Hello September batch aspirants! Eager to provide guidance and answers. Good luck to all! Add INSEAD to your profile Recent MBA Grad - Ask Me Anything | INSEAD Decision Tracker & Historical Admit Data INSEAD Sept 2019-2020 Deadlines Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Application Deadline Sep 19, 18 Nov 14, 18 Jan 9, 19 Mar 6, 19 Interview Decision Notification Oct 19, 18 Dec 14, 18 Feb 8, 19 Apr 5, 19 Final Decision Notification Nov 23, 18 Jan 25, 19 Mar 15, 19 May 10, 19 INSEAD Essay Analysis by: mbaMission Need a INSEAD profile Evaluation? Post it here > Highlights from the recent INSEAD alum chat MBA Insights from INSEAD students, faculty, and alumni Admission Trends at INSEAD: Analysis of GMATClub Applicant Data Attend an INSEAD Event in Your City INSEAD Class Profile: Average GMAT: 709 GMAT Range: 570-780 Average Age: 29 Years Average WE: 72 months Non-European Students: 59%; Women: 33%

INSEAD DECISION TRACKER Updates for the last hour: Admitted, 48 minutes ago, heard via: phone Admitted, 49 minutes ago, from United Arab Emirates, GMAT:720 (Q51 V38), GPA: 3.7, Industry: Internet and New Media, WE 66, heard via: phone UPDATE YOUR STATUS

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Calling all Applicants: INSEAD Sept 2019 Intake !

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MBAPrepCoach

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[7]

Updated on: 14 Nov 2018, 20:24

Originally posted by MBAPrepCoach on 10 Jul 2018, 19:50.
Last edited by bb on 14 Nov 2018, 20:24, edited 4 times in total.

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Hello September batch aspirants! Eager to provide guidance and answers. Good luck to all!

Add INSEAD to your profile

Recent MBA Grad - Ask Me Anything | INSEAD Decision Tracker & Historical Admit Data

INSEAD Sept 2019-2020 Deadlines
	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4
Application Deadline	Sep 19, 18	Nov 14, 18	Jan 9, 19	Mar 6, 19
Interview Decision Notification	Oct 19, 18	Dec 14, 18	Feb 8, 19	Apr 5, 19
Final Decision Notification	Nov 23, 18	Jan 25, 19	Mar 15, 19	May 10, 19

INSEAD Class Profile:

Average GMAT: 709
GMAT Range: 570-780
Average Age: 29 Years
Average WE: 72 months
Non-European Students: 59%; Women: 33%

Archived 'Calling All INSEAD Applicants' Topic

Hi there,

You've reached an old 'Calling All INSEAD Applicants' discussion which is now outdated and has been archived. No more replies are possible here.

Looking for the latest discussion? Check out this up-to-date Calling All INSEAD Applicants Discussion for the most recent conversations on this topic.

Interested in more from this school? Visit our dedicated INSEAD Forum to dive into all things related to INSEAD's MBA program.

Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!

ankitbansal89

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22 Nov 2018, 04:09

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saagarvarma18

Hi everybody, just got my call. Starting in Singapore. From India. Excited

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Hi,
Many congratulations on securing the admit.
Could you briefly let us know about your profile as I am also from India and have applied for round 2?
It will help me to understand the prospects and what to expect.
Greatly appreciated and congrats once again!

Nikhil

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22 Nov 2018, 05:30

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INSEAD DECISION TRACKER

Updates for the last hour:

Admitted, 48 minutes ago, heard via: phone
Admitted, 49 minutes ago, from United Arab Emirates, GMAT:720 (Q51 V38), GPA: 3.7, Industry: Internet and New Media, WE 66, heard via: phone

UPDATE YOUR STATUS

truboprovod

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22 Nov 2018, 06:31

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Congrats Everyone!

I received the call several day ago - I'm starting in Singapore in September. Has anyone considered a campus visit early next year?

P.S.: please send me a link to https://gmatclub.com/chat channel for admits.

truboprovod

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22 Nov 2018, 06:37

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romac

Any one know what kind of lag there is between call and email? I’ve got no chance for a call as zero phone signal where I am for the next few days.

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In my case, the lag was about 48 hours.

Stella181818

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22 Nov 2018, 19:50

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Hello! Congrats everyone for the good news! I have submitted my application for R2 two days before deadline and am waiting to hear about my interview decision. What is the gap between submission and interview decision email? Thanks!

Good luck to all who are waiting, including me :D

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Hideto

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[2]

Updated on: 23 Nov 2018, 19:16

Originally posted by Hideto on 22 Nov 2018, 20:37.
Last edited by Hideto on 23 Nov 2018, 19:16, edited 1 time in total.

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Stella181818

Hi Stella,

Great to see another fellow R2 applicant! For the January 2019 intake, the deadline for interview decision notification was June 8th and the R2 applicants started receiving the emails from June 5th onwards. Hence, I believe R2 applicants will start hearing from INSEAD from 11th December onwards since our interview decision notification date is 14th December...

All the best!

MBAPrepCoach

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23 Nov 2018, 08:45

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tsdk CONGRATS! and thanks for providing this information. Would you be so kind as to provide more details about your international experiences and ECs?
730 is a very strong GMAT, but not 780, and so I am sure that other Indians would love to hear more. I realize you are working in Singapore but still a competitive applicant pool. So you must have stood out and it would be helpful if you could brag a little bit so we can all learn

tsdk

I just got the magical call. I am admitted to Fonty campus. I'm Indian, currently based in Singapore, working in Oil & gas last 5+ years in 3 different countries.
I think my international experiences + strong extracurricular made the difference.

Im super excited and good luck for all the others!

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MBAPrepCoach

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23 Nov 2018, 11:06

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CONGRATS to all ROUND 1 ADMITS~ As INSEAD app volumes are climbing and GMAT score is increasing, you have much to be proud of. I hope you take time celebrate this milestone achievement. That was hard work.

If you don't mind can you list your stats, relevant qualitative info about you, and why you feel you were accepted.

The standard information is very much encouraged, but I ALSO want you to BRAG a bit - think what would most help others is, WHAT MADE YOU STAND OUT TO THE ADCOM? Especially as it relates to “contribution” and “leadership” quadrants. What do you feel was memorable to the adcom?

This might serve as a nice ICEBREAKER with your future batch mates here as well. And, of course, help R2 applicants like ankitbansal89, R3 September batch applicants; might also help January batchers as well.

Thanks a million to subirroy ProximaB tdsk and Hadrienlbb for submitting this already.

Would love to gather the balance of this info for the rest of you…

bizschool123 – India – Fonty
sisip123 – Shanghai – Fonty
oss198 – Italy – 700 – 375
Mamba835 – Turkey – Fonty
MisterKay – Senegal – Fonty – Project Management
usota – UK – 750 – GPA 4 - Fonty
asaramide – Ghana
ycr1908 – Hong Kong/China – commercial real estate – Singy
ciciho – Japan – 3.84 – Fonty
nishantd88 – India – 750 – Consulting WE – Singy ( I know you mentioned you would be providing more info and thanks!)
KK1029 – UAE – 720 – 3.7 – Fonty
saagarvarma18 – India – Singy
truboprovod – Russian Federation – Singy

nishantd88

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Schools: Insead Sept19 Intake (M$)

GMAT 1: 750 Q50 V40 Verified score

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23 Nov 2018, 13:05

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Here goes my detailed profile.

Nationality: Indian
Age as on 2019 Sept: 30
GMAT: 750 (Q50, V40; IR 8; AWA 5.5)

Education
Graduation (2007-11): Bachelor in Engineering from top 10 non-IIT university in India. GPA 8.63/10 (First class hons.)
Post-graduation (2014-16): Post Graduate Diploma in Management from IIM. GPA 3.21/4.33 (top 30% of batch)

Work experience
Total work-experience during matriculation: 6 years
1. 2011-2014: Technology consultant at a big4 firm. Based in India. Includes an 8-month stint in Saudi Arabia. Though there was no promotion, I was made the team lead after a year.
2. 2016-current: Strategy consultant at a boutique international consulting firm. Based out of Malaysia. Delivered projects in Thailand, Singapore and South Korea too. Have been the lead consultant from my second project onwards, leading teams of 2-3 individuals.

International experience: Worked in India (26 months), Saudi Arabia (8 months), Malaysia (6 months), South Korea (3 months) and Thailand (9 months). Few business trips to Singapore.

Extra-curricular activities/achievements
1. Elected member of sports committee during PGDM.
2. Campus champions and national finalists at several case study competitions during PGDM organised by corporate such as BCG, Deloitte, Panasonic, etc.
3. Member of the IIM sports team for three different sports.
4. Worked as an online columnist at 2 leading sports websites in India. Authored 120+ articles. Still engaged with one of them, but not very frequent.
5. Former columnist at one of India's leading satire and humour websites.
6. Was part of the corporate social responsibility team of the big4 firm. Worked with several local NGOs. Awarded a certificate of appreciation by the firm
7. Volunteered at a UN agency for a sustainable development project.

Key factors in my profile that I think worked for me?
1. Decent GMAT and consistent acads.
2. Significant international experience across several countries, each of which have very different cultures (except malaysia and Singapore, which are quite similar). Living in a foreign country as an expat for last 2.5 years.
3. Consistent involvement in extra-curricular activities for the past decade.
4. In general, my profile is quite different from a traditional Indian b-school applicant. So that helps to stand out from the crowd for over-represented nationalities.

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24 Nov 2018, 17:07

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Dang nishantd88 that is a bad ass profile. I love that you have some experience in communications/creativity/humor - puts you across as well rounded. The UN thing is really interesting. You check all the boxes and provide that something extra for sure. Most definitely, the ECs differentiated you from other Indians.
Was it always your strategy to get a PGDM and also an MBA? Did you discuss this at all?

By the way for any other admits reading this don't feel obliged to provide this level of detail haha.
Anything is appreciated.

nishantd88

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25 Nov 2018, 13:01

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MBAPrepCoach

Was it always your strategy to get a PGDM and also an MBA? Did you discuss this at all?

Well wasn't really a plan to do PGDM and then MBA. The PGDM is considered more or less equivalent to an MBA in India, but based on my interaction with several alums, it seems internationally its looked at more as a Masters in Management. I reached out specifically to alums from INSEAD, Kellogg, Judge, Wharton, etc who had also done a PGDM and then an MBA to kind of get opinions about whether it is worth the time, effort and investment to pursue an MBA after having done a PGDM. The response was unanimous and positive. Hence I took the plunge. And this was something both my interviewers asked to - why I'm going for a second post-graduate management course? Was expecting it and hence had a ready response. I also discussed it in the essay on career trajectory and rationale for career choices.

sisip123

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26 Nov 2018, 19:20

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i know this is a long shot but is anyone located in Shanghai and wants to learn Basic french with me for their third language before we start next Sept in Fontainebleau? I plan to get a tutor. please PM me! thanks

Hideto

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26 Nov 2018, 23:03

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sisip123

Sisi, why dont you consider taking the intensive french language course that will be taking place in both Fontainebleau and Singapore in end July-August? I believe many inseaders go for this course (https://the-insead-mba-experience.insea ... -question/).

Of course, the above mentioned course means that you have to head to France/Singapore one month earlier so it depends on your current work status.

Hope you will be able to find a partner if you choose to do it in shanghai!

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Updated on: 26 Apr 2019, 04:50

Originally posted by saagarvarma18 on 30 Nov 2018, 06:35.
Last edited by saagarvarma18 on 26 Apr 2019, 04:50, edited 1 time in total.

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01 Dec 2018, 10:55

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Application submitted in R2. Awaiting Interview decision...

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MBAPrepCoach

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02 Dec 2018, 11:32

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saagarvarma18

Hi Farell,

Thank you for proactively helping out all applicants such as myself on this forum! Really appreciate it.

My Profile:
Nationality: Indian ( Spent childhood in Middle East)
Total WE by Sept 2019: 6 years
GMAT: 730 (Q 50, V 39)
TOEFL: 119

Education:
Computer Science Engineer from the top ranked NIT in the country. GPA: 8.45/10. Published paper in the IEEE journal and conferred with a Government award for the same.

Work Experience:
- 2.5 years as Management Consultant with a big 4 firm with the Strategy practice in Retail and eCommerce sectors. Multiple Internal awards. Co-Authored 2 Industry thought leaderships. As a side project, built practice-wide tool to share intelligence. One promotion.
- 2 years of at a heath food tech startup that recently got acquired. Joining as a Product Manager, got promoted within 3 months to lead the company sales and growth strategy. Led the company through an intense survival crisis including foregoing salary for 12 months.
- 6 months as a Product Manager at a leading health and fitness startup.

Extra Curriculars:
- Involved in toastmasters since 15 years - as a gavelier and then as a toastmaster. Acted as coach taking 20 workshops for more than 5k students.
- Finished 3rd at the Nationals round of the World Championship of Public Speaking earlier this year. Represented the country at global finals.
- Co-founded sports tech app in college.
- Initiated freshman orientation program in college.

I think what worked for me was that I was painfully candid in my application essays about who I am, what my motivations are and what my goals are ( involving SE Asia and Mid East). Besides that, I think I had a number of unique experiences - both successes and failures - to share that I felt lent me a distinct perspective to leadership and business in general. Lastly, both my interviewers were involved in eComm and startups which probably helped me connect with them better while giving them a good vantage point to assess my experience and candidature.

MBAPrepCoach

Thanks a million saagarvarma18! Congrats, congrats. Dont be a stranger.

https://mbaprepcoach.com

Hideto

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02 Dec 2018, 19:19

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One more week left before R2 interview invites are sent out!

Looking at the threads for 19J and 19D, invites seem to be sent out starting from the Tuesday of the notification week. May I check if anyone has received an invite earlier than Tuesday? In addition, how many days in average is the gap between the invite and the actual interviews? Thanks in advance!

MBAPrepCoach

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03 Dec 2018, 19:01

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nishant88
thanks, yes, I asked about the PGDM because I'm aware that it is kind of an MBA in India, or as you note, rather more like an MIM.
Was curious if you went through the process of researching why you need an INSEAD MBA above and beyond the PGDM and you did! I love that you did the research, constructed a solid response and you were proactive about mentioning it in the essays.

nishantd88

MBAPrepCoach

Was it always your strategy to get a PGDM and also an MBA? Did you discuss this at all?

MBAPrepCoach

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03 Dec 2018, 19:49

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Hideto I realize it is a nailbiting experience but try to occupy your thoughts - with other applications or some kind of project. This is out of your control at the moment. There is a zero percent positive correlation between worrying and acceptance rate

I would say that invitations go out four days to a week before the official notification date most of the time, but some of the time, they go out on the official date so don't jump off anything if you don't hear.

It is not possible to say how many days in average is the gap between the invite and the actual interview, because you will be negotiating this with the INSEAD alums who will be interviewing you. Probably a week to two weeks; maybe 2.5. My advice would be to 1) try to negotiate for a date that will give you time to prepare and 2) start preparing for your interview as soon as you get the invitation.

Hideto

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03 Dec 2018, 22:36

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Hideto

Thanks Farrell! Great advice as always... Will definitely stay positive and prepare accordingly for the interviews if I do get the long-awaited interview invite! Cheers everyone!