INSEAD -January 2014 Intake - Calling All Applicants

28/m american singaporean (grew up in singapore all my life). studied in the UK.

work exp 3 yrs before starting in jan, slightly on the low side. mostly program management (manufacturing) experience.

had to serve in the armed forces in singapore.

does insead take into consideration 2 yrs of military service? many peers my age who havent had to serve would have 5 yrs or so work experience.

Hey guys,

Have you considered HEC Paris as an alternative? I mean if you have been accepted already then of course INSEAD is an amazing option but I think HEC Paris offers an interesting proposition and I would definitely recommend it as a European option if INSEAD or LBS seem hard to crack. Fees are 12K less (48000€) and a scholarship of up to 24K, for good candidates that would have realistic hopes of admission to INSEAD, would not be hard to get, lowering the total cost of fees down to 24K! HEC is considered to be the best business school ever in France (due to its Masters program and not the MBA in particular but the brand is strong nonetheless throughout Europe as can also be seen in FT European business school rankings). Furthermore, the HEC MBA has been revamped in 2012 with the help of Bain & Company and also is housed in a brand new building and should be going up in the rankings in the next few years as it is actively aiming to stand in the top 3 MBA programs in Europe and top 10 in the world. Finally, there are some interesting double degree options, for example you can do 10 months at HEC (for reduced 36K tuition) and 9 months at MIT Sloan and get two degrees (an MBA from HEC and an MSMS from MIT). So, if you have not looked into it seriously, I suggest you do. I am a big INSEAD fan but I think HEC should at least be your #1 backup choice.

Good luck with your results and studies!

P.S. their admissions process is the fastest there is (many admission deadlines throughout the year, couple of weeks for preselection decision and couple of weeks for final decision after the interviews), about 5-6 weeks all together I think.

gr8...so didya apply yet???campus preference??r u applyin for nanyang?

thanks for the eye-opener mate!!btw whn does the HEC MBA prog commence??

Thanks for the kudos! It has two intakes, just like INSEAD, Sept and January and because it is 16 months you get to do a normal internship during either intake.

I noticed your GMAT Q44. INSEAD is really into the >70-75% at each section. Your Verbal is pretty sweet but if you don't have an undergrad degree that is very heavy on maths and awesome grades on these subjects, if they like your app, they will tell you to retake the GMAT and reapply (been there done that!). I had applied in R2 and had to retake the GMAT by the deadline of R3 (I was notified during the preselection deadline of R2 i.e. less than 2 weeks time to retake the GMAT). I worked my ass off and increased my GMAT, went through to interviews in R3 but I guess R3 is tougher and I didn't click with one of the two interviewers that well which was a bummer...

welcome:):)....since ur already a cert..m sure u can guide the rest of us novices!

thanks a bunch for the info n the heads up...yeah my quant score was super disappointing..somehow screwed up bigtime on D-day...neways doesnt HEC have the same stringent quant requirements??i did check their website..loved the rolling application bit...the trubl is i havnt yet taken my TOEFL:(...as regards taking the GMAT again...shudder shudder!!!!n moreover i m a doctor..so my undergrad degree has no whiff of any math anywhere:(

I have one doubt about INSEAD admission criteria.

I have read in an interview with INSEAD Marketing Director (https://www.accepted.com/chat/transcript ... nsead.aspx) that INSEAD only considers the highest GMAT score, no matter how many times one have written for the exam.

I also heard that INSEAD may "split" two different GMAT scores and take the highest percentile of Q and V from each separate attempts. So for example, you get V40 and Q41 in your first GMAT, and then V35 and Q48 in your second attempt, then INSEAD will consider that you have a combined GMAT score of Q48/V40.

Is that true?
Really thanks in advance for any insight about this issue.

Hi. What you are saying is not accurate. Yes INSEAD will consider your highest score, but it will do no splitting as you describe. It will take your highest score and see its breakdown.

taken from INSEADs FAQ:

"I have taken the GMAT more than once. Which score will you consider?

If you have reported more than one score to INSEAD, the Admissions Committee will still consider the full history of your GMAT attempts, but will place the greatest weight on the highest score you achieved. Also, if you have obtained a satisfactory percentile in one section of the test but a lower percentile in the other, and vice versa in a second test, the Admissions Committee may consider that you have reached a sufficient level overall, provided the second test does not show too significant a drop in the lower element. "


From the above, looks like they do consider the highest from 2 different tests , as long as there is no big drop in the other.

Thought I'd check in as well. I'm in for R1.

A friend of mine (applying in R2) wants to know if an alumni recommendation can be a potential game changer ?

You are very right. Sorry for the confusion. I just checked https://mba.insead.edu/faq/AdmissionsReq ... whichscore as well and this seems to be new. I definitely don't remember it being there last year.

mattapraveen wrote:
Hi Camille,

I am planning to apply to the INSEAD 2013 Jan MBA programme. My question is with regards to the GMAT score. Unfortunately I have a mixed GMAT scores as follows: 660-Q49/V-31 & 690-Q46/V-38. I have heard from many sources that INSEAD takes the best of all the individual section GMAT scores. So it it right in assuming that INSEAD would consider my GMAT score as Q49/V38? Or, it that INSEAD takes into account only the latest score?

Please advice.

Praveen

Hi Praveen,
If a candidate has taken the GMAT twice and on the first test obtained a satisfactory percentile on one part of the test (eg above 70th percentile on quant) but a low percentile on the other part of the test (eg below 70th percentile on verbal) and vice versa on the second test (eg low quant score and high verbal score), we may consider that they have reached a sufficient level overall provided the second test does not show too significant a drop in the lower element. It is however preferable to see the higher scores on the same test.
So yes, we'll consider your score as Q49/V38.

Camille
_________________
_________________
INSEAD MBA Admission
https://mba.insead.edu/home/
Twitter: @INSEAD MBA Team
Facebook: INSEAD The Business School for the World

@LiverpoolFC , I more than concurr : Alumni reco do NOT substitute for customer or supervisor reco , this is something I discussed with the INSEAD people on their IHE ; I would strongly suggest current or just previous employer is a MUST HAVE. Alumni reco that has no direct biz connections with you is only good as the "third" recommendation : a friend who has followed your complete career, a mentor, or a faculty member with whom you've had some exchanges during your POST-school life.
Cheers,

A