Isb Mba Application Process

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While most schools focus closely on career goals and fit, ISB also focuses on differentiation and achievement. The first essay explicitly asks the candidate to differentiate himself or herself among a peer set of accomplished applicants. The second essay is the standard goals essay that has now been part of the ISB essays package for a number of years. The third essay is a new addition this year (2013) and it focused not just on the candidate’s greatest achievement, but also the learning obtained from it. Finally, the fourth essay, often mistaken to be an optional essay but far from it, gives candidates a chance to explain extenuating circumstances or provide further detail on a topic important for their profile.
ISB essay 1 –
Attitude, skills and knowledge differentiate people. Elaborate with two examples on how you would differentiate yourself. (300 words max)
This year ISB gives you three basic dimensions to base the differentiation on. But restricting yourself to these would do no good. Unlike earlier the dimension of achievement is missing this year, but it is an understated dimension that wraps ...
... ups the other three dimensions. It is important to keep in mind that differentiation is a quality that one is expected to exhibit with respect to other people. Quite a few applicants tend to assume that mentioning their key achievements or their grand career plans will be enough for this essay. Remember that it is not enough to just mention something – you must also show why the particular thing you choose is important, relevant, and unique about you. Finally, also keep in mind that differentiation need not be based entirely on what you have done in the past. It can equally be based on what you plan to do in the future (provided you can substantiate your plans through your abilities).
ISB essay 2 –
How does the ISB – PGP tie in with your career goals (300 words max)
This essay wants candidates to discuss their goals, plain and simple, with additional perspective on how ISB is important to achieve those goals. Make sure you don’t mention anything over ambitious or meagrely trivial. Strike a perfect balance and see that the goals fall under the ‘can- be-achieved’ category. Although the essay prompt does not mention this explicitly, you should focus on both your short-term and long-term goals. You should also be able to make a case for why the ISB PGP is essential to help you achieve those goals. You may think along various dimensions on what ISB offers – academics, leadership opportunities, career development initiatives, project opportunities, and global exposure.
ISB essay 3 –
Pick the most significant achievement (professional or personal) you have had and elaborate on the key learning you took away from it (300 words max)
In this particular essay the candidate is required to focus on his/her most significant achievement. Again, the challenge is to distinguish between significant and trivial achievements. Another important point – some candidates might feel that highlighting personal achievements is not as impactful as highlighting professional ones. Don’t shy away from personal achievements – in terms of learning (and this is something the essay prompt stresses on), they can often be richer than professional achievements. In addition, professional achievements are likely to have learning that is restricted to the professional context, but personal achievements might well involve learning that helped you grow as a person in addition to growing as a professional too. In approaching this essay, provide enough context so that it is easy for the reader to relate to the situation.
Next, move on to the learning. Keep the learning crisp. You could also divide the learning into short-term learning and long-term learning to show greater impact.

ISB essay 4 –
Please provide additional information, if any that will significantly affect the consideration of your application to ISB (300 words max)
A majority of students consider this essay as optional, but that isn’t true. ISB is giving you a golden opportunity to highlight the achievements that would make you stand out in a crowd, while also providing greater detail on aspects that could not be comprehensively addressed in other essays. Highlight the strongest points of your profile. At the same time, take this opportunity to address some of the weaknesses in your application – low GMAT scores, gap years in education or work, or low academic performance.

What is different in this year’s ISB application?
This year (2013), ISB has done away with the video essay (introduced last year), and introduced essay 3 (‘most significant achievement and the learning you took away’) as a new essay. Through doing this, ISB has acknowledged the insufficiency of the video essay in holistically evaluating applicants (which was the point of having the video in the first place). Similarly, the achievements essay has been introduced to judge not just applicants’ achievements, but also their style of thinking and analysis. All in all, the ISB essays for 2013/14 give you an opportunity to shine through and highlight the best parts of your profile comprehensively! Go for them!

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