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INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)

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bizwiz84
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   04 Jul 2014, 09:18
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Hey guys,

Finished my first interview this week (Round 2) so I thought I'd give you a quick glance at what it was like.
Interview with a recent graduate, at his office.
Questions were the classic "walk me through your resume", why MBA, why now, why INSEAD, biggest accomplishment, biggest failure, strengths, weaknesses, career goals. Sometimes he would interrupt me and question a few things, challenge my decisions, trying to understand the reason I took a certain step or decision. It was clear he wanted to make sure I had a plan in mind before going to an MBA, and also make sure I wasn't just feeding him a lot of BS. We had similar backgrounds, and we are working in similar functions, even though in different industries.
At the end, I asked him a few questions, and that's when the interview took a more conversational tone. He got really excited talking about his experiences at INSEAD, so this part of the interview ended up taking almost as long as the interview per se. Listening to his views and opinions on the program and the reasons he enjoyed INSEAD so much made me feel confident because he had very similar views as the ones I have on many topics related to INSEAD, so I believe he left with the impression that I was very in line with what the program is all about. I think this was good because the meeting ended in a very positive vibe. He was very polite, and made me feel even more excited about the program.
I did not feel any 'good cop, bad cop' vibe from him. He was neither excessively friendly, nor intentionally critical. It just had a very natural flow to it.

So, I'm half way through with the process, still one more interview to go, probably with a more senior alum. Still waiting to hear from my AO who he/she might be.

Hope this helps relieve some of the anxiety around here. Folks have been really stressed out!
Don't worry guys, again, you'll be just talking about your life and your goals. If they all make sense, things will work out for the best.

Happy to answer any further questions, if you'd like more specific details, please PM me.

Best,
bizwiz
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majic
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   06 Jul 2014, 19:16
I got my interviewer details on Saturday morning from JS... how's everyone else progressing?

I've emailed them and I'm now waiting for replies. Did anyone ask for more than the application form? Did anyone offer up their essays or CVs?
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FreshLimeSoda
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   06 Jul 2014, 19:47
Thanks bizwiz84 for the details of your interview! And I think you are right - as long as you know your story and goals inside out there shouldn't be anything to worry about. It's tough not to feel a little stressed though :D Personally I feel like I'm well prepared, I only hope there are too many 'weird' questions

I have my 2 interviews set up for July 14th and 21st. Can't wait!

Majic - I offered to send my CV and essays to my interviewers, but neither of them asked for it. I feel this is actually an advantage, in that many of your answers can actually come from the essays itself!
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   07 Jul 2014, 06:54
FreshLimeSoda wrote:
Thanks bizwiz84 for the details of your interview! And I think you are right - as long as you know your story and goals inside out there shouldn't be anything to worry about. It's tough not to feel a little stressed though :D Personally I feel like I'm well prepared, I only hope there are too many 'weird' questions

I have my 2 interviews set up for July 14th and 21st. Can't wait!

Majic - I offered to send my CV and essays to my interviewers, but neither of them asked for it. I feel this is actually an advantage, in that many of your answers can actually come from the essays itself!


I second that! Good luck with the interviews!
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   08 Jul 2014, 22:48
might be a stupid question but what do you guys reckon we should wear to these interviews? Specially if it's on a friday, and the interview is post work in the evening - should I be dressed up in formals with a tie or just my usual friday work attire? (which is smart casual) :S
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   08 Jul 2014, 22:50
If it was me, I would wear normal Friday attire - if they are dressed to the nine's, my style would probably dictate slipping in a 'oh, we have a casual Friday' policy in there somewhere.... or 'oh, you don't have a casual Friday policy'...?
If you're doing a Friday night beers catch up, I would be SUPER surprised if they expect you to be dressed to the nine's... maybe depends on the seniority level of the interviewer?
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   10 Jul 2014, 02:27
spoke to one of the alums and he said it's better to be over dressed than under - so i'll just stick to a plain shirt and trousers with a jacket. not very friday-ish I know, but I don't want clothes to be the reason for anything going south! ;)
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   10 Jul 2014, 04:36
I have always thought wearing formal wear in these situation was the best way to go. better be overdressed than under-dressed I guess. I wear a suit and tie to work everyday anyway so I guess that does help.

I had both my interviews this week. Alumni based in London. The setting was very relaxed and the interviews were quite conversational. I've interviewed with other schools before and this was by far the most at ease I have felt. There weren't any set questions as you would expect. The discussion just flowed naturally and it was clear that all the interviewers wanted to know is that I was the same person from the application form and that my story and reasons make sense.

Now for the hardest bit, the waiting game.

Anyone know how long after the interviews it takes to get a final answer? I have no nails left.
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   10 Jul 2014, 07:15
absmba wrote:
I have always thought wearing formal wear in these situation was the best way to go. better be overdressed than under-dressed I guess. I wear a suit and tie to work everyday anyway so I guess that does help.

I had both my interviews this week. Alumni based in London. The setting was very relaxed and the interviews were quite conversational. I've interviewed with other schools before and this was by far the most at ease I have felt. There weren't any set questions as you would expect. The discussion just flowed naturally and it was clear that all the interviewers wanted to know is that I was the same person from the application form and that my story and reasons make sense.

Now for the hardest bit, the waiting game.

Anyone know how long after the interviews it takes to get a final answer? I have no nails left.


Thanks for sharing your experience! I've only had one interview so far. I don't wear a suit and tie to work everyday, quite the contrary, people in my company work in jeans! I asked my interviewer in advance if there was a need for me to wear formal clothing on the interview, and he told me there was not. So that was that.

To answer your question, I don't believe you'll hear anything before everyone else because you finished your interviews before the July 25th deadline. You'll probably hear from INSEAD only in early August, since the final decision notification deadline is August 8th.

Good luck!
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   10 Jul 2014, 19:22
Done with both interviews. First one with relatively younger Private equity guy( 2006 batch). And second with a senior executive (1992 batch). Both interviews were on similar line and I couldn't observe 'Good Cop/Bad Cop' behavior. However, second interview was much more detailed and focused on my long term aspirations and how INSEAD FIT into it. In general, I enjoyed both interactions.

All the best.

Posted from my mobile device
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   11 Jul 2014, 08:19
Second interview is out of the way as well. Very relaxed, very conversational. Usual questions, nothing out of the ordinary. What really stood out was the excitement of the interviewer about the school. I got to ask a LOT of questions about the school, academic experience, recruiting experience, life and career after the MBA, it was fun!
In my experience, I didn't feel like the recruiters were instructed to act differently from one another. It seems like they get the same instructions, and it's up to them and their own interviewing styles to be more challenging, go into more details, etc.

So, this closes my INSEAD application. All there's left now are the scholarship application and the wait.

Good luck everyone!
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   15 Jul 2014, 09:25
A quick sanity check.

Scholarship applications must be complete and submitted by midnight Central European Time (GMT+1) on 16 July 2014.
Does this mean by 3 p.m. PST on 16 July 2014 or 3 p.m. PST on 15 July 2014?

Thanks so much.
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   15 Jul 2014, 10:00
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bschoolapplicant14 wrote:
A quick sanity check.

Scholarship applications must be complete and submitted by midnight Central European Time (GMT+1) on 16 July 2014.
Does this mean by 3 p.m. PST on 16 July 2014 or 3 p.m. PST on 15 July 2014?

Thanks so much.


It means the deadline is tomorrow.
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   15 Jul 2014, 12:03
Are people using the same stories from their application essays for the scholarship essays? I'm finding it hard to use other stories since the ones I use in the application are (almost by definition) the ones that show I am unique, creative blah blah.

Do you think the scholarship committee reads the full application along with the essays? Or do they just read the scholarship essays?

I realize any answer will be almost pure speculation but I'm interested in what you all think!
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   16 Jul 2014, 09:22
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FreshLimeSoda wrote:
Are people using the same stories from their application essays for the scholarship essays? I'm finding it hard to use other stories since the ones I use in the application are (almost by definition) the ones that show I am unique, creative blah blah.

Do you think the scholarship committee reads the full application along with the essays? Or do they just read the scholarship essays?

I realize any answer will be almost pure speculation but I'm interested in what you all think!


Actually, the information present is not speculative.
This what the website states:
The Scholarship Committee will review your scholarship application essays. They will not refer to the admission application essays.
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   16 Jul 2014, 10:03
harshtayal13 wrote:
FreshLimeSoda wrote:
Are people using the same stories from their application essays for the scholarship essays? I'm finding it hard to use other stories since the ones I use in the application are (almost by definition) the ones that show I am unique, creative blah blah.

Do you think the scholarship committee reads the full application along with the essays? Or do they just read the scholarship essays?

I realize any answer will be almost pure speculation but I'm interested in what you all think!


Actually, the information present is not speculative.
This what the website states:
The Scholarship Committee will review your scholarship application essays. They will not refer to the admission application essays.


Oh!

Thanks harshtayal13 for that info. Not sure how I missed that!
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   16 Jul 2014, 10:46
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absmba wrote:
I had both my interviews this week. Alumni based in London. The setting was very relaxed and the interviews were quite conversational. I've interviewed with other schools before and this was by far the most at ease I have felt. There weren't any set questions as you would expect. The discussion just flowed naturally and it was clear that all the interviewers wanted to know is that I was the same person from the application form and that my story and reasons make sense.


I've now finished both my interviews. I have to say they were both quite tough, but fair. I think it may depend on the industry and seniority of the interviewers how it pans out. My interviewers were both quite senior, one was a Managing Partner of a PE fund he founded, and one was Founder and Chairman of a pretty large FS firm.

Most of the questions were along the lines of those already indicated. With one interviewer I got a lot of push back about whether I should be / needed to be doing an MBA at all, let alone whether I thought INSEAD was the right school, given my career aspirations. It was slightly unsettling, but I put it down to his own experience being at a different time, and having consulted with recent INSEAD grads I have been re-assured.

One interviewer had some set questions, but then quizzed and challenged around those on an ad-hoc basis. The other was more shoot from the hip. One acknowledged that the interviews were just one part of the process and largely about consistency (although it felt like he meant between the two interviews rather than with the admissions essays etc.)

Both interviews were very work focused (experience and future plans) / why MBA with little else on other interests, and neither really asked about my International experiences (which I had always thought had been pretty interesting / key to my application!). One commented that it was probably those experiences that had helped my application stand out, but that was all he had to say on it.

Both lasted exactly one hour, but these guys had busy schedules!

Both gave very insightful and useful advice on a couple of points. Some really good things to take away and think about.

I'm now just scrabbling to finish my Scholarship applications. One down and one to go! I'm tired of writing all these essays ...

Good luck everyone!
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   19 Jul 2014, 11:19
My both interviews were scheduled on Thursday, 17th July...done with both of them within a span of 3 hours.
My experience is not at all different from what has been written again and again earlier...there was no set pattern, no structure as such...we were talking and talking....and discussing about me, my choices, my decisions etc etc...interviewer picked one point or other from my own description of various incidents, and decisions of my life...

and yes, towards the end...WHY MBA? WHY INSEAD? WHY NOW?...these three questions were asked specifically towards the end in both the interviews.

Until start of the interview, you will feel slightly nervous--you cant help it...but the very moment you start talking, all of it will vaporize almost instantaneously...you will feel like you are discussing your carer choices sitting with a friend over a cup of coffee...excellent experience!
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   19 Jul 2014, 15:07
Once you are done with the two interviews, do you get a notification from your AO that the process has been completed? I understand that the interviewers have to complete a form and send it to the AO, presumably before a certain deadline. Do we not get any further contact until the final decision notification, Aug. 8?
Thanks,
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Re: INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015) [#permalink] INSEAD January 2015 Intake (Class of December 2015)   19 Jul 2014, 21:31
PlastMan wrote:
Once you are done with the two interviews, do you get a notification from your AO that the process has been completed? I understand that the interviewers have to complete a form and send it to the AO, presumably before a certain deadline. Do we not get any further contact until the final decision notification, Aug. 8?
Thanks,


I just e-mailed my AO informing her about the completion of both of my interviews later in the evening. She acknowledged back. Rest, I haven't received any further communication from her.
Yes, interviewers have to complete some form and forward the feedback by 26th July.
Even I dont know if the next communication from INSEAD is scheduled for 8th Aug, or there will be pre-dead line e-mails/calls too!
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