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Tuesday, May 23, 2006

ISB Sets New Benchmarks With its Class Of 2007 - Press Release

ISB Sets New Benchmarks With its Class Of 2007

Increases class size, becomes one of the Largest B-Schools inthe World *

Hyderabad, May 16, 2006: The ISB has increased its student intake by 20% for the current Class of 2007. The Class of 2007 – all working professionals - has 418 students as compared to 345 students in the Class of 2006. The ISB will now be counted as one among the largest, when compared to the top B-Schools in the world.





”We have taken the ISB standards higher this year with 53% students from our new class having secured GMAT scores of over 700. The average GMAT score has increased to 706 from 694 last year. This is comparable to GMAT scores of students at the world’s top B-Schools and is a matter of pride for the ISB and Indian management education,” said Professor Rammohan Rao, Dean ISB

ISB invests in talent

To encourage meritorious and deserving students, the ISB has offered scholarships worth Rs.1.67 crores right at the time of their admission to the ISB. Scholarships have been offered to nearly 20% of the class and will also be awarded by companies like HSBC, Citigroup, Novartis, Anand Group and KC Maritime during the academic year. Scholarships exclusively for women students are also being offered. At the end of the

academic year, the top 20 students who are selected for the Dean’s list will be offered merit scholarships.

Students reject international B-School offers for the ISB

The current class has many students who have rejected offers from B-Schools in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Singapore and have chosen to study at the ISB. Some of the renowned B-Schools from whom the students received and rejected offers include Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia Business School, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Purdue University, INSEAD, University of California - Los Angeles, National University of Singapore, and several others.

“On evaluating various options, I chose ISB because it offers the latest and best in global management practices and draws faculty from the top B-Schools in the world. Moreover the students here are drawn from a variety of backgrounds making the experience at the ISB even more interactive and unique, “said Yashovardhan Gupta, a student who has rejected an offer from Carnegie Mellon University

Women numbers go up

Another highlight of the new class at the ISB is the significant increase in the number of women students. The ISB, which has always encouraged women to take up a management career, has seen an upward trend year after year in women student intake. The number of women students which has gone up to 87 from 67 last year, represents 20% of the Class of 2007, which is comparable to some of the leading European B-schools.

Unity in Diversity

Keeping up the ISB tradition, the Class of 2007 comes from varied academic backgrounds and diverse work experience. Some are Doctors, some are from the Indian armed forces, others are entrepreneurs, architects, model/actor, urban planner, chef, etc. Students with interesting industry backgrounds like media, advertising, real estate and social services have also joined the ISB this year. The class boasts of a mix of students who have excelled and won acclaim for excellence in both scholastic and non-scholastic activities. Few remarkable examples include a student who has won the Operation Vijay Medal for the Kargil war, students who have applied for patents, a student who has won the International Femtor Award for emerging business leader in USA, etc.

ISB nurtures entrepreneurs

One of the key differentiators for the ISB is that it attracts working professionals, including several entrepreneurs, who join here to sharpen their professional skills and acumen. The current class has eight entrepreneurs who have work experience ranging from three to thirteen years in their own ventures.

The Class has an average work-experience of 5 years in a variety of industries and functions such as technology, pharma, media, etc., and in operations, finance, marketing, consulting, entrepreneurship, merchant navy etc. The average age of the students in the Class of 2007 is 27 years.

The recognition that the ISB students have received in the past years show that they are on par with the best in the world and the Class of 2007 is no exception.

About the ISB

The Indian School of Business is a research-oriented independent management institution that grooms future leaders for India and the world. Its association with the Kellogg School of Management, The Wharton School, and London Business School make it one of its kind in Asia. The School offers a one-year Post Graduate Programme; short-duration, high-powered Executive Education programmes for CEOs and senior executives; and a two-year Research Fellowship Programme. The origins and distinctive research of our faculty members ensure that our programme content is contemporary and global in its perspective, and develops our students’ understanding of modern management opportunities and challenges.

5 Comments:

  • Here is my take on this ( Sorry to be so negative)
    GMAT Score - This year admission were influenced by the criteria of rankings ISB is due to enter , as it has completed 5 Yrs. One of the most imp criteria in most rankings is GMAT this is why ADCOM has consciously allowed higher GMAT . Also one more explanation for such high average can be , the Inherent nature of GMAT allows Indian to score highly ( easy quant, pattern driven English) , with a good B -School in their backyard they all flock to it. Most of us know that how much GMAT Adds value to the class of a B school.
    International Offer - How many of us have guts to take 50 lakh INR loan for education and plan to work 6-7 tears in a foreign country with no guarantee of jobs. Also ISB, as you said provides the same level of education in India
    Women numbers go up- I will say " Women numbers made up". Another one of the adcom ploys to push the school up the rankings as gender diversity is another critical factor and I have got a strong feeling that they did compromise on quality while doing this( my opinion based on limited experience.) I will love if ISB can publish avg GMAT and work ex of the fairer sex ;-)
    Unity in Diversity - as far as I know 90% Indian, 50 % software, 65% service industry, 40 % engineer or technology . The diversity is there but still if diversity is your goal then there are better places to go.

    WIll love comments on this , especially on the women and the Gmat aspect.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:50 am  

  • In my opinion, every b-school worth its salt is trying to get higher on the rankings, h/w/s included. why should ISB compromise on the GMAT scores. the important point is not that it wants to get people with high test scores BUT manages to do so.

    Im sure you must have heard of numerous instances of brilliant freshers being rejected with scores of 780 etc. and trust me they have not compromised on quality at all.
    We have a ton of doctors, armymen, architects etc on campus, and all of them are brilliant.

    As far as women are concerned, In india it would be tough to get a lot of demand among women with work experience, as married women are not as likely to do an mba as nmarried ones. obviously the demand is limited. in the interest of diversity to add to class discussions and study groups, taking a sizable number of women is essential. In spite of that, ISB does manage to attract some really capable women, they did publish avg and highest salaries for women, im sure if quizzed they could publish avg GMAT scores also, but then again no school in the world publishes avg GMAT scores for women...

    We are increasngly becoming more transparent as time passes.

    keep the commenst comming, nice one!

    By Blogger yashovardhan gupta, at 4:43 pm  

  • India does deserve a top quality MBA program and ISB is just filling the gap. With 90+% students being indian I guess its only natural that metrics like gmat, gpa, work ex would work in ISB favor.

    I think ISB should also publish stats on industry background of incoming class. If I am not mistaken they did that for the first couple of batches.

    Anyway, your post is quite informative.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:03 am  

  • It seems ISB is all set for its objective to get an international ratings. However how rational it has been durings its process is still worth some thought.

    (My intention here is to suggest construtive changes required in ISB)


    " A look at ISB Admits at Yahoo Group suggests, most of the girls from IT background getting admit score lower than 680. While no guy is there in that range" Food for thought.

    " ISB sends a standard template of feedback to rejected applicants. The very fact that more than 5 people i know got the same feedback email raises some eyebrows.Can a person with 710 score be said 'You just have an average score' " More food for thought.

    "Students reject international B-School offers for the ISB.>>> Given a chance, everyone i know would study in India. US and UK's visa rules are vulnerable plus costs of MBA is quite high. India also offers convenient way of getting placements."

    "Most of the ISB faculty is visiting ones."

    I agree with the person above. India needs quality education and ISB is nicely filling the gap.

    Inspite of all these Odds, I will join ISB given a chance. Reasons

    1. Lot Cost
    2. Convenient Placements.
    3. Bored out of International allocations. Want to be back in India.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:50 am  

  • Thanks...I have found this information very helpful ISB Scholarships | ISB Interview Questions and Answers

    By Blogger ISB Mantra, at 5:02 pm  

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