The Start
Actually my journey to ISB (http://www.isb.edu/) started from ISB itself. We, my wife and I, went to meet our friends (Akash and his wife Richa who was a student there) at ISB on Holi. I never thought that just a weekend at the campus would bring so much change to my life. During my stay I got a chance to interact with the ISB students and saw the difference in their thought process (I smartly assumed that difference has been inclucated due to the education and wasn't innate to them ;-). The same evening we also met some enterprenurues from other world class B-schools who were starting a venture in Hyderabad. I and my wife also saw that the whole concept of leaving job and studying for 1 year combined with the ISB's great support system (in terms of housing, spouse activities, etc which makes it possible even for poeple with kids) overall looked do-able. I had this long drawn ambition of doing an MBA and after having failed at a venture earlier, a 1 year MBA from ISB even after a work-ex of 9 years very looked promising and a great value add.
GMAT Prep
I came back to Bangalore and chalked out a plan. It had to start with GMAT (there is no other option). So I bought only 1 book: OG-11 (must have). I started my preps with this book and realised that my english (espically Sentence Correction) is too weak. I got hold of "Manhattan's Sentence Correction", another great book. Once I learned the basic SC warfare techniques I did lot of excercises on internet websites. I prepared (mostly english) for 2 months, with an input of around 2 hours per day. So, with 3 - 3.5 months of prep I wrote GMAT and scored a good 740. This was the shortcut route which I followed given work schedule and my decent hold on maths because of my engineering background.
NOTE: A good GMAT score in no way garuntees an admit but a bad score surely increases the proability of rejection of your application. So, a score of 700+ will make sure that the schools will atleast read your application.
School Choice
Now comes the tough part because if you thought that with GMAT everything is done, let me tell you that it has just started.
I wanted to do an MBA prefreably from India, because of my plans to work in India (so far) and the budgetary constraints. With this I had the following options:
1. ISB
2. PGPX (IIM-A)
3. PGPEX (IIM-C)
4. IPMX (IIM-L)
Now you should note that IIM-C runs the session from Jan - Dec, so the applying cycle is different. For the remaning 3 schools the cycle is mostly the same, from Apr - Mar. So, finish off your GMAT in July as PGPX forms have to submitted by 10-Aug. The program costs also varies with ISB being the most expensive at ~19 lacs, PGPX at ~14 lacs and PGPEX at 8 lacs. Most of these programs have a minimum experience criteria which is 5 years except ISB, where it is 2 years. But these facts you can check from their respective website.
My Gyan
Disclaimer: These are my thoughts when I applied in various schools and can be totally incorrect.
I applied to only 2 schools: ISB and IIM-A. I missed IIM-C deadline and I did not want to explore IIM-L because it was a totally new program (2008 they will start thier 1st batch). But then there are advantages of joining the 1st batch as well, so I leave that decision up to you. There are some good european (mostly for 1 year) and US schools (for 2 year) as well.
General: Since all these schools really value the diversity factor so Indian IT Male (IIM) is the most common profile. So, if you are one of those better prepare yourself to show what is diverse in your profile. Women candidates, non IT profile, something outstanding in terms of starting something new at work or outside work would be a great value add.
Also, you have to write essay (a new concept for me). I spent ample time with my wife and friends trying to weave my life happenings in a coherent story. I bet this is the most difficult part of application. Best is to get the essays reviewed by an alum, if possible. You can also use certain professional services but personally I didn't find them very useful. Also don't get too many reviewers else you'll be left totally confused.
IIM-A: The best part of the PGPX application is that you don't have to write the essay when you submit the application form on 10-Aug. Only if your application is shortlisted then you have to submit the essays but they give a very short time: 7-10 days for 5 essays. The minimum work-ex is 5 years and the average is ~10 years. This makes it difficult for people with 5-6 years experince. I have observed that IIM-A is very keen on international experince. So, if you have stayed a couple of years in different countires that will be a great value add. I have seen a lot of Indian students in IIM-A who were settled abroad and joined IIM-A. Generally the intake is 70 fresh students per year with ~10 students who take deferral from the previous year. The placements of the last 2 batches have been very good.
ISB: The minimum required experience is 2 years and the average work-ex is 5 years. This makes it difficult for people (like me) who have more than 8 years experince. But then the good news is the class size is 400+ so there is ample scope for everyone. I would also suggest to apply in the 1st dealine if you are serious. The BIG plus from this year that ISB is ranked in the Top 2o Business schools of the world (check Financial Times ratings) !
Once you have applied to the B-schools of your choice you can meet the prospective students and share your anxities and experiences on http://www.pagalguy.com/.
Conclusion
For me, the prep for the journey succeded when I received an admit from ISB (PGPX resulted in a wait-list). The bug to do something 'different' has bitten me and I have been able to convince the adcom as well. I hope that my journey continues well even in ISB and gives me some blogging time as well :-)
