When you take the bold step to commence an MBA course in the topmost institutions of the world, you are moving into a new realm of Business education. Enrolling in the world’s top MBA programs allows you to deliver academic work at a whole different level. The MBA admission process involves giving interviews, profound research, and writing application letters/essays.
The INSEAD MBA essays are on a different level, and To ace the INSEAD MBA essays, you need a lot of practice, clarity, and creativity.
In this article, we will dig deeper to understand and analyze the expectations of the admissions council. Moreover, we will illustrate the right approach for each of the seven INSEAD MBA essays that the application requires.
INSEAD is one of the most popular and top-notch business schools in the world. With campuses in Singapore, Spain, Abu Dhabi, France, and now in San Francisco, its program is among the best 1-year programs globally and often is regarded as “the business school for the world”.
Apart from the general queue, INSEAD is among the few top B-schools globally with two intake seasons, the September intake and January intake. Therefore, it provides the aspiring Candidates with an opportunity to plan their application in a manner such that rather than applying late to one intake season, the candidates can apply early to the next intake. Moreover, the few months’ break allows the candidates to improve their applications, LORs, and essays.
How many INSEAD MBA essays are there?
INSEAD presents one of the most demanding MBA applications out there, with about seven INSEAD MBA essays required to be submitted by the applicants, which are further categorized into two sub-categories- career / job type INSEAD essays and motivational INSEAD essays.
The job questions are not essays. Hence, the number of words is not so important. People need to be comfortable writing 3 lines or 20. Some applicants work for companies that are well known and only 3 lines are sufficient to describe them; others work for small companies where it is more important to give the full picture.
With more than seven INSEAD MBA essays and, that’s not including the two optional essays, the INSEAD application essays are among the most extended applications of any top-tier MBA application.
Career or Job type INSEAD MBA essays
| QUESTION 1 | Briefly summarise your current (or most recent) job, including the nature of work, major responsibilities, and where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget, clients/products and results achieved. (200 words maximum) |
| QUESTION 2 | What would be your next step in terms of position if you were to remain in the same company instead of going to business school? (200 words maximum) |
| QUESTION 3 | Please give a full description of your career since graduating from university. Describe your career path with the rationale behind your choices. (300 words maximum) |
| QUESTION 4 | Discuss your short and long-term career aspirations with an MBA from INSEAD. (100 words maximum) |
| OPTIONAL QUESTION | If you are currently not working or if you plan to leave your current employer more than 2 months before the programme starts, please explain your activities and occupations between leaving your job and the start of the programme. |
Motivation INSEAD MBA essays
| QUESTION 1 | Give a candid description of yourself (who you are as a person), stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary (maximum 500 words). |
| QUESTION 2 | Describe the achievement of which you are most proud and explain why. In addition, describe a situation where you failed. How did these experiences impact your relationships with others? Comment on what you learned (maximum 400 words). |
| QUESTION 3 | Describe all types of extra-professional activities in which you have been or are still involved for a significant amount of time (clubs, sports, music, arts, etc). How are you enriched by these activities? (maximum 300 words) |
| OPTIONAL QUESTION | Is there anything else that was not covered in your application that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee? (maximum 300 words) |
Answering all the seven INSEAD application essays questions yourself can seem daunting when you start staring at a blank page. But with our expert guidance and working with over 100 applicants applying to a range of top-tier B-schools, our experience dictates that precisely because of its length, the INSEAD MBA essays allow you to tell your story a bit more than just about any other top-tier B-school application out there.
CAREER OR JOB TYPE INSEAD MBA ESSAYS
INSEAD MBA ESSAY QUESTION 1:
Briefly summarize your current (or most recent) job, including the nature of work, major responsibilities, and where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget, clients/products, and results achieved. (200 words, max)
EXPLANATION :
First of all, understand the nature of the question; this question is intended to give the council a snapshot of where you stand right now in your career. Don’t overthink and waste your words and time writing irrelevant things, as you will have ample space in later INSEAD essays to write about details of your major accomplishments. If space allows, write about workspace accomplishments only.
ANSWERING STRATEGY :
In this INSEAD application essay be sure to mention your title, organization, location, and major responsibilities held by you in this question. If relevant, also write about leadership and teamwork, any international projects, or any significant project. Quantify the details as much as possible throughout the question.
The worst approach to introducing a function to the Ad-Comm is through JDs. Instead, you might wish to divide your job up into more manageable chunks. Keep in mind that the Ad-Comm is made up of talented people who may not all be experts in your industry. Thus, the first component of your INSEAD application essay is a test of how well you might communicate a difficult value proposition to a client if you were a McKinsey consultant.
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concise, clear sentences
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Avoid industry jargon and acronyms
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Simple yet not entirely straightforward explanation
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Teamwork is explicitly mentioned (working in a group of () people, collaborating with cross-functional teams, working directly with a number of lateral teams, etc.).
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(If any) Managerial Leadership
INSEAD MBA ESSAY QUESTION 2:
What would be your next step in terms of position if you were to remain in the same company? (200 words maximum)
EXPLANATION :
This INSEAD essay is designed in such a way to give the Council ‘a fuller’ understanding of where you sit in your organizational hierarchy and your current career trajectory focusing on what the applicant's next logical move would be in their existing organization (i.e. without an MBA).
The ideal candidate will be able to describe a next step that would include more accountability, whether it relates to the scope and complexity of the project, the number of personnel under management, or P&L. Candidates may also include, if appropriate, a projected timetable for promotion to this post. Specific details about your next promotion or title and how the new title would list any new responsibilities can also be included concisely.
ANSWERING STRATEGY :
In this INSEAD application essay candidatesshould outline a plan for oneself that does NOT include an MBA. You should think about a new strategy if your business does not have a logical next step. What if you hadn't considered earning your MBA? What if your present position, company, or industry experienced multiple fold growth? What if you were so devoted to your work that nothing could sway you from it? What if Colin Farrell from Horrible Bosses wasn't present at work? What if you were unable to pursue an MBA because of a financial restriction or, God forbid, a personal issue? The cause really doesn't matter; instead, you should consider what would happen if you stayed with the same company. State that there are external factors, such as the company's size, location requirements if you need to change office headquarters, the skill set necessary to advance (ideally skills that an MBA would provide), or another existing obstacle, that prevent you from expecting to advance in the same company. Once you've demonstrated that it truly is the only key that unlocks the door to the future, you can next discuss how an MBA would facilitate your growth.
INSEAD MBA ESSAY QUESTION 3:
Please give a full description of your career since graduating from university. Describe your career path with the rationale behind your choices. (300 words maximum)
EXPLANATION :
Typically your CV describes the positions you’ve had in your career but, these INSEAD MBA essay questions allow you to dig deeper, giving insights into “why” you made those choices specifically. This INSEAD MBA essay is one of the most critical parts of your overall narrative as an aspiring candidate, so be sure to give it the attention it deserves
The INSEAD MBA essay question stated above allows you to explain the value-add of your career choices that may not seem evident from looking at your CV. For example, how you took a cut in salary to gain critical in-market international experience or how you passed up a promotion, opting instead to strengthen other aspects of your business education.
This INSEAD essay encourages you to assume responsibility for your choices. It's possible that you followed the crowd unwisely, but that doesn't make you a bad person or call into doubt your judgment. This essay gives you the chance to dive deeper and explain the decisions you made.
Accepting those incorrect conclusions demonstrates a strong character. On the other hand, if you were wise enough to make every decision, support that with specific examples. Give this the consideration it requires because it is an important component of your entire application narrative.
ANSWERING STRATEGY :
A chronological approach is a must for this INSEAD MBA essay question, starting with your first role after university until now. Make sure to showcase your career progression and promotions at each organization by all means possible, and if you have enough room for a major accomplishment or two, you can add that, too.
But, mainly focus on the main topic of the INSEAD MBA essay: the rationale behind your choices, which let you experience an extensive career.
This essay enables you to explain the added worth of professional decisions that might not be clear from a cursory glance at your CV. It's important to remember that every one of your decisions must have given you new knowledge, views, ideas, and experiences. It is essential that you expressly state what you took away from them because doing so demonstrates your want to maximize every choice you make, whether good or bad.
INSEAD MBA ESSAY QUESTION 4:
Discuss your short and long term career aspirations with or without an MBA from INSEAD. (100 words maximum)
EXPLANATION :
In this fourth INSEAD MBA essay question, with only 100 words given to work with, you’ll need to be as specific and as straightforward as possible.
What is your immediate goal post your MBA graduation, where do you see yourself in 5-10 years, and what is the route to be followed between the two?
Try to get as specific with sample company names and certain ideas about the jobs you seek. Moreover, try to include one or two sentences about your passion and why this job suits your career trajectory.
ANSWERING STRATEGY :
"with an MBA from INSEAD"
Here, INSEAD encourages you to consider why you want to pursue an MBA and how it will help you achieve your long-term professional objectives. In addition, your short-term objective reveals exactly how you think while making deliberate career selections. If you wanted to launch an ed-tech business for persons with disabilities in the long run but applied for finance or banking jobs right after receiving your MBA, it wouldn't seem very logical.
"Without an INSEAD MBA"
Without an MBA, it may be difficult to justify the same set of goals for the short and long term, and providing a varied set of goals may reveal your lack of direction.
The best way to answer this INSEAD essay question is to be ambitious and visionary while maintaining a sense of reality. Consider your options carefully and come up with multiple strategies for accomplishing your goals. For instance, searching LinkedIn to find people with various profiles who work for the same company would be a good place to start. You might also take a look at some of the online certification programmes that aim to at least cover the MBA curriculum in theory. If an MBA didn't happen, be sure to present some reasonable deadlines by which you want to reach these objectives. It may serve as a sign of lucidity and resolve.
OPTIONAL QUESTION:
If you are currently not working or if you plan to leave your current employer more than 2 months before the programme starts, please explain your activities and occupations between leaving your job and the start of the programme.
EXPLANATION :
In this INSEAD MBA essay, they are looking for indications that you are interested in continual self-improvement, knowledge or experience acquisition, and/or giving back in this essay. This INSEAD MBA essay question gives jobless applicants the opportunity to explain their situation, along with a section that takes into account applicants who intend to take a break of more than two months between their applications and beginning of the INSEAD programme.
ANSWERING STRATEGY :
Simply state what you hope to accomplish and gain during the time before leaving your employment, and before the start of the INSEAD MBA programme. The admissions committee is interested in learning if you are the kind of person who seizes opportunities and what kinds of possibilities you are drawn to. Show that you are actively building your skill set, establishing relationships, and moving closer to your professional objectives. Increasing one's involvement in volunteer work, going to conferences and professional development courses, attempting to find short-term pre-MBA employment, and other strategies for making the most of the time between applying and being accepted are all excellent topics for this essay.
MOTIVATIONAL INSEAD MBA ESSAYS
INSEAD MOTIVATIONAL ESSAY QUESTION 1:
Give a candid description of yourself (who you are as a person), stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary (maximum 500 words).
EXPLANATION :
Through this INSEAD MBA essay question is the same as that of a strength-weakness essay asked my most schools, the committee is seeking to understand unique characteristics, motivations, and values and at the same time wants to know about the major life events and people who have helped shape your career and you as well into the person you are today.
This INSEAD motivational essay question is somewhat open-ended and effectively invites the applicant to introduce themselves to the adcoms by going beyond a simple explanation of their profession and interests. Candidates should discuss more in-depth examination of their personality and values and also offer illustrative examples of how these traits appear in real-world situations. Applicants can talk about formative experiences from the past that have affected who they are today. You should discuss the strengths and weaknesses you gleaned from your formative experiences in order to demonstrate a clear relationship between the two.
ANSWERING STRATEGY :
When replying to this kind of INSEAD essay, it's crucial to fully answer the question, but it's also in your best advantage to place as much emphasis on the positive as you can. You may start out by listing two or three positive attributes and giving succinct instances of what these qualities have helped you achieve or how they have given you the ability to assist others. 1-2 weaknesses and 2-3 strengths are recommended. You should first highlight your strengths before addressing one or two weaknesses, preferably ones you've previously taken measures to resolve. Give examples for each of them. Attempt to include examples and anecdotes from both work and outside of it. One narrative may cover both a strength and a weakness at times, while at other times, a strength may be used excessively.
It's best to provide a brief example to support every claim you make about your character when addressing these types of personal attributes in order to truly "prove" that you have the quality in issue. By doing this, you're basically "showing" the reader, as opposed to "telling" them, how your character and values influence how you behave and what you might be able to bring to the INSEAD MBA programme.
Answering such an INSEAD MBA essay question requires a great degree of self-awareness, consciousness, and some deep introspection. However, this is the chance to gain the upper hand and an enormous amount of value working with a personal coach at MBA and beyond. Our team of experts will help you create a unique and well-polished INSEAD MBA essay that extends well beyond business school applications.
INSEAD MOTIVATIONAL ESSAY QUESTION 2:
Describe the achievement of which you are most proud and explain why. In addition, describe a situation where you failed. How did these experiences impact your relationships with others? Comment on what you learned (maximum 400 words).
EXPLANATION :
You must provide two experiences for this essay that showcase two different parts of your personality as a candidate, highlighting a high and a low point in your life. Additionally, keep in mind and avoid using stories that convey the exact same concepts as in essay 1. You must choose stories that not only feature a significant incident but also had a profound and long-lasting impact on you personally.
These aspects of your INSEAD essays are equally important to the success and failure you choose to discuss; your original ideas can set you apart from other applicants, and demonstrating how these events affected your relationships with others shows your capacity for self-awareness and growth. Discuss a specific, recent failure that was substantial enough to rattle you a little. The discussion can be about work or something else.
ANSWERING STRATEGY :
Be sure to use as many professional examples as possible in this INSEAD MBA essay. The experience and achievements will vary from applicant to applicant. Since you’ve been able to tell your personal story in the first motivational INSEAD MBA essay, it’s best to use a professional example for the accomplishment in this INSEAD MBA essay questions. For the accomplishment part, add details about what you achieved and what you had to overcome to do so, and why it made you proud. To optimize your impact with the council, try by quantifying the results to showcase a positive impact.
For the failure part, rather than choosing something you made a blunder at, try selecting an oversight you made at work or a simple mistake and then conclude what you learned from the experience and how it helped you become the person you are today.
While it may seem counterintuitive, a big failure demonstrates that you are a risk-taker, but make sure that the failure was personal and didn’t cause the company great loss.
In both the above cases, specific details on how these experiences have impacted your life and relationships with your colleagues and teammates. Moreover, including the soft skills, you honed through these experiences and how they will make you a better addition to your study team and INSEAD class.
INSEAD MOTIVATIONAL ESSAY QUESTION 3:
Describe all types of extra-professional activities in which you have been or are still involved for a significant amount of time (clubs, sports, music, arts, politics, etc.). How are you enriched by these activities?
EXPLANATION :
The last INSEAD MBA essay question provides you an opportunity to show the Admissions Council that you’re a well-rounded person with hobbies and interests that extend beyond your professional life. While writing the INSEAD MBA essay, you’ll need to balance depth and breadth. Try to create 4-5 paragraphs, each with its theme.
Some of the common themes can be:-
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Involvement during University - clubs that you were a part of, student council and fest committees
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Any Volunteering or community work during college life
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Any sports club or any sports you were good at.
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Hobbies and passions
The second part of this INSEAD MBA essay is more critical since it outlines “Why What and How” you’ve chosen to devote your free time.
ANSWERING STRATEGY :
Simply describe the variety of activities you engage in (or have engaged in), including both serious pursuits and "just fun" pursuits, while outlining their respective roles and significance in your life. The admissions committee will gain insight into your personality outside of work and school, as well as an understanding of what you could offer the student body and INSEAD as a whole, by hearing about how you choose to spend your free time and why your chosen activities are meaningful to you and what you gain from them.
While try to neglect generic things like traveling and photography since everyone loves traveling and photography. Hence, unless you have something truly outstanding to add about either one of these endeavors, leave them apart.
OPTIONAL QUESTION :
Is there anything else that was not covered in your application that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee? (maximum 300 words)
EXPLANATION :
The optional INSEAD application essays should be used to clarify anything you need to and/or to convince them to accept you. DON'T utilise it for a brief synopsis, a repetition of one of your other pieces, or anything else equally dull and cliché. So, if necessary, use this opportunity to address any concerns an admissions officer may have about your profile, such as a subpar grade or overall GPA, a low GMAT or GRE score, a break in your employment history, etc.
ANSWERING STRATEGY :
If you decide to write it, compose a concise, well-focused essay that discusses a new topic. This INSEAD MBA optional essay is written in an open-ended manner, implying that applicants are allowed to submit any information they feel would be valuable to their file.
Writing your MBA application essays can be very daunting but this is your only chance to showcase your accomplishments and goals to the adcoms. Our expert consultants at MBAand Beyond connect with you and help you write your detailed essays after having your profile evaluated multiple times. These highly emphasized and professionally curated MBA essays give the admissions team a critical insight into how well you would fit in with the course as a whole. So, take your free consultation call today and enroll now.
Tips and Tricks for writing your INSEAD MBA application essays
One of the most difficult elements of the MBA application is writing essays. However, INSEAD MBA application essays are an essential part of the admissions process since they provide you the chance to showcase your accomplishments and goals. It also gives the admissions team a critical insight into how well you would fit in with the course as a whole. In this section we have covered some suggestions on how you can ace your INSEAD MBA essays:
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Be Original
Avoid using clichés and instead produce unique material. The adcoms want to know "you" in your truest, most authentic form, so be forthright and thoughtful about the special experiences you may contribute to the curriculum. To answer each of the questions, it could be helpful to imagine what you might say to a friend or sibling over coffee.
Avoid writing what you believe the admissions committee wants to read, and instead trust your gut. For example, you can incorporate details from your personal life that can highlight your interests, goals, or successes.
You can try to recall incidents and tales from your youth, high school, or university education. It goes without saying that you should make sure the anecdotes from your personal and professional life reveal something about you and are relatable to the questions.
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Clarity of Expression
It is critical to maintain focus, prepare effectively, and allot enough time to write, revise, and edit your essays in order to prevent the image you're trying to convey from being tainted by errors, confused words, technical jargon, and acronyms. Try writing in bullet points rather than complete sentences at first. The essay portion of the application might take up to 8–10 weeks to prepare, and it is typical to need to rewrite them multiple times until you are satisfied with the outcome.
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Detailed Work Experience
One of the most valuable resources you will bring to the classroom is your professional experience, so you must clarify the nature of your work using clear and precise examples. If you work for a family firm or a small- to medium-sized enterprise, it's very crucial to describe your organization's structure, market, and product.
It's common to emphasise your strengths while discussing your experience, but be sure to also draw attention to your areas for growth. Lastly, if you have a gap in your employment history or have been unemployed for a while, explain your reasons for the same and not avoid it.
There you go! If you follow these tips while answering your INSEAD MBA essay questions, it should set you on the track to academic success. Furthermore, since writing INSEAD MBA essays can be one of the most challenging aspects of the MBA application, they form a crucial element of the admissions process by providing you a unique opportunity to introduce yourself to the admissions council.
If you want to know about writing a near-perfect INSEAD MBA essay, hop on to a 45-minute extensive call with our team at MBA and Beyond. We will provide you with INSEAD sample essays and guide you step-wise to draft a unique piece with clarity, precision, and creativity. Moreover, we are determined to guide you through your entire application process, ensuring the best offers from top Business schools.
What is so special about INSEAD?
Doing an MBA from INSEAD university is a dream of many. There are many reasons associated with it. The INSEAD MBA duration, global campuses spread worldwide, INSEAD MBA rankings and a diverse MBA class profile are what makes the school a unique place to learn.
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The INSEAD offers a ten months MBA program, with inclusive and transformative business education. The INSEAD MBA program is well-known for its rigorous and international focus.
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The INSEAD business school has its campuses spread globally across four different locations: Europe (France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi), and North America (San Francisco).
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INSEAD has received excellent ranks from the QS Subject Ranking for being one of the business schools globally.
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An average INSEAD MBA class consists of about 1000 students coming from 70+ different nationalities each year.
Is INSEAD MBA worth it?
Certainly YES! The INSEAD MBA program offers a highly focused and holistic educational environment with a good employment opportunity. Here's a sneak peak into INSEAD class profile:
| Students: | 1000 |
| Age Range: | 23-36 |
| Years of Work Experience: | 3-8 |
| Business or Home Countries: | 65+ |
| Nationalities: | 75+ |
| Women: | 38% |
Frequently Asked Questions
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Writing an application essay can be a daunting task for someone aiming for the top MBA programs. Not only does it involve a lot of hard work and dedication but extensive research work, precision, and clarity. While writing an INSEAD essay, the most crucial aspect is making your content unique, among others. Therefore, stay focused as you have to write INSEAD MBA essays on seven different topics. Try to make each INSEAD MBA essay distinct from the other and follow a sequenced approach to present your relevant skills more elaborately.
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Preparing for an INSEAD interview requires you to be confident about your content, CV, and work experience. Usually, the questions asked in the interview reflect your nature towards your goals and signifies your characteristics. Since the interview round is the hurdle in your selection process, it’s better to take professional mentoring to avoid any chances of disqualification. Try to practice enough with a personal coach to understand the essence and make sure all your hard work doesn’t end up in vain.
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While writing different INSEAD MBA essays, try to showcase your approach in a particular situation and supply perception into your strengths and abilities. Your results should designate that you were able to make an impact at the crucial moment. Moreover, a good GMAT/GRE score, essential work experience, and your career projectile are the elements that would count the most while filing your application letter.
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INSEAD and most top B-schools are looking for candidates with good analytical skills, creativity, efficiency, and leadership qualities. Moreover, always remember that it’s you. The council is interested in not the team, not your manager; the actions taken should reflect your characteristics and achievements to make it a more compelling example for the essays.
