Ask INSEAD Admissions

Hi KingShark,
No, that's how you should do it. But keep in mind that the students are very busy and especially at this time of year. It was the begining of period exam last week up to today included.
If you have not received a reply by now, i would advise that you try them again as they may have more time to get back to you now that the exams are finished.

All the best,
Camille

Hello,

I'm wait listed R3 Jan2015 candidate, and I'm considering reapplication to R2 Sept 2015 intake as an alternative to staying in wait list. Should I coordinate my reapplication with my Admission Officer and what should I do to reapply?

Hi Htetzz,

The waitlist is carried out up until the admission decision of R4, so you still have a chance to make it to the programme. Should you want to re-apply for Sep 15, then yes. Please, do contact your admission coordinator, she will be able to tell you what the re-application process will be in your case.

warm regards & all the best,
Camille

Hi Camille,

I have a question, which I hope you can help me with. I am looking to apply to INSEAD and I was aiming at getting my application in in round 3. However, I took the GMAT yesterday and my score was a little disappointing - 700 Q45 V40 IR7 AWA N/A- which I realise is quite unbalanced. I am especially disappointed since I work in quite a mathematical/analytical role and my university background is also very mathematical (econometrics). I guess, on the day, I did not perform my best, especially since all my practice test results were higher. So my question is the following: would my mathematical background make up for my disappointing quant GMAT score or would you recommend that I retake the GMAT before applying?

A little bit about my background, if this helps answer my question: European male, 26, work experience in 3 EU countries, undergrad in top10 UK university (economics and econometrics 2:1).

Thanks

tepbb,
First, you really shouldn't be disappointed with a GMAT score at 700! it is a great score! Secondly, i wouldn't really call your score unbalanced either. We assess score in percentiles, so (Q45 V40) you are in the 75% in Q and 92% in verbal. Though the GMAT average of the class at INSEAD is 700, the actual requirement is to score in the 70% for both Q and V. Anything above is pure bonus!

Now, the GMAT is only one small part of an application. It's important for us because it gives us great clues on how students will do academically and how their can cope with stress, time management and a very fast pace MBA programme. This said, everything else in your application is really what can set you apart.

I stumbled across this article which i think is a pretty good guideline to help decide if you need to retake the GMAT or not.
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2013/should-i-retake-the-gmat/

In you specific case, i'd say don't waste your time retaking the exam and concentrate on crafting an awesome application. Work on your essays, on your references, prepare for the interviews etc...
This will surely make a lot more impact that an extra 10 points on your GMAT.

Cheers,
camille

Hi Camille,

thanks a lot for your prompt response! Although I also feel that 700 is not such a bad score, I am slightly concerned by the 70% + requirement. In fact, Q45 now falls in the 65th percentile, so this puts me just short (sorry I should have clarified this in my initial post).
I appreciate the need to focus on the rest of the application but as it is also stated on the INSEAD website that INSEAD discourages reapplications, hence I do not want to blow my chances because of an unrepresentative quant score the first time round.

cheers

Hi Camille,

Just wondering if the 70% stated above is a hard cutoff? Like if your overall score is good but either quant or verbal percentile is below that, can other parts of your application help you out?

Thanks.

I will insist again on the fact that the GMAT is only one aspect of your application and that it is not one that will give you a competitive edge.

No it is absolutely not a hard cutoff. 70% percentile is a guideline. The score you want to grab to be 'in the safe zone' (like Magoosh said in the article i posted earlier). 700 is an average. You're all studying the GMAT right?
An average means half the class is above and half the class is below! The actual range is 600 to 800. With 80% of the class between 650 and 750.

Hi Admissions
I have a quick questions which seems to have been overlooked in the previous answers.
The INSEAD Admission Policy page states that "We do not encourage applications from previously rejected candidates. Unless your profile has incurred significant changes in any of the areas relating to our Admissions Criteria, re-applicants should expect the same outcome."

My question is, what in your opinion constitutes a significant change and does the AdCom actively penalize reapplicants during the application evaluation? What is the admission rate for reapplicants?

Thanks

Hi Stan,
Indeed, i don't remember that we have addressed this specific question before. So thank you for bringing it up.

Our selection process is extremely thorough. Every aspect of the application is carefully assessed. Rejected candidates are usually denied for more than one reason. This in mind, there are 2 different scenarios with 2 different answers to your question.

1- Denied before the interview
Usually this is because there is a combination of the following: Unsatisfying GMAT/TOEFL, unconvincing essays, bad references, lack of professional experience/maturity
Let's say, the candidate applied in Round 1 and is denied right away. We don't want to see this person re-apply say in Round 3. This is were "Unless your profile has incurred significant changes" take all its meaning. In 2 months, candidates won't get better references, and won't gain in maturity.

2- Denied after interviews
Interviews are here to assess personality, presentation and communication skills, and overall genuineness of the candidate. Usually candidates are denied after interviews because both went badly. Again there, re-applying right away isn't going to make a difference.

However, if a candidate was denied but comes back 1-2 years later and that we see a great improvement, we will happily reassess this application in the light of this 'new improve' person. There will be no penalization whatsoever.

PS: for candidates who made it to the waitlist but not into the programme, we actually highly encourage re-application!

I hope this helps you understand better our recruitment process.

Camille

hg

Hi Camille

Thanks for your reply. It clears a lot of air and has been very helpful.

I have been closely following the admission process for the September 2015 intake and couldn't help but ask, what is the tentative distribution of offers made in rounds this year? From what I have read, I understand that roughly 500 offers are made per intake. However, various forums are abuzz with speculations that the number of offers made in R1+R2 would total to over 400. Does this leave candidates applying in later rounds at a serious disadvantage?

I understand that it might be against INSEAD policy to comment on exact figures but any insight from your end would be great help!

Thanks
Regards

Stan

Hi Stan,
INSEAD reserves a certain number of seats for each rounds which represents a percent of the number of applications received. This percent is equivalent for all 4 rounds. We do offer more seats on Round 1 and 2, but we also receive a lot more applications. So no, later rounds applicants are not to a disadvantage. However, please note that in regards to scholarships, the earlier the application the better chances one has to secure a scholarship.

In the past 56 years, we've become pretty good at estimating how many applications we'll receive for each rounds, but in the eventuality that our estimation hasen't been accurate, we will put some applicants on the waitlist or take some out of the waitlist.

Cheers,
Camille

ok, thanks

However, please make it a little bit clearer

is R3 >< 70 students?

Regards.

Hi Camille,

Thank you for your support on this thread. I have read through and it helped clarify a few concerns. I have three questions to ask:

1. I have taken the GMAT and scored 640 (Q44 58%, V35 76%) with an overall percentile of 72%. I had also taken the GRE in the past (scores still valid) and scored Q 161- 80% and V 148- 36%. How would the admissions committee view this? Can my higher Quant score on the GRE make up for the low Quant score on the GMAT?

2. Unfortunately, my undergraduate institution cannot release copies of my transcript to me. I have hence requested they mail the original copy to INSEAD. Does it matter if I upload it in my application or not?

3. How do the Adcom evaluate professional certifications like the PMP?

j2insead.

I'm afraid i cannot be more specific. i know GMAT club does a call out for applicants every round and produce statistics.