Calling all Applicants: INSEAD Sept 2019 Intake !

Hi all,

Thanks for all the helpful information on this forum!

I have a few questions as I apply for Round 2, any advice is appreciated.

Sorry for the late response~ hope this is still helpful @agalgotia

1) For my motivation essays, I have chosen to discuss personal experiences vs work experiences based on what is meaningful to me. Do you think I should make it a point to switch out one of the examples in my achievement/failure essay to a work experience?

The main thrust here is to help them get to know you as a person. So much of the application is based on work - they are kicking the tires to make sure you are solid, but that is rarely *memorable* for the AdCom. Elect to discuss what is memorable. I encourage applications to take advantage of the motivation essays for personal experiences - this helps AdCom see you as a real person instead of a set of papers. When they resonate with that you write, it builds an emotional connection, which makes you memorable. Keep this as the forefront. If a work example helps build an emotional connection, that is OK.

2) For my achievement essay, the achievement is about my experience/results as a Director of a club in my last year of university. I think it's quite impactful, but it is 6 years old. Do you think I should select a more recent achievement?

Normally, I would urge for you to discuss things that are recent, but for this particular essay, they give you the leeway to look across the span of your whole life.
Consider if it fits into the criteria I establish in your previous question. Make sure it is not a boring data dump. To give it focus, think about if it how it will fulfill their 4 criteria of academics, contribution, international orientation and leadership.

3) My 2 selected recommenders are my current Director (boss' boss) and my previous Director. I've worked for the same company since grad, but in 2 distinct roles, so I think this paints a full picture. However, my previous Director worked with me from Aug 2015 to Oct 2017. Given this is not recent, I'm debating asking my current boss to write a 3rd optional letter. It may be a little repetitive though, do you think this will hurt or help my chances?

I encourage you to think about how certain recommenders will tell stories that illustrate qualities that distinguish you from your peers and speak to the 4 criteria for INSEAD. Recent recommendations are great but #1 is that THEY CAN TELL STORIES ABOUT YOU DEMONSTRATING LEADERSHIP, TEAMWORK AND PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS. I am always worried when people find someone "high up" in the company to do these recommendations. The best ones come from those who are a friend, champion you, see your best and highest. I've attached my recommendation guidelines; my standards are below.

Letters of recommendation: The recommender can “see” you – see the uniqueness of you – and articulate that eloquently. The letter is comprised chiefly of clear, specific anecdotes that point to your talents in the area of problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, communication and innovation. The reader is emotionally moved by the content and, ideally, wants to champion you to the adcom in quite the same way as the writer.

Thanks!

I'm applying to INSEAD - want to continue in the Tech Industry (90%)but would want a change in geography (Currently in Middle East)
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What is the forums opinion on Sept 2019 Vs Jan 2020?

Posted from my mobile device

Has anyone applied for the scholarships? I've been travelling so have left it very late (deadline is in 4 hours...)

The word count maximums on the essays are a bit alarming after the actual application forms very tight restrictions. They all have 4,000 word count max - which I know doesn't have to be met but still seems extreme.

Plan is to draft what I can and submit, and hope that the admissions panel and scholarships panel don't compare notes as the quality of these essays is not going to be great!

Hi,

Needed a quick clarification. In case of multiple GMAT attempts, how is the evaluation done; does the admission committe select the highest score for each section?

Regards.

Hi Jurassic,

To my understanding, that is kind of what the adcom does - it considers all scores, placing a higher weight in the highest score. In case you came short in one of the sections, it takes into consideration an improvement in that section in your second attempt - that is, of course, unless the "better" section is not considerably weaker in the second attempt.

hope this helps!

Hi all!

Best of luck to everyone on their applications.
I am currently finishing my application and I intend to upload it tomorrow (one day before the deadline). I understand that you have 48 hours after the deadline to submit your video essays, would it look bad for the admissions committee to upload the video essays after the deadline, let's say thursday morning (one day after)?

Thanks for your time!

Hi all,

I've just submitted my R2 application and now waiting for the video essay link. Good luck to all of us!

Good luck~ I just updated the list of video questions on my blog generously reported to me from applicants.
https://mbaessaycoaching.com/2017/03/07 ... ions-tips/

Would be great if you could give a penny take a penny

Hi everyone,

I've submitted my application for R2 today and just finished my video interviews. These are the questions I got:

1. What do you do when someone comes to you with a problem?
2. What's your understanding of the INSEAD's MBA programme you are applying to?
3. Describe a time when understanding someone's culture helped you understand their perspective better
4. How would your colleagues describe your leadership style? Give an example.

You should prepare well for the interviews, but don't prep too much or you'll end up trying to answer exactly what you had planned and might sound too stuffy or get nervous if you forget something (happened to me). Most of all, if one question doesn't go the way you wanted, don't freak out, keep calm and just continue. You got this! Essays are much more difficult

Good luck to us all, I hope I'll get to meet you at INSEAD in September 2019!