Soumi Dayya's Review On ISB Hyderabad Indian School Of Business, Hyderabad

ISB Entrance requires GMAT - I had a score of 760. I opted for this course because I had 3 years of work-experience. And ISB is the best in India for people with some work-ex. I also want to stay in India in long term, hence did not apply for international B-Schools.

The course structure at ISB is very contemporary and is reviewed to be updated continuously. It is always in line with the era and in line with international B-schools such as Harvard and MIT. For instance, since Social Media is a big thing now, we have a course on Social Media Marketing. 70% of the case studies in the courses are from Harvard.

ISB offers a 1 year course, with a tight-packed schedule - hence it doesn't offer internships. However, there are ample opportunities to get industry experience, through programs such as "Experiential Learning Programs". It is a live consulting engagement that big companies such as Amazon, Novartis, HUL, bring in.

ISB usually has a 100% placement. Companies come with jobs for students across the range of work-ex of about 2-10 years. There are roles in marketing, operations, sales, consulting, and finance. Consulting companies are the major recruiters giving about 30% of the jobs. Average salary is consulting is ~18 LPA. Marketing jobs would be next.

The biggest event is Solstice. It is the 4 day event dedicated to the ISB Alums full of concerts, socialising events, and is an excellent platform for all alums to come back to school with their families, interact with the current students, and form a strong school network, so that if one is in need in future, they can come to their aid - be it looking for a job opportunity, or getting knowledge on starting on your own.

30 lakhs fees is a huge amount and given that ISB has such a good track record, any bank will give you a loan. The most popular ones in my time (and they still are) are SBI, HDFC, ICICI. ISB has very good scholarship programs as well. Merit scholarship which starts from INR 5 Lakhs . Need based scholarships based on family income. Several company affiliated scholarships such as by Novartis, Citibank, etc.

There would be one mid-term and one end-term in each of the 8 terms. The mid-term examinations happen after 3 weeks of the term, and the end-terms after 2 weeks of the mid-term. But assignments also form a major part of the course grading, and for some courses it was as high as 50-60% of the total weightage. So it is very important to put focus on the assignments, as much as the examinations.