Calling all Applicants: INSEAD January 2023 Intake

Ideas for getting started with motivation essay 1

MOTIVATION ESSAY 1. Give a candid description of yourself, 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. (500 words max)

My #1 message about this essay is DO NOT TALK ABOUT WORK. They mention *personal* like 9 times in the prompt. This is the top error that people make. There are so many opportunities to talk about work elsewhere in the INSEAD application.

For example, one of my candidates has a past history of organizing groups or initiatives that help others achieve a dream they felt was impossible “on the cheap” and provided 2 quick anecdotes to support that. The mantra is ‘show, don’t tell’. Make your claims, but make sure to illustrate them with examples (for both strengths and weaknesses.)

If you don’t have a lot of clarity around your strengths and weaknesses, survey your friends and family and ask for their input. I use this tool; it is free for 15 days. Make sure to let everyone know you need feedback rather quickly. https://www.reachcc.com/reach/survey.nsf

The StrengthFinders assessment is also very useful, if you can support the results it gives with personal anecdotes. If you buy the book it comes with an assessment. https://www.strengthsfinder.com/home.aspx

And finally, there is a values quiz on MindTools https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_85.htm

There’s a good chance you’ll get asked about your strengths and weaknesses in the course of any MBA application, and introspection is key to a compelling story. These tools and the insight they can give you will be useful across the board.

The key here is to reflect on past times in your life when you did well – and not so well – and trace back the strengths and weaknesses they point to. The objective of this question is to give adcom insight into who you are, not just what you have done. From this, they can discern your level of self-awareness. With this question, you want to make an emotional connection with the adcom. So often, applicants spend all their time discussing accomplishments but are afraid to open up and describe who they really are as a person.

When someone is candid about their failings, it opens our heart to them, and we feel more connected to them. The importance of making an emotional, heartfelt connection to make you memorable cannot be overstated.

I did a video about this as well, for more details. The audio gets oddly loud when I change slides, sorry lol. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaAAVeoge3A

Full set of sample essays https://mbaessaycoaching.com/uploads/R2Okt0M3/INSEAD-Essays.pdf

Starting to work on my app now and plan to submit for Round 1. Good luck to everyone else also applying!

Thank you!

This was posted in general forum reposting here

“Yes, we are making the threshold evolve – I did mention it in an INSEAD webinar for prospective applicants recently,” said Fougea. “A lower GMAT needs to be paired with strong academics for sure. However, we are welcoming applications from those with lower scores because if everything else is of good quality, we can either interview these applicants or ask them to retake a test. There is a lot of myth about the ideal GMAT score at INSEAD and some well-rounded applicants tend to exclude themselves just because of a lower GMAT. If they don’t apply with those “lower” scores, they will never consider INSEAD, which would be a pity.”

Hi everyone, discovered that this chat had not been Tied to the posts in the forum

in there I posted essay tips for job essay 1, motivation essay 1, And I’m not sure if anyone has seen this but I also posted a full set of essays if I’m a candidate who was kind enough to allow me to do so.

*of a candidate

Please make sure to allow at least two months to prepare this application so if you’re going for around to start real soon and even sooner if you have a really busy job. Seven essays and there are also five recommendation questions, plus video interview.

*if you are going for round 2

if you want a merit award, apply by R2

Hello ,Indian , Applying to INSEAD with 730 (Q50 V39) ,I cofounded a startup in college days , but i have none international experience (mostly because 2 years of total 3.5 years experience is in covid times) . I had an international travel chance from company but it was cancelled because of ravel restriction .This no international exposure worries me .

do i have some chance there ?

I have completed my essay, but i read somewhere that no international exposure means no admission to Indians in INSEAD ,so now i am in doubt whether apply or not

Hi,
Just wanted ask, any re applicant here??

Do we need to resubmit the LOR's or do they give us an option of accepting the previous ones we submitted??
Also Application fee will be waived off for Re-applicant??


Pls respond...
Thanks

Posted from my mobile device

According to the Insead AdComs Webinar, you need to resubmit your LOR.

Oh ok...can you share the link?? Of yhe webinar??

MBAPrepCoach, where can we see the tips you posted ?

Hi Gaurav2896, Indeed, you do not need to travel outside of your country to gain international experience. However, Insead places a great value on international experience. With fierce competition, they are very strict about this, requiring candidates to have some international experience and geographical exposure. We have previously assisted applicants with no geographical exposure to INSEAD, but now things have changed. To compensate for this, your profile should be really impactful. Your GMAT score is good, and if you can wait a year to see whether you can meet this condition this year and apply next year, you should. If not, I recommend that you just communicate your experience, such as how it felt to interact with other people and how it may have affected your viewpoint. Certainly, you can provide a global perspective to your career. If you need any help, feel free to book a free session with us as per your convenience.

Cheers!
MBA and Beyond.

Hi, in this thread on the forum

Hi. Would love some advice on my situation. I have a strong mid-level leadership experience, 8 years, working in an international retail firm. Good international exposure and currently living in France. My academics are low as I never really liked traditional learning. I spent most of my time at uni partying and working. I started with a 540 GMAT last year, but got a 640 Q47 V31 a few days ago. My verbal is much stronger but the SC is bringing it down. I guess if I want to focus on SC and Quant I could potentially raise my score to 690 or 700, but it would take a few weeks - meaning I would miss R1 deadline and the scholorship opportunities, which I need. Should I apply in R1, and explain my situation? If they want me to take the GMAT again I will of course. Or would I risk an immediate refusal?

Hi all, I would like to receive some feedback on my profile and my chances to get admitted at Insead.

Hi all, I would like to receive some feedback on my profile and my chances of admission at Insead. I am a Civil Engineer with European nationality that graduated ’cum laude’ from a decent EU university (the best in my small country). Since graduation, I have worked 4 years abroad in project management on international marine construction projects (EU, Asia and Middle East). I am very interested in financial investments and green energy and therefore would like to shift to impact investing or management consulting. What GMAT score should I aim for? I am currently scoring 650. And do you have any other advice?