pocari3 wrote:
I'm thinking of applying for R1 as well. I was recently rejected for the Jan 2012 intake and going to rewrite my essays for Sept 2012 app.
However I'm worried about the Sept intake since it doesn't have internship and I'm coming from an engineering background. I'm thinking of going into consulting after and not sure how tough it will be getting a job without internship experience. Just want to hear your thoughts on that.
Well I am not an expert, but career changers are usually suggested to apply in the Jan Intake, as they have a 2 month grace period in the form of Internship. That said, internship is a nice opportunity to know how these firms operate and once employed how do you see yourself fitting with rest of the crowd.
My experiences in consulting tells me if you have proper quant skills, its not a rocket science. As you said you are an engineer, you are already analytically loaded for tasks in consulting. I assume getting a job in a consulting firm has little to do with if you did an internship or not, rather how you well you crack the case during the recruitments.
May be I am wrong, but if I were you I would try and contact INSEAD alumni/present students to know more. I hope I didnt confuse you more.