Calling all INSEAD MBA Applicants: (January 2017 Intake) Class of 2017

Difference between January and September intakes is surely about internship, but can you highlight the competitiveness of these intakes.. is there any advantage?

Fortuna_Caroline: there is no difference in the level of competition Jan v Sept. In fact the school gets slightly more apps for Sept start but slightly lower yield (percentage accepting the offer) so the offer rate is the same.



Acceptance rate and Interview rate of INSEAD are published nowhere. Can you throw some light on that?

Fortuna_Caroline: The school does not publish details of the admissions pool; most of the weeding out is done at the pre-selection for interview stage; at interview stage you can expect an approx 50% chance of admission.



How important is diversity in the class profile?

Fortuna_Melissa: diversity if very important for INSEAD as there isn't one nationality that takes up more than 10% of the class. That is if you are talking about nationality! Diversity also includes professional background etc as they want a mix of people from different work backgrounds.



In the job description essays we are told to provide a short answer. How short can this really be? The shortest I was able to make it was 800 characters.

Fortuna_Melissa: We suggest about 300 words for the job description + another 300 words for your career evolution essay. If you go over that it's totally fine but just try and keep it close to 300



Does INSEAD look favourably at over-aged candidates i.e. 10+yrs experience and age being 35 ? Is this an advantage or disadvantage.

Fortuna_Caroline: The age range on the programme is typically 23 to 35 with the average age in the upper 20s. Candidates in the mid 30s may be seen as a better fit for the Executive MBA and may be pointed in that direction instead.



What is the importance of the last optional essay question (anything you would like to tell us), what is the advised topic for that question, and how important is the optional recommendation letter?

Fortuna_Melissa: If you didn't get a chance to speak to something in your application, then the optional essay is a great place for this. For example you have a side project/side company that you are running or are starting up. Or if your gmat is low you could use this section to validate your quant/verbal skills through work, other courses you've taken etc. But don't use this optional essay unless you have something to add. No repetition. It's totally fine to not use this essay at all.



Could you please speak frankly about the chances of a non-US, non-EU citizen to find a job in the US post INSEAD?

Fortuna_Caroline: US visas can be a challenge; if you are purely focused on working in the US then you may be better off applying to a US MBA program which gives you the right to stay in the country for 12 months post MBA. It depends also on how attractive your profile is to potential recruiters.

Thank you! What about positions in Western Europe (UK in particular) for a non-UK non-EU citizen?

Fortuna_Caroline: Easier than the US. UK has a points based system and how easy or difficult it is to get a visa depends on your individual profile. But generally if you have a strong profile, a clear career goal and a profile that is attractive to your target recruiters, you should be fine.



I've noticed there's not a single question in the application asking "Why Insead"? I presume this is done on purpose? I couldn't find where to place the information that I had visited campuses, attended open days, talked with the alumni. So is it a test of an applicant's creativity of where to put it, or does Insead deliberately not ask it?

Fortuna_Melissa: Good question. There use to be a question about this but they took it out. So yes it was done on purpose. No need to include this in other parts of the essays. They were finding the essay wasn’t adding much as people said similar things. you can talk about why INSEAD if you get to the interview phase - the interviewers will no doubt ask you about that.



How are job prospects at France and Singapore campus? Especially for finance? And how much INSEAD is famous for finance roles post mba? Also do they care of 8 months spent outside home country for work as compared 3 years worked outside?

Fortuna_Caroline: Job prospects are the same across campuses. Recruiters cannot recruit at the school unless they recruit on both campuses; however, obviously your local networking opportunities are different, so you should think about where you want to be geographically. Finance recruitment is strong. 3 years is likely to carry more weight in terms of international.



Wait list candidates are usually recommended to inform Adcom about major updates such as promotions. However, the timing and occurrence of such things is not under direct control of an individual. What are some other things that applicants can do to show an enhanced profile to Adcom (besides GMAT)?

Fortuna_Melissa: For waitlisted candidates, you could mention any new responsibilities you have taken on at work if a promotion hasn't happened. Or a new project you asked to be put on? Also perhaps you have engaged in other extra curriculars if this was an area lacking in your app. Does that help?



How does Insead perceive applicants who are entrepreneurs? After all, they "ruin" stats for earnings etc sometimes

Fortuna_Melissa: INSEAD loves entrepreneurs - they honestly don't look at it will 'ruin' stats for earnings. They are just looking at who will make up the best class, regardless of salary. Just show your experience as an entrepreneur and passion for it post MBA + show your passion as to how INSEAD is such an entrepreneurial driven school (throughout your essays)



For the essay questions, how do recommend for the weight between professional and personal, I guess 100% professional is not a good idea

Fortuna_Caroline: It depends on the question. The "candid description" essay can be more personal (and sometimes candidates miss an opportunity in this essay to tell more of their personal story). Otherwise the essays should mainly be professionally focused except the extracurricular essay.



What is the appropriate level of communication for wait list students with INSEAD adcom?

Fortuna_Caroline: it is good to stay in touch with your Admissions Officer, to show that you are committed and ready to step in. I would suggest about once per month - send a friendly check in, or call; or get in touch of course when you have an important update about your profile to share.



How does INSEAD perceive people who come from a NON-entrepreneurial background but aim to start their own venture post MBA?

Fortuna_Melissa: As I said INSEAD is a very entrepreneurial school and they welcome people with different backgrounds - of course speak to your achievement within your ent endeavors and why exactly do you need an MBA to start your own venture. A lot of candidates post MBA plans are to start their own companies so they def view it favorably.



Does INSEAD entertain Re-Applicant? Some where I read they don’t encourage

Fortuna_Caroline: Indeed the communication from the school is not very encouraging (different to US schools) but in reality the school does get a fair number of reapplications and they can get admitted if there is a change in the profile (positive change). Otherwise if there is no change in the profile, almost certainly the decision will be the same.



Can you please also comment on the chances to enter top strategy consulting (MBB) with no previous experience in the private sector prior to INSEAD? For example, someone who was in the public/non-profit sector before

Fortuna_Caroline: it is certainly feasible. MBB is actually quite open to a range of backgrounds. I remember a student at INSEAD who was a professional pianist and joined McK post MBA. Funnily enough, we recently had a client who went to another school and made exactly the same switch from being pianist. They are looking for smarts and potential.



How long should a good interview last, what are the indicators that your interview is successful

Fortuna_Melissa: interviews can be from 30 minutes to 3 hours! I've heard it all. Generally they last an hour. I'm sure you'll have a good sense if it is going well - if you've answered the questions well and were well prepared. Just make sure you ask them lots of questions too as people like to talk about themselves! You can always ask at the end of the interview as to how they thought it went and if they see any weaknesses in your profile. Then if they mention something you can take a moment to speak to that point and get them to change their view!



Is the optional recommendation letter also important or only marginal?

Fortuna_Caroline: really not necessary to submit an optional reco letter and better not to do so unless it really adds something very important. The app is already long and you don't want to annoy the file reader with too much to wade through.



What can a candidate of age 33 at start of Program do to offset age related concerns?

Fortuna_Caroline: You need to show a strong fit with the program; that you have progressed well in your career (sometimes candidates in their 30s look like they have reached a plateau); also important to have a clear career plan.



How long does the officer take to go through an application, say on average?

Fortuna_Caroline: It depends but I would say that on average, about 30-45 mins is spent on reviewing and discussing a file at the interview selection stage, and then typically a bit more than that at the final admissions committee stage.



How the profile reviewer, interviewer and admission committee communicate? Do I assume they make dependent decision?

Fortuna_Caroline: File reader writes up a summary of the app with his/her comments. The ad com then reviews this summary, and has the full file to hand in case further info needed. Final decision taken by a large ad com.



Caroline how strict is INSEAD with the word limit for Motivation essays?

Fortuna_Caroline: if you are about 5% or a bit more over, that is OK. I would be careful about going 10% or more over esp if the content is not really essential.



I'm sure you must be happy with the new FT ranking for INSEAD. Do you think this could result in a spike in applications for the Jan intake?

Fortuna_Caroline: likely there will be some more apps triggered by the FT ranking indeed. It will probably take a couple months to start trickling through. Do see my article about INSEAD's ranking result: https://poetsandquants.com/2016/01/24/wh ... -has-come/



Talking about resume, I guess we should stick to 1 page? Do they favour INSEAD format? or the format really does not matter

Fortuna_Caroline: Better to stick to one page if you can, but not required/essential. The INSEAD format is purely optional so if you find it tricky at all I would suggest using a more standard format. No issue.



Does choice of location matter in admissions decision in any way?

Fortuna_Melissa: For INSEAD you choose if you want to go to Singapore or Fonty campus - admissions is completely blind of this so it has no relevance to if you are admitted or not.



Is the interview based on CV or on profile collated from entire application

Fortuna_Melissa: Your interviewers are only given your CV or the first 10 pages of your application. However don't assume they will read any of it. It's up to you to cover all aspects of your profile - so cover your prof experience, accomplishment, hobbies, etc plus mention in'tl experience/exposure. Cover it all!


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