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sharmaanurag
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Joined: 10 Aug 2013
Last visit: 11 Jul 2018
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Location: United Kingdom
Concentration: Strategy, Marketing
Schools: Kellogg '20 (D) Insead Sept'18 (D) Ross '20 (D) McCombs '20 (M)
GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V38
GMAT 2: 730 Q49 V40
GPA: 3
WE:Consulting (Consulting)
Schools: Kellogg '20 (D) Insead Sept'18 (D) Ross '20 (D) McCombs '20 (M)
GMAT 2: 730 Q49 V40
Posts: 42
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INSEAD reapplication and the road ahead 09 May 2017, 08:15
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Disclaimer: I ask these question with an understanding that Bschool admissions is a very subjective process and that the information presented below might not be enough.
Some background on me:
Indian Male/Engineer by education(GPA red flag)/WE 6+ yrs analytics consulting across Europe/Asia and based out of London for last 3 years/GMAT 730

I have been in the Bschool admissions journey for about 2 years now. I applied to Duke/Darden/Ross/Tuck two years ago and was summarily rejected without interview(GMAT 710). Last year or rather this year I applied to INSEAD/LBS/ISB and was interviewed at INSEAD and ISB with a waitlisted decision at INSEAD, which eventually converted into a ding.
My ding email specifically mentioned that they would welcome an application from me in the "future" and to get in touch with them to understand what is required (I am told not everyone gets this even out of waitlist). I would love some thoughts from the very experienced folks here on two things:
1. I dont expect a lot to change in my profile this year. With that info is there a point in considering INSEAD as a possible school to apply to?
2. With these many rejections is it possible that my profile is absolutely not competitive and I should consider nonMBA opportunities?
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MBAPrepCoach
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INSEAD reapplication and the road ahead Updated on: 10 May 2017, 03:23
Originally posted by MBAPrepCoach on 09 May 2017, 08:42.
Last edited by MBAPrepCoach on 10 May 2017, 03:23, edited 1 time in total.
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The fact that you got the soft ding email from insead does indicate that they're interested in hearing from you in the future. However I'm a little curious about what they're hoping to see because you already have more than enough work experience and your GMAT is solid. So the only conclusion I can really come to is that your application materials are not what they need to be. Insead is most receptive to reapplicants who have been promoted, bumped up in terms of international responsibility or obtained more work experience when it was previously deficient. Have you yet received any objective feedback on your essays resume recommendations, etc? I really think that's where the bodies are buried, because your profile does sound competitive. I'm not sure to what extent that grades are an issue... if you're dipping below the 3.0 mark that's quite difficult, however from what I'm seeing here I would not conclude that your profile put you out of the running. However the *communication* of that profile probably *did* and all that really matters is what was understood from the other end of the table on this. On the surface, you have a very common profile, being an Indian engineer and its likely your application failed to articulate what separates you.

https://MBAPrepCoach.COM
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Admissionado
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INSEAD reapplication and the road ahead 10 May 2017, 03:15
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sharmaanurag
Disclaimer: I ask these question with an understanding that Bschool admissions is a very subjective process and that the information presented below might not be enough.
Some background on me:
Indian Male/Engineer by education(GPA red flag)/WE 6+ yrs analytics consulting across Europe/Asia and based out of London for last 3 years/GMAT 730

I have been in the Bschool admissions journey for about 2 years now. I applied to Duke/Darden/Ross/Tuck two years ago and was summarily rejected without interview(GMAT 710). Last year or rather this year I applied to INSEAD/LBS/ISB and was interviewed at INSEAD and ISB with a waitlisted decision at INSEAD, which eventually converted into a ding.
My ding email specifically mentioned that they would welcome an application from me in the "future" and to get in touch with them to understand what is required (I am told not everyone gets this even out of waitlist). I would love some thoughts from the very experienced folks here on two things:
1. I dont expect a lot to change in my profile this year. With that info is there a point in considering INSEAD as a possible school to apply to?
2. With these many rejections is it possible that my profile is absolutely not competitive and I should consider nonMBA opportunities?

Hey there!
So first of all the fact that you got waitlisted at INSEAD is a POSITIVE sign. It means you ARE competitive, as it's one of the best schools in Europe.

Secondly, not only SHOULD you apply, but you MUST! They are basically begging you to apply again :)

Maybe you feel like you haven't done that much new stuff since your last application, but I'll bet you an apple we can find ten things to write and make your reapplicant essay stellar :)

Because that's what is important - showing improvement. And you have a LOT of leeway in terms of your essay and the story you tell. and if you give the best story possible, there are good chances you will do better.

I hope this helps!

Best,
JF
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INSEAD reapplication and the road ahead 11 May 2017, 23:42
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A few more perspectives here Anurag:
  1. The profile, at a high level, sounds interesting and not that common actually. But it will be important to understand the education and employer brands. It will also help to understand the real nature of your work - Anlaytics Consulting is used pretty loosely these days. The international experience is a big tick mark. Provided you have sufficient accomplishments under your belt, things look pretty ok on the work front.
  2. One of the factors you have not mentioned is life outside work. That is an oft-neglected but an important criteria; read here.
  3. Re-application is always a tricky business. While yours is a slightly better case, I would still recommend to spread your net wider. Pining on just one school is never a great strategy ideally.

Hope this helps some.

Cheers,
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INSEAD reapplication and the road ahead 13 May 2017, 11:50
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sharmaanurag
Disclaimer: I ask these question with an understanding that Bschool admissions is a very subjective process and that the information presented below might not be enough.
Some background on me:
Indian Male/Engineer by education(GPA red flag)/WE 6+ yrs analytics consulting across Europe/Asia and based out of London for last 3 years/GMAT 730

I have been in the Bschool admissions journey for about 2 years now. I applied to Duke/Darden/Ross/Tuck two years ago and was summarily rejected without interview(GMAT 710). Last year or rather this year I applied to INSEAD/LBS/ISB and was interviewed at INSEAD and ISB with a waitlisted decision at INSEAD, which eventually converted into a ding.
My ding email specifically mentioned that they would welcome an application from me in the "future" and to get in touch with them to understand what is required (I am told not everyone gets this even out of waitlist). I would love some thoughts from the very experienced folks here on two things:
1. I dont expect a lot to change in my profile this year. With that info is there a point in considering INSEAD as a possible school to apply to?
2. With these many rejections is it possible that my profile is absolutely not competitive and I should consider nonMBA opportunities?

Hi Anurag,

We think that you have an extremely competitive profile both for INSEAD and for ISB. The fact that you made it to interviews for both and wait-list for INSEAD, definitely is further proof of this! With a GMAT score of 730, we think you're definitely covered on the academics, even if your undergraduate GPA is a little low. The international experience also is a big thumbs-up.
Coming to this year's application, applicants often assume that big brownie points are given to promotions and other career-defining moments during reapplicant evaluation. However, B-schools are evaluating you for your clarity of goals and readiness to take up bigger roles post MBA. Our suspicion is that somewhere these were not being conveyed to the school, either through the application or during the interview.
We strongly recommend that:
1. You reach out to ad-coms of both ISB and INSEAD to get feedback on your application
2. Talk to alumni of these schools with a profile similar to yours to gain clarity on your short-term and long-term goals
3. Work with a consultant who can review your last year's applications and chalk out a plan for this year.

Begin now so that you have plenty of time to address gaps in your applications. All the best and feel free to reach out in case of queries.
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sharmaanurag
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Joined: 10 Aug 2013
Last visit: 11 Jul 2018
Posts: 42
Own Kudos:
8
Given Kudos: 7
Location: United Kingdom
Concentration: Strategy, Marketing
Schools: Kellogg '20 (D) Insead Sept'18 (D) Ross '20 (D) McCombs '20 (M)
GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V38
GMAT 2: 730 Q49 V40
GPA: 3
WE:Consulting (Consulting)
Schools: Kellogg '20 (D) Insead Sept'18 (D) Ross '20 (D) McCombs '20 (M)
GMAT 2: 730 Q49 V40
Posts: 42
Kudos: 8
INSEAD reapplication and the road ahead 17 May 2017, 03:22
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MBAPrepCoach
The fact that you got the soft ding email from insead does indicate that they're interested in hearing from you in the future. However I'm a little curious about what they're hoping to see because you already have more than enough work experience and your GMAT is solid....

https://MBAPrepCoach.COM

Thanks for your response.
You have very succinctly paraphrased the problem that I have agonizing over. I am already above the avg. work experience at INSEAD, and I dont think my WE is bad, if I do say so myself. I am not sure what they want to see more of. Is there a way to get feedback on that ? Or just figure it out on your own?
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99Colleges
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INSEAD reapplication and the road ahead 18 May 2017, 08:28
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Hi Anurag,

Because you’ve had one waitlist and an interview from reputed programs, you’re competitive at atleast some of the schools. (Plenty of rejections and 1-2 hits are commonplace in MBA admissions, and you weren’t too far from that hit. Dream runs through all target schools, especially the top ones, are uncommon.) Therefore, in my opinion, this result shouldn’t lead you to the conclusion ‘my profile is absolutely not competitive and I should consider nonMBA opportunities’.

And if you believe that you’re competitive and if you want to take another shot, one way forward is to first get an independent feedback on your INSEAD application. (We all have blind spots. And problem could be communication, as Farrell pointed out.) If you decide to apply again, you may add few new schools as reapplication can be challenging, as pointed out by Manish.