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(4.8) |
It's a common refrain that your year at INSEAD is the best year of your life. While I'd like to think that life can get even better in my post-INSEAD years, I don't doubt it was the best year of my life so far.
Partly this is due to the sheer amount that you accomplish over the course of a 10-month programme. The pace is incredible, once you account for classes, recruiting, clubs, travel, and socialising. It's like trying to drink water from a fire hydrant. You can never, ever do everything that one can do at INSEAD. You have to be selective, and have your own unique INSEAD experience.
I applied to INSEAD partly because it was reputed to be a strong consulting school, and my sole focus was to get into an MBB firm. The school's reputation is well deserved. I and nearly one hundred other classmates received MBB offers, and still more received offers from other consulting firms. The process is extremely structured (as you'd expect), and there is a lot of support for those targeting consulting firms.
For those actively avoiding consulting, I got the impression (from my classmates) that career opportunities and support were disappointing, relative to expectations. If this sounds like you, I would do a deeper due diligence on the career prospects INSEAD can offer you.
Having started at the Singapore campus in January, I would strongly recommend the same approach for anyone considering the January class. The smaller cohort size in Singapore (200 vs 300 in Fontainebleau), the warmer weather, and easier access to the airport meant that the 'Singy starters' had an incredible first four months together.
My other main expectation of the programme was to meet some incredible people, and make life-long friends. Yes, and a thousand time yes, on both accounts. The diversity of the class means that your eyes will constantly be opened. Take the time to sit down with classmates, one-on-one, and hear out their stories. You'll be humbled.
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Gap between my understanding of MBA before being admitted vs after graduating started to grow from the first month on the program and became even larger after my graduation.
1) Major matters during MBA are not studies at all (with some minor exceptions, like Negotiations course; and for most students there will be barely new information in curriculum), but rather networking, career options exploring, getting international experience and meeting diverse and vibrant group of people. I guess, it's the only chance in person's life to network with 500 people from different countries and more or less different backgrounds and make connections for future.
2) Business school brand can help you in getting a good job, (though usually in your own geography, getting it abroad will be much tougher), but sometimes can be a brake for your career - potential employers will be afraid to offer you a position expecting your high salary demands and feeling that you are overqualified for what they have to offer.
3) For those who apply to INSEAD - my recommendation for those who are planning to pass interviews - be direct to the point and talk as short as possible (but not in bullet points - creates mechanical feeling), but be friendly. Most of INSEADers are "party people" who enjoy good company, drinks and conversations over a cocktail, and we are not "dry guys and gals in suits". If you can be relaxed, can put in a proper joke (don't joke a lot though and be moderate, bear in mind that a lot of lefties are studying and working there, so before being admitted try to be politically correct, if you are not left wing yourself) and overall make an impression of an easygoing person with whom it is great to do business. If you did so, you shall be fine.
Go for Negotiations with Horacio Falcao, Leadership courses with Ian Woodward, Marketing courses with Ziv Carmon and any financial course with Claudia Zeusberger and Massimo Massa. They are top professors in my opinion, and are great in information delivery.
If you are planning to be a banker or work in finance - prepare to get tough time, cause interviews are happening during first month already. Consulting interviews happen after two-three months. With industry jobs - it's different. There is no specific period for their interviews, moreover business school is less helpful in placing jobs among different industries, so if you are planning not a banker or a consultant - it will (perhaps) require more work from you, including personal networking without school support.
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With a student body coming from more than 80 different countries and with campuses in three continents, INSEAD is the best choice if, along with traditional classes, you are looking for a unique experience of personal growth. There's nothing better than this amazing blend of people and experiences in order to open your mind and enhance your soft skills.
In terms of careers, INSEAD is perfect if you plan to go to consulting or to start your own entrepreneurial project, while it needs to establish stronger bounds with companies operating in traditional industries, niche consulting (e.g. Innovation and Design consulting) or TMT.
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INSEAD is a place where diversity is celebrated and that translates into some pretty insightful sharing of viewpoints which can lead some unexpected discoveries.
If you want to conduct international business this is the place to be, the network that you will create here will be second to none in terms of coverage of the globe.
The teaching quality is excellent, with an emphasis of teaching through case studies.
On campus recruitment is heavily tilted to consulting but there are plenty of resources for getting into industry, entrepreneurship and finance.
The campus exchange to Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Wharton, Kellogg and CEIBS is a great option, although since the course has only 10 - 12 months (depending if you start in September or January), this can feel rushed.
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While the bulk of the student body is made of consultants and engineers, Insead is very open to diverse profiles. International diversity is strong and underrepresented nationalities have excellent chances of entering the program. The students are supportive.
It is a great place if you want to go to consulting for a few years after your MBA, or if you have a cleat entrepreneurial project from the beginning.
The pace is very fast though, making it less suitable for people who are looking to gain deep knowledge in specific areas or to take the time to figure out what it is they want to do next.
Consulting companies all recruit from the school. Some rotational programs as well. For smaller corporate companies, you have to reach out by yourself.
December intake is great for going through the recruiting process twice and having the ability to try a different domain through an internship.
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Since it has been choosing the world No. 1 Global MBA program and the only one 1-year program among the top 5 schools, I will strongly recommend any prospective student to consider this program given the fact that INSEAD has 3 different campus in Asia, Europe and Middle East and still partnership with 2 US schools (Wharton & Kellogg) and 1 China schools (CEIBS). The short period program can expedite the MBA learning process by a tight schedule, you will feel extremely stressful during the first two period, but that's how INSEAD condenses 2-year courses into 1 year frame. In terms of time and money, no other business school can give a faster and greater ROI than INSEAD.
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Attending INSEAD from the US is a great opportunity to expand your knowledge, learn about other cultures, and experience true diversity. It is a much different experience than attending a US school, and very enriching. The program is hard, packing two years of curriculum into one makes for an intense, action-packed, and FUN year. The program is great, but you have to put in the effort to be successful. Future applicants should focus their essays on their diverse background and experiences, as well as what their background could add to the INSEAD experience to enrich the student body as a whole. Other than that, a high GMAT helps as well!
Classes are engaging and teachers are accessible.
INSEAD will happily feed you into a consulting job, and will foster your interest in Entrepreneurship. If you are looking for a less traditional post-MBA job, you will have to do the hunting and networking yourself.
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My experience at INSEAD has surpassed any expectations that I had prior to the program. I want to spotlight the major strengths of the program:
First, and most important, the students are incredibly diverse, yet they all have something that binds them together. I honestly do not know how the admissions team does it, but the students are all absolutely amazing.
Second, the faculty are world class and the curriculum is constantly updated. This means that you will learn the latest theory and incorporate the latest world events in every class. But what sets the classroom apart is that the professors are not the ego driven types that like to hear themselves talk. Instead, they are more of instigators. They will drop an issue or topic on the students and encourage debate, interaction, and creativity. All view points are valid and encouraged.
Third, rankings are still important and INSEAD has the proven track record of an elite school that is getting stronger every year. Many other top B-Schools have a "long and storied history" that has served to make them entrenched and slow. INSEAD is the opposite. INSEAD is comparatively young, and I would argue that it is the most agile and responsive school in the elite ranks. When the markets shift, so does INSEAD to ensure that students are positioned where they need to be.
Fourth, the return on investment is the highest of any MBA program in the world. This has been consistently validated by the major rankings. The 1 year format means that students get the knowledge, experience, and network they need to succeed while investing less time and money than any other program.
The Organization Behaviour and Entrepreneurship courses are amazing.
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I visited four Top10 schools in the USA and attended INSEAD, mostly in Singapore. Let me start by saying that the year was beyond expectations. The main difference I noticed compared to the b-schools in the US was that the student body is a quite mature, traveled, and no-bullshit international crowd who know what they want. Average age is higher, and so it becomes a group people who really know how they want to take advantage of that year and bound very easily with one another.
Secondly, being a short program, it is lived in a super intense way. When you know that the program will finish so soon, you REALLY immerse fully and do everything everyday without ever sleeping a full night. I'd bet that people from INSEAD end up studying, travelling, recruiting, partying and etc much more in that one year than people in other programs, merely because of the sense of urgency caused by the short duration.
Thirdly, the campus structure with two intakes, two (or three) campuses with almost everyone exchanging, in addition to the lack of a predominant nationality, means that there's no room for small groups: everyone will meet and hang out with everyone. There is simply no space or time to find a comfortable mini-group and exclude the others... people will be moving around campuses and will end up working, travelling, and partying with every single person on campus, which results in a more rich experience where you will hang out with different people and learn that after all difficult is cool.
I would have chosen INSEAD again and again if I were to start all over. Specially if you are well traveled, educated, mid-career, no-bullshit kind of person, the environment is perfect.
I was sponsored so not much insight here. I can say that every single day we had companies presenting on campus, or job fairs, or coffee chats, etc.
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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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