Hey guys, been a while since I posted. I come bearing good news.
Recently I learned that I was admitted into INSEAD with a scholarship.
Few words can describe the feeling. It’s even sweeter, considering that I was dinged from all schools I applied to in 2020. It’s still sweeter knowing that most people I spoke with (including some people with admissions experience and current students) said I wasn’t cut out for an elite MBA.
Let me hit you with some statistics before I jump into the how of things:
- ORM (Indian male in the IT industry)
- 3.3 GPA from T5 Canadian university
- 730 GMAT (Q49, V40)
- 5+ YOE at a Climate tech startup, multiple promotions
EC
- Football coach in Berlin Verbandsliga
- Pro-bono consultant for IT startups
- Student government leader, focused on international inclusivity (university)
So, how did I make the cut for an MBA scholarship from the top international b-school? Let me walk you through the journey starting with the GMAT.
The GMATI took my 1st GMAT attempt on 4th August, 2020 and had bombed it - scored GMAT 650 (V34 Q44). Little did I know that I would be able to improve my score from 650 to 730 in just a span of 24 days.
I mostly used
GMATWhiz to support my prep. The team was extremely helpful and accommodated calls with me late into the night to account for the time difference. Saquib Hasnain, my assigned mentor, helped me analyze what went wrong and provided insights and strategies to push my score to 730. He also gave some solid test day advice including time management tips that helped greatly. Overall, a very solid prep partner.
Other prep material:
- GMAT
OG, Verbal, Quant Review-- bread and butter stuff. Very helpful in understanding patterns in verbal and quant questions, and great for understanding how the test makers want you to think.
- LSAT RC-- only used because I was running out of RC questions too fast.
- GMAT advanced questions-- a bit over the top IMHO, I found the other official GMAT materials to be sufficient. Though I imagine this to be very useful if you're targeting an elite score.
Made a detailed post about my GMAT journey and how I managed anxiety a long time ago - here’s what I had to say on the topic-
https://gmatclub.com/forum/650-v34-q44-to-730-v40-q49-in-24-days-anxiety-management-332610.htmlYou can also check out the video version here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15NpKCiaYNsMy GMAT Score was an important indicator of academic capacity for the AdCom. However, stats, as we know, are just one part of the puzzle. Now, after getting that GMAT score, things were all about positioning myself. Let’s jump into the Essays and LoRs.
INSEAD Essays
First note: INSEAD has a total of 7 essays. Yes, you read that right. S-e-v-e-n. That’s not something one can scrounge together the night before, or probably even in a week. Moreover, INSEAD really is looking for the right fit - through conversations with alum, I learned how critical it is that the application really needs to show the candidate has done their due diligence. I started off my essays 1.5 months before the application was due. The video essays were also due 48 hours after the deadline. Here’s a breakdown of the essays and how I approached them-
- Briefly summarise your current (or most recent) job, including the nature of work, major responsibilities, and where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget, clients/products and results achieved. (200 words maximum)I kept this essay fact-based, highlighting my international experience where possible, and speaking about my leadership/work highlights and backing them up with data, whilst ensuring brevity. I didn’t really focus on the why of things - that came later.
- What would be your next step in terms of position if you were to remain in the same company instead of going to business school? (200 words maximum) *
This question was again fact-based, and I took a perspective that highlighted my leadership potential. I spoke about the next rung of the ladder my organization and the changes in responsibility the switch would entail, from both a hard-skill and soft-skill perspective.
- Please give a full description of your career since graduating from university. Describe your career path with the rationale behind your choices. (300 words maximum) *
This was a more introspective question. It forced me to think deeply about why I had made professional choices such as moving countries or staying in certain positions for a longer time. These things were not as evident to me at the time of making the decision, but could only be thought of retrospectively. It is questions like this that really force one to look back and assess decisions - and that’s why the INSEAD essay application process can’t be rushed.
- Discuss your short and long-term career aspirations with an MBA from INSEAD. (100 words maximum)
Again, 100 words is not a lot to work with. It’s important to approach this question with as much clarity as possible, and also work towards making that message concise. I used half the space to talk about my goals, and the other half to speak of how INSEAD would help me achieve these goals. The latter part is quite important - this is one of the few places in the written application where you can speak of “Why INSEAD”.
- Give a candid description of yourself (who are you as a person), 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 (maximum 500 words).
The first of the very formidable motivational essays. Again, I cannot stress the importance of introspection here. Steve Jobs said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards.” I used this essay to see how my dots were connected. I took the most pertinent moments of my life, professional and personal, and spoke of their impact on me. I spoke of who I was, how I became who I am, and who I am striving to become, and why INSEAD is integral to that process.
- Describe the achievement of which you are most proud and explain why. In addition, describe a situation where you failed. How did these experiences impact your relationships with others? Comment on what you learned(maximum 400 words). *In this essay, the important thing was to actually answer what was asked. Especially the “How did it impact your relationship with others” part. This one is all about telling two clear stories, each with its own takeaways, whilst focusing on the social learnings from a particular experience.
In the “describe a situation where you failed” part, most candidates shy away from actually speaking about a failure for fear of being viewed negatively by the AdCom. Remember, this is all about a significant learning - and the most significant learnings can, unfortunately, only come from failure. Embrace the failure, be articulate about what you learned, and speak about how the experience changed your perspective about others. This one part of the application is a chance to really shine out - so don’t weasel out of it by trying to spin a failure into a winning situation.
I took two key moments from my life that had a significant impact on me, and basically framed things as I explained above. Both of these moments had an international/intercultural element to them, which I was sure to highlight.
- Describe all types of extra-professional activities in which you have been or are still involved for a significant amount of time (clubs, sports, music, arts, etc). How are you enriched by these activities? (maximum 300 words) *This is another chance for the AdComs to get to know you better as a person. If your application was very professionally oriented so far, this is a nice chance to shed more light on your personality. If you’re someone who doesn’t discern between work and hobbies and it’s important for you to be passionate about your work, this is your chance to reinforce that. Again, the “how are you enriched by these activities” is the tricky part. This essay is leaning on what you learn from the things you do in your free time.
I focused my essay on my hobbies, how they intertwined with my professional life from time to time, and how intercultural experience like travelling have helped me gain new perspectives.
- Scholarship Essays
Each scholarship essay is different, so I won’t go too deep into which ones I applied for. My only advice here is to start working on scholarship essays as soon as possible. If you want to maximize your chances, you’ll want to apply for 3-4 scholarships, and each of those can be up to 500 words.
So now that we’ve talked about personal positioning, let’s talk about others’ positioning of you, gauged through the Letters of Recommendation.
Letters of Recommendation
Make sure you know your recommender. The INSEAD recommender form can’t be skimmed through - like the essay questions, the recommender form also asks pertinent questions that will really force your recommender to think about your relationship with them. So don’t go for the higher-up contact that has more clout - get a recommender who can speak about your character in-depth.
Choose recommenders in a way to best position yourself. Self-explanatory. Want the recommender to speak about your international experience? Make sure the recommender has seen you thrive in those settings. Want the recommender to speak about your accounting might? Don’t ask the guy who’s only ever worked with you on non-accounting tasks.
Jog the recommenders' memory. No matter how nice your recommenders are, the chances of them remembering your achievements as well as you yourself do are slim. Don’t hesitate to send them a brief of what you think were your real achievements. Again, be strategic about such briefs- always keep your own positioning in mind. And also keep in mind that the recommender is free to accept or reject your feedback, so what you send may not necessarily be included in the letter of recommendation.
So, the application is written up and sent now! All done and ready for the wait? Nope, time for the next step: the video interview.
Video InterviewHere the focus is more on how you present yourself in person. The questions you get will be randomized but will be in line with INSEAD’s values as a business school.
Make sure that pile of laundry is safely tucked out of the camera frame, or better yet, finally makes it to the washing machine. Look presentable, and dress the part. If you have an LED ring light, turn it on. If you have a cat or a dog, make sure they’re behaving (unless they’re a part of somehow getting brownie points while answering the video questions.)
The most important thing for me was to practice with a timer, and assess my recordings afterwards. As someone who is mortified by the sound of their own voice, this was not fun. But the gains from these analyses were immense. I learned how to structure my answers within the given time, how to look more personable in front of the camera, and how to improve my body language. I would strongly suggest you do the same.
And now we’re through with the application part! If you’re lucky enough to get an interview, here’s what you can expect:
The Interviews
INSEAD will set you up with two different alum interviewers from different backgrounds. The approach each interviewer takes can be completely different depending on personal preference. You might find yourself in a hotshot multinational corporate office, or taking a leisurely stroll through a park with a tea in hand. What is common in these interviews, though, is that the interviewer will always try to assess how well you’ve done your homework on INSEAD, and learn more about the choices you’ve (for e.g. why did you choose to do X at this time instead of doing Y)
Both of my interviews were very conversational and centered around my past choices, why INSEAD, and future career goals. They also wanted to learn more about how I will contribute to the INSEAD community. They lasted about an hour each, and also showed how much the alum are involved with INSEAD. Overall, it seemed to go well. A few weeks later, I received the famous call from the +33 number 😊
So, that's all about my end-to-end MBA application journey. The culture at INSEAD is about paying it forward – and I hope this post helps you get a few steps forward on your INSEAD application journey.
Just trust the process and yourself, and don't give up!
Cheers,
A
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04 Apr 2023, 00:30
