ISB rocks - the story so far

It's tough to be level headed & objectively describe what/how ISB is for the simple reason that so many things here blow you away completely especially in week 1. Anyway, here is an honest attempt -

1. Infrastructure - This is the first thing that impresses you. The sheer scale & grandeur of the campus especially the Academic Centre/LRC/Atrium sweeps you off your feet the first time you see it. The overall campus is clean, green, extremely well equipped with all possible facilities you could think of for physical/mental development (ex. sports ranging from billiards to squash, volleyball to table tennis - the list is endless. For the mind you have one of the most comprehensive libraries in the APAC region). Our quads are fully equipped with all facilities. The IT network on campus is truly amazing especially the wi-fi coverage which covers a large part of the campus.

2. Events - The orientation week has been packed with a plethora of happenings right from impressive addresses by our dean, deputy dean, admissions & placements director (the stats for the batch of '07 truly reflect the intellect, diversity & rich experience which people bring to ISB. FYI, ISB has one of the highest average/median GMAT scores of all b-schools in the world today) to 'gyaan' sessions on various clubs here organized by the alums, to a huge number of outdoor activities meant to not only be ice breakers but also for alums to pass on their 'gyaan' on what to do/what not to do/general info on things in the year ahead. One of the events they organized for the incoming batch of 2007 was a party sprinkled with generous amount of cheap booze & awesome music (kudos to DJ199 - Warikoo). We were really lucky that we had rains all through the night ( the party started at 10.30 p.m. & went on till 3 a.m.). Dancing into the middle of the night with retro rock (GNR, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, U2, RHCP, etc) was one of the most awesome feelings I have had on campus so far. Incidentally, we the batch of 2007, threw a party for the alums on campus (11.30 p.m. till the wee hours of the morning). Another extremely interesting experience was the 'Community Service' event organized today where we were taken to a government school in old Hyderabad. We had a chance to interact with the kids there, their parents & the issues they had with studying there. It was a lot of fun to play with the kids, distribute sweets & understand life from their point of view. Just makes me feel so fortunate to have been born into such a comfortable life with so many opportunities. As I was discussing with DD today - where you're born determines 95% of how things work out for you in life. The kids at these school are so bright & cheerful - makes you wonder how much they would have achieved had they had a financially secure childhood. The batch of 2006 has done a great job at nurturing a host of these schools & we intend to take it forward from here. The planning & execution of all the events organized by the admin, the alums, etc is like clockwork - there has not been a single event where I would have found even a small thing amiss.

3. Alums - ISB being a one year program, this is the only time we have to interact with our alums. Where we lose out in terms of time to share with our alums, they make up for by being truly helpful, giving us as many useful tips as possible & even when they're not on campus, by being just an email way. I have been impressed by a whole lot of things the alums have organized in the past few days & the immense effort they have put in creating a huge databank for us to tap through the year . If any of them are reading this - alums, you guys have been truly wonderful on campus - thank you so much!!

Random notes -

Sleep has been rare to come - on an average about 5 hrs daily. Not being used to so much of physical exertion, all of us have aches everywhere around.

It rained here a couple of days back& this place looked like a very beautiful resort. ISB is like another world pakced away by itself with hardly any contact with the outside world.

So much more to say & express but words are few & energy is low. We have been sleeping at about 2 a.m. almost everyday just to get up at 7 a.m. for some activity.

Have played basketball, volleyball, cricket, table tennis, foosball (the one which Chandler & Joey keep playing in 'Friends'), etc . more in the last 4 days than I have in the last 8 years combined.

The profile of people here is truly truly impressive. Our alums have been consistently telling us that our batch is absolutely rocking & that this is going to be a turning point for ISB. We hope to live upto those views.

I have been trying not to be judgemental about people but it is getting increasingly tougher. I have shook hands with & introduced myself to more than 100 people in the last 4 days. Unfortunately, I do not remeber even half of the hundred names that were mentioned to me in return.

Met few of the famous bloggers whose blog I had been following for months now - they are more impressive in person than they have been through their blogs.

Gyaan from alums - Grades are important for consulting jobs, else not. Learn to prioritize, else you're dead. Placement is just one thing - the overall ISB experience is a lot more than that; however, be focussed on what you want to do post ISB & start working on it today.

My study group has 3 IT guys, a guy from the energy (oil & gas) sector & a bond trader working for an insurance company.