INSEAD MBA

[kongo09]

Dear friends,

I've been tracking the forum for a few months now and before I disappear into the dark, I'd like to let you know that yesterday I was accepted for the MBA class of INSEAD starting September 2004.

You can imagine that I'm quite pleased with this, especially since INSEAD was the only school I had applied for.

Some advice on how to prepare for the GMAT and a bit about application writing can be found in another article I wrote some time ago: http://www.TestMagic.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7479

I have one more hint if you intend to apply at INSEAD as well. They have a strange email server that messes up the notification process. The whole admissions process is handled by email. You don't receive any calls or papers by mail. However, there is no guarantee that their emails come through. I learnt that personal email adresses, i.e. adresses based on your own domain name for example, cause problems in their system.

In my case I did not receive the invitation to interviews and was waiting for the deadline to expire. However, the deadline is the deadline by when the interview reports already have to be back to INSEAD. Luckily, a rather upset interview partner (usually an INSEAD alumni) called me and asked whether I would still be interested. I was totally confused and thought someone played a joke on me. Not a good start for a smooth interview.

So, if the deadline for the interview decision approaches and you haven't heard anything yet, just give them a call. I know they discourage calls but what the heck. My call saved me!

Good luck to all of you,
kongo09

[thaiva]

Hey, congradt's i'm sure you must be thrilled, best of luck to you,

Tim

[sunxcat]

hey kongo !
Congratulations on the admit !! hope u have a great time out there !

cheerz !!

[Erin]

Hey kongo, congrats on your admit to INSEAD. I know that's a great program.

BTW, I should tell you that the article you wrote some time back was one of my favorites (probably because I agree with most or all of what you said). I think every GMAT/MBA prospective should read it.

Well done, and I wish you a successful time at INSEAD!!

[dafir]

Hi Kongoo,

Can you tell me about your interviews? What about the interview with INSEAD and what kind of questions do they ask ? when did you have your interview?

You can send me an email to olla@caramail.com

[kongo09]

Thanks for your kind messages!

Erin: that's very kind of you. If you like the article, feel free to use it any way you see fit (make it sticky, put it in a separate article on your page, whatever you like). It is just my humble return to a great website.

dafir: You asked about the interviews. INSEAD interviews are conducted by alumni close to where you live (well, if possible). Usually, there are two interviews. Only in exceptional cases where the admissions committee is extremely convinced about your admission already, you might only have to do one interview.

Both interviews lasted for about one hour in my case. The interview partners don't know the essays you have written, but only get the six page profile of your application as a basis to ask questions.

The structure of both interviews was very comparable, although it is probably more or less up to the interviewers how to question you. First I was asked to introduce myself. I used this opportunity to tell a bit of a story. Where do I come from, what's my background. What did I study and how did that develop. How did I come to choose my first job and how did I progress on my career. I also described my social activities and how that all ties into my personality.

It wasn't a big monologue as the interviewers interrupted me at times, either to ask a clarifying question or to show off that they'd read my profile. Occasionally they directed me to another part of my life. But overall, I was very much in control. This lasted for about half an hour.

The other half they asked about my motivation for doing an MBA. One of them was quite challenging and you better have some good reasoning prepared beforehand. They also wanted to know why I had chosen INSEAD and which other schools I was interested in (in my case none). An important topic were my plans for after the MBA. Do I plan to go back to my current employer, what alternatives do I see? What do I do if INSEAD doesn't accept me? This part was a bit tougher to survive.

Overall, the interviews felt like a very interesting discussion. I even discovered a few things about myself and also learnt a bit about the interviewers as I was bold enough to ask them about their time at INSEAD, their application strategy and their before/after experience.

My advice in short would be: read your own essays once more and use that content to tell your story. The admissions committee later compares the profile and your essays with the interview reports and loves to see consistency. Overall, be yourself! Ah, and start by thanking them that they have found the time for your interview.

You might want to send a short email to the interviewers the day after just to thank them for their time and the interview. Interviewers are asked to write a report straight after the interview. Maybe that makes another good impression?

good luck,
kongo09

[kongo09]

In case anyone comes ever back to these posts: I just graduated with distinction from INSEAD. So all is well and my advice concerning the GMAT is still valid.

Good luck to all of you!
kongo09

[chandresh_ism]

Hey Kangoo.. Can I plzz know thy profile.. gmat, gpa, exp.. I myself wrote gmat(690[33v,49q)] , my gpa is 2.9/4.00. Should I apply for INSEAD.. I need thy advice...
Thanks

[Priyadarshi]

Hey kongo, congrats on your admit to INSEAD. I know that's a great program.

BTW, I should tell you that the article you wrote some time back was one of my favorites (probably because I agree with most or all of what you said). I think every GMAT/MBA prospective should read it.

Well done, and I wish you a successful time at INSEAD!!

hey Erin,

the link is not working can u pls chk..

[sumeet_rana]

http://www.urch.com/forums/showthrea...2269#post52269