Ask INSEAD Admissions

Hi Guys,

Apologies for the long silence... I'm back and will apply myself to answer all of your questions since mid-June. If i have missed yours, please don't hesitate to poke me
Kind regards,
Camille

Hi Agentzap,
You most certainly have found answers to your questions by now, but this might be helpful to the community so here it is:

1) Academic Degree - FINAL GRADE* (p.5). In my Institute we had 5 points scale (5 - Excellent, 4- good etc.) plus we had pass/not passed Subjects. How can I calculate my final grade?
--> calculate the average yourself (like 3.5) and put that in the form. You are required to upload a scan copy of your transcript anyway so the admission department can check. Don't worry, the GPA grade system is the most common but not the only one and we're use to see other grading system. Our admission officers are perfectly familiar with those other system too.

2) PREVIOUS FULL-TIME POSITIONS: STARTING GROSS ANNUAL SALARY (p.7). To which position this field relates to?
--> this field is mostly for people coming from consulting. If this doesn't really apply to your experience, fill in what you can, but again don't worry too much.

3) Please list part-time work, internships and summer jobs starting with your most recent position (p. 7) - Is it required for a person with 9 years of full-time jobs?
--> Indeed not really in your case

Cheers!!
Cami

Sure! No problem at all.

Hi mybusiness,
Thank you for your post, it's nice to feel wanted like this . June has been an absolutely crazy month!

1.) Tell me about this Abu Dhabi campus. Can I please spend some time at it?
--> We will offer the opportunity to our students to spend some time on the Abu Dhabi campus very shortly (less than a year). I don't know the specifics yet.
2.) How rare is it for special language classes to form at the France campus? I am particularly interested in Mandarin and Arabic.
--> Mandarin and Arabic are not rare languages at INSEAD . We have a partnership with a local language school who offers on campus individual classes in 8 different languages including Mandarin and Arabic
3.) Do I understand correctly that I don't have to take a foreign language test until I am ready to enroll in INSEAD?
--> If English is your mother tongue, then you have until the interview decision to provide a certificate of your practical knowledge of your second language. You are required to provide a certificate of basic knowledge of your 3rd language before the end of your MBA.
4.) How awesome would it be to go to INSEAD? I bet it would be the greatest![/quote]
--> Indeed!!

Hi INSEAD Team,

I have an essay-related question:
One of my essays goes over the word limit by 8%, but I really like the way it is. Would this be a big problem?

Thanks for your time!

Lydia.

Hi Lydia792,
It is acceptable to go over the word limit by more or less 10%. Let me reassure you, your text won't be cut off.
Cheers,
Camille

Hi Syog,
As an Indian applicant who studied in India, you are qualifying for the TOELF waiver. We are aware that, in India, all post-graduate studies are conducted in English. So no need to prove anything.

Cheers,
Camille

Hi Arunpanda,
1. This question is indeed optional, so if not applicable to you, you may skip it.
2. I believe that as long as the email address is valid, your recommender will not have any problem. If your recommender was to face any issues, i would suggest that he use his personal email address.

Good luck with the application process,
best,
Camille

Hi Camille,

Thanks for you responses and participation. I have several questions.

1) I would like to know how INSEAD calculate work experience duration. Does internship during undergrad years count toward the overall work experience time? Or is it start after?. For example, the summer between my 1st and 2nd year of undergrad, I had an internship for 3 months. Again, between 2nd and 3rd, I had an internship with the same company. Then, I took a year off between my 3rd and 4th to intern with difference company in my industry. Then, I went back to school to finish my degree. That is a cumulative of 1.5 years. I graduated in 2010, and i have full-time job ever since. I am planning to apply for the Jan 2014 intake. By that time, I would have roughly 3 years of full-time working experience. Does the previous work experience before undergrad count ?

2) I am not a native english speaker, but i graduated from an U.S School. I read in the language policy document that the transcript need to state that the all courses are taught in English. Is this a given if my transcript is from a U.S school ?

3) Where could I find admission statistics that indicate number of people apply vs. number of people accepted ?

4) I am originally from Vietnam. Is there a Vietnamese student organization at INSEAD ? I tried to find the percentage of smaller asian country students beside the big three (India, China, Singapore), but it nowhere to be find.

Again, your response is appreciated.

Hi INSEAD Team

I'm hoping to get an answer to the following questions below:
1) Is there a difference between Round 1 and Round 2 applications?
2) I intend to retake my GMAT to aim for a better score but I'm not sure how early should I take GMAT prior to the application deadline. For example, Round 2 deadline for Jul13 intake happens to be on 05 Dec 2012 - do I have to take it 20 days before this date (since GMAC mentioned on their website that it takes them 20 days to send the score to the school)?
3) My employer / direct supervisor doesn't look favourable on MBA (yes, unbelievable as that sounds) so requesting a reference off from him is almost as good as submitting my termination letter. Can I approach ex-supervisors (who had since left the company)?

Thank you in advance!

Dear adcom,

I am a dentist by education and clinical researcher by profession. I have a total work experience of 5 years in both medical e-learning and clinical research, out of which 3 years is mangerial experience. I am planning to apply for the coming round 1. I have a gmat score of 670 with 66 percentile in quant and 84 percentile in verbal. However, Insead requires a 70 percentile in both sections. Can you kndly tell me what chance do i stand in getting admitted.

Thanks in advance.

Best,

Ramya

Hi Drramya,
1. Your internship experience will have more or less importance depending on how many years of full-time experience you have. If you have already over 3 years of full-time work experience, then your internship experiences won't be too relevant. However, if you have less than 3 years of full-time professional experience then, yes we will have a closer look at the internships you have conducted.

2. Unfortunately no, it is not a given that your entire curriculum was in English. A lot of schools offer exchange programmes where only one year out of a 3-year-degree is in English. If it doesn't mention that your degree was solely and entirely taught in English, you can ask for a simple certification letter from your school. This will be sufficient.

3. You won't find it. INSEAD doesn't disclose these statistics.

4. In the Sept 2012 starters, we have 3 Vietnamese students. There is no Vietnamese Students organisation, but all Asian students do get together for the organisation of the Asian National week called Dragon week. There is however, a National Vietnamese Alumni Association. https://www.insead.edu/Alumni/alumni_network/associations.cfm

Cheers,
Cami

Hi Adna,
1. Each round is equally competitive (yes! even R3!! ) as the rate of acceptance is the same for all rounds compared to the number of applications received. We allocate more seats in round 1 and 2 than in round 3, but we receive far more applications too. It is important not to rush your application simply to submit it in an earlier round. When choosing a round in which to apply, the most important consideration is to dedicate enough time and thought to your application so that it accurately represents your strengths and talents. However, we should prefer to apply in round 1 or 2 if you rely on a scholarship award or if you need time to relocate to your starting campus.

2. For the first step of the admission process which is the application deadline, we will accept the unofficial score of your GMAT.

3. The ideal scenario is to have indeed at least one recommendation comes from the workplace for example, your current supervisor or manager is usually a good choice. The other recommendation may also be from someone who has had a chance to evaluate you in a professional setting for example, a client, a former supervisor or a colleague from your community service or extracurricular activities.

Best of luck with the application process,
Cheers,
Camille

I have a question regarding when the proof of second language for native english speakers has to be given. Earlier you stated:


On the INSEAD website it says the deadline to provide the certification is June 1 for September intake. So now I am a bit confused. Could you please explain the exact timeframe when the certificate has to be provided if one is to be accepted from the round 1 admissions?

I have another question regarding grades in non GPA form. In Canada, several universities grade based on 0-100, and each university has a different way of converting to GPA. For example, a grade of 80 may convert to a 3.2 GPA in some universities whereas at another university it may convert to a GPA of 3.7. Does the admission team know about all the grading systems at each university? Should I mention anything like this in the application?

Thanks!

Camille,

Can you tell me how the new Integrated Reasoning section will be judge during the admission process ?

Hi,

I am 37 with 11 years work experience and interested in INSEAD. Is there any limit on maximum work experience and age?
Thanks.

On the INSEAD application, there is a question that asks whom may the adcom team contact from my current employer. The president/CEO of the business is my father. Is it OK to write his name, or should I write someone else's name? I already have 2 other people from the company who are giving references.