INSEAD Application

INSEAD application requires you to write about 7 essays. You can also go for the additional optional one but I skipped that. Your essays have to be precise and present your personality well. INSEAD selection process is pretty intense and my view is that roughly 30-40% applicants are selected for interviews and about 40-50% of interviewed candidates are offered admits. Interviews are easy as it is about your personality and the way you conduct conversations. If you are ambitious, international and an interesting person to be with, then interviews will be a walk in the park for you. (Still, a great interview doesnt necessarily mean an admit)

Therefore it is very important that you do your applications really well.

Before you start, spend considerable amount of time on your product pitch. You should know what you are trying to sell, your USPs, your strengths, your personality etc. And then you have to build your essays around it. With 7 essays of low word count, chances are your whole application will be read in one go. So what do you want the reader to walk away with?

In my essays, I avoided too much technical or business information. I used stories from both professional and personal life. I knew what I was trying to sell - young, successful with business building experience in unfamiliar territories and truly international professional with great soft skills who is bound to pursue entrepreneurial ventures which will lead to community development. That was my pitch, and I used different stories from my life to reflect these elements. Whatever you want to pursue in your post MBA career, make sure you have something to connect your past with it. If you have no connection then show your passion and genuine interest through actual actions. If I say I want to become an astronaut then I should have at least visited the top Space Museums and did one of those weekend programs. There should be a connection. When you say you are going to save the world then make sure you saved at least a small county in your past.

A few things you might consider:

- Your essays have to be crisp and with the word limit you need to work with, avoid technical/ business details where possible. You might be really keen to use all the business lingo but may be its not worth it. The AdCom is looking for a well rounded candidate and not a guy who uses the word Strategy in every sentence.

- Include examples from different facets of your life. Show them that you are a fun person and will fit well with INSEAD's culture of work hard play hard(er).

- Career Goal essay is perhaps the most important/ difficult essay. You cannot possibly be too specific about your post MBA goals (working as an Associate with BCG in the Pharmaceutical practice in London). But you can give a fairly reasonable idea. Like, working with C level executives from consumer goods in emerging markets on boosting bottom lines. It could be an internal consultant position or a position with one of the tier 1 firms. Your essay should give an indication about the geographic region and nature of role and the why/how of it. You have a past, you are gunning for a particular future 10/20/30 years from now, and this MBA will help you implement the road map you have prepared for your journey.

Whatever you do, do it with an absolute honest intent. Dont kid yourself or try to bullshit the adcom. It wont work. Unless you are really convinced about where you want to be, what you want to be doing, how do you expect to convince others about it?

For word limit, most of my essays were within limit+10%. You can do the same if needed, but dont go way beyond the limit. These essays are designed to be a comfortable read for the AdCom. Keep it that way.

All the best.