Few Days back, I had requested an evaluation of my chances for a call to ISB. Much to my surprise, I recieved a response from the Admissions officer suggesting that i retake the GMAT and improve from my current score of 700 to around 740. After going through forums at pagalguy, came to know that ppl having a similar profile and score as mine were not even called last year for the interview. After a lot of Deliberation ( as usual.. 
), i have finally decided to refrain from Applying to ISB. My chances of applying to a foreign university are pretty slim. And the number of colleges accepting GMAT for MBA is very less ( only 3 per my knowledge).
Even If i do retake the GMAT,
a) there is no guarantee that my score will improve drastically. ( though the probability of a bigger score is very high given my dismal performance in Quants section of the GMAT last time).
b) Even with an improved GMAT score, the chances of getting a call is very less given the fact that The applicant is from an IT Industry and as such does not contribute to the “diversity” of the class.
c) Last but not the least, spending 10,000/- out of my pocket for a couple of colleges ( SP Jain and ISB ) does not seem to be that viable.
What happens now…? Candidates applying to ISB will apply to SP Jain also, I presume. As a result, the Only college where i can realistically use my GMAT score is Great Lakes. I sincerely hope to land myself in a college better than that ( and also in a college which is not in Madras .. ) That said, the only way available is CAT ( and some related exams like CET, NMAT, etc.. ) and so… i have registered with TIME for CAT Classes which effectively means that I will be more busier during weekends than during weekdays…. :( But this time, it is a whole new ball game.For, by 2009, I would have either joined a College or Dumped my MBA plan once and for all and this would be my last shot at any MBA entrance exam.
Oh My,… In my enthusiasm towards ISB and to avoid certain “difficulties”, I had given my supervisor’s details to the ISB apllication some time back. My manager told me that she recieved a link asking for her evaluation. I have not informed her of my decision. For all the trouble i went through, I can atleast get a honest evaluation of what she thinks..
But am i being too unrealistic by not retaking the GMAT and losing out on the good colleges???… the deliberations continue…
With a 700, if you have good essays, fair recommendations and good job profile, i don’t see why they wont accept you. There are people with lower scores here. They call a lot of people for interviews, so if you have a good interview, you could very well make it. Try and apply first decision.
By: Current ISB Student on June 19, 2008
at 4:47 pm
A 700 is adequate for getting into ISB. I know quite a few people with 600-650 scores who are in. You need to sell yourself well in your application, bring out all your positives, and if you have a pretty decent academic record, there’s no reason you won’t get in. To put things in perspective, I know people with 780 and 790 who didn’t make it to wharton or stanford, in fact didn’t even get an interview call and i also know there are people in stanford with gmat scores of 600, so don’t let that bother you, appy early after doing a detailed job. Remember luck plays an important role at the end of the day in the application process.
By: sandeep on June 19, 2008
at 5:53 pm
Hey…..my two cents…..Diversify….u have quite some time to go before u apply….go volunteer, hold a post somewhere……what you put on your application does help……and trust me, taking GMAT again is not a bad idea if you think u can improve ur score……look at it this way……all u have to loose is 10,000 Rs (let me guess, that’s like less than half your monthly salary) if it doesn’t go too well….but u stand to gain a lot if u do improve ur score …….so go for it
By: Swati (current ISB student) on June 19, 2008
at 6:48 pm
Hey, you are getting discouraged for absolutely no reason. 700 is a good score (even for an IT profile). I would suggest you apply with this score and build on your resume until Sep 15th (day of 1st Round application submission). Work for an NGO, learn a new language and work on your essays everyday to make them sound like the best possible. Pack each day with some activity that will eventually contribute to your application.
or the effort may not seem worth it to you.
But of course, you should want to get into ISB that bad
By: Current ISB Student on June 20, 2008
at 5:19 am
Hey,
Don’t worry so much. 700 is a pretty good score. Everyone can contribute to the diversity at ISB – even if one is from an IT background. All that you have to do is display your passion for an MBA at ISB. Please dig deep into your past to find things that set you apart form the “IT Junta”. I am pretty sure you will come up with loads of things you could use on the essay. Please ask the admissions team to get you in touch with a current student. Get your essays reviewed by an ex/current ISB student.
Bottom line is, if you have a coherent, persuasive story as to why you want to get an MBA and why ISB, a score of 700 shouldn’t be a terrible negative.
Good luck, do apply, spend a lot of time on the essays… give it your best…
By: Karthik (current ISB student) on June 20, 2008
at 5:27 am
For some its IIM, for some its Stanford, For some its S.P.Jain, for some its REC, for me it was IIT and for you its ISB…..It happens dude……Though i don’t have much to comment on a “Trip towards MBA”…..all that i can say is, Put your level best and leave the rest to the supreme power…..:)
By: HemanthNarayanan on June 20, 2008
at 8:14 am
I am from IT, I had a GMAT score of 680, hadn’t done much of extra curricular stuff apart from a few NGO-kinda stuff where mostly I was only volunteering (had to really rake my brains during admissions to find out what I had done apart from academics all these years!).. and still I made it to ISB. I am really surprised that the adcom told u to improvise ur GMAT score.. Dude.. u have 700 for God’s sake! And that pretty darn ought to be good enough for any B-School. Work on ur application- ur essays and reco make a big deal of difference. As someone pointed out already, ask adcom to link you to any student or alumni with similar profile. Lastly, if “diversity” were factor to stop you from getting an admission, atleast 200 odd people here in my class would have had the same occupational hazard of being an IT Engineer when they applied to ISB:). So shed all ur fears and get a move on! All the best!
By: Current ISB Student on June 23, 2008
at 11:40 am
I got a score of 680 and I am planning to take test again. I am not sure how much I will improve this time. Reading these blogs, I feel that I should not be discouraged by my score. By the way, I am also an IT professional with 8 years of experience at various levels from development to managerial.
What do you suggest: should I spend my time taking GMAT or work on my application?
By: Himanshu on August 24, 2008
at 10:52 pm
While I am no authority on ISB admissions, I do feel that 8 years of experience is really worth a lot ( provided you can prove the same in you reference letters and your essays). Writing GMAT again is worth it only if you can significantly improve your score. If you can improve your score from 680 to 730 or something similar, it would make a difference. But if the jump is going to be only 15-20 marks, I feel you can spend the time on your essays and reco instead of spending on GMAT…. This is my opinion and as stated above, I am no expert. I am in fact sailing in the same boat as you..
. and FYI, I am not writing the GMAT again either.
By: avagama on September 4, 2008
at 11:21 am
I got a score 730 in gmat and i have 2 yrs experience in IT industry. Will these enhance my chances of getting into ISB
By: Srinivasan on November 24, 2008
at 10:33 am