Insead Reapplication - Is it possible?

Question

Hi All,

Would really appreciate your thoughts on this. I applied to Sept 2017 intake recently and got declined in Round 1 without interview. However INSEAD remains my target school because of the region I want to work in and its 10 month duration. Here is my profile

Undergrad - Aero-Mechanical Engineering - Top 10 UK university (not Oxbridge) - Upper Second Class Honours (roughly 3.2 to 3.4 GPA)

Postgrad - Masters in Industrial Management from Oxbridge - 68% (Top 25% of the class)

Citizenship - UK

International Exposure - Lived and worked in 6 different countries (India, Canada, UK, USA, Norway, Brasil) minimum 4 months

Work promotions - 4 promotions in 5.5 years (same company throughout - Strategy and Innovation Consulting (not MBB), secondment for 6 months to a major client)

Leadership - Led a number of client engagements and workshops and big teams (6). Currently Head of Business Development for North America for the Innovation consulting company.

GMAT - 660 q44 v38

Recommendations - Two very good ones from Direct supervisor and Indirect supervisor

I would really appreciate if anybody can guide me on my chances for applying in January 2018 round. The INSEAD website explicitly states that re-applicants are discouraged unless there are substantial changes.

I am currently retaking the GMAT and hope to do 720-740. I also propose to change one of the recommenders to a executive I know and have worked with in Brasil who can comment on my global outlook and working in different culture.

GMAT is what really stands out as weak for me especially the quant part which is 54% percentile. So if I can fix that maybe I have a shot?

MBAPrepCoach · Answer

I offer a 45 mins consultation and would be open to doing a ding analysis for you, given your time zone, I can swing it like 8pm your time. I think it's the app, but GMAT as well. Would need to see what you submitted.

Farrell Dyan Hehn, MBA
Admissions Consultant & Verbal Strategist MBAPrepCoach.com

Farrell Dyan Hehn, MBA
Admissions Consultant & Verbal Strategist MBAPrepCoach.com

krutki · Answer

Hi,

Sorry to hear about this. The GMAT is not the most important criterion. Nevertheless, your quant is definitely to low. The top schools want to see at least the 70% percentile in both parts. I also reckon that they expect a higher score in verbal from a native speaker.

Next to the GMAT, your essays are the most important part of fhe application. I guess there must have been inconsistencies in your essays. Let's discuss further via PM. I am not an admission consultant, but worked with a couple and got admitted to INSEAD as well.

Cheers

Posted from my mobile device

lpetroski · Answer

Hello,

I had a similar experience -- did you get any feedback from the admissions office?

INSEAD won't really accept below 65th percentile for quant, you need to push that up. Perhaps there were other pieces of your application that were not compelling enough. Were your motivations for wanting to do an MBA programme clear? Did you have a strong story rather than just checking the "INSEAD boxes"?

If you didn't get any feedback from the admissions office, it is likely that there were other elements than your GMAT contributing to their decision. Retake the GMAT and do a bit of reflection on how to improve those essays. I do recommend working with an admissions consultant on this one...

babushka84 · Answer

Totally possible - you need to write a brand new application that shows a much better version of whatever you put in your first application. Retake the GMAT - aim for as big of an improvement as possible. You absolutely do not need a 70%-ile in math but you need to show a big score jump (say a 720+). Rewrite the essays COMPLETELY. Visit the school, sit in on on a class, talk to students (write about all of this in your new essays). You need to convince them you didn't submit your best effort (and give them a good excuse) and that you deserve another chance. They really appreciate that kind of stuff.

babushka84 · Answer

And don't rely on what the admissions office tells you - they WILL tell you that they don't encourage reapplications. Just let them know you're reapplying so that they can send you the reapplication essay.

Also get new recommendations (and at least one new recommender). Make sure they both show different sides of you.

Also get new recommendations (and at least one new recommender). Make sure they both show different sides of you.

svahora7 · Answer

Thanks guys - I have PM'ed Krutki and Farrell

Great advice Babushka and Petroski. I agree with you the essays would be the thing that would be the possible weakness apart from GMAT quant but I really thought my essays were the best part and that was the reason why I dare apply with a substandard GMAT. Just to give you the themes of the essays

Strength and Weakness - First generation immigrant and son of a bus driver so grew up in a council school where nobody wanted to be a engineer or a doctor. So talked about how that really inspired me to get out of the ghetto and be something in life.

Leadership and Impact - Led a major project in Brasil which ended up changing/influencing the legislation governing the area

Charity/Volunteer work - Worked with a education charity who are active in the area where I grew up to help guide high school kids to get higher education at colleges and universities so that they don't get sucked into the drugs and violence prevalent in the area

Post-MBA goals - Given my background in Strategy and Innovaiton want to work in Product Management in Highly innovative Tech industry (Google or Amazon) - I would think thats a pretty smooth achievable transition.

The other two variables are if one of the recommenders didn't give a good review or I bombed the video interview

babushka84 · Answer

The GMAT is more important than they care to admit. A good quant and verbal score will convince them you can handle the courseload (which is absolutely ridiculous). If you're looking to hire a consultant however, go for Fortuna Admissions because it's run by the former Director of Admissions of INSEAD. I didn't use one for my reapplication because all I had to do is hand in a proper application (my first one was completely half-assed and I did not get an interview). When you're rewriting your essays, write better stories. Have an INSEAD alum read them.

svahora7 · Answer

Thanks Babushka - I was also looking at Fortuna as they have the previous Insead director.

rhine29388 · Answer

I think personally that low GMAT score may be one of the reasons for your rejection.
Being a Engineer myself,there is extra pressure on us to showcase our quant skills as we have a quant heavy coursework
Also they expect a bit higher score on verbal from native english speakers.
As w.r.t. other aspects of your application,there may have been a bit of a problem with your essays or your interview because all other aspects seem pretty fine (GPA,work-ex,Nationality etc)

mbamkay · Answer

By all means reapply dude - you fit square into the profile INSEAD looks for in terms of cultural exposure and career progress.

My advice : get help from a coach. you have all the right elements so getting an assessment of where you went wrong can make the difference.

A few thoughts:

-You have a low GPA. Why the heck did you apply with a 660 GMAT? You should have retaken the GMAT to get a 700+ to offset your low GPA. INSEAD specifically requires 75 percentile and up in both verbal and quant. Retake the gmat and don't f up. Buy the Manhattan GMAT course.
-You come from a competitive pool. UK applicants outnumber applicants from Zambia and Canada. Consultants outnumber brand managers. That's your reality. A coach will help you distinguish yourself.
-If they didn't ding you because of your scores, you probably f'ed up the essays. Again, get a coach.

Bottom line : retake the GMAT. Get a coach. You're in. Don't give up. :punk

billybob2 · Answer

Upper 2nd is more like 3.5 GPA than 3.2. In the UK it's considered a decent (but not amazing) GPA, definitely not the issue here.

mbamkay · Answer

Sorry brother but top 25% of class is simply not compelling when applying to a top MBA program. Not sure "decent" GPA is what adcom are looking for either. I think that's an issue. And if it isn't, 660 GMAT certainly is. Point is : retake the GMAT and improve your score.

svahora7 · Answer

Thanks Mbamkay and Billybob.

I have researched the UK 2.1 to US GPA extensively and I am getting anywhere from 3.0 to 3.7 so there is a huge perception gap. Other thing is that in US GPA they count all 4 years while in UK they only do last two years. If they did all 4 i would have a lot lower.

I think major takeaway for me is absolutely nail the GMAT 740+ and i should be ok on that front and get a coach to lookover my essays. Hopefully that should work!!

svahora7 · Answer

Guys just in terms of reapplication - i asked the advice of the US recruitment lady (her exact answer below) and she told me to wait 1 year minimum. What is your take on that? I wanted to go within 6 months

In general the admissions committee asks for candidates who are denied to wait a (1-2 years) before reapplying. Usually, they like to see applicants adding new experiences to their profile before they submit a new application. Thus, the 1-2 years.... also keep in mind that INSEAD has a very competitive applicant pool. I encourage you to keep in touch with alums if INSEAD is your dream school …regarding your GMAT scores .. ..use the class profile as your benchmark…currently, the average for the class that just started is 708 …(and try to have a balanced score of 75% both on V&Q)

tarang10 · Answer

Hi Guys,

I applied for Jan '17 batch in the very last round, got an interview call and was then waitlisted. My application got dinged a couple of days back. The mail from adcom does not encourage me to reapply.

I'm wondering if I should give it another shot. The only thing that is going to change in my profile is my job. I will be moving from a sales role to a marketing role. My major worry is the age factor as I will be 34 next Feb.

Profile:
Work ex - Mostly in FMCG sales
Country - India
GMAT - 710 (Q46V41)

Any suggestions from you guys would definitely help me in deciding.

Rgds
Tarang

svahora7 · Answer

This is the reply from CT - my admissions focal point

Further to your message below, I would like to explain that we do not generally encourage reapplications from candidates to whom we were not able to offer a place on the programme. This is because the Admissions Committee has already made a very in-depth evaluation of your file. Please bear in mind that competition at INSEAD is fierce. Even re-applicants that demonstrate significant changes will not necessarily be admitted. It is up to you and your own judgement to decide whether you think your changes will make a difference with the committee.
 
If you do decide to reapply, please find attached our reapplication guidelines, which should help you to prepare your new application.
 
Upon completion of your MBA application material, your file will be processed and reviewed for the Round in progress at that time.

VeritasPrepEdison · Answer

Thanks for sharing.

An improved GMAT would help, but it could help to get your previous application reviewed by INSEAD alumni/admissions consultants. Your background should give you a reasonable chance once you have improved on these.

All the best!

bb · Answer

Insead Reapplication - Is it possible?

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