ISB PGP YL Essay 2024 – 2025: Essay Analysis, Tips, and Sample Essay Structure

This essay analysis article has been developed using the decade-long experience of the team of Former Admissions Officers at ISBmantra. This analysis draws insights from their understanding of the ISB admissions process gained while reviewing thousands of real ISB applications as part of the core admissions team at ISB. 

The ISB Post Graduate Programme in Management for Young Leaders (PGP YL) is a highly competitive program that attracts applicants with CAT, GMAT, as well as GRE scores. Final-year college students as well as young graduates with 0-2 years of experience can apply to the program. While most Indian MBA programs remain extremely test-score focused, ISB PGP YL maintains a holistic admissions process, valuing applicants’ academic standing, professional exposure, extracurricular accomplishments, and desired career path. 

As part of the application process, the essay prompts play a crucial role in helping ISB assess not just the qualifications of candidates, but also their potential to contribute to the school’s vibrant community.

In this article, we’ll break down each of the three essay prompts for the ISB PGP YL program, offering detailed guidance on how to approach them effectively. By understanding what ISB is looking for and reflecting on your personal experiences, you can create compelling essays that showcase your leadership skills and the unique perspectives you bring to the class.

ISB PGP YL Essay Questions for 2025 Admissions

The following are the questions for the ISB PGP YL application for the 2025 intake:

1. Describe a specific personal situation in which you assumed a leadership role without formal authority. How did you motivate and influence others during this experience? What challenges did you encounter, and what insights did you gain about your leadership abilities as a result of this experience? (400 words max)
2. What unique experiences and perspectives do you bring to your class? How do you intend to contribute to the diversity of thought and ideas within the programme? Please provide specific examples to illustrate your points. (400 words max)
3. What impact do you aim to create after completing the PGP YL programme? Please share your medium- to long-term career plans, including any specific challenges you anticipate facing along the way. (250 words max)

At ISBmantra, with our Core Team of Former ISB Admissions Officers, we have mentored 3000+ applicants over the last 12 years. Here is our analysis of the ISB PGP YL 2025 Application essays. 

PGP YL Essay 1

Describe a specific personal situation in which you assumed a leadership role without formal authority. How did you motivate and influence others during this experience? What challenges did you encounter, and what insights did you gain about your leadership abilities as a result of this experience? (400 words max)

PGP YL Essay 1 Detailed Analysis

To begin with, let’s break the question down into different parts and ensure that we read between the lines: 

1. ISB is asking for a situation where you weren’t a “designated leader”. With hierarchy and designation, one is automatically placed in a position of authority. It is, therefore, essential that you pick a situation where you assumed greater responsibility, and demonstrated leadership in a setting that wasn’t already formalized. 
2. Next, you need to think of the stakeholders involved, the people you worked with, and how you articulated your leadership to drive the direction of the situation, influence the people involved, and collaborate effectively.
3. Challenges always remain crucial while detailing an experience or situation. The reader will be able to evaluate the scope of your contribution in the context of how challenging the situation was.
4. Finally, the question seeks to peek into the insights you gained about yourself while navigating the situation, challenges, and accomplishments in the process.

Key Areas to Focus On

1. The Situation: Begin by identifying a clear and specific scenario where you assumed a leadership role without formal authority. This could be from a professional setting, a college project, or even a community initiative. What matters is that it highlights your leadership in a situation where you didn’t have an official title or mandate.
2. Motivating and Influencing Others: Leadership isn’t just about giving orders; it’s about bringing people together to work towards a shared goal. Explain the strategies you used to motivate your peers or team members. Did you lead by example, use persuasion, foster collaboration, or leverage your expertise? What made others want to work with you?
3. Challenges Faced: Every leadership situation comes with its own set of challenges. This is your chance to show resilience and problem-solving skills. Whether you faced resistance from team members, communication barriers, or logistical issues, highlight the challenges and explain how you navigated them.
4. Insights Gained: The crux of this essay lies in self-reflection. After leading through a challenging situation, what did you learn about yourself as a leader? Did the experience help you realize your strengths or expose areas for growth? This reflection will give ISB a deeper understanding of your leadership potential.

PGP YL Essay 1 Sample Essay Structure

1. Introduction (~100 words): Set the stage by describing the context and why you had to assume a leadership role without formal authority.
2. Body (~200 words): Discuss the challenges you faced or anticipated, how you dealt with the situation, the people, and the problem. Go deeper into what you did and your thought process behind your actions. 
3. Conclusion (~100 words): Reflect on the key insights you gained about your leadership abilities. How did the experience shape your understanding of leadership, and how will it influence you in the future?

Tips for a Strong PGP YL Essay

• Initiative: Show that you are willing to step up when needed, even in situations where you don’t have formal authority.
• Team Dynamics: Demonstrate that you can work well with others, understanding how to motivate and inspire them.
• Self-awareness: Reflecting on what you learned from the experience is crucial. ISB values introspective candidates who can identify strengths and areas for improvement.

PGP YL Essay 2

What unique experiences and perspectives do you bring to your class? How do you intend to contribute to the diversity of thought and ideas within the programme? Please provide specific examples to illustrate your points. (400 words max)

PGP YL Essay 2 Detailed Analysis

In a class of about 100 students, it remains critical that each student add significant value to the learning of their peers. This essay specifically seeks to understand how you will add to the cohort’s diversity and leverage your experiences, perspectives, and ideas to enrich the cohort’s experience. Here are the key components of the question:

1. What are some of the differentiating factors in your profile? What unique experiences (personal and professional) do you bring to the class?

2. How are these differentiators going to be relevant to the PGP YL class? What are some of the ways you envision contributing, while pursuing the program, based on your past experiences and learnings?

3. Among all your experiences, can you present a few in greater detail? No better way to say it than to “show”.

Key Areas to Focus On

1. Highlight Unique Experiences: This is the heart of the essay. Think about the personal and professional experiences that set you apart from other applicants. These could be cultural, professional, or personal experiences that have shaped your worldview and approach to problem-solving. Real, specific examples will add significantly higher value than vague references from the past. 
2. Diversity of Thought: Beyond listing your unique experiences, explain how they contribute to the diversity of thought in the classroom. How do they enable you to bring new ideas, contribute to team settings, collaborate more effectively, or offer fresh insights?
3. Specific Contributions: ISB is keen on actionable contributions. Think about specific ways you intend to contribute to class discussions, clubs, or group projects. Provide concrete examples of how your background will add value to the learning environment at ISB.
4. Align with ISB’s Collaborative Culture: Show that you understand and appreciate ISB’s focus on peer learning. Highlight how your unique perspectives can foster collaboration and contribute to the overall class experience.

PGP YL Essay 2 Sample Essay Structure

1. Introduction (~50 words): Open with your key strengths and uniqueness that should get the reader interested in learning more about you. 
2. Evidence (~200 words): Touch upon your key experiences and provide details of at least two specific examples.
3. Contribution (~150 words): Build on your examples to explain what strengths you bring to the class. Relate these strengths with specific ways you will be able to contribute to the class. 

Tips for a Strong PGP YL Essay

• Diversity of Experiences: Touch upon a range of experiences, touching upon both personal and professional strengths.
• Ability to Contribute: Highlighting how you will actively contribute to the program shows ISB that you will be an engaged, proactive participant in their peer-learning model.
• Specific Areas of Contribution: Once you have identified how you can contribute, research further and go deeper into developing a stronger understanding of the program and identify areas of contribution that are specific enough. 

PGP YL Essay 3

What impact do you aim to create after completing the PGP YL programme? Please share your medium- to long-term career plans, including any specific challenges you anticipate facing along the way. (250 words max)

PGP YL Essay 3 Detailed Analysis

This essay prompt requires you to present your career plans – atypical of most business school applications. All business schools understand the changing industry dynamics and do not expect you to have an exact plan, but a larger vision and aspiration positions you as a candidate who is more likely to succeed than someone with no clear plans ahead. Above all, it’s important to understand that even though the essay prompt opens with “What impact do you aim to create …” – the expectation is to learn about the professional impact you seek to create in your target industry, function, and/or organization – without getting trapped into overemphasizing social impact. 

Key Areas to Focus On

1. Career Plan: The industry/function/role you aspire to work in, post-MBA. What future roles it will lead to, and how do you envision your career progression?
2. Professional Readiness: It doesn’t take anything to present any career plan – be it working with the MBBs, getting recruited by one of the FAANG companies, or starting one’s own venture. The key is to establish how your past academic and professional experiences uniquely position you to excel in your plans. 
3. Vision for Impact: The long-term impact you see yourself creating by pursuing your desired career path. Whether your focus is on industry innovation, social entrepreneurship, or driving positive change in your community, you need to articulate a vision that goes beyond personal success. 
4. Challenges Anticipated: Demonstrating foresight is crucial. Identify the key challenges you may face as you work towards your goals. These could include industry competition, market dynamics, skill gaps, or broader economic challenges. Talking about the potential gaps and obstacles you anticipate facing will present you as a prepared and well-researched candidate.

Sample Structure

1. Professional Summary (~90 words): Start with the academic and professional components of your profile that immediately establish your potential to pursue your desired career path.
2. Career Plan (~80 words): Explain your medium to long-term career plans. Be specific about the roles you intend to pursue, impact you expect to create, and how you see yourself progressing in your career.
3. Need for PGP YL (~80 words): Identify the challenges you anticipate facing. Conclude with how the PGP YL will help you overcome these challenges and achieve your long-term goals.

Tips for a Strong PGP YL Essay

• Practical Career Planning: While it’s important to have big aspirations, ISB also values practical career planning. Show that you have thought through your next steps after the program and have a realistic path to achieving your goals.
• Research about your Goals: Demonstrate some logic and research to your plans instead of just presenting a set of dreams and wishes. 
• Research about ISB: It is important to know if ISB is the best choice for you and present specific aspects of the program that will help you prepare well for career. 

Final Thoughts: Crafting Winning Essays for ISB PGP YL

When writing these essays, remember that ISB is not just evaluating your past achievements or your intellectual capacity. They want to see how you think, how you lead, and how you can contribute to their community. Leadership without authority and contributions to diversity are not just about showing what you’ve done, but about demonstrating your potential for growth and collaboration in a competitive, peer-driven environment.

By providing detailed examples and thoughtful reflection, your essays can showcase the traits that ISB values most in their candidates – initiative, diversity of thought, and the ability to contribute meaningfully to the learning experience of others.