mumbai. The panel had access to my application. […]

Indian School of Business MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Adcom / On-Campus

My interview went well. Many questions were asked, but a few that I remember were: 1. Why I chose to apply to the school? 2. What I look forward to achieve through attending? 3. Where do I see myself in 4 years? The interview went pretty much as I expected. I had done my research […]

Indian School of Business MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Alumnus / Off-Campus

The following Indian School of Business MBA admissions interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Cycle 2 applicant. Good luck to them! The questions asked in my ISB interview were simple: – Why ISB? – Career goals? – How do I spend my leisure time? (This was basically checking how I manage my time when […]

Indian School of Business MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Alumnus / On-Campus

The interview was conducted by 3 alums of ISB. Most of the questions were asked by the two men. The lady asked one question towards the end of the interview. The interview panel was fairly conversational and made sure to make me comfortable during the interview. These were the questions asked by the interview panel. […]

Indian School of Business MBA Admissions Interview Questions: R1/Alumni/Hyderabad

There were 3 members in my panel – 2 alumni and 1 admissions committee member They started the conversation with light chat about the campus and my city Questions asked- 1. Tell me about yourself 2. Questions on work experience – make sure you answer it well 3. My career domain was consulting was they […]

Indian School of Business MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2/ Alumnus/ On Campus

I reached the venue one hour before the scheduled time for interview I was asked to write a 50-100 word essay on a word. It is a straight forward word. I recommend that don’t sweat so much on it. I was interviewed by a panel of 3 alumnus. The interview lasted for about 35 minutes. […]

Indian School of Business MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1/ Adcom/On-Campus

Before interview I was given a word “Action” and was asked to write about 50-100 words. At 4:00 P.M. I was called inside for the interview. It was a panel of three members. Interview was started by Adcom member. He asked me to list out the current projects I’m doing and then asked to explain […]

Isb Q&As

Admissions Director Q&A: Rupesh Bisht of the Indian School of Business

Moving right along in our Q&A Series, we turn this week to India, specifically the Indian School of Business (ISB). With campuses in Hyderabad and Mohali, ISB features an accelerated one-year Post Graduate Program (PGP) in Management, as well as a PGP for Senior Executives, a Fellow Program, a Management Program for Family Business and […]

Admissions Director Q&A: Hima Badu of the Indian School of Business

Hima Badu oversees admissions and financial aid for the Indian School of Business (ISB), which has campuses in Hyderabad and Mohali. Badu has a background in English literature and a master in management and worked for a marketing agency before joining ISB. In the interview that follows, she shares some of the exciting developments taking […]

Isb LiveWire and DecisionWire

Academics

Faculty

ISB has a full-time resident faculty of 48 professionals. In addition to its resident faculty, the school hosts over 120 visiting faculty throughout the year who are often affiliated with other MBA programs, such as Wharton, Kellogg and Sloan. ISB also features a Media Hub and five Centres of Excellence, which support research on areas ranging from analytical finance to entrepreneurship development.

Curriculum

ISB faculty members utilize a variety of teaching methods including seminars, simulations, and case studies. The PGP is broken into eight terms of approximately six weeks each. Pre-term and orientation activities, which are social and recreational in nature, commence in mid-April. Students also have the option of taking three modules covering statistics, accounting and other quantitative methods during pre-term. Classes begin in late April, and students graduate in mid-April of the following year.

During their first four terms, students are divided into study groups and undertake a series of core courses together. These courses are designed to give students a solid foundation in business principles including finance, marketing, strategy, operations, and investment IT management. The fourth core term crosses over with electives, as students can begin to direct their studies by choosing from the school’s more than 80 electives for the remaining terms. By selecting specific combinations of courses, students can create concentrations or majors for themselves in one of six categories: entrepreneurship, finance, information and technology management, operations management, marketing, or strategy and leadership; with four additional industry specializations in healthcare, manufacturing, public policy, and infrastructure. Students can opt to take 18 to 21 elective credits, but must take at least six related credits for a concentration or specialization. Under faculty guidance, students also can enroll in ISB’s Independent Study Program, which gives them the opportunity to focus on topics that are not as well represented by the school’s selection of electives.

To further prepare its students for reentry into the workforce, ISB offers several practicum courses, including the Experiential Learning Programme (ELP) and the Faculty Initiated Research Project (FIRP). The ELP gives students the opportunity to work with established businesses on a range of issues they are facing, which may include matters of market positioning, new product development, creating growth strategies, and talent management. This for-credit experience allows students to work in teams of three to four and gain insight into real-life business considerations and present recommendations to the businesses with which they have been matched. Moreover, many companies view this program as a pre-recruitment exercise. Meanwhile, the FIRP offers ISB students the chance to participate in a faculty-designed and supervised research project while contributing to a mutual learning experience.

ISB also maintains over 40 exchange partnerships with other business schools in the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Other MBA Degree Options

In addition to its one-year PGP, ISB offers a 15-month Post Graduate Program in Management for Senior Executives targeted at applicants with at least 10, and generally 15 or more, years of work experience. In Summer 2016, ISB announced the launch of a Post Graduate Program for Working Professionals, called a PGPpro. The PGPpro is a 17-month Weekend Executive MBA offered in Delhi or Hyderabad on alternating weekends. The school also offers the fully funded Fellow Program in Management, which is designed to foster the potential of innovative academic researchers so that they can later secure faculty positions at leading international business schools. Finally, ISB maintains a Management Program for Family Business, which offers 15 months of business training tailored to students who will become leaders of their family businesses, and various executive education programs.

ISB also maintains over 40 exchange partnerships with other business schools in the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Other MBA Degree Options

In addition to its one-year PGP, ISB offers a 15-month Post Graduate Program in Management for Senior Executives targeted at applicants with at least 10, and generally 15 or more, years of work experience. The school also offers the fully funded Fellow Program in Management, which is designed to foster the potential of innovative academic researchers so that they can later secure faculty positions at leading international business schools. Finally, ISB maintains a Management Program for Family Business, which offers 15 months of business training tailored to students who will become leaders of their family businesses, and various executive education programs.

Recent college graduates with less than two years of work experience hoping to attend ISB in the near future have the option to apply for the Early Entry Option. Students accepted through the Early Entry Option are granted advanced admission to ISB’s one-year PGP upon completing two years of professional work experience prior to matriculation.

Concentrations at ISB

• Entrepreneurship
• Finance
• Information and Technology Management
• Operations Management
• Marketing
• Strategy and Leadership

Specializations at ISB

• Healthcare
• Manufacturing
• Public Policy
• Infrastructure

Degree Offerings at ISB

Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP)
One-Year
www.isb.edu/post-graduate-programme-in-management

Post Graduate Programme in Management for Working Professionals (PGPpro)
http://www.isb.edu/post-graduate-programme-in-management-for-working-professionals

Post Graduate Programme in Management for Senior Executives (PGPMAX)
www.isb.edu/post-graduate-programme-in-management-for-senior-executives

Management Programme for Family Business
http://www.isb.edu/post-graduate-programme-in-management-for-family-business

Campus Life

Clubs, Conferences & Competitions

ISB has nearly 25 clubs that it divides into two categories, social and professional, all of which are overseen by the elected members of the Graduate Student Board. ISB’s social clubs include an Arts & Creativity Club, Sports Club and Wine & Brew Club, among others, through which students get to know their peers outside of an academic context. Professional clubs, meanwhile, give students the opportunity to bond over shared career interests. Students can also participate in ISB’s more than 15 professional clubs, such as the Consulting Club, Finance Club and Marketing Club.

Professional clubs further enhance the campus community by organizing a number of events throughout the academic year. These events vary from ongoing workshops to lecture series and “conclaves.” For example, the Consulting Club organizes résumé writing workshops as well as Speaker Sessions, which bring consultants from companies like BCG and McKinsey to campus. Meanwhile the Finance Club organizes the Annual Finance Conclave in January that brings together interested members of the student body and current finance practitioners for speakers and panels on relevant topics. In addition to attending conferences and lectures, ISB students also compete in a number of competitions each year, including the Novartis BioCamp, Google Case Challenge and recently launched ISB-Ivey Global Case Competition.

Campus Spaces

ISB’s primary campus is spread across 260 acres of land in northwest Hyderabad. Facilities on the Hyderabad campus include a central academic building—called the Academic Centre—that houses the school’s main library,

The Mohali campus in northern India, operational as of April 2012, offers facilities similar to those on the original Hyderabad campus. Designed to meet LEED Gold sustainability criteria, ISB’s Mohali campus spans more than 70 acres and hosts four new institutes focused on healthcare, global manufacturing, public policy and infrastructure management.

MBA Careers

Financing

The tuition for ISB is INR 295,000 for the 2018-2019 academic year. The full cost of the program, however, rises with additional fees and also depends on whether students choose to live on campus in a shared accommodation or in a studio apartment. The program cost includes an admissions fee, library and recreation fee, living costs, and books, computer and meal plans among other assorted fees. For those who choose shared accommodation, the total cost of the program is INR 3,334,073. Students who choose studio accommodations must pay a bit more for their independent living, with a total cost of INR 3,479,272.

ISB offers merit- and need-based scholarships that range from partial scholarships to full coverage of tuition.  Each scholarship has its own requirements, which vary from focusing on a student’s nationality to how he or she scored on the GMAT exam.  Students are automatically considered for some scholarships, while for others students must provide supplemental information and be interviewed before being awarded any funding.

ISB has partnered with several banks and lending institutions, including Credila and Andhra Bank, to offer loans to its students.  These loans can amount to up to 95% of the cost of the PGP depending on a student’s collateral.  The repayment and additional fees also vary from one organization to another.

Cost of Attendance

• Admissions Fee 295,000 INR (US$4,543)
• Tuition Fee 2,250,000 INR (US$34,650)
• Campus accommodation 277,360 INR (US$4,271)
• GOI service tax 456,723 INR (US$7,034)
• Library and Recreation Centre Fee 10,000 INR (US$154)
• ISB Alumni Assoc. Membership 25,000 INR (US$385)
• Security Deposit (refundable) 20,000 INR (US$308)
• Total 3,334,073 INR (US$51,345)

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