minmin2511 wrote:
Hi guys,
I have applied to INSEAD in Jan'24 R3 and just got the announcement that my current GMAT test scores do not correlate well with the overall quality of my application, and they encouraged me to retake GMAT and apply again with better scores. They even provided me a GMAT fee waiver so I guessed they really want to me reapply.
Just a quick brief on my profile: from Vietnam, 6y experience in Marketing for MNCs (Unilever, Samsung, Abbott), 2y experience in Manager role and now want to transition to Consulting. I aim to MBB, especially McKinsey.
Now I have two choices with several pros and cons:
1/ Reapply in R4 of Jan'24 Intake:
Pros: I prefer to join Jan intake to leverage the summer internship to build my experience in new sector before graduation.
Cons: Risk in diversity and scholarship.
I heard around that in R4 INSEAD mostly focused on application with diversity, which I am not much confident. And scholarship only opens for R1-3 only, but my friend at INSEAD said they still reserve scholarship for R4.
2/ Apply for R1 of Sep'24 Intake:
Pros: More time to retake GMAT, prepare finance and less risk when applying in R1
Cons: No internship for Sep Intake.
Please help to share your thoughts and advices. Thank you guys all!
Hi em, also Vietnamese, ex-U, MKT background + got into INSEAD here
Probably you might need to provide more info on your extracurriculum and leadership role, since INSEAD def. values diversity. Anyhow, based on the school's feedback, I presume they def. have got certain interest in your pro5 and hence insisted you improve your GMAT so that they can make their admission decision easier. 650 is not bad for INSEAD, it's just not competitive and an advantage edge for you if this batch has the same or better score than yours.
Henceforth, def. recommending you to retake the test; an improvement of 30-40 score is decent AND it's def. not hard to get near to 700. It's, however, HARD to get from 700 upwards though (like my case), but you don't need that much rigorous score if somehow your pro5 has already compensated for the academic setback.
About the timing: if you want to get the summer internship, you may want to wait another year while preparing for the test (it doesn't hurt, tbh, to wait because INSEAD is basically just 1y and you'll get back in no time). It'll be better for you in terms of both admission and the chance to get decent scholarship from the school.
All in all, best of luck!
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21 Jul 2023, 21:33
