Any IMD Applicants for 2011

Just got a call with an invitation for an interview
Will keep you updated!

Hi ramanathanblue

Congrats for the call. Wish you all the best. Did you apply to other schools? Mind sharing info about your profile and schools you applied to?

Anyone else heard from IMD yet?

Thanks,

Hi everyone

Just recieved word I was selected for the interview round too... will be attending on the 20th in Singapore.

Anyone else going to be in Singapore around the same time?

Hi Ramanathanblue

Gee where do I start... IMD has such a long and intensive assessment day... overall I guess it went alright... although somehow I'm not feeling the most optimistic about it... ah well 7 business days or so to go

I interviewed in Singapore. There were 7 of us in my group, 3 from Pakistan, 3 from Japan and myself, the entire day was spent in the lounge of the Mandarin Oriental in Singapore... lovely view of Marina Bay while waiting for the interviews to take place.

We were met right on the dot at 8 by the adcom and briefed about the day and given the impromptu preso topic... it was pretty harsh for me as I had just touched down in Singapore at like 230am that same morning (curse the weather in HK for delaying the flight)... but somehow I cranked out a bunch of transparencies and a few notes... what strikes me about this is that 30mins is really all you get to prepare for the preso... and you deliver it after lunch... which gives you like 4-5 hrs where you cant really work on it.

Then came the interview, I was the last before lunch so I had a bit of a time constraint... just about 40-45 mins before we had to cut it short... the interview was very probing, in that she kept probing about my goals and what I wanted to do, not so much the standard 3 "Why" questions and none of that "take me thru your CV" as well... 1 of the interesting questions I got was "what are the first 5 words that come to mind when I mention IMD" and apparently another oddball one (that I didnt get but someone else got) went along the lines of "A man goes to a shoe shop every Saturday morning, what does he go there for?" - Talk about having to think on your feet fast!

Then we had lunch with the alumni... the spreads were way too big so I had to make sure I didnt OD on carbs... else it'd be a very tough afternoon.

After lunch was the presos... and timing was key, they really do stop you after 5 minutes, I think the whole group picked up on this very fast and after the 1st person was stopped at the 5 min mark, everyone else seemed to cut short their presos and finish within 4-5 mins. After that we were given additional information about the preso, then we had 30 mins to churn out a 2nd preso, but discussing it as a group this time, which gave us a taste of what was to come in the group discussions.

After that we had a few minutes break and jumped right into the case study, moderated by one of the adcoms, she basically guided the flow of the discussion and I sensed she was trying to make sure none of us really dominated the discussions. Then we were broken up into smaller groups to discuss different aspects of the case before presenting them to each other to sum up the case.

A few points about the whole process that stood out:
- IMD by far has the most helpful and friendly adcoms I've ever had to deal with. The way they treat you makes you feel like you matter which is a comforting touch
- Research your business case, from what I understand its based on a historical scenario, which means taking note of the economic / political situation of the time helps, also knowing the details of what happened also helps
- Dont dominate the discussion... easier said than done... also make sure you dont get involved in arguing with the group members, its a fine fine line between tactful and aggressive
- If the cross-section of the assessment day is anything to go by, the 90 who get accepted can really look forward to working with people from truely diverse backgrounds
- I cant stop about how nice the adcoms are. My goals post-mba are quite a stretch; at the end of the interview, my interviewer passed me the contact of a student from a few years back who had made exactly the same transition I was looking to make. IMO, that was very touching and just reinforced my view on how tight-knit the communtiy at IMD is

In closing, I'd say it was a very good experience, kinda like some other assessment days I've been for whilst still a student... but for argubly larger stakes.

Good luck to everyone else waiting for the results. And if anyone needs more info or just wants to speak about the process, I'd be more than willing to help.

Breezer are you located in the US ?

Assessment day was everything I thought it would be, the outlines posted on this blog do it justice. Seven applicants from as far away as South Korea and China - having travelled from the UK, I felt a bit spoiled!

Interview: Probing, but as long as you know why you're there and what you think IMD is about, you'll be fine - be yourself, people say this, but I can't stress it enough - the interviewer asked probing questions to see why I answered my questions in certain ways, but all in all, there were no big surprises - as someone else advised, take a couple glasses of water for all the talking!

Impromptu presentation: Go simple - don't try to over complicate it. Remember, you only have five minutes to present and as they say, it's Switzerland, so they keep good time! This is more about showing you can understand the basics of a case and formulate a presentation with a possible solution, rather than trying to demonstrate you extensive business acumen (or at least I thought it was!). Also, I took the time during the break you get to get away and see the lake, nice to remove myself from the stress for couple of minutes-I think it helped.

Lunch: Wow, the spread is amazing and the chat with the current student is definite a huge asset, great conversation and take the time to ask anything (it is still an interview, so be a bit careful, but it's okay to ask tough questions/questions that show you're still wondering about things).

Case study: All I can say is review the case, review the case and then make sure you think you understand it - this part is about demonstrating you have understood it, but I think it's also really important to work with the other applicants and listen to what they have to say rather than just prove that your voice can be heard. You do need to make sure you're not a wallflower, but equally I think being supportive of others and involving their views too is important - they are not looking for the best 90 individuals, but the best combination to form the 90 and I think group interaction is an important part.

Optional class: By this point, I was spent, really long day, hadn't slept well the night before, but it was really interesting to see the class dynamics.

I came away from the day think I didn’t hit a home run, but didn't strike out either - and then I had to wait....

They said it might be less than the ten days as they had already seen another group earlier that week and sure enough, six business days later, I got the call and I have been accepting into IMD's class of 2011...it still feels a bit numb in a good way!

I now have about ten days to decide if I’m going and it’s definitely soul search time – I started down this road because I didn’t want to look back when I was 40 and regret not trying and I am really glad I’ve given myself the choice.

If there are any alum out there reading this, I would be interested in your views on work/life balance post IMD once you have a large amount of debt – I don’t want a 9 to 5, but equally I don’t want to have to take a job based on the money I owe and work ridiculous hours just to pay it off – this journey is more about me and my family and improving my life, both professionally and personally.

Cheers, hope that helps, any specific questions, let me know / any advice, I’d love to hear from you.

Well, I have only one experience (my own) to pour from - but I got the same feedback as you and I am in for 2011
Your profile looks good to me, so give it a shot!

Good luck!

Applied in 1st round.

I don't know whether there is a IMD roll in GMAT club or not .. Perhaps we could start one. But then again .. I am a noob (lurking here for the past few months )

Thinking about the school. Great school, but I'm concerned they prefer people with significant management experience, which, as an investment management associate, I do not have as yet.

Top notch school - I spoke to an alum as well as professor there. The typical profile is very very different than almost all other business schools out there.

I think their very small size, location and industry focus doesnt help in generating buzz about the brand. But make no mistake - people in Europe know about the school and its calibre.

Agree. IMD caters to another group of people altogther..

any Indian applicants for IMD Jan 2011 intake

i was pretty interested in IMD, and got really positive feedback on my profile from their adcom person who was here in Toronto as a part of an MBA conference. however, in the end i didn't apply because 1 - i already got admits from INSEAD and Oxford, 2 - i wasn't as interested in specifically going into industry and do management, and 3 - the school campus is also very small from what i understood, and i wanted to get more of a bigger campus/more eclectic community type of experience.

good luck to those who are applying though. it does seem to be a very quality program, and the small class size should be very helpful in forming strong bonds and a good learning environment.

Can you please share your score and preparation flow ? Curious to know as
i see you have got thro' major ones on my list...
Thanks

Please see the 2010 applicants thread which is the first thread on the USA Schools page. It has most details that you may be interested in.

Applied Round 1 - currently in industry and planning to stay post-MBA. Very positive feedback from 3 former students now senior execs in major IOC.

Also applied to big brand US schools - M/28/GPA 3.86 unknown int/760/ 4yr exp

Applied in R1. I've heard it's a very time intensive program, but the curriculum sounds ideal to me.