Prospect of applicants with no international experience in INSEAD?

Question

With INSEAD achieving the first rank in FT for second year a row and Trump dominating US politics, INSEAD will become more and more selective with the large influx of applications?

What do the fellow applicants and specially the experts think would be the chances of selection for a female candidate of India who hasn't travelled to any foreign location, except for a three month sojourn accompanying her husband on a trip? Her work does include interaction with people from all locations on a routine basis.

She  here is my wife. We are thinking of applying together to INSEAD.

MBAPrepCoach · Answer

gmat2k17  that is definitely not great, however, the question is, how could she contribute to the international aspect of the school? Has she gained a lot from interacting with people around the world?

Also, how strong are the other aspects of her app? They do look at this holistically. If she has a strong GMAT and a good record of having an impact at work, they this issue would not necessarily torpedo her candidacy (however, I would offer to you that she use the optional to demonstrate an interest in an international career or demonstrate FiT with the school.) Important to really think through the unique contribution she could make to INSEAD.

If her app is likely to be weaker maybe she could apply to HEC or NUS so you're in the same area code even if not the same school.

One thing I would advise is that you submit for the J-term batch - I am the threadmaster for Jan 18 intake thread. Having a round 1 or 2 advantage is very critical for Indians.

Rohit6 · Answer

I think the post above has pretty much summed up your query.
But I would like to point out that FT ranking and Trump shouldn't fret you from applying to US specially if you're targeting M7. As any1 will tell you, rankings are based on a set of parameters and those parameters may or may not matter to an individual. Hence, I would say do a more holistic comparison, not just of B-schools but more so of your priorities in life. Makes sense?

MBADecoder · Answer

Ask your wife to apply and present her best case forward. Even if she has not travelled, she can demonstrate her open mindset and cultural awareness developed by working in international teams. B-schools do encourage couples who apply together, so it may just work out for both of you.

GyanOne · Answer

Hi gmat2k17

- We don't think that a change in US policies will necessarily lead to INSEAD becoming more selective. Yes, it may receive more applications (for a number of factors, including this one), and so numerically the ratio of those selected to those applying may drop, but INSEAD's quality bar will remain the same. A quality applicant who would have made it in other years should have similar chances to make it this year too. 
- On the question around your wife's INSEAD candidature, it will depend on what the rest of her profile, GMAT score, leadership, and academic potential has been. We have had clients who have made it to INSEAD without extensive international experience, but they have been outstanding on other aspects. Also, please note that interaction with people from around the world counts but is fairly common in today's day and age, as most people tend to work in globally integrated teams now, across companies and industries. 
- Would suggest that you carefully evaluate how competitive your wife's candidature would be on these other factors + look at other top schools in the region as alternatives as well. If needed you can reach out to us for an evaluation of her profile.

You might also like to go through   this article on international experience at INSEAD

Hope this helps. Feel free to come back with more queries as needed.

gmat2k17 · Answer

Thanks for the targeted response and calling a spade a spade. She has done engineering from a regional engineering school in India, and masters in computer science from the famed IITs from India. She has been working with a tech giant (read Oracle, Amazon, etc) for the last four years in India. She has been an academic overachiever throughout and is targeting a 740+ GMAT score.
She works with people from Mexico, China, and all around US on a daily basis, and she has contributed immensely to the project. Average extracurricular activities post college. How does that appear for a INSEAD application?

gmat2k17 · Answer

All the M7 schools pretty much offer the same thing, except the HSW. At least on paper, every school has almost everything on offer. Shortlisting schools on any set criteria becomes really difficult. Hence, it becomes a mad rush for the elite schools, targeting all the top ranked schools (few in round 1 and then few in round 2) seems like the sensible way forward.

gmat2k17 · Answer

- Your point about only qualified candidates will make it to INSEAD is correct. I believe few folks who wanted to work in US post MBA and were only targeting US schools will head east with the new uncertainty in US policies which may make INSEAD more selective with more qualified candidates applying.
- I have provided my wife's profile above in response to MBA Prep Coach, would you please provide your feedback on that?
- Your website doesn't specify the costs of your consultancy; it'd be better if the pricing section may be added.

bb · Answer

Prospect of applicants with no international experience in INSEAD?

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards