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(4.6) |
The highlights of my MBA at INSEAD were as follows:
* Incredibly diverse community. INSEAD succeeds in bringing together a class of young professionals from incredibly diverse walks of life from all over the world, which makes for a remarkably rich learning experience, both inside and outside the classroom. I learned as much from my fellow classmates as from the faculty; it is a very dynamic community and INSEAD students are as engaged socially as they are academically.
* Supportive and geographically dispersed alumni community: Half way through the program, I switched my job search focus to Indonesia, as my partner had just transferred to a Jakarta based position. I reached out to all the INSEAD alumni in Jakarta and each of them responded with offers of support and introductions. This enabled me to kick start my job search, which soon landed me a position with the International Finance Corporation. The alumni network is an incredible resource, and as I have moved countries a number of times since graduating (from Indonesia to France to India to the USA), each time I have hugely benefited on a personal and a professional level from the opportunity to tap into a ready-made local network.
* Campus exchange opportunity: I spent four periods on the Singapore campus, and one period in Fontainebleau. I would encourage all applicants to plan on participating in the campus exchange: it enables you to get exposure to vastly different parts of the world, yet the academic experience is seamlessly integrated.
INSEAD has succeeded in attracting many of the world’s best and brightest faculty - they are drawn to the stimulating environment of such a diverse community. The pace is very intense; INSEAD has really mastered the art of enabling students to absorb vast amounts of knowledge and develop a wide range of new skills in a short time. I personally really appreciated the balance between the core curriculum and the electives, with the core enabling me to build a rock solid foundation of business knowledge across all the key areas, and the electives enabling me to go a lot deeper in my areas of interest (I took several electives in marketing, entrepreneurship and business in Asia-Pac).
INSEAD is a great springboard to a truly global career. Sometimes, potential candidates are concerned about whether it would be hard to achieve a dramatic career change during a 1-year program, however 84% of INSEAD students change sector, function or country, and an impressive 25% switch on all three dimensions. The school has built relationships with a huge roster of regular recruiters from across the globe, and each year graduates take up positions with over 400 different organizations in over 60 countries worldwide.
I personally went from a career in strategy consulting in France pre INSEAD, to working for the World Bank Group in Indonesia post MBA - a career switch I would never have imagined before going to INSEAD - a testament to the transformational power of the programme.
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People apply to business schools with different goals in mind. Thus, not every school will be a perfect match for everyone. Having said that, the most important thing to ask yourself when choosing where to get your MBA is if you'd be happy in that school, and if it will provide good enough opportunities for you to be successful afterwards. And those were the reasons why I chose INSEAD.
Being older than the typical MBA applicant, and already having a family, my main goal was to lower the costs of getting a top MBA as much as possible. I did not want to stay 2 years out of the job market and graduate almost in my mid-30's. And I still wanted a top-ranked MBA that could give me access to the best career opportunities. INSEAD fit all these criteria and more. I was amazed by the caliber and diversity of the student body (true diversity, almost 100 different nationalities and no dominant culture). By the sense of camaraderie and support amongst the students. And by how much people can do in only one year (internships, studying, networking, recruiting and LOTS of fun and traveling).
Of course that does not come without a price. I'd say that if you want a deep academic experience, maybe INSEAD is not your place. The faculty and the classes are amazing, but given the fast pace of the course, I felt that sometimes we would rush through some of the contents. If you like a particular topic, than it's up to you to prioritize and dig deeper into that, knowing that it's hard to do everything, especially during recruiting season.
Since I was there for the professional opportunities and the personal experience, I was 100% satisfied with the school. Amazing teachers, talented and humble classmates, great ROI, and my dream job. What else could I ask for?
Like I said before, quality is not an issue at all. The only aspect that might not be great for some people is time. Especially during the first 4 months, lots of things to cover in class and not enough time to do everything. So time management is key, but still, you can get frustrated if you want a deeper academic experience.
It might not be fair for me to evaluate the Career Developmet Center since I did not use much of their services. I knew what I wanted before I went to school, so I just went for it during recruiting season and got my MBB internship and full time offer. Having said that, CDC offers many counseling sessions, industry panels and helps you with résumés and interviewing skills. On-campus recruiting is stronger in consulting and industry jobs, less so on tech and investment banking, although lots of people got jobs in such industries. All big companies come to campus (MBB, GS,BAML, Google, Amazon, etc) and it is not true that you cannot get a job in the US after graduation. Yours truly, for example, is moving to the US (I'm not a US citizen nor have permanent residence status) and many people were in the same situation, so don't think you are geographically limited to Europe and Asia just for being in these two continents. Opportunities are plentiful, but just as it is in any US school, it's up to you to close the deal and get the job, the school can only do so much to help.
If you want banking, go for the January intake, most of the top banks recruit only for internships, which you can do if you start in January. The September intake has more difficulties, although obviously many of them also get jobs there.
One last advice, recruiting season starts very early at INSEAD, so be prepared to hit the ground running once you get there! But I can promise you it will be rewarding.
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INSEAD exceeded my needs, goals, and expectations. It is THE business school for the world - By far the one with the most diverse student body. Future applicants really need to think about making sure their story brings out a very international flavor. You don't have to have lived in 10 countries or speak 5 languages, but you definitely need to have a curiosity and desire for that. If anything, I wish the program would be longer. The experience was so enriching. Given the shorter time frame, you really have to make some major sacrifices - Either academically (choosing one great elective over another), socially (choosing to go on a weekend trip vs. staying for a weekend elective), or even geographically (missing Singapore while being in Fontainebleau or vice versa).
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The INSEAD MBA program is overwhelmingly intensive in all aspects, but is truly transformational.
The fact that students come with 5-10 year of experience from very different markets and industries add depth to the in-class discussions and changes the way of thinking.
The school encourages students to rethink their capabilities, and achieve success by following their inner passion.
And the community / networking capabilities is simply incredible.
A note to future applicants targeting US as a potential job market: this is not the best school to work in the US, but it definitely is the best school to become a truly global leader.
Perhaps similarly to other schools, the vast majority of professors are good or exceptionally good, but a few (especially younger ones) are less impressive and efficient in their teaching. But the school is paying close attention to the student feedback and tried to maintain high quality.
It is much harder to get an internship (and consequently a job) in Investment Banking for January intake: program starts after the hiring cycle is already over.
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INSEAD is a truly great experience. You should pick a B-school for the quality of your peers, the reputation of the school and the ability to have doors opened after the MBA. INSEAD will offer all that and much more. You will get to interact with people from all over the world, travel to many countries, learn a lot of interesting topics (while debating with 65 different nationalities) and on top get a stamp in your CV from the best european school. All of that in one year with the highest ROI of any B-school. You shouldn't think twice before applying to INSEAD.
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Hi
Your review is really helpful. Actually I wanted to know insights about prospects of a candidate like me who has 4 years of experience, and presently has experience in supply chain and procurement management, working in India in a fortune 500 company. It will be great if you can give some insights or introduce me to someone whom you think that would be right to give details on this aspect. My email ID is bjain01@gmail.com or you may give yours.
Thank you for your review. I'd love to learn more about your experience of applying to a job in the US as a non-US citizen. I would be in the same situation. I always thought that not having the OPT option must be a killer.