INSEAD September 2011 intake waitlist

Hello everyone,

Well..I have been planning to share my story for sometime now and ive been a very good procrastinator, so here goes...

I finished my GMAT on Sept 29 2010 after having planned and studied on / off since July. I scored a lousy 640 (46 Q 33 V) for no apparent reason (was getting 720 - 50 on prep tests. Can’t really blame it on fatigue or lack of concentration and the drudgery of study after work .. everyone here passed through that so lets just say I don’t like exams. Nevertheless I decided to go forth with R1 for the Sept 2011 intake bcs I though I would have a better chance than waiting till R2 or 3.

Between then and the R1 deadline I overnighted more than I did during all of my undergraduate years while working on the applications. I told my stories nothing more nothing less. I tried to be as logical and organized in the essays flow and structure.

I had problems submitting the online app form 30 minutes before midnight on the day of the deadline, which if I remember correctly was around mid October.

I got the sweet interview mail on Nov 8.

I did the first interview on Nov 16 and the second on Nov 23. First one was with a cute Madame who is an HR manager and the second with President of the biggest sports center in Paris who has worked in logistics and a management consultancy before. I think the interviews where by far the most fun part of the whole process. One word of advise (which I also got from a alumni friend who is also a volunteer interviewer): BE YOURSELF, simple as. You can’t prepare for interviews, no matter how many questions you practice answering. Don’t get me wrong, I went over a ton of practice questions but at the end of the day, you have to know yourself really well. Be honest, don’t make up stories, show the interviewer you have confidence in your potential and strengths and acknowledge your weaknesses.

Then I found 5 dollars…

No, seriously, the bummer was Dec 16, which is when I got waitlisted. You’re probably saying surprise surprise buddy you got 640 on the GMATs! Well that’s true but I was still satisfied I did give the whole thing my best shot. Essays couldn’t have been done better during that short period of time between my GMAT and R1 deadline. The interviews went smoothly and we actually had quite some laughs. As far as the recommendations, I asked the manager of my old workplace for one and another senior colleague for the second.

I was accepted on 28 Jan 2011. Its probably the first moment when you discover you don’t have a victory scream so you start making weird sounds in the elevator when your bouncing outside the open workplace to call family and friends. You could not be more relieved than when you get that email.

I’m a bit zonked but I hope, with the above, I made a small contribution with the stats on this thread. I owe a lot to gmat club members for their stories, experiences and advice. This is the only website I followed closely.

Looking forward to help out and answer any questions that you might have.

Peace and thank you

28/Male/Lebanese Bulgarian (living in Paris)/640/4.5 years in logistics and operations management/ 4 languages.