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INSEAD Calling all Applicants(SEPT 2015 Intake)Class of 2016

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farhanchaudhary

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16 Sep 2014, 09:00

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popov

Thanks a lot Topdog and Farhan for your inputs.. Really appreciate all your posts.

I am planning to apply in R3. Actually wanted to apply in R2, but have to improve my GMAT score... Do you guys think if there is any disadvantage in applying in R3 instead of R2? Anything major?

Hope there is not and I can finish all essays in 2 months of time. Is it a good duration? I understand, it varies from individual to individual, but just in general. What is your opinion here?

Thanks

So this is what INSEAD says about applying in different rounds https://mba.insead.edu/edm/generic/when_ ... apply.html

On a personal note, I feel the earlier you apply the better, ask yourself how much improvement you are targeting. Can you create a timeline with required improvement and application essays? (doing both together is not advisable)

Also remember INSEAD requires a lot in terms of completion of essays, application portal and recos. I think 2 months is good enough.

cs2209

Joined: 03 Feb 2014

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Location: United States

Schools: ISB '16 (A) Sloan '17 (WL) INSEAD Jan '16 LBS '17

GMAT 1: 680 Q48 V35 Verified score

WE:Operations (Manufacturing)

Schools: ISB '16 (A) Sloan '17 (WL) INSEAD Jan '16 LBS '17

GMAT 1: 680 Q48 V35 Verified score

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16 Sep 2014, 22:02

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Just started writing, and I am already overwhelmed.
Nevertheless, thanks for the info guys, it's very useful and encouraging!

abhisheksahay

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Schools: INSEAD Jan '15 (M) Wharton '16 (A$) Kellogg '16 (A) Booth '16 (WD) LBS '16 (WD) HBS '16 (D) Stanford '16 (D)

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17 Sep 2014, 10:03

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wonhok

farhanc85

109 applicants for Rd 1 and zero activity, seems like me and TopDog are only two people active right now. Any updates guys? How's it going? How many drafts did you finish?

I'll pitch in my two cents. I've completed a lot of the drafts already. The only thing I'm stuck on is the final essay for extra professional activity. I am planning on leaving my current job threeish months before attending if I'm accepted. I put in a blurb about joining the reserves (currently military officer) and doing my drill time before departing for school. My big concern is that I'm not hailing from a business background, nor did I study it in school (international relations with langage minor in Japanese). What I'm hoping is my international experience makes up for the deficit (2 years in Okinawa, did military exercises in the Philippines and Korea). Anyone else in the same boat?

wonhok

Joined: 05 Sep 2014

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Concentration: International Business

Schools: Insead July'17 (A)

GRE 1: Q167 V162 Verified score

GPA: 3.34

WE:Military Officer (Military & Defense)

Schools: Insead July'17 (A)

GRE 1: Q167 V162 Verified score

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17 Sep 2014, 10:19

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abhisheksahay

wonhok

farhanc85

109 applicants for Rd 1 and zero activity, seems like me and TopDog are only two people active right now. Any updates guys? How's it going? How many drafts did you finish?

Thanks, Abhishek.

I saw your previous thread and was going to reach out to you with a couple of directed questions your way. You answered 90% of my concerns with your post. I think I failed to link how I would contribute that to INSEAD through my experiences, but hopefully my rec letter writers are not as short sighted as I was and include that in there. Seeing as how one of them still hasn't submitted yet, I'll reach out to him for the warm and fuzzy. I ended up focusing the diversity one on how I cultivated a friendship with one of the Filipino company commanders while we were out in the Philippines for a military exercise, starting from a simple connection through the music we enjoyed, trying out different local foods, getting pepper sprayed with military grade OC (it sucks, don't ever volunteer for it), doing the Gangnam Style dance in front of both of our combined units, and eventually ending up consoling each other when one of his men perished in combat. I generally kept the essays genuine and straightforward. Hopefully they'll make the cut. I'll reach out to you soon with more questions. Thanks!

abhisheksahay

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Schools: INSEAD Jan '15 (M) Wharton '16 (A$) Kellogg '16 (A) Booth '16 (WD) LBS '16 (WD) HBS '16 (D) Stanford '16 (D)

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17 Sep 2014, 12:33

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If there's one B-school where "not hailing from a business background" should be less of an issue, it would be INSEAD. Compared to other schools, I think INSEAD truly values diversity of backgrounds. Given your experience, I would suggest highlighting specific instances in your military career where you have demonstrated leadership and further link this to how you would use this trait at INSEAD. In my INSEAD essays, I had developed one essay around a weekend I spent in rural Africa living with a farmer family. If you some interesting experiences, (particularly cross-cultural) you should leverage that. And yes, as you've mentioned, you should definitely highlight your international experience.

Feel free to reach out to me.[/quote]

Thanks, Abhishek.

I saw your previous thread and was going to reach out to you with a couple of directed questions your way. You answered 90% of my concerns with your post. I think I failed to link how I would contribute that to INSEAD through my experiences, but hopefully my rec letter writers are not as short sighted as I was and include that in there. Seeing as how one of them still hasn't submitted yet, I'll reach out to him for the warm and fuzzy. I ended up focusing the diversity one on how I cultivated a friendship with one of the Filipino company commanders while we were out in the Philippines for a military exercise, starting from a simple connection through the music we enjoyed, trying out different local foods, getting pepper sprayed with military grade OC (it sucks, don't ever volunteer for it), doing the Gangnam Style dance in front of both of our combined units, and eventually ending up consoling each other when one of his men perished in combat. I generally kept the essays genuine and straightforward. Hopefully they'll make the cut. I'll reach out to you soon with more questions. Thanks![/quote]

That's an awesome story! I'm sure INSEAD would love it.

popov

Joined: 18 Jan 2014

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Location: India

Schools: Kenan-Flagler '19 (M)

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17 Sep 2014, 14:03

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farhanc85

popov

Thanks

Thanks Farhan.. In fact, at the same time I have lot more going on than these two items!!!!

farhanchaudhary

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20 Sep 2014, 11:08

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popov

Thanks Farhan.. In fact, at the same time I have lot more going on than these two items!!!!

I wish you good luck man!!!!

On another note, everyone thinking of uploading their application in R1, please remember

To be included in a specific round, applications must be complete and submitted by 23:59pm Central European Time on the day of the deadline.

TomYD

Joined: 15 Sep 2013

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Concentration: General Management

Schools: Insead Sept '16 (M)

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Schools: Insead Sept '16 (M)

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20 Sep 2014, 13:14

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Hi guys,

A simple question for others currently going through the INSEAD admission process. If the first recommender submits his recommendation letter, should I expect an email confirmation -- or would I only receive such confirmation when both recommenders have submitted the letters? I was told that the first letter was submitted, but am starting to worry that it did not go through.

Thanks
Tom

farhanchaudhary

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20 Sep 2014, 13:21

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TomYD

Hey Tom,

Good question. I am not sure if you will receive a confirmation but your recommender will surely receive one as soon as they upload.

This is a line in recommendation page " Your chosen referees do not have to fill in the form in one go; they can save and come back to it later. However, once submitted, the form can no longer be edited. After submitting their recommendations, they will receive a confirmation receipt via email."

Check with your recommender if he/she has received a mail. My boss informed me he did receive a confirmation email after he uploaded.

Cheers

Posted from my mobile device

wonhok

Joined: 05 Sep 2014

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20 Sep 2014, 18:57

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farhanc85

TomYD

Also, an admissions officer will reach out to you once you submit your app. They'll let you know if you have any discrepancies.

appleamily

Joined: 29 Aug 2014

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Updated on: 22 Sep 2014, 05:23

Originally posted by appleamily on 21 Sep 2014, 22:42.
Last edited by appleamily on 22 Sep 2014, 05:23, edited 1 time in total.

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newsInsead

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21 Sep 2014, 23:01

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FROM Insead Admissions Blog1: When you are unhappy with having just 24 hours a day

“24/7 – Just not enough”

This thought has constantly come to me in the last 3 weeks at INSEAD.

Throughout my 30 years (Yes, sadly hitting 30 soon), I have had my share of tight deadlines at school to all-nighters in college to high-pressure work. BUT it is definitely a first not wishing just to “get done with the work” rather than lamenting for more time to “savor each experience”.

What do I mean by that? On one hand, I have had the most ridiculously productive 3 weeks of my life:

Reached early morning classes everyday, which is an achievement for me, considering I am not a morning person and live an hour away. (I do fight for that seat on the train to catch my sleep.)
Literally built a playground with my classmates, where I did a lot of wood drilling, of which I am extremely proud. Although I did break a drill bit.
I have survived Microeconomics, reviewed my CV more times than I’ve ever done in my seven years of work, drafted a team contract for organizational behavior, and analyzed financial statements of Apple and ConAgra.
I’m close to finishing a wine course, and I just passed my Singapore basic driving test
Met a zillion people including entrepreneurs in residence for my venture; did the Ice bucket challenge; made great friends; had a house gathering, a beach outing, and of course, the BIG beach party. Planned my first INSEAD trip to Indonesia and did I mention—I drilled wood!

But I feel strangely having underachieved.

I often feel stupid in class, totally relative to the superbly intelligent people around me (Ah… My poor three decades of well-nurtured ego!). The course pace seems to leave me lagging behind always.
I missed at least five weekend trips even if I only count the ones I know of with 10+ people
I have lost count, but I’ve probably missed a dozen or more get-togethers/parties so far that I am probably in danger of not being on party lists anymore.
I only know roughly 80% of my class section by name (usually people who sit in the rows in front of mine, with their name cards visible). Do mind that my section is only a third of all 15Js in Singapore now. Of course, Singapore itself only represents around 40% of all students in INSEAD 15J, if Fonty is included. Talk about the tip of the iceberg.
And, of course, my personal friendships outside INSEAD and even husband time have gone for a complete toss.

To tell the truth, it is difficult to explain this to the outside world. My friends and ex-colleagues joke that I no longer need to work and I’m free. Oh! They can’t be further from the truth. This acceptance that we will live in constant FOMO (fear of missing out) and won’t be able to do it all is probably a school secret that only INSEADers understand.

At least I am making progress in some areas. Being an introvert, meeting people has always drained me and I can’t claim (yet) that INSEAD has cured that. Far from it actually, as I still manage to invent excuses to convince myself out of some gatherings. But, there is a difference: Meeting exciting people seems to lessen the extra effort I make to be energetic. At INSEAD, that has been a given as everyone has a story to be told and heard. In fact, I have this idea to start a “Humans of INSEAD” series inspired by HONY (Humans of New York) for the blog.

Again, there is this tiny detail of finding more time in the 24-hour day to allow for that. Well, I think I need not worry as I have come to accept that the concept of a working day always stretches when it is for INSEAD!

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farhanchaudhary

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22 Sep 2014, 07:51

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How can filling an application be torturous and fun at the same time???? Please go through the INSEAD application process!!!!

majo0110

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22 Sep 2014, 12:45

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When you submit the application it will show which of your recommenders haver already sent their recommendations and when. And indeed an AO will contact you almost immediately with this info, I submitted it late last thursday and got the confirmation e-mail early wednesday.

wonhok

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23 Sep 2014, 07:57

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Just got my confirmation e-mail from CT that my app is complete, with letters and all. Super stoked. Good luck to everyone else in R1!

farhanchaudhary

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24 Sep 2014, 03:38

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Submitted my application, lets see when I hear back regarding application being complete. Nervous and excited for INSEAD.

Rattlehead85

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24 Sep 2014, 17:54

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Applied too!

newsInsead

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24 Sep 2014, 20:01

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FROM Insead Admissions Blog1: Building up the Tempo

The first month is over and I still cannot believe just how much water has already flown under the bridge! After a month at INSEAD I truly feel like a train wreck. Even without the hyperbole, life really moves at a frenetic pace. I have covered more subjects and learnt more in this one month than I had learnt in my entire career. That part isn’t true for everyone though, as many who come here already have some sort of experience in many of the subjects being taught in class. However, what is true is that most people find themselves making trade-offs many times a day, mostly with regard to the optimum utilization of their time. The month started off with some of us trying to be everywhere all the time, despite some good advice from the senior batch. We soon learnt though that it’s not necessarily the best utilization of our time to try and be everywhere, especially once the studies picked up some tempo. The trade-offs started getting more pronounced and the risks of some moves more evident and groups of like-minded people started finding themselves spending more time with one another.

We had a lot of long career presentations and, in our fear of missing out on some good company presentations, we tried to attend every single one of them. We soon learnt though that most companies who come here to hire students, come with something specific in mind and many do not suit us as well as it suits some others. Hence, we started studying and figuring out a little more about the companies before signing up for the presentations and cocktails. Next up were the group activities, and some groups obviously fared far better than the others. However, the heartening thing to notice was that majority of the groups were really bonding well and enjoying the experience of working with equally talented and driven individuals, not allowing their competitive spirit to come in the way of forging strong relationships. This obviously highlights the high regard and mutual respect that members of the group have for each other and also the good camaraderie that exists among like-minded individuals. I can vouch for the fact that it does feel great to be a part of a high-performing group with great members, contrary to what I had feared initially from the experiences of some other MBAs.

This month was also about getting to know the people whom we will be spending a lot of time with over the next few months—some of whom will hopefully go on to become lifelong friends. I know everyone keeps talking about leveraging the network of amazing talent that we have here at INSEAD to forward careers, but I like to see it from a different point of view. I believe that the legacy of our time here at INSEAD will be the people we interact with, and hopefully, they will someday have some good memories of our times together. We got a bit closer to a few people, identified some clear takeaways, and strove to achieve our goals together rather than on our own. The pleasure of achieving together, and the sheer bonhomie gives me a good feeling about the months to come.

Jada

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26 Sep 2014, 03:18

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I have been on this forum for a while now but this happens to be my first post and it happens to be on the thread of my Dream B-School.

Quick Rundown - I am a 32years African male (Nigerian) who plans to apply in Round 3 because of the obvious fact that age is no longer on my side and i wish to get married before or most likely after my MBA (i hope my gal is not on this forum though). I plan on taking on the GMAT at the end of November and would be looking at scholarship offerings too. I have 8 years of work experience with 6 years of it at Alcatel-Lucent (Telecommunications).

Sincerely, i have severally contemplated using Admissions consultants but those guys are pretty expensive. I plan on applying to only INSEAD, crazy, yes i know :-D

Please, really need comments from all here to encourage and let me know how you guys were able to complete your R1 applications.

Thanks.

farhanchaudhary

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26 Sep 2014, 10:21

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Jada

Please, really need comments from all here to encourage and let me know how you guys were able to complete your R1 applications.

Thanks.

Hey Jada,

Welcome to the thread. INSEAD application is a big one and you need to start working on it well in advance. R3 deadline is 14th Jan 2015 and you are yet to write your GMAT. I am not aware of your GMAT abilities but the average GMAT is 701, that being said aim to achieve a 70-75 percentile in both sections. INSEAD values the overall application more than GMAT, I have seen people in the lower 600's getting in. Please concentrate on GMAT and give yourself good amount of time to complete the essays. If you are not taking up any consultants, its absolutely fine. Try and get your essays reviewed from some people who know you and can give you neutral reviews. Friends and family tend to get emotional with your story so try and pick friends who can call spade a spade.

Good luck with the GMAT and all the best for your applications.