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The ISB PGP (MBA)
Rankings | Class Profile | Employment Report | Sample Essays | Interview Questions
The Post Graduate Program in Management (PGP) at the Indian School of Business is a top-ranked MBA equivalent program, which is designed to equip young managers with multidisciplinary perspectives, thinking skills and research tools to help them accelerate growth, both for themselves and their employers.
It is a 12 month program for professionals between 2 – 12 years of experience with 2 campuses – Hyderabad and Mohali. ISB is ranked #23 in World FT Ranking and #5 in Asia FT ranking with a great international recognition. For more details Click Here…
| Class Profile | |
| Class Size | 690 |
| Average GMAT Score | 707 |
| Average Work Experience (yrs.) | 3.7 years |
| Average Age (yrs.) | 27 |
| Employment Summary | |
| Average Salary | INR 28,29,000 |
| Average Bonus | |
| % placed within 3 months | |
| Tuition Fees | |
| Total Tuition | INR 36,63,000 |
| Living Cost | INR 2,89,000 |
| Total Cost | INR 35,78,940 |
ISB MBA Class Profile 2021 (Click Here)
| Application Deadlines | |
| Round 1 | 12 Sep,21 |
| Round 2 | Jan, 22 |
| Round 3 | Mar, 22 |
ISB PGP Application Tips
ISB Essay 1: Describe with examples the most important personal quality that you possess, which significantly enhances your prospects of being successful as a leader?(400 words max)
Before jumping into writing the essays, you should introspect and come up with one strong quality. Not two, not three, but one. Have a strong opening describing the most important quality you have. Please do not mention skills such as hardworking, punctuality or great communication skills. To compete at the highest level for application to schools like Indian schools of Business (ISB), the qualities have to be more pronounced. For example – strong sense of ownership, inclusive working style, comfortable working with ambiguity or chaos and so on.
Illustrate with at least two examples where this quality of yours has helped you achieve results as a leader. When illustrating examples, an easy method to follow is the STAR methodology. Situation → Task → Action → Result.
Start with describing the situation or problem at hand to give a background to the reader. Explain what was expected out of you to do and the consequence of the task. Explain how this quality of yours drove you to take certain actions. It is important to show what the outcome of the action was and what are the results that you obtained. Thereby concluding how you believe this quality will enhance your prospects of being a successful reader.
Most people use examples primarily from professional experience. But it is usually appreciated if you can also showcase examples from social voluntary work, start-ups, or your extracurriculars where you have relevant examples that fit the story line.
ISB Essay 2: What are your short term and long term career goals? How will the Post Graduate Program at ISB assist you in achieving your goals? (400 words max)
Quick goals essay writing Tips – To write career goals essay for schools like ISB, a very simple structure to follow is
- Explain your current position and work experience → 2. State your short and long term goals → 3. Skillsets you have acquired throughout your career so far → 4. Explain what you currently lack to attain your short and long term goal → 5. Show how an MBA from school like ISB can help you bridge the gap in your skills to achieve your short term goal.
Detailed SOP writing Tips – The best and an easy approach to write an career goals for ISB is to break it into two parts:
- First Half – explain “what are your goals and why you need an MBA”
- Second Half – establish ”Why or how ISB PGP program is the perfect fit for you?”
First Half – Goals and why MBA?
Start with a strong introductory paragraph on who you are and what are your desired goals from an MBA.
Eg: “I am an engineer with four years of experience in the IT sector leading projects for clients across multiple countries. In the short term i want to transition from a software developer role to a product manager role”
For the main body, start on a strong note, show what skills you already have. B-schools in general prefer to see strong academic track record, progress in professional career, client management exposure, leadership and international experiences. Highlight some of your key achievements with numbers or awards that you may have received. Show your outstanding performance via the promotions or opportunities to lead or international deputation.
After establishing the strengths of your profile, move on to show how the limitation of your current role and skills are hindering your future career progress or desired transitions. Establish the need for upskilling yourself which can only be done via an MBA at this stage of your career. Talk about how an MBA can enhance your business acumen, leadership skills, soft skills for communication and presentation or provide you the network to grow your career or business.
This sets the context for your “Why MBA” argument. The first half of the SOP explains what you already have and what you lack to grow in your career. Lastly how an MBA can unlock opportunities for you to grow.
Second Half – Why ISB PGP?
To answer the – “why ISB PGP”, build your argument on 3-4 points which helps you fulfill the gaps in your skill set and achieve your goals. Reasons to choose ISB PGP should align with your reason to do an MBA as mentioned in the first half of the essay.
Ensure your reasons portray a holistic approach to how you intend to gain/upskill from the ISB PGP program. An easy way to structure can be to break it down across three buckets –
- Inside the class – what excites you the most about ISB’s PGP program in regards to the academic curriculum? Is it a particular specialization? Range of Electives? Quality of Professors? Feel free to name drop a few.
- Outside the class – outside of the academics, how do you plan to make the most of the opportunities available at ISB? Clubs? Networking event? International exchanges? Leadership seminar? Speak with Alum, current students and find specifics which perfectly aligns with your needs to achieve your goals in a particular industry or function.
- Outside of campus – show how the overall school brand, alumni network which you would carry and be a part of long after your campus stint can help you build a successful career in the long term.
Closing argument
Summarize your entire essay in 3-4 lines and confidently portray how you believe ISB PGP program is the perfect next step or logical step for you to achieve your career goals and how you would be a great fit and valuable addition to the class if selected.
For ISB PGP, you can also read some of the great essays we have written by our clients here on the sample essays page.