The first thing a potential MBA applicant should do is introspect and understand why they want to do an MBA and whether it aligns with their career plans. An MBA is fairly demanding in terms of the effort required for the application, monetary investment and the opportunity cost. This introspection will also help the candidate during their essay writing and application process. Speaking to alumni and current students will help prperspective, the ground reality and experience students have had.ISB typically has 2 rounds of application (September/October and December/January). For the 2024 intake, ISB announced a Round 3 as well, but that doesnu2019t seem likely again.Once you do decide to apply to ISB, you will be required to follow certain steps:Taking the GMAT/GRE: the first thing one should do is prepare and take one of these exams. GRE is now accepted by most Business Schools. Preparation time ranges anywhere from 1-6 months, so plan ahead and start studying at least 10 months before the application deadline. This will give you enough time in case the test needs to be taken again. The average GMAT score at ISB is 709.Sending ISB your official GMAT report: you can do this on the day you take the test for free or later by paying an additional fee.Building your story:Essays: these need to go through several iterations to be just perfect. So start developing your story and collecting material for the same about 2 months in advance. Be sure to write original content even if youu2019re tempted to pick up a few lines from Google. ISB puts all its applications through plagiarism check and considers unoriginal content a very serious offense. Consider going to an Admissions Consultant if you donu2019t feel confident about doing this yourself. ISBmantra has a team of experts who are former ISB Admissions Officials: https://www.isbmantra.com/people... However, do start the process early enough as the consultants may also be super packed closer to the deadlines.Resume: ISB doesnu2019t need a resume but requires you to fill out a detailed application form about your work experience and personal details. It would be beneficial to collect your achievements at work and collate them into a document. Do not forget to highlight your extracurricular activities and hobbies. Ideally, you shouldnu2019t bring up things from high school and before unless they are really impressive. Focus on activities and achievements in the last 3-4 years.Letter of recommendation: ISB requires you to submit one letter of recommendation. This should ideally be from someone at work, who you have had a close working relationship with. Remember, itu2019s better to ask your manager for this than the CEO of the company as your manager would have spent more time with you and will be able to comment more comprehensively on your qualities and achievements. Itu2019s completely alright to sit with your recommender and discuss areas that you may want him to highlight in the context of specific projects and tasks you may have taken up in the past.Application form: Do take out good time to fill this well as it is very detailed and requires you to fill in several details and upload a number of documents. Be sure to have collected and scanned these in advance.Application fee: this has to be paid online at the time of submitting the application.ISB views your application holistically, so make sure you complete each component of the process well. Once you have submitted the application, it may be wise to start preparing for the interview since ISB gives just 5-7 day notice before your actual interview.Feel free to drop us a line at info@isbmantra.com to get a more profile-specific advice.All the Best!ISBmantrawww.isbmantra.com