Calling all INSEAD MBA Applicants: (January 2018 Intake) Class of 2018

Both interviews done. They were pretty much consistent with the descriptions available on Clear Admit and elsewhere on GMATClub.com. Over the next week I'll focus on the scholarship essays, then cross my fingers and hope for the best!

Finished both my interviews.

Interview 1 : Heavily focused on the why MBA and why INSEAD questions. A lot of in-depth scenario analysis on whether my post-MBA goals can be achieved without an MBA and/or without one from INSEAD itself. Got to the root of motivations etc. and possible paths to get there.

Interview 2 : Lasted over an hour and the interviewer pretty much touched upon every aspect of my application and background - academics, interests, international experience - and went into a lot of detail to deconstruct how and why I did what I did so far.

Fingers crossed now. My key takeaway from both was to go prepared at deeper/more fundamental level than simply stock answers.

Good luck to the rest !

The interviews are done! Both were positive experiences but very different type of interviews. I never had the impression that I was being grilled or that they were playing a "bad cop".

1) First was 100% in the local language, the alum has been doing interviews for some time so he was straight to the point: I want to hear about your story, career path leading to an MBA and career goals, and see that everything makes sense. After that, he asked a few questions because he needed to fill the form. Those were about culture shock, extracurricular activities, etc. After that, he said my story was coherent and that now he was there for any questions and to help me make this very important decision that is doing an MBA. He said the his career would be very different had he not gone to INSEAD. We spent some time on that and he offered some good advice.
Total duration: 90 minutes

2) Second was half in English and half in the local language. The alum asked many more questions this time. As I was explaining my trajectory from university until my current job, he stopped to ask questions and really understand my motivations. Lots of questions on soft skills, I think he covered everything: leadership story and style, culture shock, weaknesses, etc. During the interview we would go back and forth between these questions and him telling about his experience. He always had a smile when talking about his time at INSEAD and you could tell that he enjoyed it. He said my story made perfect sense and that he was in a very similar place when he did his MBA.
Total duration: almost 2 hours

Last comment to those who are still going to pass their interviews: times goes by super fast! Do not be scared of interviews that are very long, trust me, I would have stayed longer talking had I not been on a tight schedule.

That's it for now, good luck to all of you. I will be going on holiday for 10 days starting on Friday, so see you soon!

Done with both interviews! Both were held at cafes, so the settings were pretty casual.

First interview lasted for slightly under an hour. Interviewer worked in an industry that i am interested to transition into post-MBA, so several questions were asked around my career motivations, while feedback was provided on how plausible my goals were. The conversation focused largely on career and academic-related topics. Plenty to learn from the interviewer, given the similarity in how we have shaped / intend to shape our career paths.

Second interview lasted for slightly over an hour. Interviewer was smiling throughout the conversation while recounting old INSEAD stories, with the conversation steering toward the social aspects of school, as well as extra curricular activities both on and off campus. Interviewer was extremely laid-back and chill, so vibes were very pleasant. Shared views about personal life goals aside from school / work, which made for an interesting exchange of stories.

Aside from the above, the usual why MBA, why INSEAD, and why now questions came up. Depending on your years of work experience, questions might be asked on how you think you could add value to classroom discussions (i fall into the lower end of the WorkExp spectrum ) Best of luck to everyone!

Done both Interview as well

1st Interview: Lasted 1.5 hours, was a bit rough. Interviewed by someone in a similar industry. She hasn't read my CV nor my application so she asked tons of questions. She fired a laptop and literally went on a firing spree with question after question about my background, leadership and experience. Stumbled on a couple weird ones, but generally did ok. Couldn't really read her, but she said she has concern over the length of my work ex and age. Fingers crossed my explanation was strong enough

2nd Interview: 1 hr. Interviewed with someone in a similar industry again. Went excellent, couldn't be better. He had actually read my application so it was just questions mostly around fit as oppose to my background. We spent 30 mins speaking about his old company who is my current client. He said he loved my profile and age wasn't an issue when I bought it up. Couldn't be more stoked with the outcome of this one after the first

Fingers crossed all goes well and good luck to everyone

@asceticmusings very interesting, I'm noticing a bit of a trend with more discussion of post-mba goals and plans. Based on your takeaway it doesn't sound as though you're one hundred percent confident. Might recommend for you to use the thank you letter opportunity to solidify anything you felt was a loose end, or anything that took you a bit by surprise. Did you get a business card? Did they say anything about whether or not they thought you would be a fit for the school?

MBA Prep Coach
https://MBAPrepCoach.com

Where is everybody? Everyone is busy with scholarship applications? There doesn't seem to be enough activity on the page!

Well i have done my first interview and have the next one next week. Fingers crossed

Started scholarship application and still confused on which ones to apply.. each one asks for multiple essays.



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Er, given that the scholarships close tomorrow - I think you need to quickly decide which one to apply for and get those essays in mate.

Out of curisoity how many people are people applying to? I am applying to 2 which are entrepreneurial focused. The rest dont quite jive very well with my profile.

I'm currently applying to 3, but may shoot for one more tomorrow. Like you I'm only applying to those which fit my profile.

Yups on it already.



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I am also considering 2/3... all women oriented ones for me...


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Hi revelation21 it's expected for the J-term thread to slow down around now that Round 3 is closed and only Round 4 remains.

All the unsuccessful INSEAD hopefuls are busy with their RSM/HEC/IE/ESSEC applications now....
Unless you are in a hurry for Jan intake and desperately need an internship, it's best to submit with the September batch as part of round 1 at this point.

I think you are right about the scholarship applications and thanks for drumming up some conversation on that front!
Scholarships have been announced for Round 1 admits but the rest is in the pipeline.

For those of you who received scholarships, would love to know which ones and what amount.

Revelation, Are you looking for any specific feedback or information? What are you working on?

My INSEAD Interview Experience Review for an Off Campus interview. Rating:*****

So, yesterday was the last day to complete interviews!

Anyone else getting excited/anxious/impatient for the July 7th decisions?

Does anybody know when does the AC start to inform about final decisions for R2??

The deadline is 7/7. But, does the AC always wait till the last day?

As far as i know usually they start calling 2/3 days before the deadline and can inform till 11:59 pm on the day of deadline

So perhaps this week is ok but next week would be difficult to focus at work


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