Q&A: I am an incoming MBA at INSEAD.
Throwaway for obvious reasons. I've probably spent the last 9 years or so lurking WSO, from the time I started to get interested in Finance, up until now, so I figured I'd try to provide some color on a school that doesn't come up on WSO much at all. I've quit my job before school, and have some time so I'll try to answer as many questions as I can about pretty much anything over the next couple of days, without giving away too much information about myself of course. Just a bit about my profile: Mid 20s, 3-5 years of WE, doing IM --> Corporate Strategy at a top tier bank, worked both in Asia and the US. Semi-Target US School for Undergrad - Mid 3s GPA in Global Studies / Foreign Language 740 GMAT Strong ECs (Various Awards/Leadership Positions for activities/hobbies) ORM Targeting MBB post-grad Also applied to: Kellogg, Yale SOM, LBS, IESE, Oxford Said
How did results shake out at the other schools you applied to? Curious to know what type of schools people turn down for INSEAD. Why didn't you apply to other top MBA programs in the US? You seem to have a good profile for an MBA business schools">M7
For the EU, got in at LBS, got into IESE/Said with Scholarships.
For the US WLed at Kellogg, withdrew from SOM as I did R3 (not sure why I applied tbh, and as such my applications were much weaker for the US schools).
I grew up in the US and lived in Asia for a while, I found that a recurring theme in my life is that throwing myself into a new culture has allowed me to discover a lot about myself, and I grew immensely in each of those instances. I wanted to do that one more time, as I had never lived in the EU, and am exploring opportunities to work around the world.
The international student bodies of the EU schools were much more appealing for me, as they are truly international, and not a bunch of dual-citizens that worked in the US prior to B-school. It just felt like there were more people like that were international like me at INSEAD, or LBS or IESE, rather than at other US schools.
Just wanted to say that this is cool as shit.
Thanks for doing this buddy. I have a few questions I hope you can shed lights on:
1) How did you prepare for the MBA (resources, roadmap, rec letter, personal statements...)
2) Why did you choose INSEAD ?
3) How many times did you have to take GMAT to get 740?
Thanks a bunch.
Hey no problem, and good questions.
I'm assuming you're asking about how I prepared my application, rather than how I am preparing for starting my MBA. I started looking at INSEAD a couple years before I applied, and I got to know everything about the school by attending their info sessions, and visiting campus a couple times. Getting to know the schools is crucial, and while it helps to stand out and be unique, there are certainly things that each school looks for to know that you're a good fit for them. That for me, was the fact that I have lots of international work experience, and the fact that my career goals post-MBA align well with what INSEAD is positioned to place me in. That really shined through in my personal statements and in my recommendation letters, and I think that helped push me over the edge.
INSEAD was my top pick for a couple reasons. There's an incredibly strong network in the EU/Asia, that it is the best feeder for MBB in the world, and attracts a student body that is most similar to myself in terms of international business experience. That, and the fact that it is only a year long, made the most sense for me from a potential ROI standpoint.
I took the GMAT maybe 4 times? Went from 680, 700, 710, 740. Final Breakdown was 49Q, 42V, 6 AWA, 8I
I am amazed you were able to increase your GMAT so much. How long did you study between your 680 and your 740? I studied for 2 months and got a 710, Then studied for 4 months and got a 730, and after that all attempts were lower. Did you put in many hours? I thought I was too dumb to raise it from 730 but this gives me hope
That's fantastic progression and a huge bump. Congrats on the hard work.
Thanks for doing this. What kind of ECs were you involved in?
My ECs were surprisingly all centered around the arts. I won a couple global competitions in music, and have a decently good following in my genre of music. In school, I competed at a high level in dance as well, won a prestigious dance competition in my style of dance, and was also a coordinator/choreographer for a high-level dance team.
Probably didn't play a factor, but I also mentioned that I played sports at a high level during high school (played and was invited to national team camp) when I was younger.
Jesus christ
What are you 3 languages?
English, Asian Language, and French. Although I'm still learning French right now!
[Post deleted. Best of luck OP.
If anyone wants to know the dark side of INSEAD, just PM me.]
Kind of a shitty way to high jack OP's AMA reporting on a third party bad experience (understand its your wife but still 3rd party none the less) on his B school of choice.
thanks for pointing that out. I didn't think of it that way. Removed. It was not 3rd party, since I was on-campus sig-o,and was there for the whole experience, and witnessed firsthand how the school conducted itself. But no sense raining on the AMA. I've taken the post down.
Hello. Thanks for the AMA. May I ask your financing plan? Thanks very much
Sure, I have some savings from working that will cover my living expenses and some of my tuition, while the remaining bit will come from Prodigy Finance!
Thanks a lot! I am also wondering what % of your savings you will use for the cost of attendance and what % you will retain as cash and/or investments. I am also wondering how you came up with the split. I am planning to go to business school too and I am currently thinking about my financial plan. Thank you very much!
Do you know what IB recruiting is like at INSEAD? I think the 1 year format is what concerns a lot of people on this forum (no Summer Associate Internship). I do know there is a spring-fall format to accommodate for this but still seems like a tight timeline for recruiting and networking.
Good question!
Keep in mind that INSEAD has two intakes; the January one that graduates in December which includes time for a summer internship, and the September intake that goes straight through the next July.
If your goal is IB, the January one is the way to go for one main reason: Most IBs only extend full time offers for those who did a summer associate internship.
INSEAD is aware of the difficulties from a timeline perspective, and have beefed up recruiting efforts in this area, particularly by offering pre-MBA treks in various financial hubs in the world to network with alum within the companies. This is because IB deadlines for summer associate internships happen to fall even before school starts for the Januray intake, so the school has made an active effort to bring students to meet most of the BBs and some EBs in these cities. From what I can gather so far, every single successful attempt at an internship at IB has gone through this channel in the last few years.
With that said, apart from IB, which is fairly strict with their deadlines, start interviewing candidates one or two weeks after school starts, while most firms have made arrangements with INSEAD to allow the students to apply after a couple months in industries like PE, Consulting, general industry, etc.
I hope you haven't decided for IESE! This would be a huge mistake!
Can you explain why?
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