ISB essay 2011 tips

ISB Essay 1:

Please detail, your two most significant achievements. These could be either professional or personal but relevant to your application to the ISB. (300 words max)

ISB Essay Tips: 1

The ISB is interested to know what kind of a person are you. Are you able to prioritize your strengths, do you really know who you are, how clear are you in assessing yourself. There are numerous instances in your life that you may consider to be an achievement. However, the catch here is
1. To come up with the two most important
2. Limit it to 300 words.

We suggest that you list down all your small and big achievements till date including your first certificate for recitation in nursery to your employee of the year award. Then start eliminating the ones that are not able to stand out on their own. By now you should have a shortlist to pick up the best. Highlight the strengths that made you achieve what you got and how it would help you in a b-school scenario and thereafter.

Choosing achievements for ISB:

Ideally try to get one from your professional and one from your personal life. This would portray a well balanced personality and an all rounder. In case you do not have anything significant in either of the category then you have to make do with the most relevant 2 achievements from either space. The merit of a professional achievement would be of value if : it involved deadlines, teamwork, negotiations, department wide/company wide/industry wide recognition, fast track promotions based on performance etc. not necessarily in any order. The more of these qualities you are able to portray the better the value of the achievement appears.

In the personal space a recognition/achievement that can be measured such as Rank 1 in IITJEE/ All clear in CA Final in 1st Attempt etc would hold more weightage rather than being first in a fancy dress competition in your neighborhood. It need not be solely academic in nature, something like being a certified scuba diver helped you in overcoming your fears and developed a 'can-do' attitude can also be considered a personal achievement however, its better if it can be quantified.

There is no right or wrong in this but the applicant peer group has a diverse experience base so think carefully.

ISB Essay 2:

Where do you see yourself three years after you graduate from the ISB? (300 words max)

ISB Essay Tips: 2

What the Adcom wants to know is your clarity of thought with respect to your own career progression. They are not looking for people who just want to get in and later figure out what they want to do. They are looking for individuals who know what they want from a b-school education, how it would complement their assets and how the education and the institute as a whole would help you, the individual, in moving ahead in life.

Explain your immediate goal after graduation very briefly and then build on it to reach the short term goal (3 years). There is no need to explain your vision and what you see after 10 years or so. They don’t want it. Use the short term goal to link to the strengths of the institute in terms of its academics, faculty, infrastructure etc. and how it is going to help you. Try to put in a bit about why you want to be in the position that you want to be in after 3 years.

A thing to be kept in mind is your previous work experience when it comes to defining your short term goals. Ideally they should be aligned with whatever you have been doing till date w.r.t the experience, domain, function etc. In case you are planning for a switch, highlight the strengths that you have developed in your previous work ex and how that coupled with the b-school education would help you in reaching where you want to. Highlighting your professional strengths/networking abilities would have some advantage in this context.

ISB Essay 3:

Please provide additional information, that will significantly affect the consideration of your application to the ISB.

ISB Essay Tips: 3

What people forget/ignore while attempting this essay is that it is looking for additional information to support your candidature. Even though most of the information is covered in the application (biodata etc.) and in the above 2 essays, there are finer points to one’s character and personality that help them in becoming who they are. Highlight these additional features and traits that you have in this essay and link it to how it is going to help you in the hectic 1 year b-school program. Anything from being a team player to being a patient listener, as long as you can justify it, can be a part of this essay. This is your chance to show them what you have that others don’t.

Reapplicant essay :

How has your profile changed from the time you last applied to the ISB?.

Reapplicant essay Tips

You have already been there, done that and it is your passion and vision that makes you apply for ISB again. The Adcom already has your presence with them and they do cross check previous applications as well sometimes. But, what they are looking for is a significant change in your professional achievement and/or experience. A new role, responsibility, international project, certified scuba diver certificate, it could be just about anything that you did not have in your last application. Though the favor would be towards a professional growth, an extraordinary personal achievement would also make it to the list.

Do not take this essay lightly because as a reapplicant this is your distinction from the rest and is very carefully scrutinized by the Adcom.

Scholarship Essay:

Scholarship Essay Tips

If you apply for ISB scholarship, then you must explain why you need so in this essay. So, try to provide strong arguments in favor of your application. In general, you have to show that despite all merits, skills and keen interest, you may have to discontinue with ISB course due to financial obligations. Your appeal should sound genuine and the data your provide should be authentic, too.

Here are some important DO’s and DON’Ts while you are writing essays for ISB

DOs

Do the Homework: Find out about activities/ curriculum/ culture in ISB. Read the website, blog (official ISB blog and other non official blogs as well). Talk to alumni. Attend ISB talk sessions. Basically, do all that is relevant and feasible to gain knowledge about ISB.

Be honest: Be honest while providing facts/ figures and while describing any personal or work related experiences in the essays. Please note that if you are not genuine, you can be caught in the interview and this is the last thing you would want to happen.

Recommendations: Get recos from people who know you well instead of just hunting for recommenders with fancy/ hi profile designations.

What to do when you are in doubt: If you wish to clarify any point related to the application, it is advised to consult somebody directly related to ISB. It could be the adcom, alumni, ISB students etc.

Plan well and ahead of timeline: Avoid the last minute rush by submitting your application in time. Some people tend to revise/ review their applications till the last minute which is something strictly not recommended. Last minute changes in the application are more likely to lead to mistakes.

DON’Ts

Careless Mistakes: Any mistakes such as spelling errors, typos, basic punctuation misses, grammatical errors etc, should be strictly avoided. Such mistakes in essays show carelessness on the candidate’s part.

Stick to the limits: We are referring to word count here. Do not let your essays / other answers in the application overflow by any chance. The other side of this issue is equally important i.e. you should not answer with too less words. For eg- you should not finish an essay question with word limit of 300 in just 200 words. Point to be noted – do not repeat points in your essays just for the sake of completing word count.

Don't fake: Faking stuff in ISB essays and application is dangerous, most of the times to a degree beyond imagination. ISB is very particular about ethics and plagiarism. So, providing wrong information is a clear No.

Inconsistency: Your application must indicate a persona that is consistent. Any disagreeing statements must be avoided. For example – you can’t quote team work as a weakness if you have indicated it as strength at some point in your application.