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

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22 Apr 2016, 02:18

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madihaj

Just had my first interview today - we met during lunch hour at a coffee shop close to the financial district. The alumna asked very straightforward questions like why Insead, why mba, why is now the right time, what do you like about consulting, what would you do if you didn't get in, etc. We had a conversation on my diversity essay, and her concern about my age (lack of work experience) as I will be 27 by the time classes start while the average class age is 29. I questioned her about her experience and motivations for going to Insead as well, and we wrapped up in under an hour. Lets see how the second one goes on Friday!

Did she have access to your essays or did she ask what you wrote about?

farrous13

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22 Apr 2016, 07:41

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ssk04

farrous13

I have a confirmation that my references have been submitted.

Yes, I also received a confirmation on 21st April that my application is complete.

Primary contact from Admissions team : JM

So now the wait begins .... :roll:

Good luck. My point of contact is EL

goyle1

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22 Apr 2016, 07:44

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Guys, just want to share this article I chanced upon:

https://poetsandquants.com/2012/11/28/th ... s-waiting/

Resonates SO much with me! The wait is truly painful. Reading this article is somewhat reassuring though. I would so love to fast-forward to my future state, looking back and thinking - why was I so damn anxious?!

Best of luck to all! Hang in there!

kiura

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23 Apr 2016, 10:24

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Completed both of my interviews, overall no surprise in them, the questions that were asked were the one available in all other interview reports. Both of them really concentrated on determining if an MBA was the right choice for me and if I would be a good fit for INSEAD. No hint of them evaluating me professionally (no questions on strength, weakness, achievements, etc.). Both were with quite senior alumni which actually made it hard sometime to evaluate if their 'perception' of the school was still up to date (as an example, both of them were quite straightforward in saying the MBA was not a big help in changing function and industry.... seems to go against the stats that INSEAD is publishing).

First interview was quite relaxed in a cafe with a glass of wine and lasted around 1h. went through the usual questions of why an MBA, looking at my career path until now in terms of rational. Interviewer was very candid in his feedback about INSEAD and seemed really concerned to make sure that it would be something I was going into knowing the positives and negatives. Also standard question on how I feel that I would contribute and if I was aware that INSEAD was a "party school". Ended up telling me he would recommend me.

Second interview was a bit more formal and lasted around 30 min. Mostly the interviewer seemed to be going through the list of questions provided by INSEAD so again: why MBA, why now, how does it make sense in overall career path, how will I contribute to the class and overall experience. Biggest push was definitely on understanding why this made sense professionally, the interviewer did express a lot of surprise at the fact that I would want to leave my current company. No hint as to wether he would recommend me or not.

Now begins the 3 week wait!

rbatista19

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23 Apr 2016, 11:11

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kiura

Very good review

My experience was roughly the same, having both interviewers go through the why MBA, why INSEAD, why now, what would I add to the class. Both were particularly keen on understanding why I needed the MBA, and we spent almost half of the interview on this. They were particularly challenging on this one, so have your story very well defined.

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23 Apr 2016, 21:58

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Hey guys!!!

I had scheduled my interviews on 10th and 12th April. I wanted to get over with interviews quickly so that I can live in peace but everyday in the morning I wake up to look at the date, check any mails from INSEAD and calculate days left for final decision.
I am a Consumer facing Product Manager at Singapore's on of the hottest startup and will have 66 months of experience at matriculation. My GMAT score is 720 (Q 50 V 37). To begin with my Interview exp, my first interview was at Starbucks near INSEAD Singapore with a 2011 INSEAD graduate. She was very polite and told me that INSEAD does not provide them any set of questions to ask but just a single question which they have to answer. To get the answer for that single question, interviewers can ask whatever questions they feel like and there is no standard approach. In this interview there were no cross questions except for a couple where she could not comprehend properly from my essays and then it was more of a friendly talk than an interview. It lasted for around an hour and as per me it went very well.

Second interview was also at same place but with 2006 INSEAD graduate and happened on 12th April, my birthday. Interviewer asked me if I want to post pone it but I told him the only way I can celebrate the day is by finishing interviews asap. He called me early in the morning and told me that he want to see if I am genuine and whether whatever is written in essays and CV is me. He sat with a poker face and cross questioned me a lot. His questions revolved around whether I will be a fit or not and how conflicts in INSEAD group can arise and how will I tackle them. He brought me in uncomfortable positions many times but in the end he said there is no right or wrong answer and you will learn to tackle conflicts better at INSEAD. Overall I felt the interview went well as it lasted for an hour as well. In the end he asked me if I could fix the problem he is facing in the app, the app I am Product Manager for. Yes, I fixed it but after the interview, probably 3 hours later. He was surprised to see it fixed as he was facing that problem for very long.

So this is what my story is. Waiting for final decision with fingers and toes crossed

. It is difficult to wait for so long. I am very excited and there are infinite butterflies in my stomach.

lohiaabhi

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25 Apr 2016, 11:59

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barbasmonas

lohiaabhi

I had my first interview in my home city with a relatively young alum last week. She worked for years in the US and then returned to India to start up her own venture. She took me to a nice restaurant, put me at ease and we ended up talking for a little under 90 minutes or so.
It was pretty conversational. She had only read through my resume once and was not carrying my application essays or my resume with her. So she asked me to refresh her memory about my background, which I took as an opportunity to walk her through my resume and my experience. Next, we went into details about the company I work for, its market position etc. about which she was not totally informed, discussed the challenges that I overcame at work. She also asked me about my accomplishment at my previous workplace. We then discussed my career goals and she probed me on whether I am interested in entrepreneurship. It was a googly question and I blabbered about an idea I had and we spent some 5 minutes on it.
Next, we spent some time on why MBA, (I have an unusual profile - I already have an MBA from a top 10 institute in India) and that needed some explanation. She also wanted to understand whether MBA is just a stepping stone to my next position and if so why can't I already move to my target industry given my experience and background.
Towards the end, she asked me what other schools did I apply to and how am I going to finance my MBA. And finally, she gave me an opportunity to ask her questions, where I probed her on her INSEAD experience and related stuff. Surprisingly, almost as an afterthought, she asked "Do you like to party? INSEAD is a party school!"
She mentioned that I shall have no problem with academics and that I should spend time on career events and networking at INSEAD.
I left with a good feeling about the interview. The next one is lined up fro today!
Best

How did it go with your second interview???!!!! Tell us about i!. Mine is on the 24th!

My apologies for posting the second interview report this late! I had been traveling after the second interview and hence was on a tech detox. So here goes..

The second interview was with a senior alum from '06J batch, who was involved in his family business, both prior to INSEAD and after it. The interview took place in his office, was rather formal and lasted for a little over 30 minutes. I believe he had a set of questions (maybe as per the feedback form required by INSEAD) and after every answer, he would key in short notes into his laptop, into the feedback form.

The interview started with him asking me about how do I find the work culture in my new city (I had changed jobs and cities a few months back) and how I am I coping with it (the city has a rather bad reputation for work culture), my exact role in my current organisation, the role in my previous organization, and what changed in the two roles. Then it proceeded to the usual Why INSEAD, Why second MBA. He also asked me to specifically describe a challenging situation at work and any culture shock that I faced and how I coped with it. He was typing on the laptop as I narrated my stories, perhaps the pointers from my responses. What campus am I interested to attend in. Then suddenly, as an afterthought, he asked me Why should INSEAD take me in? Finally, what other schools dd I apply to?
I was feeling more confident in this interview and I remember I asked him a couple of questions too in between our conversations - on his motivation to go to INSEAD while he was already a part of the family business and on which campus he preferred more. In the end, I quizzed him on his overall experience, whether he feels the INSEAD education really benefitting him in his business, the strength of the alumni network etc. I also offered to connect him with my first interviewer, the only other INSEAD alumni in the city. I also sought some specific pre-INSEAD career guidance ;p
I felt content with the interview. He mentioned I can reach out to him anytime of I had more queries and that he will submit my interview report in a couple of days.

Now, the strangest thing is that none of my interviewers had submitted the interview reports even a week after the interviews (I confirmed this with my AO) despite my reminding them and following up on it. Neither have I received any notification till now about my process being complete. Does this mean they haven't submitted the reports yet? I wonder what if they forget the content of our discussion or how awesome i am ?

babushka84

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25 Apr 2016, 19:05

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To those who've just had their interviews - how long did you have to wait from preselection notification to finishing both interviews? Does it all happen within the space of a few days or...

aasg

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25 Apr 2016, 20:43

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poland1984

To those who've just had their interviews - how long did you have to wait from preselection notification to finishing both interviews? Does it all happen within the space of a few days or...

It depends on the availability of your interviewers. Both of mine were completed within 3 weeks of the preselection notification

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aasg

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25 Apr 2016, 20:46

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lohiaabhi

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lohiaabhi

How did it go with your second interview???!!!! Tell us about i!. Mine is on the 24th!

So the applicants usually get a notification when both the interviewers submit their feedback indicating their file is complete for evaluation? Has anyone received that notification yet?

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MichaelPinson

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25 Apr 2016, 21:52

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Don't expect notification from the school post-interview. The only next steps are either an admission confirmation call, or a ding email.

Calls start couple of days (3-4) before your round deadline and are conducted by AOs.

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26 Apr 2016, 04:57

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A silly one - When they say , you have until 27th April to submit the letter of references, does it mean 27th April midnight french time or 26th April midnight ?

farrous13

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26 Apr 2016, 11:16

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krutik123

A silly one - When they say , you have until 27th April to submit the letter of references, does it mean 27th April midnight french time or 26th April midnight ?

27th midnight (French time)

krutik123

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26 Apr 2016, 12:14

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Thanks Farrous13 !

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27 Apr 2016, 12:17

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Hey guys, while we wait on Insead decisions to come out, has anyone looked into the work permit situation in the EU? If admitted, I plan on securing employment in Western Europe (preferably London) where the alumni network is also the strongest. What are the chances a non-EU resident will be successful in finding a position there?

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28 Apr 2016, 03:39

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This was way overdue but better late than never. Hope it helps the R2 candidates.

Interview 1
Location - Starbucks (after work)
Duration - 40 mins
Interviewer - 2010 alumnus now working in corporate strategy of a shipping company
Experience - The alum was rather chilled out and had just gone through my CV once and not my application essays. We started by me telling her about myself and she interrupted with questions whenever she wanted some clarity. It was pretty easy flowing because she didn't really ask the Trinity question in a structured or ordered fashion. We covered why MBA why INSEAD etc as part of our conversation. She gave me some tips about the party scene in Fountainbleu and asked if I'll be able to keep up haha. We also covered my post MBA goals and my extra curriculars briefly and then ended with me asking her some qns. Overall it seemed like she was there to judge the culture fit of the applicant with INSEAD and if I'll be a person who she will like to have as a classmate / fellow alumnus

Interview 2
Location - A Cafe on Saturday morning
Duration - 1hr 20mins
Interviewer - 2001 Alumnus now an MD of a regional healthcare company
Experience - This guy came more prepared and had read my CV and essays in detail and remembered quite a bit of it. He set the stage right at the start by saying that the interview will not necessarily flow a structure and that he just wants to get to know me. This put me at ease because the interview then became like talking to a friend. The usual questions were woven into the conversation but he focused more on my college life, work experience and how I have worked in teams. The feeling I got from this interview was that he was more interested in checking if my past experience + the INSEAD MBA can help me achieve my goals or not. He also spoke about the fit factor being a very vital component for an INSEAD admit and he was trying to judge that aspect in me as well. We ended the interview by chatting about how INSEAD has affected his career. Overall a very pleasant conversation but his poker face reactions left me wondering if I did a good job or not.

Hope this is valuable to future interviewees

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babushka84

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29 Apr 2016, 09:31

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Just got an email confirmation from my AO saying my file's complete

MBAnBConsulting

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