INSEAD Jan 2018 start - 4th round application

[quote="MBAPrepCoach"]Hi shikharc I'm the thread Master for the January intake thread. Would be happy to evaluate your profile but first, I'm wondering if there's a serious urgency to start in January. Because as someone who's over-represented fourth-round is just simply not for you. Indians really need to get in on the first round it's just a fact, second round is even taking a chance...so I wondering if there's any possibility I could talk you into the September batch. Your profile is pretty good, applying to the last round, you would need to have a GMAT that's exceptional and yours is actually average for the school but definitely low for Indians. In the fourth round they're kind of looking to bump up their stats or find someone who is going to kind of help them round things out.


There are couple of reasons for applying in R4.
1. My GMAT expires in Oct this year.
2. I really value the 8 week internship that comes with Jan start.
I am wondering if being a Canadian citizen actually help me move away form the over represented Indian applicant pool. I am hopeful that the not-so-usual profile will help me stand out and also differentiate me from the Indian pool. Thoughts?

@RecoveringDebator, unfortunately pakistanis are just as ambitious as Indians. What I mean by that is that there is just as much competition. I would say maybe comparatively just a little less but not much. Your GMAT is solid and if you have a profile to match then you have a chance at Round 4, even though again I really don't advise that for over-represented groups. If there is an absolute gun to your head for round 4 then apply, but if you have flexibility with this then wait

MBA Prep Coach
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I definitely think that being Canadian and coming from a creative non-traditional profile would help your chances. However you are statistically challenged my friend. I would have like to have seen maybe a better GPA if the GMAT is less than what will be competitive for your profile group. You definitely want to look into doing MBAmath.com to show that you can handle the quantitative rigor of the program. It's an online self-paced program and the transcripts are sent directly to the school. Generally considered evidence of your quantitative aptitude. I do like your community involvement and the leadership that you have established through those means.
Keeping in mind the four criteria : academic aptitude, leadership, International orientation and potential contribution to INSEAD. If you can establish the first one I think that you can establish the second no problem. the third one I think is something you can argue for , and the last one I think you can articulate through your career goal essay or the optional essay.

What I'm most curious about though or really more worried about is what are you trying to make manifest through an MBA at insead. While a non-traditional profile is interesting they don't necessarily have recruiting relationships set up for what you do. So it would be vitally important for you to articulate how you plan to get your job post MBA, letting them know you are a low-risk candidate. What are you trying to get out of it MBA? What would be your post MBA role? Do you have the relationships to make this happen?

They just don't to have you lingering on the dance floor when everybody else has jobs. And with that I am going to go watch Project Runway All Stars...which was my original plan for the day

MBA Prep Coach
https://MBAPrepCoach.com

Hi there,

I find myself very identified with this thread: I'm also "rushing" to get to Round 4 and be able to apply for the January intake at INSEAD. The reasons to "rush" are because of my age and the point in my career, and also because i'm very interested in the internship so that I can effectively move sectors as I intend to do.

I'm 31 years old (turning 32 this year), and I do know i'm a bit "old" for the MBA thing. However, I'm from Chile (where university is longer... a regular engineering degree will take 6 years) and I have 7 years of work experience. My "urge" to go for Round 4 as I said has to do with my age and that I'm currently stuck at my job and there's no growth opportunities (the company is doing pretty bad). Waiting 1 whole year for the September intake is very costly in the sense that I will not get any further promotions or career development. Also an MBA is a must in terms of where I want to take my career (I want to move to management consulting, hopefully MBB, and I understand INSEAD is a great school for consulting recruitment)

My career can be summarized as the following:
31 year old Chilean male, studied industrial engineering at Chile's top university. Had an equivalent GPA of 4.0 during university according to the official transcripts from my university. I have worked for 7 years in LATAM Airlines Group, which is the biggest airline here in South America, getting several promotions and having so far a pretty successful career. I have extensive experience working internationally, having travelled a lot for work to Europe, as well as having lived as en expat for 1 whole year in Sao Paulo Brazil when LAN Airlines and TAM Airlines merged into the current LATAM Airlines. This was quite an experience in terms of all the challenges that we had to face during this merging process

I have pretty good an concrete "career accomplishments" which I can go into detail on my application (example, changed business model of certain flights management that reported several millions in utility)

I do still have my GMAT pending and I'm scheduled for it next July the 7th, in less than two weeks. Since Round 4's deadline is July the 26th, if I get a good score I do have time to file the application with all of the rest of the application work

How do you feel about my profile? Do you think I stand a chance in Round 4 if I get a GMAT of 700 or higher? I hitted 670 on my last test but I still have some days to hopefully get over the 700 threshold

Best regards,
Anibal

Noted re: MBAmath program to establish confidence in my quant skills.

My goals post MBA are to get into Product & Consumer Strategy in retail. INSEAD has relationship with the LVMH and other luxury brands and that really is the career path that I would take to leverage my pre-MBA knowledge and skills. Having read that I do have relationships in most of the top sportswear athletic companies in EU, Canada and some in US.

What I would like to also get your opinion on is if I were to wait and apply for Sept 2018 intake, how much difference would not having an internship make? Also between now and then, which area do you suggest I improve my application in?