Thank you for sharing your profile, @HPP08. Military professionals are often seen as strong leaders, team players, and disciplined operators. INSEAD especially values international exposure, leadership under pressure, and diverse perspectives. With 10 years of experience, you would be among the more experienced members of the cohort. This can work to your advantage if you demonstrate progression, cross-functional leadership, and a strong motivation for the MBA at this stage in your career. While Indian applicants are often overrepresented in MBA pools, female candidates with a military background are rare and highly differentiated; this can significantly improve your chances if framed well in essays/interviews.

While INSEAD evaluates applications holistically, your GMAT FE score is below their average. If time permits and you can improve your score even to 665+, a retake could shift your application from a borderline to a more confident position. You might want to take a look at this success story.

You didn’t specify your post-MBA industry. That’s critical. Are you aiming for consulting? Corporate strategy? Development/impact work? Entrepreneurship?

Key questions to reflect on:
1. What specific civilian roles interest you and why?
2. How have you demonstrated business acumen in a military setting?
3. What leadership stories or mission-critical decisions define your values and resilience?
4. What do you want your MBA classmates to learn from your journey?

We’d love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular involvement, professional experience, and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at INSEAD or other top B-schools. If you'd like, feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

We are hosting a Coffee Session: “GMAT Strategy & INSEAD R4 MBA Application Tips” on 25th July, 2025 | ​9.00 PM IST | 11.00 AM ET. Register Now!

Cheers!
Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond