ISB Essay Sample That Got Selected: Write Yours Like a Winner

Why ISB Application Essays Can Make or Break Your Admission

ISB essays are an extremely crucial part of your application, often more so than test scores. They allow ISB to assess your leadership potential, clarity of thought, and cultural fit. Through your essay, the admissions team gains insights into your unique life journey and how that aligns with the school's values.

What ISB Looks for in Essays (Insights from the Admissions Team)

ISB highly values clarity of goals, strong leadership potential, and a good cultural fit. Your essay should subtly demonstrate these qualities through compelling storytelling, showcasing your achievements, and clearly demonstrating how ISB can help you achieve your future goals. It’s about illustrating who you are beyond just your academic scores, degrees and designations.

Most Common ISB Essay Questions You Should Prepare For

Essays are the true game changers that can differentiate you from other applicants.

Typical Questions Include

• What unique experiences have shaped who you are? What have these experiences taught you about leadership and the kind of leader you aspire to be?

  • Leadership is the main focus of this essay. ISB is particularly interested in learning about your leadership potential as well as how your prior experiences have shaped your leadership style.

  • Consider instances in which you exercised initiative, impacted people, overcame obstacles as a leader, or even failed in a leadership position and gained knowledge.

• What intellectual experiences have influenced your approach to learning and have led you to pursue an MBA? Please describe using anecdotes from your own experiences.

  • ISB wants to understand your intellectual curiosity, learning style, and how these relate to your decision to pursue an MBA.

  • Consider classes, assignments, studies, publications, or even conversations that had a significant influence on your way of thinking or altering your viewpoint.

• Share with us any intellectual pursuits, unique perspectives, or experiences that you pursued that have shaped your worldview, your growth through these pursuits, and how they could potentially contribute to our learning community.

  • Highlight a genuine quality about yourself that doesn't belong in the other essays in this space.

  • It's important to demonstrate progress in these endeavors and, most importantly, how they will benefit the broader cohort at ISB. 

Winning Essay Sample from a Selected Candidate

Brief candidate profile:

• B.Tech CSE with 5+ years of experience

• Working as a Senior PM in a major Indian e-commerce firm

To ensure anonymity and discreteness, we are showing some snippets of one of the essays here for better understanding of the readers:

What Makes This Essay a Winner? [In-Depth Breakdown]

Clear Structure That Guides the Reader Smoothly

This winning essay features a powerful opening that immediately grabs attention, followed by a logical flow of ideas. It concludes with a strong closing paragraph that reinforces the candidate’s message, creating a cohesive and impactful narrative.

Specific Strengths that Made This Essay Stand Out

• Use of Data: The essay effectively incorporates specific data and metrics, providing concrete evidence of achievements and their impact.

• Strong Alignment with ISB Values: The narrative clearly demonstrates how the candidate's experiences and aspirations resonate with ISB’s core values and mission.

• Authentic Voice: The essay is written in a genuine and personal voice, making it relatable, easy to read and memorable for the admissions committee.

5-Step Structure to Write a High-Impact ISB Essay

Start with a Strong Hook

Begin your essay with an engaging story or a significant realization that profoundly shaped your goals and aspirations. This immediately captures the reader's attention and sets the tone.

Highlight 2–3 Achievements

Showcase your key accomplishments, focusing on tangible results and quantifiable metrics rather than just listing responsibilities. This demonstrates your impact and capabilities.

Clearly Define Your Career Goals

Articulate both your short-term and long-term career goals with clear reasoning. Explain how an ISB MBA will specifically enable you to achieve these objectives.

Show Why ISB Is the Right Fit

Connect your aspirations directly to ISB. Mention how specific aspects of ISB’s curriculum, extensive alumni network, or unique clubs and initiatives will contribute to your success.

Close with a Confident Conclusion

Summarize your vision for the future and reiterate your commitment to ISB. Your conclusion should be confident and forward-looking, leaving a lasting positive impression.

Bonus Tips to Make Your ISB Essay Polished and Impactful

• Avoid generic lines like “I want to give back to society.”

• Use simple, precise language for maximum clarity

• Get feedback from ISB alumni or mentors.

• Don’t try to sound like someone else — write in your voice

• Use numbers and real results when describing achievements

• Keep it under the word limit and avoid overused buzzwords

Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Your ISB Essay

Writing like a Resume instead of a story.

Your essay is an opportunity to tell your unique story, not just list your experiences. Focus on narrative and personal reflection.

Overusing buzzwords with no proof.

Avoid using industry jargon or clichés without providing concrete examples or data to back up your claims.

Writing a Generic Essay Not Tailored to ISB

Every essay should be specifically tailored to ISB, demonstrating your understanding of its values and programs. A generic essay will not stand out.

Being vague about Your goals or achievements.

Be specific and clear about your career goals and the details of your accomplishments. Vagueness can undermine your credibility and signal lack of clarity to the school.

How to Get Feedback on Your ISB Essay Before Submitting

Getting early feedback is crucial. Seek input from ISB alumni, mentors, or even MBA forums. Peer review can help identify blind spots you might miss. Consider professional help only if truly needed. A second opinion significantly refines your essay and strengthens your application.

Tools and Resources to Help You Write Better ISB Essays 

• Grammarly: Essential for catching grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.

• Hemingway Editor: Helps improve readability and clarity by highlighting complex sentences and passive voice.

• ChatGPT (with custom prompt): Can assist in drafting initial ideas or refining sentence structures, but always review and personalize.

• Alumni networks or ISB-specific mentors: Offer invaluable insights and personalized advice on essay content and strategy.

FAQs About ISB Essay Writing

Q.1 Can I write the same essay for other B-schools?

No, it's highly recommended to tailor each essay to the specific school to demonstrate genuine interest and fit.

Q.2  What is the ideal length for an ISB essay?

Always adhere to the specific word limits provided in the application instructions for each essay question.

Q.3 Do I need professional help to write my essay?

While not mandatory, professional guidance can be beneficial for refining your narrative and ensuring clarity, especially if you are struggling with self-expression.

Conclusion - 

A standout ISB essay demands clarity, authenticity, and a clear alignment with ISB's vision. It’s your chance to convey your unique story and demonstrate why you are an ideal candidate. Remember, your story, told right, can open ISB’s doors.