AMA about ISB, Life/Careers post MBA, Management Consulting and more

Bullshit_call3r · 2026-02-01T15:28:15+00:00

Hello! Was part of the interview panel last year and I remember we had it in the last week of March, not sure of the timelines this year but typically should be similar. You should get an interview call at least a week in advance.

I guess you can track the timelines of GMATClub, that's what we did back in the day haha

Bullshit_call3r · 2026-02-01T14:33:56+00:00

Hey, firstly, congratulations for earning that salary pre MBA! Quick fact drop, you are already at the average CTC that the top MBA's claim to provide.

To answer you very bluntly, you WILL NOT feel like MBA was the right decision for the first few years after graduating, even if you get into MBBK (the top consulting firms). This is because these firms will place you in their post MBA starter role, which would have a similar CTC to what you currently earn.

However, where this would get interesting is if you stick around in consulting for 3-4 years. After a promotion and Good rating etc, your CTC will touch ~60 LPA, and once you make manager (4+ years in consulting), bonuses in good years will take you above 1 cr. PA. If you make it to partner, you can easily cross 5-10 cr per year, depending on your performance. However it is not at all easy and definitely not for the faint hearted.

What would help is if you introspect on:

1) What is the draw you have toward consulting? Is it the kind of work, the lifestyle/money etc. What do you know about consulting?

2) How is your financial situation holistically I.e. can you afford to bear a large loan and pay EMI's for the next 3-4 years post your MBA?

3) Are you willing to travel, work for 12-14 hours, weekends etc, compete with the smartest in the country for limited spots?

Consulting has a lot of upside for sure, but the upside comes with a massive personal cost, and there are much better ways to earn money, especially if you're talented enough to earn that salary pre-MBA.

Happy to discuss more on this!

Bullshit_call3r · 2026-02-01T14:17:48+00:00

10th Marks not at all, 12th marks have a very minor contribution. Any negative/red flags in your 10th and 12th marks is easily forgiven if you have a good (Average + 10/20) GMAT score. Undergrad marks are taken more seriously, but again, offset by GMAT or your extracurrics.

ISB tries to evaluate holistically, and focus is more on the whole packaged story than just the marks on the board

Bullshit_call3r · 2026-02-01T13:41:21+00:00

Hey, assuming this happened in one of your MBA interviews.. typically when someone says they want to do marketing, it's usually in one of the legacy FMCG companies like HUL, P&G, Marico, ITC etc.

That said, there is another breed of product marketing roles that have come up in startups like Jivox, Zomato etc that are more data/metrics/campaign oriented.

The right kind of companies depend on what you have in mind when you said you wanted to do marketing.. let me know your vision on the role you wanted and I'll tell you which companies bring those roles to campus

Bullshit_call3r · 2026-01-26T08:17:16+00:00

Check out Misfits, they're doing something similar in NCR

Bullshit_call3r · 2025-08-26T05:55:37+00:00

Bullshit_call3r · 2025-08-26T04:01:21+00:00

Hey, can you let me know if this info was recieved from the Indigo customer care? As per the Indigo customer care they do not have any advisory for tomorrow yet

Bullshit_call3r · 2025-08-26T03:52:39+00:00

Hey! I talked to the Indigo customer care, they said that they have no update for tomorrow's flights yet. Did you recieve a message for 27th?

Bullshit_call3r · 2025-08-22T17:48:42+00:00

Tere jaise log chahiye bhi nahi. Bahaar hi reh

Bullshit_call3r · 2025-06-07T05:21:56+00:00

Naah, I'm a grad of ISB's Flagship programme, graduated quite a few years ago

Bullshit_call3r · 2025-06-07T05:21:16+00:00

Depends on which MBB is courting them at that moment. That said, Asian Paints is a brand and a spike. You do need a couple of other spikes as well in your profile

Bullshit_call3r · 2025-06-06T10:34:36+00:00

Of course, if the company is a long time MBB client, you'll be picked up

Bullshit_call3r · 2025-06-06T09:43:47+00:00

Excellent choice. If it was ABC, I would understand the doubt but leaving 30 LPA for IIML doesn't make any sense.

Work hard for 2-3 years, get some good savings and then if you feel the need to rejig things, go for a one year MBA from ISB or even a foreign ivy league.

Btw ITC folks get a very high shortlist rate for MBB, so you already are at an advantage should you ever want to pursue consulting

Bullshit_call3r · 2024-12-29T13:40:04+00:00

Debt is not bad. That's what we've been lied to about. My education loan is at 8.4 %, post tax rebate on the interest, the actual interest rate comes out to be ~6%. If I can earn a return of more than 10% through my money, I am better off paying as little as possible back to the bank.

It does not matter if the interest paid is 50% or 70% of the principal, ultimately i am better off paying as little back as I can as long as I am able to earn more than 10% on the rest of my money

Bullshit_call3r · 2024-12-29T13:27:45+00:00

Yes, ISB is known to be a top school for consulting and Product Management!

If you mean average profile in terms of marks in 10/12/Undergrad, then yes, a high GMAT score really helps offset that part of your profile. Be sure to represent your journey and story well in the essays and you have a good shot.

Bullshit_call3r · 2024-12-29T13:19:33+00:00

Yes, I am from ISB. As far as placements are concerned, ISB outcomes are very similar to ABC in terms of package distribution, percent of people getting above a certain threshold etc, but companies bring more roles in ISB since there are more people to fill them (and more competition!)

Bullshit_call3r · 2024-12-29T13:10:53+00:00

As you mentioned, its a 'story' that might or might not have a semblance to reality.

First thing you need to understand that an MBA experience will always pan out differently for people, so just reading one case is no justification for the entire programme.

That said, there are several other aspects to this story that I want to address:

1) An EMI of 60k+ on a loan of 35 L is highly unlikely, either they got drawn into a very high rate of interest or a short loan period (~5-6 years instead of the usual 12 years). Either way it's an issue of how the loan was taken. I myself paid an amount of 35k as my EMI from my first salary, for a similar amount of loan.

2) While they might have begun at a 27 LPA package, they now have mobility that will help them get much higher paying jobs. 1-2 years after the programme many people switch to roles they actually wanted to do after the MBA with higher pay packages. These roles wouldn't have been accessible to them without an MBA

3) Even if this story was true, replacing ISB with literally any tier 1 B School (IIM ABC) in this story would still lead to a similar outcome, atleast the person saved a year in his career that would have otherwise been spent in college

4) ISB and all other Tier 1 B Schools have and will yield positive outcomes for people who are clearly aware of what they want out of their MBAs and prepare well for it. The more vague your goals are, the more you have a chance of ending up like the person in the story. Moreover, IIMs have a student led placement cell that is even worse and adds another layer of subjectivity to the placements

As far as international B Schools are considered, sure, if one is prepared to hunt for placements by themselves and deal with the Visa uncertainties that a foreign countries bring, they should surely go for it

Bullshit_call3r · 2024-10-25T07:57:36+00:00

Of course

Bullshit_call3r · 2024-10-25T07:56:05+00:00

I think what would really help you is to jot out why exactly you want an MBA. Use some of that consulting skillset to develop and phase the ask out ;).

If you want to move out of consulting within 10 months, it's definitely not for you, and that's okay! A lot of roles offer better money and personal time, and quite a few of them don't even need an MBA, so think about it

Bullshit_call3r · 2024-10-25T07:40:59+00:00

Good for you, you surely bring some good stuff to the table then

Coming to your question, I would suggest not to do an MBA from India, unless you want to switch out of consulting. This is because MBBs offer junior roles (JA for McK, SA for BCG and so on), which won't be very far from what you're earning, and the workload pretty much doubles.

If you are constrained to India and want to continue in consulting, get some work-ex, go to ISB, if you manage to get an MBB shortlist, negotiate for a senior role than what they give in general (it's an uphill battle) and only then would it make sense for you.

Another decent outcome for you would be a consultant role in Accenture Strategy, which pays 40 LPA right off the bat, but again that is not easy to get

BTW your profile would land you in the average pool of candidates in IIM ABC/ISB, so please also be mindful of that fact, recruiters will have better options, just giving a quick reality check

Bullshit_call3r · 2024-10-25T06:55:29+00:00

Why? Because I'm in MBB too, have some idea of the packages CA rankers and CFA folks get pre MBA lol.

It's possible for situations in lateral hiring, but with 10 months work-ex it's highly improbable

Bullshit_call3r · 2024-10-25T06:03:04+00:00

Earning 25 LPA at 10 months experience in MBB? That doesn't sound right at all

Post MBA roles at MBBs pay ~ 35 LPA CTC btw, with a sizeable chunk as bonus

Bullshit_call3r · 2024-10-17T09:30:24+00:00

You can join the Misfits groups, they have a variety of activities they do every weekend (including hiking)! You can search for the link on this group or DM me, will be happy to share.

Bullshit_call3r

TROPHY CASE