School Selection Based on Reported Post-MBA Salary

This post is a companion piece to Adam's Global Top MBA Rankings 2014.
To the extent that any sort of MBA ranking is valuable for purposes of school selection,  I have suggested some ways to make school selection decisions both for those who have been admitted to multiple programs  and those considering  which MBA programs to apply to.
I am well aware that applicants don’t simply make selection choices on the basis of salary, but I think evaluating programs on this basis is one important consideration. For other considerations, please see School Selection: Where to apply? Where to go?

FOR ADMITS:

School Selection Strategy for Those Admitted to Multiple Programs: Go to the highest salary ranked program if you want to obtain the most market value.



FOR THOSE CONSIDERING WHICH SCHOOLS TO APPLY TO:


School Application Selection Strategy Based on Salary/Acceptance Rate Approach: Simply compare salaries to rates of admission for the programs you are interested in applying to.
1. Apply to the highest ranked programs you think you can get it into.
2. Find bargains: Schools with a high salary and a high rate of admission.
3. Avoid application to schools with a relatively low admissions rates and lower salaries.
4. Caveat emptor. Don’t assume schools are necessarily reporting salary data with 100% accuracy.


School Selection Strategy for Those Considering Staying Local versus Going for a Globally Recognized Brand:  If you are deciding between going to your local MBA program instead of moving to a new city and/or country, look closely at the expected post-MBA salary rates to determine which programs are worth moving for.
1. If you are planning on studying in the US and/or Europe and are a non-resident, assume the real possibility, based on present economic circumstances, that you will likely need to return to your home country because of tightened visa restrictions and limited job opportunities.
2. If your objective is stay in your present locality, closely scrutinize whether the higher-ranked, but non-local option will actually prove to be of significant benefit to you in the future. For example, an MBA alumni network that consists of a large number of local graduates may be worth significantly more to you than association with a prestigious internationally famous brand if you intend to stay local.
3.  If your professional objectives are global, you will likely benefit much more from an MBA with global brand value rather than a program with local brand value even if the post-MBA salaries are not significantly different.

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

Adam's Global Top MBA Rankings 2014

As I have been doing since 2008, I wanted to provide my Global Top 100 MBA Rankings for 2014. The rankings below should hopefully be of value for both those engaged in initial school application selection and for admitted applicants who have been accepted to multiple programs and need to determine where to go.  Programs are ranked in many ways, so certainly look at other rankings lists. There is no one objective measure of an MBA programs’ value and no ranking that can account for an individual student’s positive or negative return on their investment of time and money for a graduate business education.

One advantage of a salary-based list of programs worldwide is that it helps to see the rising global market value of MBA programs. It also means that those of us who help applicants considering worldwide application, start to pay more attention to such national leaders and not just to dominant US and European programs.

For those with a US MBA bias, this ranking should be humbling because so many of what are usually ranked quite highly in the US, don't, at least at the weighted salary level, look as attractive as rankings might suggest.

From a school selection perspective, I think looking at the stark reality of the expected financial outcome is critical. Looking at this solely helps to put the outcome into focus. "The 100" is only one possible way of doing this.

"Methodology": All FT “Global MBA Rankings 2014” Data was ranked in order of " Weighted Salary ($)." No other methods were employed. I have included the FT 2014 rankings as well.

Justification #1: Whatever you get paid when you graduate is the base market value of your degree.

Justification #2: One may very well value an MBA beyond mere salary calculations, but salary will certainly be a factor for almost everyone.

Justification #3: Since each school reports its own data, assuming that data is good, the ranking is based on objective criteria that all programs have in common. Note: This a big assumption because it is based on the belief that schools are not manipulating their data).  

Disclaimer #1: I could use some other accumulation of salaries for this same purpose, but FT’s list is global, so I decided to use it. If your school is not included on this list of the top 100, please don't be offended. If FT ranked more programs, so would I.

Disclaimer #2: Actual market value will very much depend on your situation. The numbers below are only averages.

Disclaimer #3: Salary is but one measure of ROI. This survey does not account for relative increase in salary, opportunity costs, or other less tangible, but important factors.

Disclaimer #4: These rankings in no way measure the value of the educational experience at any of these programs, merely the reported average weighted post-MBA salary outcome.

I would like to thank “my team” at FT for doing all of the hard work. They have this nifty way of generating excel documents that really reduced my work by hours.

I better version of the table below can be found here.

Adam's Global Top MBA Rankings 2014

Salary Rank	FT Rank in 2014	School name	Country	Weighted salary (US$)
1	2	Stanford Graduate School of Business	US	184566
2	1	Harvard Business School	US	178300
3	4	University of Pennsylvania: Wharton	US	170472
4	5	Columbia Business School	US	164181
5	15	Northwestern University: Kellogg	US	157719
6	30	Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad	India	157459
7	8	MIT: Sloan	US	157262
8	3	London Business School	UK	156553
9	9	University of Chicago: Booth	US	156004
10	10	Yale School of Management	US	150880
11	20	Dartmouth College: Tuck	US	150754
12	11	University of California at Berkeley: Haas	US	149487
13	5	INSEAD	France/Singapore	148183
14	13	IE Business School	Spain	146933
15	16	University of Cambridge: Judge	UK	144350
16	7	IESE Business School	Spain	143168
17	12	IMD	Switzerland	142446
18	27	University of Virginia: Darden	US	142131
19	17	Duke University: Fuqua	US	141772
20	26	UCLA: Anderson	US	140712
21	17	New York University: Stern	US	140662
22	59	University of Cape Town GSB	South Africa	140069
23	23	University of Michigan: Ross	US	136828
24	27	Cornell University: Johnson	US	136707
25	23	University of Oxford: Saïd	UK	133315
26	34	Carnegie Mellon: Tepper	US	129296
27	39	University of Texas at Austin: McCombs	US	129225
28	17	CEIBS	China	127117
29	68	Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore	India	125249
30	14	Hong Kong UST Business School	China	125060
31	36	Georgetown University: McDonough	US	124990
32	33	University of North Carolina: Kenan-Flagler	US	124669
33	52	The Lisbon MBA	Portugal	123062
34	41	Emory University: Goizueta	US	122468
35	65	University of Southern California: Marshall	US	122308
36	46	Cranfield School of Management	UK	120941
36	22	ESADE Business School	Spain	120718
38	21	HEC Paris	France	120016
39	25	Warwick Business School	UK	119121
40	35	Rice University: Jones	US	118473
41	59	Vanderbilt University: Owen	US	117484
42	36	Indian School of Business	India	117308
43	29	University of Hong Kong	China	113038
44	31	SDA Bocconi	Italy	112901
45	44	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	US	112482
46	47	Indiana University: Kelley	US	112353
47	62	Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM)	Australia	111280
48	45	Sungkyunkwan University GSB	South Korea	110828
49	55	University of Rochester: Simon	US	110607
50	54	University of Minnesota: Carlson	US	110390
51	81	Wisconsin School of Business	US	110338
52	41	City University: Cass	UK	110260
53	82	Boston College: Carroll	US	109614
54	75	Texas A & M University: Mays	US	108699
55	95	Babson College: Olin	US	108694
56	93	Brigham Young University: Marriott	US	108549
57	75	Boston University School of Management	US	108256
58	71	Georgia Institute of Technology: Scheller	US	108033
59	52	Michigan State University: Broad	US	107808
60	64	Washington University: Olin	US	107556
61	50	University of Maryland: Smith	US	107236
62	48	University of California at Irvine: Merage	US	106764
63	58	University of Washington: Foster	US	106632
64	43	Manchester Business School	UK	106535
65	56	Purdue University: Krannert	US	106320
66	62	Pennsylvania State University: Smeal	US	105988
67	61	Hult International Business School	US/UK/UAE/China	105844
68	91	University College Dublin: Smurfit	Ireland	105384
69	94	Wake Forest University: Babcock	US	103696
70	49	Imperial College Business School	UK	103604
71	70	Ohio State University: Fisher	US	102899
72	88	University of St Gallen	Switzerland	102158
73	68	Melbourne Business School	Australia	102068
74	87	Arizona State University: Carey	US	100203
75	89	Western University: Ivey	Canada	99072
76	39	Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University	Netherlands	98771
77	99	George Washington University	US	98374
78	84	University of California, San Diego: Rady	US	98258
79	66	Mannheim Business School	Germany	97962
80	92	Tulane University: Freeman	US	97962
81	98	University of California, Davis	US	96864
82	38	Nanyang Business School	Singapore	96202
83	73	University of Strathclyde Business School	UK	95716
84	95	EMLyon Business School	France	93356
85	84	University of Bath School of Management	UK	92676
86	32	National University of Singapore Business School	Singapore	91358
87	100	Vlerick Business School	Belgium	90831
88	51	University of Toronto: Rotman	Canada	90304
89	74	Tilburg University, TiasNimbas	Netherlands	89848
90	84	McGill University: Desautels	Canada	89604
91	66	York University: Schulich	Canada	89332
92	89	ESMT – European School of Management and Technology	Germany	89172
93	77	Lancaster University Management School	UK	89009
94	72	University of British Columbia: Sauder	Canada	88881
95	79	Coppead	Brazil	88256
96	97	Durham University Business School	UK	86887
97	80	University of Pittsburgh: Katz	US	86410
98	77	Shanghai Jiao Tong University: Antai	China	84890
99	57	Peking University: Guanghua	China	81914
100	83	Fudan University School of Management	China	76140

Please see School Selection Based on Reported Post-MBA Salary for how the information here can be utilized for school selection purposes.

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

Kellogg MBA Admissions Interviews for the Class of 2016

This post has been updated for admission to the Kellogg MBA Class of 2016.

Just as with essays, interviews for the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management MBA applicant interviews are all about fit. I could not really tell you how many Kellogg mock sessions I have conducted since 2001, when I started working as an admissions consultant, because the number is simply too huge. Given the fact that Kellogg has an open interview policy, more applicants will interview there in any year that anywhere else.  Reported interview length could be from 30 to 60 minutes, with most reported interviews taking 30-45 minutes.  As I work with clients from all over the world, I have discovered that Kellogg interviews are pretty consistent worldwide, both for the good and bad.

Know your Resume!
You need to know your resume completely as you will most likely be asked about content in it. Review it carefully and consider what your interviewer might ask you to explain more thoroughly. If it is on your resume, it is fair game. Kellogg interviews are conducted blind, so your interview will not have read your application. The only thing they will have is your resume. Most interview reports indicate extensive questions about the contents of the resume. As such it serves four main functions:

1.  First Impression: Most interviewers will have your resume even before they meet you. For resume-only interviews, it really is their first impression of you.  Make sure your resume is really designed for ease of use by the interviewer.  One of my objectives when helping a client with a resume is always to focus on how effective the resume is for this purpose. 

2. Agenda Setting Device: To a greater or lesser extent, a resume has an agenda setting function in many interviews.  While schools will provide interviewers with varying levels of guidance about what questions to ask, the resume may very well form the basis for some of the questions that you receive. In the case of Kellogg, it is almost always the case that the resume plays a role in the questions that you will be asked.

3. Booby Trap:  The resume can blow-up in your face if you are not careful.  Failure to review your own resume closely prior to interviewing can put you in an awkward position if you are not fully prepared to discuss everything on it. Make sure you know your numbers and dates. Make sure you can discuss anything on your resume.

4. Past Experience Answers: Since you have presumably highlighted many of the key things you would actually want to discuss on your resume, it is in essence, a primary source for your answers to past experience questions. Especially when I working with a client with limited English ability, I will tell them to practice explaining "Who What Why How When" questions related to their resume.

In addition, since you might get asked to "Tell me something about yourself that is not covered on your resume," you can use the resume to figure out what that would be.


You need to be prepared to answer routine MBA interview questions
Most reported Kellogg interviews simply consist of them. See my previous post on MBA Application Interview Strategy as well the list of questions below. You should expect to have to answer questions regarding teamwork (Examples where you demonstrated it, how you handled problems on teams, and how you would handle a low-performing team member in group work at Kellogg are common examples).  Be absolutely comfortable explaining core questions regarding fit (Why Kellogg? Why the Kellogg community is right for you?  Contributions?) as these always come up.   Be ready to ask questions and obviously make those questions fit to the person you are talking (admissions officer, student, or alumni). My colleague, Steve Green, has collected the following common questions:

RESUME: Career

• Tell me about yourself. / Walk me through your resume. PROBE ANSWERS
• Tell me about [particular accomplishment]
• Tell me about [particular promotion or change]
• What is missing from your resume that you'd like to tell me about?
• What led you to your first job?
• What made you change careers? (+ Follow-up)
• Why did you decide to switch into the field that you chose?
• How have you grown over the years?
• Tell me about what’s challenging in your current role. (+ Follow-up)
• Why did you choose ________________ for your career?
• What are your current responsibilities?
• What do you clients say about you?
• What do you outside of work?

RESUME: Education

• Why did you choose your undergraduate school?
• Why did you choose your major?
• Tell me something about your undergraduate experience?
• What was your legacy at your undergrad school?
• Why did you choose ________________ for your career?
• What are your current responsibilities?
• What do you clients say about you?
• What do you outside of work?

TEAMWORK

• Tell me about your teamwork experience.
• Describe a difficult team situation you have had to deal with in the past?
• Tell me about another teamwork experience.
• What would you do when a team member wasn't pulling his own weight?
• What would your teammates say about you?
• Discuss a team failure you were part of.

LEADERSHIP

• Who do you admire as a leader?
• Have you held leadership positions at work?
• Tell me something about your leadership experience?
• Have you faced any challenges as a leader? How did you deal with them?
• How has your leadership style evolved since college?
• What kind of leader are you?

WHY MBA / WHY KELLOGG

• Why do you want an MBA?
• Why now?
• Why Kellogg?
• Are you good with numbers?
• What are your goals?
• How will Kellogg help you achieve those goals?
• How do you envision yourself being involved in the Kellogg community?
• What clubs will you participate in?
• How will you enhance the diversity of the Kellogg class?
• What unique contribution do you bring to Kellogg?
• What other schools did you apply to?
• If you got into all of them, which would you attend?

STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES

• If you could hit the reset button, what would you do differently?
• Anything that may be considered a weakness in your application you would like to explain or expand on?
• How have you grown over the years?
• What are your two main strengths?
• What are your two main weaknesses?
• If time and money were not an issue, what would you do?
• What three words would you use to describe yourself?
• Who is a good negotiator?
• Have you ever been in a negotiation where it wasn’t win – win, rather, win-lose or lose-lose.
• What do people misperceive about you in first meeting?
• If I asked your colleagues about you, what would they say? What feedback have you used to do better?

CONCLUSION

• What questions do you have for me? / Do you have any questions for me?

In MBA Application Interview Strategy I discuss some specific ways to prepare for many of the types of questions discussed above. Additionally, since some Kellogg interviews involve behavioral interview questions, I would suggest reviewing my post,  MIT Sloan MBA Interviews.  MIT Sloan MBA Interviews will also introduce you to the STAR method for telling stories, so if you need help in telling stories (especially ones about teamwork and leadershIp), I recommend reviewing that post.


Reread your essays!
Given that your Kellogg essays should contain key content to answer many of the above interview questions and because no interviewer will have read your file, feel free to make complete use of your essays for your interview. Unlike in interviews where the interviewer has read you file, for Kellogg feel free to draw upon on your essays and not even just your essays for Kellogg. For example, if you have written effective contribution content for Wharton Essay 2 or London Business School Essays 2 or 3, you might find it very useful when answering a question about how you would contribute at Kellogg.   It surprises sometimes when I am doing mock interviews with a client and they have not reviewed their own essays very much. This a core repository of content. It will need to be altered for purposes of the interview, but you should use it!

Lack of Consistency in Kellogg interviews

As you should know Kellogg’s new motto is THINK BRAVELY, but as far as  interviews go, I would say their motto must be INTERVIEW INCONSISTENTLY. While most Kellogg interviews are moderately difficult in terms of the kind of questions that are asked and the attitude of most interviewers (admissions officers, alumni, and students) is professional and friendly, other types of interviews are possible and not uncommon.   Given the huge number of alumni interviewers involved in this process, this is especially a problem with alumni interviews whether held on a Kellogg Interview Day (many applicants and interviewers all meeting at the same place for one-to-one interviews) or just through an arranged one-to-one off-campus interview. Even on-campus interviews with students lack some consistency as I will discuss below.  Only interviews with admissions officers fit into some predictable norm of moderately difficult and professional.  Some types of dysfunctional Kellogg interviews:

The Cake Walk: The lovely expression “as easy as cake” can be applied to some international interviews that I have heard about. This can be nice for the applicant, of course, but surely is unfair for other applicants. A cake walk interview consists of some of the standard Kellogg interview questions, but everything is very surface level and most of the interview is just nice conversation. The interviewer then prepares a sterling evaluation of the applicant even in terms of areas that were not necessarily addressed in the interview because the men involved (not always, but typically from what I can see this involves men and is just another form of immediate locker room type bonding). If you find you are having an apparently very easy interview, just make sure you work as many key points about yourself into the conversation while maintaining a positive and friendly feeling about the whole thing.

“You really don’t fit because I don’t like you”: The worst reports I have heard about have involved Kellogg alumni interviewers who expressed their dislike for the applicant. The interviewer uses highly judgmental language that often barely hides bias. This bias might be gender-based, class-based, or industry-function based. We are not talking here about merely an agressive interviewer, but rather an interviewer who actively looks down on the applicant.  Frankly I have never read or been about such an interview being conducted in the US, but I do know about such unpleasant interviews conducted through Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The only thing I can suggest during such an interview is that you hold your own, don’t cave against bully you are dealing with, but respond aggressively in defending yourself and why you belong at Kellogg. The abuse of power is an ugly thing. If you feel you have been treated particularly badl y, you should consider reporting the details of this to Kellogg admissions.

English not spoken: One of the best reasons to eliminate alumni interviews completely especially when an admissions office is because alumni interviewers don’t always conduct some or even most of the interview in English. I have client reports of this from around the world. This can be to the advantage or disadvantage of the applicant.  If an applicant is trying to really highlight their English communication ability, having an interview that is not conducted in English might not be particularly helpful. In addition, speaking in another language is often a gateway to the two previous types dysfunctional interviews I mentioned above.  I have no specific suggestions for what you can do when an interview is not conducted in English if you think the interview is going well. If you think the interview is not going well, you can consider this grounds for informing Kellogg admissions. Since Kellogg admissions waives some interviews and subsequently conducts telephone interviews, I would not be surprised if your interview was initially waived. Most applicants will not want to complain about an interviewer, but if you feel you were treated badly, it is worth considering. Advice for international applicants who really want to highlight their English communication skills: Go interview on-campus because campus interviews will be conducted in English. 

Bored, hungover, busy, and/or tired: Most reported student interviews are not like like this, but it is no surprise that some of these interviews involve student interviewers who wish they were some where else doing something else (studying, sleeping, recruiting activities, etc.).  Not fun if you have traveled to Evanston and find your interviewer is just not that engaged in the process. If your interviewer seems less than engaged, just make the possible case for yourself and don’t let their indifference get to you. The worst thing you can do is react to someone else’s lack of energy.  You must maintain your enthusiasm even in the fact of complete indifference. Just imagine you are talking to a mirror and ignore the interviewer’s lack of engagement. I don’t think you can really complain to admissions about this issue. Just be aware that might happen.

While I think it is nice that Kellogg basically interviews all applicants (some applicants are waived initially from interviewing but ultimately do a telephone interview if Kellogg is actually interested in admitting them), it does come at the cost of consistency.  I do think that putting all applicants on level playing field means giving them an interview that is conducted with a fairly high degree of consistency.  Of course, the moment alumni are involved at any school, consistency tends to get lost unless the school really works hard to maintain standards and weed out bad interviewers.  I know many alumni do a great job and should be praised for their involvement with the process, but unfortunately this is not always the case.   I have pointed these issues out so you are prepared for the worst case scenarios. Hopefully you will not experience them.

Best of luck with admission to Kellogg’s Class of 2016!

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

INSEAD: Applying for September 2014 versus January 2015 Intakes

The question of applying to INSEAD for January versus September intakes always comes up, but at this time (January 2014), the issue is further complicated by the change in essay content (something I will discuss at the end of the post). Given that the Round Three September 2014 application (Class of July 2015) is due on March 5, 2014 and the Round One January 2015 (Class of December 2015) is due on March 21, 2014, there will be many applicants who would be ready to apply for either intake.  The basic difference in terms of the program between the September and January intake is stated clearly on the INSEAD website:
What are the differences between the September and January intakes?
The curriculum, course structure, class size and composition, and campus exchange opportunities are identical for the September and January intakes. The primary difference is that if you choose to begin in September, you will complete the MBA in ten consecutive months. If you choose to begin in January you will have a two-month summer break during which you can pursue an internship or other endeavours.

For my own clients, the internship has clearly been a major reason for choosing the January start. Also beyond having an internship, the additional two months does extend the MBA experience a bit and create some additional breathing room before returning to a career.

Other reasons for choosing January or September might have to do with timing, such as when they want to leave work, company sponsorship for their degree,  or major life events (birth of a child, marriage). Sometimes it is simply a question of application timing.

Another major consideration, which is likely to running through the minds of those considering whether to apply for Round Three for September 2014 or for Round One for January 2015 is the chance for admission.  Since the September and January intake are equal in size and composition and are equally competitive, this is simply an issue of applying Round 3 versus Round 1. INSEAD states that the chance for admission is the same for all rounds, but if you want scholarships apply in Round 1 or Round 2:
Each round is equally competitive as the ratio of acceptance is the same for all rounds. We allocate more places in round 1 and 2 than in round 3, but we also receive more applications in round 1 and 2 than in round 3. When choosing a round in which to apply, the most important consideration is to dedicate enough time and thought to your application so that it accurately represents your strengths and talents. However, we encourage you to apply to round 1 or 2 if scholarships are a priority or if you need more time to relocate to your starting campus.

Working with large number of clients who have been admitted to INSEAD (27 since I began my own consulting business and additional admits between 2001 and 2007 when I was working for a consulting service), I can say the above statements by INSEAD align completely with what I have observed.  While I assume on the margins it might be harder for applicants coming from very large pools like Indian male in an IT position, I have had such clients admitted in Round 3.  I have never noticed any real distinction between the rounds or January versus September when it comes to chances for admission.  That said, selecting January 2015 Round 1 is better than September Round 3 if you want to maximize your chances for a scholarship. 

Another consideration would be the essays.  Please see my posts on the January 2015, September 2014, and repurposing September 2014 essays for a January 2015 application.   Frankly, I think this is a real mixed bag and it is not obvious which essay set is easier in general.  If you have already written the September 2014 essays and are happy with them, don’t care so much about scholarships, and prefer starting in September, I would suggest applying for the September intake.  If you are either in the midst of writing or have not started and want to increase your chances for a scholarship, want an internship, or have other timing considerations that favor the January in take, January is a better choice.  If I was discussing this issue with client who was completely indifferent to a January or September start, I would assess what kind of essay content they have and use that as the basis for my advice.

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

Converting INSEAD's 2014 MBA Admissions Essays into January 2015 Essays

In this post I will discuss the specific problem that some applicants will have if they previously started writing INSEAD’s MBA Application Essays for January and September 2014 Admission, but are now applying for January 2015 admission.  Below I provide both the GOOD and BAD NEWS on converting your essays for 2014 admission to what you will need for January 2015 admission.

If you have not done so, I suggest reviewing my analysis of the January 2015 (Class of December 2015) essays before and/or in tandem with this post.  You may also find it helpful to refer to my analysis of the 2014 essays as well. My post, INSEAD: Applying for September 2014 versus January 2015 Intakes  may also be relevant to you. 

Altering the Job Description Essays 
Job Description 1. Briefly summarise your current (or most recent) job, including the nature of work, major responsibilities, and where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget,clients/products and results achieved. What would be your next step in terms of position if you were to remain in the same company? (350 words max.) 

THE GOOD NEWS: Since they added a 100 words to the question for January 2015, chances are that you can fully utilize what you already had written to answer this question. In addition, the new part of the question was previously in Job Essay 2, so you probably can repurpose that part completely (Most applicants would have written far less than 100 words on that anyway).

THE BAD NEWS: Since there is no longer a  full Why MBA/Why INSEAD Essay Question, but only the goals in Job Essay 2, you should consider providing a clear and brief explanation here on why an MBA now is better than staying at your current job. Aside from being brief, I don’t imagine this should be too hard.

Job Description 2. Please give a full description of your career since graduating from university. It should be written as if you were talking to someone at a social gathering detailing your career path with the rationale behind your choices. Discuss your short and long term career aspirations. (350 words max.) 

THE GOOD NEWS: You should be able to repurpose at least part of what you had previously written for the first part of Job Essay 2 and Motivation Essay 4a (Goals) here.  The second part of Job Essay 2 is now in Job Essay 1, so you don’t need to use word count for it here.

THE BAD NEWS: Since you need to really need to factor in “It should be written as if you were talking to someone at a social gathering detailing your career path with the rationale behind your choices,” chances are very likely you will to do a total rewrite.  In addition, you will surely need to cut your goal content down to around  100-150 words instead of the 250 you would have had if you applied for September 2014 admission.


Altering The Motivation Essays

1. Give a candid description of yourself (who are you as a person), stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary. (600 words max.) 

THE GOOD NEWS: If you have written this essay already and are happy with it, chances are pretty good that you don’t need to alter it.

THE BAD NEWS:  No bad news here!

2. Describe the achievement of which you are most proud and explain why. In addition, describe a situation where you failed. How did these experiences impact your relationships with others? Comment on what you learned. (400 words max.) 

THE GOOD NEWS:  You might be able to repurpose your professional accomplishment and failure stories as long as you can relate these stories to your impact on others and what you learned.

THE BAD NEWS: Instead of having 400 words for your failure essay, you now have around 200 words.  The need to factor in “How did these experiences impact your relationships with others?” might require you to change topics.


3. Tell us about an experience where you were significantly impacted by cultural diversity, in a positive or negative way. (300 words max.) 

THE GOOD NEWS:   The January 2015 version is a much more open-ended question than the September 2014 version and you get 50 more words. It is at least theoretically possible that if you wrote 5a for 2014 (culture shock), you might be able to convert into this essay.  If you are applying to IMD (links to my essay analysis)  as well, it is possible that there will be overlap between INSEAD 3 and IMD 3.

THE BAD NEWS: If you wrote 5b (advice for a foreigner), you probably will not be able to use it here and need a new topic.  Many topics for 5a will also not work well either.

4. Describe all types of extra-professional activities in which you have been or are still involved for a significant amount of time (clubs, sports, music, arts, politics, etc). How are you enriched by these activities? (300 words max.) 

THE GOOD NEWS: It is entirely possible that you can repurpose your September 2014 non-professional achievement from Essay 2 here.

THE BAD NEWS: This is a new essay and you need to cover multiple topics.

5. Is there anything else that was not covered in your application that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee? (300 words max.) 

THE GOOD NEWS:  For most applicants,  chances are high that they can use what they had already written for September 2014.

THE BAD NEWS: September 2014 applicants get 350 words to answer this question, while January 2015 applicants only get 300. Reapplicants will need to write on reapplication here because there is no longer a reapplication essay.

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

INSEAD MBA APPLICATION INTERVIEWS

My analysis of the INSEAD admissions application essays for September 2014 is here and for January 2015 is here.

Since 2001, when I began doing MBA admissions counseling, I have had an opportunity to work with a large number of clients admitted to INSEAD. Since establishing my own consulting practice in 2007, I've worked with 27 clients admitted to INSEAD. Annual breakdowns and testimonials from clients admitted to INSEAD can be found here. My report on my 2011 visit to the Singapore campus is here.

In addition to this post, my core posts on interviewing can be found in the INTERVIEW ANALYSIS section of http://www.adammarkus.com/key-posts/. I suggest starting with http://www.adammarkus.com/when-to-start-mba-interview-practice/ and http://www.adammarkus.com/mba-application-interview-strategy-3/ and then reading http://www.adammarkus.com/interview-practice-is-about-speaking/ followed by http://www.adammarkus.com/10-ways-to-blow-an-mba-admissions-interview/.  

INSEAD alumni interviews, of which most applicants will have two of, are not necessarily that hard in any obvious way. The INSEAD website states that the majority of applicants will have two such interviews. These interviews are about fit as determined by alumni "gatekeepers." My analysis of INSEAD interviews based on my own personal knowledge as well as reviewing the reports of INSEAD interviews found at accepted.com and clearadmit.com.

Based on what I can see, aside from issues of availability, there is no specific pattern for who interviews you. Like most schools that use alumni interviewers, it is not necessarily the case that the schol has put any significant time into selecting who will interview you. Also, don't be surprised if INSEAD has to change one or both of the interviewers that they initially assign to you because of the potential interviewer's availability. I get the impression that is frequent. It can result in having slightly longer to prep for the interview, which is not a bad thing.

During a Q&A I conducted with an INSEAD representatative, she discussed the whole issue of the two interviewers:

ADAM: Sometimes when I read or hear about INSEAD interviews, it almost seems like one interviewer is being intentionally aggressive and the other much less so. Sometimes I think this is probably just a kind of post-facto perception, but is there some real distinction between the two interviewers?
DEBORAH: The interviewers are given the same instructions. We don’t tell one to be more aggressive than the other. However, when possible, we do try to have applicants interview with one older alum and one more junior alum. We expect the more senior alum to have a stronger perspective on the overall leadership potential of the applicant and the future contributions one might make as part of the alumni community. We would expect a junior alum to assess the applicant from the perspective of a peer. i.e. Will this applicant be happy in the INSEAD programme?"

You may not necessarily find that more senior of the two interviewers is the more difficult one. It is also possible that you might have two interviewers who are not necessarily that different in terms of their age. Depending on where you are located, INSEAD may or may not have many local alumni to choose from. You should treat each of these interviews as separate experiences and if the first one does not go as well as you expected, don't give up. What matters is what both interviewers say about you.
You can provide your interviewers with either a resume or the application form information (non-essay pages) of the application. Some applicants just provide the entire application. I have not really detected any difference in outcomes between sending the application and sending a resume.

My colleague, H. Steven Green, has put the following organized list of INSEAD questions together by reviewing interview reports:

BACKGROUND (Expect answers to be probed for details.)

• Walk me through your resume. (Assumes applicant provided the interviewers with a resume, which is not required).
• What is rewarding about your current role?
• Tell me about yourself. / How did you get to where you are now?
• Tell me about your career progression to-date.
• How does one become CEO in your firm?
• Why did you choose your current firm / current position?
• Tell me about your current work responsibilities.
• Tell me, in detail, about one project in your current job.
• Tell me about your international experience(s) - both work and personal.
• Tell me about the major milestones in you life since university graduation.
• What do you do in your free time?

GOALS

• What are your goals?
• What are your career goals after INSEAD
• What will you do if you do not get the job you want after graduation?
• Why an MBA?
• Why now?
• Why INSEAD?
• Where else did you apply? How would you prioritize your decision if admitted to two or more?
• Why (THE SPECIFIC AREA OF STUDY YOU WISH TO PURSUE)?

STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES

• What is special about you that will make me recommend you?
• Tell me 3 strengths
• Tell me 3 weaknesses
• What is the biggest challenge you have faced?
• When you are in a gathering, what attracts your attention first?
• What makes you angry?
• What are you most passionate about?
• What do you find intolerable?
• Where are your peers that started in the same class with you at your consulting firm?

COMMUNICATION

• What is your style of negotiation?
• How do you deal with a boss who is not as smart as you?
• How do you deal with a person who’s determined not to listen to you even though he/ she knows you are right?

LEADERSHIP

• Tell me about a time when you were in control of a project.
• Tell me about a time when you were in a leadership position?
• What is your leadership style?

TEAMWORK

• What THREE things would you if a team member at INSEAD were not pulling his own weight?
• Tell me about your teamwork experience.
• Tell me about a time when you worked on a team.
• Tell me about time when you had to deal with conflict on a team.
• How do you handle cultural differences on an international team?

BRAINPOWER

• Tell me your opinion about (CURRENT EVENT) (FOLLOW UP)
• Tell me about (SOME ISSUE IN YOUR INDUSTRY)
• How has the economic crisis affected your company/your industry?
• What do you think of (SOME CURRENT GLOBAL ISSUE: POLITICS, ECONOMICS, etc.)
• What is the main challenge your industry/company is facing?

You need to be able to explain in-depth why you should be admitted to INSEAD, what you can contribute, and what you want to learn. Be willing to openly discuss what soft and hard skills you need to improve/acquire. Show yourself to be open, dynamic, change oriented, and a highly motivated person because the alum will be.

Since there will be time for you to ask questions to the alumnus, you need to give some significant thought to formulating those. Consider what year the alumnus graduated and any other background information if you can determine that through Linkedin or other sources of information. Develop at least four or more questions to ask.

Whoever you interview with, they are likely to be quite friendly and the style of the interview is conversational. Just because your interviewer is friendly, it does not mean that you are doing well. Don't assume a friendly interviewer is not actually a super critical one. Take nothing for granted. Also keep in mind that the admissions process at INSEAD is holistic and a great interview is no absolute guarantee of success.

Reported interview length for interviews is from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours. It is a good idea to make sure that your own schedule is free for about 2 hours in the event that your interviewer wants to keep on talking. The setting for these interviews is typically the interviewer's office or a cafe.

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

INSEAD MBA Essay Questions for January 2015

Here I discuss INSEAD's essays for January 2015 (Class of December 2015). INSEAD has changed the essays this year.  The program deadlines for January 2015 can be found here.

For information about INSEAD interviews, please see here.

By the way, if you are applying for September 2014, see this post as the questions you need to write on are different. For those who have already written essays for 2014 admission, but are now applying for January 2015 admission, please see Converting INSEAD's 2014 MBA Admissions Essays into January 2015 Essays. My post, INSEAD: Applying for September 2014 versus January 2015 Intakes  may also be relevant to you. 


Since 2001, when I began doing MBA admissions counseling, I have had an opportunity to work with a large number of clients admitted to INSEAD. Since establishing my own consulting practice in 2007, I've worked with 27 clients admitted to INSEAD. Annual breakdowns and testimonials from clients admitted to INSEAD can be found here. My report on my 2011 visit to the Singapore campus is here.

The INSEAD application requires no resume, so providing as complete an answer to all application form questions is especially important. That said, the application form is not terribly extensive.

While INSEAD no longer asks a "Why INSEAD?" question, as with other schools, I strongly recommend becoming informed about INSEAD. Attending admission events, meeting alumni, and making full use of INSEAD's online resources are critical for making the strongest possible case for why your goals require an INSEAD education. You should most certainly look at INSEAD KNOWLEDGE and listen to some INSEAD Knowledgecasts. Finally, keep in mind that INSEAD is a fun school, so express your personality in terms of why you want to attend it. I would also suggest joining  https://www.facebook.com/insead  and 
https://www.facebook.com/INSEAD.Degree.Programmes for the latest INSEAD news. 

Now to the essays, which I obtained from the online application on January 21, 2014.


Job Description Essays  (AND SO MUCH MORE!)
A core substitute for the resume are the job related essays, which give applicants an opportunity to explain and analyze their professional experience. As the questions are concerned with the applicant's professional experience, I think the following from my interview with Deborah Riger, who was the INSEAD MBA Programme's Assistant Director of Marketing at the time of the interview should be kept in mind:

"ADAM: Regarding professional experience, what to do you look for in younger (very early twenties) and older (late twenties or thirties) applicants?
DEBORAH: For all applicants we want to see a track record of professional accomplishments that sets them apart from their peers. For those with only 1-2 years of professional experience, they must demonstrate something distinctive in their profile, perhaps they have started their own company. I would suggest, it is in the benefit of all younger applicants to work for a minimum of two years before applying to business school as they will get more out of the programme if they have experiences to reflect back on. For older applicants, we are looking for a strong professional track record and clear goals toward career change or advancement. If an older applicant has been in the same role for five years that might not demonstrate potential for growth, overall ambition or success relative to his/her peers."

Based on my experience with INSEAD applicants, the above statement from Deborah is completely accurate. INSEAD is relatively forgiving of those with limited (1-2 years) of professional experience as long as there is something distinctive about their background, but for most applicants, INSEAD is expecting to see a clear pattern of career growth. While INSEAD can actually be quite flexible about the level of international experience that an applicant has, when it comes to those with 3-10+ years of experience, career growth really matters. Deborah's comment about applicants in the same position for five years is also really telling as it points to the fact that INSEAD is looking for applicants who are not complacent. Keep in mind that an INSEAD admission committee consists of faculty and alumni and the later, in particular, are likely to have clear expectations of what good career growth looks like.


I think it is also important to keep in mind that a business background is not a necessity for admission to INSEAD, but that good professional experience is. See here.  Based on my experience working with clients coming from a variety of professions, I can say that having a non-business, but solid professional career, can be a real advantage.

As I already mentioned, keep in mind that INSEAD does not require a CV or resume. Therefore these job essays below are critical pieces of the application. As you will see, the INSEAD application has relatively limited space to discuss your past experience in typical resume style. You should consider that these essays will really provide INSEAD with their primary interpretation of your career.

Job Description 1. Briefly summarise your current (or most recent) job, including the nature of work, major responsibilities, and where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget,clients/products and results achieved. What would be your next step in terms of position if you were to remain in the same company? (350 words max.) 
The first part of this question is a very straightforward for most applicants. For those who are unemployed, you should write about your last position held. You want to focus on both major responsibilities and major results. Since results (accomplishments) are likely to be specifically connected to responsibilities, I would prioritize them in your description. I think for many applicants, the easiest way to organize this essay will be in terms of discussing their 2-4 most important results and/or responsibilities. Here is one possible organizational scheme.

1. Brief introduction indicating the nature of the position and employer. 50 words.
2. Most important responsibility that lead to a result. 50-100 words.
3-5. Subsequent responsibilities-results. 25-100 words.

The Details: If you don't have employees working during under your supervision, you should still indicate any project-based and/or team-based leadership. As with a resume or CV include any numbers that will help INSEAD understand the extent of your results or responsibilities. Even approximate quantification is better than no quantification if it helps to positively showcase your career.
Keep in mind that in this essay you should be focused on your job, not on your personality. Interpret your job, don't just summarize it. Explain why the work you do is significant.

The second part of this question (Previously part of Job Essay 2)  is what I would call an "opportunity cost" question, in other words, by going to INSEAD, you will be sacrificing the opportunity to take the next step at your current employer. If you are unemployed, the way to handle this question is to discuss the kind of position you would obtain if you were not seeking an MBA. For everyone else, I think you should be realistic, but also present the best possible version of your next position, which will show that you are seeking an MBA to move beyond what would follow without it. I think INSEAD asks this question not only to determine whether you have a clear sense of your career trajectory, but also to confirm that you have thought deeply about what you are sacrificing by pursuing an MBA. Try to answer this question 50-100 words.  Given that INSEAD no longer has a why MBA question, this is a good place, as well as the next essay, to mention that.

Job Description 2. Please give a full description of your career since graduating from university. It should be written as if you were talking to someone at a social gathering detailing your career path with the rationale behind your choices. Discuss your short and long term career aspirations. (350 words max.) 
(AKA "The Discuss Your Past Career and Future Aspirations at a Cocktail Party Question.")

This essay had changed substantially and to call it a job description is just totally confusing. I guess the admissions office could not be bothered to update that name, but since this essay is now supposed to explain your overall career and your future goals (one assumes post-INSEAD short and long term career aspirations, it can hardly be called a job description, more accurately, it is CAREER MOTIVATION.

This essay should be a growth story. If it is not a story that shows how your career has positively evolved, it is unlikely to be very effective. You might be unemployed at the moment, but what has been the trajectory so far? Did you take a big risk along the way? Point that out. We each have our career ups and downs, especially anyone who has taken risks. Don't shy away from discussing the risks, but the overall focus of this essay should be positive. In my experience, INSEAD rewards those who take risks and does not look kindly on those that stay in the same position for five years or more. Change or become boring! If you have been working in the same position for five years or more, you will need to really show how you have demonstrated growth in terms of results or responsibilities, which would have been primarily discussed in Job Essay 1.


In terms of organizing this essay, think about the key turning points in your career. Help INSEAD understand how you have evolved professionally. Assume that you are being judged critically and consider how to both effectively and honestly present your career.

Calling this a description is particularly unhelpful because what they are looking for is an analysis of your career. And more specifically...
WELCOME TO THE  INSEAD COCKTAIL PARTY!

Anyone who knows about INSEAD knows it is a party school.  Well, I guess they really decided to flaunt that with this question, in particular: "It should be written as if you were talking to someone at a social gathering detailing your career path with the rationale behind your choices."  That's right, you are at a social gathering, perhaps drinking a martini or a glass of wine or Singapore Sling while explaining to someone at said gathering about your career. Now, unless you are bore, you will not go into details but be painting a pretty broad brush.  But who are you talking to? Maybe you are single and the person you are talking with is someone you want to impress because you really like them. At the same time, you know they are smart so you want to be relatively honest.  Yes, you stare into his or her's eyes, smiling, and attempting to be as charming as possible. Alternatively, maybe you are talking to potential employer or someone who can help get future employment. In this case too, you want to be charming, but perhaps a tad less flirty.  In either case, your job is give them the big picture of where you have been and where you are going.  You must come across as engaging.  After all, if you can't make an effective pitch here for yourself, what will happen when you have to do recruiting interviews?  Or just effectively network?  Networking is  often more than just writing emails, but actually involves socializing. The question thus is measuring your capability to demonstrate how you discuss your career when communicating with others. 

"Discuss your short and long term career aspirations."
Given the intensive nature of the INSEAD experience, you need to go into the program with a clear idea of what you want to do after your MBA. Of course, these aspirations might change, but given the program length and the reality that you will need to begin recruiting/internship hunting soon after entry, you will need a clear plan for your future. If you are having difficulty articulating such a plan, you can use my GAP, SWOT, AND ROI TABLE FOR FORMULATING GRADUATE DEGREE GOALS for this purpose (see below). I think Gap, SWOT, and ROI analysis are great ways for understanding what your goals are, why you want a degree, and how you will use it.

(To best view the following table, click on it. )






















How to use this table:


Step 1. Begin by analyzing your "Present Situation." What job(s) have you held? What was/is your functional role(s)? What was/are your responsibilities?
Next, analyze your present strengths and weaknesses for succeeding in your present career. REMEMBER: WHEN YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS DON'T ONLY THINK ABOUT WORK, THINK ABOUT OTHER ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE. In particular, some of your greatest strengths may have been demonstrated outside of work, so make sure you are accounting for them.
Strengths: What are you good at? Where do you add value? What are you praised for? What are you proud of?
Weakness: What are you bad at? What are you criticized for? What do you try to avoid due to your own limitations? What do you fear?
Next, analyze the environment you work in right now. What opportunities exist for your growth and success? What threats could limit your career growth?

Step 2. Now, do the same thing in Step 1 for your "Post-Degree" future after you have earned your graduate degree. IF YOU CANNOT COMPLETE STEP 2, YOU HAVE NOT SUFFICIENTLY PLANNED FOR YOUR FUTURE and therefore you need to do more research and need to think more about it.

Step 3. If you could complete step 2, than you should see the "Gap" between your present and your future. What skills, knowledge, and other resources do you need to close the gap between your present and future responsibilities, strengths, and opportunities?

Step 4. After completing Step 3, you now need to determine how an MBA will add value to you. It is possible that an increased salary as a result of job change will be sufficient "ROI" for the degree to justify itself, but you should show how a degree will allow you to reach your career goals. How will the degree enhance your skills and opportunities and help you overcome your weaknesses and external threats? If you can complete Step 4, then you should be ready to explain what your goals are, why you want a degree, and the relationship between your past and future career, as well as your strengths and weaknesses. If you know about INSEAD, you are ready to write about your goals, whether in Question 3-4 or elsewhere in the essay set.
The above table will also help you answer such common interview questions as: Where do you want to work after you finish your degree? Why do you want an MBA (or other degree)? What are you strengths? What are your weaknesses? What are your goals?

3. If you are currently not working or if you plan to leave your current employer more than 2 months before the programme starts, please explain your activities and occupations between leaving your job and the start of the programme. 
When I downloaded the PDF from the online application on January 21, 2014, no length was specified, but I am assuming this is a typo and that the length is probably 350 words.

I think it is critical to provide a honest answer to the question and one that hopefully shows that you are using your time well. Possible topics to discuss:
1. Learning activities (NOT APPLICATION PREP PLEASE! That would be really weak)
2. Language learning
3. Internships
4. Volunteer activities
5. Travel
6. Entrepreneurial activities

You need not be clever here, just clear and to the point. If your answer sounds like total bullshit, you risk trashing your application, so make sure what you have is really plausible.



The Motivation Essays
A number of these questions have changed and the Why INSEAD question has been removed and so has the reapplicant question.

1. Give a candid description of yourself (who are you as a person), stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary. (600 words max.) 

This question has not changed substantially from previous years. Though they did slightly change the wording. With a question like this I think it is important to understand that you are actually being asked to think about your strengths and weaknesses in terms of your overall personality and development. What is important here is provide both an analysis about specific characteristics of yourself and to help admissions understand who you are. YOU NEED TO TELL A COMPELLING STORY ABOUT WHO YOU ARE AS A PERSON!  I put this in uppercase because I get far too many essays from my clients that end up focusing on professional content, that don't focus on personality and personal background, or are otherwise not really effective portraits. Think of this essay as a highly focused portrait of yourself that will give admissions great insight into your life story and your characteristics (strengths and weaknesses). The most effective answers here consistently combine revealing parts of the applicant's personality and background while discussing strengths and weaknesses. Obviously the strengths and weaknesses should be ones that relate to your character, not to a skill set. Given the word count, I suggest focusing on no more than about two strengths and two weaknesses. I would try to give fairly equal consideration to both weaknesses and strengths.

EMBRACE WEAKNESS!
I find that many applicants resist writing about their own weaknesses, yet to do so reveals self-awareness and maturity. While I think it is necessary to practice good judgment when writing about weakness, I think it is also important that you provide something beyond the routine. One standard defensive strategy that many applicants seem drawn to is to write about knowledge or skill areas where they are weak, but this is not suitable for INSEAD's question because they want you to stress personal characteristics.

STRENGTHS
Compared to weaknesses, strengths are easier for most people to write about. Given the limited space here, you might find it helpful to write about a strength here that is discussed in greater detail in another essay. In other words, you might discuss the origins of one your key strengths and trace its connection to your personal or professional accomplishments.

IS IT A GOOD STRENGTH OR WEAKNESS?
Some questions to ask yourself:
1. Does the strength demonstrate one's potential for future academic and/or professional success? If so it is a probably a good topic. If not, why does INSEAD need to know about it?
2. Is a weakness fixable? If you are writing about a weakness that cannot be improved upon through your program at INSEAD, why do they need to know about it?
3. Is your strength or weakness being stated without any context or very context and not supported by other essays in your application? If so, you really need to provide enough support for the strength or weakness to make it meaningful.
Finally, if you are having difficulty thinking about your strengths and weaknesses in relation to your future academic and professional goals, please see my analysis of Essay 4 because in it I discuss how to think about strengths and weaknesses in relation to goals.

2. Describe the achievement of which you are most proud and explain why. In addition, describe a situation where you failed. How did these experiences impact your relationships with others? Comment on what you learned. (400 words max.) 

INSEAD previous asked for two achievements (one personal and one professional) and had a separate failure question. This year, they have cut one of the achievements and combined the two questions. In addition, they added question on personal interests.
For an  analysis of achievement and failure questions, see my post on IMD.  If you are also applying to IMD, you will probably find it easier to write their questions first before doing INSEAD"s.  IMD will give you more word count to answer very similar questions.  While the IMD question is on the  most important achievement and the IMD failure question is on leadership, my guidance  in that post should be sufficient for writing INSEAD's essay.

As INSEAD is now asking you to discuss  "extra-professional activities" in Essay 4, I think there is very high likelihood that you will want to write about a professional achievement here. And why wouldn't you want it to be your most important?

Given that INSEAD is specifically asking you to discuss how a failure impacted your relationship with other people (Teams for example), writing about a leadership failure would surely be a good way to answer INSEAD"s question. That said, INSEAD"s question can apply to any type of failure.

To answer this question correctly, you need to do the following:

1. Discuss an achievement. Explain how the achievement impacted your relationship with others. Explain what you learned from the achievement and/or the impact on the relations with others (Not really very clear which, so I will assume both.

2. Do the same thing for your failure.

Now, of course, you can try to combine your achievement and failure together so that they somehow have a common impact on others and/or learning obtained.  Some people will have such situations, but others will probably find it useful to treat each story separately.

An important part of this question is about your relationship to other people. This is a new aspect to the questions previously asked at INSEAD and clearly indicates their desire to gauge your understanding of the impact you have on others.  They are trying to measure your emotional intelligence, though not in in very much detail.  Make sure you address this part of the question.

3. Tell us about an experience where you were significantly impacted by cultural diversity, in a positive or negative way. (300 words max.) 

This is a major change from previous versions of the question because it no longer is asking about culture shock per se.

One core characteristic of those who are admitted to INSEAD is that they are international in their perspective and experience: The INSEAD MBA equips our alumni to work anywhere in the world. Accordingly, we attract applicants with cross-cultural sensitivity and an international outlook. I have found that it is usually those with extensive international experience that have the greatest likelihood for admission.  That said, in my interview with Deborah Riger, I asked her about this issue:

"ADAM: Is it possible to be accepted to INSEAD without having international experience?

DEBORAH: Yes, it is possible to be admitted without significant experience outside of your home country. While it is important for all applicants to show their international motivations in their essays, it is especially critical for those who lack international exposure to do so. Applicants need to share how they are comfortable and confident in their own culture, why they are seeking out the international exposure in the MBA and sharing perhaps how the world has come to them at home."

The nice thing about this question is that it does not require an applicant to have substantial international experience because diversity takes many forms.

Writing about a positive experience is likely to be what most applicants do because it is rather easy.

Writing about something negative can work well, but like previous culture shock questions, it is also a question with significant room for saying something stupid and potentially fatal to your application. Some topics to avoid:
1. Topics where you negatively stereotype another nation: Martians are argumentative, so I was surprised to learn that some of them are not.
2. Topics where you are the victim: The Martians lied to me and as a result I lost the contract to a local provider.

There is a wide variety of possible topics, which makes this a great question  for really emphasizing something not covered well in other essays.  A key consideration is that whatever the topic, diversity impacted you significantly.  In other words, write about something important and not trivial. Write about something that will really help INSEAD understand why you belong in their diverse community because of your attitude and insight into diversity.

4. Describe all types of extra-professional activities in which you have been or are still involved for a significant amount of time (clubs, sports, music, arts, politics, etc). How are you enriched by these activities? (300 words max.) 

While you should feel free to include ALL TYPES OF ACTIVITIES, you should not try to write about ALL ACTIVITIES that you have been or are currently engaged in.  My suggestion is to focus on 2-4 topics because if you do much more than that, you will say very little.

The key to effectively answering this question is to make sure you are addressing the second part of the question: "How are you enriched by these activities?"  In other words, focus on those activities which have really impacted you.  You may want to mention specific accomplishments related to one or more activities, but whatever you do, make sure the activities are actually significant and communicate something important about you.


5. Is there anything else that was not covered in your application that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee? (300 words max.) 
While this question is optional, I have every client write about something here. Beyond any explanation for any negative issues, feel free to write about any extracurricular activities, professional experiences, personal experiences, and/or other matters that you can add here to provide another positive perspective about you. This is a completely open question. While you might very well need to tell the Admissions Committee something negative, such as an explanation for a low GPA, I would suggest using at least part of it to tell them something positive about you. Feel free to write on any topic that will add another dimension to Admissions' perception of who you are. I would not treat it as optional unless you truly feel that the rest of your essays have fully expressed everything you want INSEAD to know about you. I don't suggest writing about something that would be obvious from reviewing your application, instead tell INSEAD that one or two additional key points that will give them another reason to admit you.

I know some applicants will want to write about "Why INSEAD?" here, but they cut that question, for this application,  so be careful with that.  I will be advising my own clients to only discuss INSEAD here if they have something really interesting to write or if they are reapplicants (see next paragraph).

Since there is no longer a reapplication question (at least not in the essay set put up on January 21st), I would recommend that reapplicants use the optional essay for the purpose of providing clearly stated updates that show growth since the last application. Whatever form(s) this growth takes, please provide a summary of it here, even if you have addressed the topic elsewhere in the application. In addition, I think it is especially useful to show what steps you have taken to learn more about INSEAD. For more about reapplication, please see A guide to my resources for reapplicants.

For my post on INSEAD interviews, please see here.

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.