INSEAD - Dec '11 waitlist

mpopov and poolpass, congratulations! it's not easy waiting this late, and it's probably going to feel like a lot to do, especially with first installment due on Nov 26.

My tips on getting accepted late for Fonty are as follows. This list is more or less in priority order, but throughout the next few weeks, I expect that you're continually reading all the information under the "Information" tab in MBA Connect and asking questions on the bulletin board and your fellow admits. See points 8 and 9.
1. Read the visa information section of MBA Connect thoroughly
2. Pay deposit as soon as possible so you have access to the attestation letter (you will need this for visa purposes) - wire transfer can take 4-5 biz days, more if your payment gets lost in the shuffle. Once you pay the deposit, send proof of payment as instructed under the "information" tab, as well as contact the student life office for "customized hard copies with original signatures" of attestation letters for campus france and consul france. Each geography is different and campus france or consul france may not accept the "scanned" signature on the attestation you can download and print off the website. Note you will only have access to the attestation once payment reaches Fonty and is validated by the financial services deparment.
3. Read visa process information thoroughly on consul france and campus france website(s)
- Visa is a two part process, campus france pre-registration for INSEAD (ie prove to French gov't you have been registered to insead and confirm your motivation to study in France) and consul france student visa/partner long-stay visa. The process is poorly documented but you will eventually figure it out. See #8 and #9, as well as do search for existing threads on MBA Connect.
4. Immediately begin the campus france process. Each country process is slightly different for most people it is painful. You will need the attestation letter for campus france when you have your interview or as part of the campus france form submission.
5. Begin looking for housing. You may not find what you are looking for, but look anyways. Use all resources at your disposal - MBA connect, an agent if you choose to use one (such as city junction or office immobilier), bonaparte.org, etc. Do not wait until you're in Fonty to look for accomodation - you will likely pay a lot and end up with something sub-optimal anyways.
6. Figure out if you want to take the business foundations course - payment for the course is due end of this week - you may have an extension of deadline, but this will affect when you need to be in Fonty regardless
7. Book plane tickets - ticket prices will continue to go up. Also, look to online travel sites and recommendations for agents that work often with cross-atlantic travel.
8. Hook into admits in your geography - ideally a drinks or dinner get-together or simply reach out and ask for help on MBA Connect about any of the above. They have already done a lot of prep or have at least put together a list, and know whether the visa process will be a pain or will be quicker. You can find people using the search directory function, posting on the bulletin board, or finding the appropriate "group"
9. Get the other admits to help you digest all the other information on MBA connect and things that aren't on MBA Connect. I expect you have been going through the rest of the information on MBA Connect and are probably overwhelmed with what's there, as well as the huge to-do list you have started to amass. You will have things to do like arrange financing from banks and/or govt, some scholarships may still be available, and there will be associated deadlines.

If you would like to talk to me, my contact details can be found on MBA Connect - just do a search for Nationality: Japanese and Class: 11D MBA, and I'll be the only Japanese Canadian in the list. Good luck!