6mboyjamI agree with everything Alex mentioned just wanted to offer you some additional things to think about.
I understand your instinct with regards to resigning your job but it's really not optimal for you to be applying to business school without a job.
So I would propose that you start looking now and find another job before you apply.
It's a very accelerated program and having a gap in employment on your resume inhibits your marketability to recruiters and is a bit of a red flag to Career Services people.
It makes you look a little more risky and inhibits your ability to get admitted.
I would take a parallel processing approach rather than a sequential approach when it comes to the GMAT and job searching.
To be very honest with you the GMAT is rarely something you can do a cram job with and get an ultimate result in a matter of weeks. It's really **the evolution of a mindset** it's not like a normal test. plan on taking it at least twice, it's rare and probably ill-advised to take it once because people rarely perform their absolute best the first time.
I'd recommend that you get a tutor right away so that you can shorten the time frame required to devote to it. A lot of people really feel like they have to go it alone with preparing and studying for the GMAT, which is counterproductive to be honest especially when you don't have a lot of time to play with.
I like the expression *there's a part of you you can't see, that others are looking at all the time* and this comes in very handy when working with a good GMAT coach. And consultant.
All of this might be building a case for you to apply round one for January batch in March. As a South African you are a more diverse applicant and round three is not out of the question, that said I don't know much about your work background or the qualitative aspects of what you bring.
However it is a large application you need to get the GMAT dealt with, along with 7 essays and a job search. So it sort of sounds to me like this would be a more reasonable time frame to get all of that handled.
Another good reason to go with round one is **scholarships** and being under-represented, you have a good shot of those, especially if you have a good profile, a good application (CV, recs, essays) and a good GMAT.
The diversity scholarships are available in round 3 but very little else. check out the scholarships page on the INSEAD site to see what I'm talking about.
https://sites.insead.edu/mba/schlmgmt/index.cfmMy final thought to you is consider your goal. Will you need an internship? If so probably January batch would be better for you.
It's possible to go into strategy or management consulting without an internship if coming from INSEAD, however for most other disciplines it's almost essential to have that internship. IB, one would say its compulsory.
I have had a lot of experience with clients wanting to re-recruit after doing an internship, it's not talked about often enough. So I think it's really nice to have that ability to change course if the internship did not work out as you'd hoped.
Of course the program for INSEAD is so accelerated you're kind of in deep doo-doo if you don't like your summer internship but there is Fall, and I believe that having a job you like post MBA is the biggest return-on-investment factor.
On the other hand, if you are hoping to be recruited in the Middle East then September batch is a better choice for you because that's the only where you can do one of your periods/recruitment over there.
Hope this helps.
6mboyjam wrote:
Hi there.
I'm hoping to apply in round 3 for sept 2020 intake. I have not written my GMAT yet and have only just started looking at it so I need to study for at least a month beforehand (i resigned from my job so i have ample time during the day at the moment).
My question:
Do I need to write GMAT before hitting apply online?
I'm not sure how strong my application will be - is applying in round 3 risky?
Thanks
Posted from my mobile device
04 Oct 2019, 21:00
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