How To Get Into INSEAD

Update: This article was originally posted on August 1, 2022. It has been updated with new information and tips below. 

Update: This article was originally posted on August 1, 2022. It has been updated with new information and tips below. 

As an internationally-minded school with a number of locations across the globe, INSEAD is one of the best places to prepare for a global career and gain a wide network. Considering that INSEAD offers one of the best-ranked MBAs out there, earning a spot at this school requires you to really stand out among the competition. 

In this guide, we will go through how to get into INSEAD. While many applicants think that simply marketing themselves well is enough to gain admission, successful applicants are the ones who understand a) who INSEAD is looking for, b) how INSEAD’s MBA program, community, and opportunities fit their profile and goals, and c) how to prepare an INSEAD-specific essay and interview. Read on for our expert advice on how to master these three things.

 

1. Understand who INSEAD is looking for

(Photo courtesy of @insead on Instagram)

“The accelerated full-time MBA programme curriculum develops successful, thoughtful leaders and entrepreneurs who create value for their organisations and their communities, and we are looking for smart, well-rounded candidates who believe that business can be a force for good.” Minh Huy Lai, Managing Director of the INSEAD MBA Program

Every year, INSEAD searches the globe for outstanding, globally-minded professionals. More than 75 countries are represented in INSEAD’s MBA class. With a strong emphasis on diversity, collaboration, and global mindset, there is a lot of variation in the INSEAD class, with previous work experience ranging from 3 to 8 years.

Beyond the impressive statistics, though, INSEAD is a highly values-driven community that values diversity, adaptability and teamwork — and professionals who are adept at putting these values into practice in their daily lives. 

According to INSEAD’s admissions committee:

 “The MBA Admissions team are looking for people with intellectual curiosity, personal qualities to contribute to the many INSEAD activities and a desire to stretch themselves in a rigorous academic programme. We welcome applications from around the world regardless of race, religion, gender, colour or financial status. Our aim is to build an exciting, dynamic and diverse student body.​”

So, if this sounds like a community in which you’d be right at home, you’ll have to think of the ways in which you align with the main characteristics of INSEAD’s students. This means forming your business school brand and then focusing on the aspects of that brand that align with a value for diversity, curiosity, and the desire to create positive change. 

2. Know INSEAD’s program and how you can use it

The second thing you must do to get into INSEAD is to know the MBA program and how it applies to your career goals. If you want to get into INSEAD, you really need to show the admissions committee why it’s a good fit for you (and why you’re a good fit for the community too)!

While you will have to do your own research to find the specifics of what aligns specifically with your goals and profile, below we are highlighting some of the main aspects of INSEAD’s MBA program so you can be informed about what makes it unique in comparison to other business schools.

 

INSEAD’s diversity

Adhering to its brand of internationalism, the first six core courses of INSEAD’s MBA curriculum are all globally-minded and allow students to broaden their international perspectives. With a vast majority of its student body being international and three different locations across the world, INSEAD offers its students the opportunity to create a uniquely global network of professional and personal connections. Additionally, with four locations, applicants have multiple choices for the kind of network and opportunities they want to pursue.

 

Cutting-edge knowledge

INSEAD’s world-class faculty, constantly evolving courses and activities, and vast number of research initiatives all demonstrate the school’s commitment to staying on top of the latest trends in business and addressing the most pressing global challenges. INSEAD’s innovative curriculum combines all three instruction styles (lecture-based, case study, and experiential), leveraging the approach most appropriate for the course content and the professor’s skills. Approaches that professors employ include business simulations, tailored case studies, role-plays, group projects, and study tours.

INSEAD also has 17 centers and research initiatives that allow students to pursue projects in their particular areas of interest during their MBA studies and promote cutting-edge ideas in urgent areas related to business and beyond.

 

An expansive alumni network

In addition to experiencing INSEAD’s diverse community, MBA students and grads have access to the school’s expansive alumni network. INSEAD’s alumni network has around 64,000 members across 180 countries, and there are almost 50 alumni groups that help keep the INSEAD culture alive for students and alumni alike.

 

3. Prepare a winning application

Last but certainly not least is knowing how to write an outstanding essay and prepare for a successful interview. Below are our top tips on succeeding at both of these key aspects of your INSEAD application!

Write an outstanding essay

Writing any admissions essay is a tough task, however, impressing INSEAD’s highly selective adcom is especially challenging. Below, we discuss how to successfully respond to INSEAD’s main essay questions.*

*Though these questions are accurate at the time of publication, check out our INSEAD Essay Analysis post for the most up-to-date questions and analysis. 

 

Motivational essay 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. (500 words)

Considering the fact that you only have 500 words to present yourself, this essay can seem like a daunting task. However, we have found that the following structure helps this essay flow nicely and perfectly nail the brief. 

We suggest including two strengths and one weakness (in any order you prefer), and a theme to connect them all. 

Finally, do not use a fake or made-up weakness. Your weakness should be thoughtful yet appropriate for business school. End by showing how you are working on this weakness. The important thing here is not to show you are a “perfect” person but to show them that you are mature, self-aware, and focused on self-improvement. 

Need more guidance? Our MBA Resource Library has dozens of past successful INSEAD essays and a detailed brainstorm to help you plan out a winning INSEAD essay. Our library also includes guides for all top global MBA programs, detailed essay brainstorms, interview tips and mocks, CV templates, and recommendation letter guides. Click to join! 

Motivational essay 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)

For this essay, we suggest you brainstorm a list of your greatest accomplishments and greatest failures. After doing this, filter out examples that are contradictory to Essay 1 (for example, your achievement revolves around being an excellent presenter and your weakness in Essay 1 is presentation skills) or that overlap with stories you are telling in other essays. After this, go through the list again and remove examples that have nothing to do with other people. This is incredibly important because this essay is not asking you to discuss your life’s absolute greatest mess up, it’s asking you to talk about a failure and discuss how it influenced your relationships with others. 

Finally, given the short word count, you may want to consider a situation where you experienced a failure, learned from it, and turned things around to lead to your greatest achievement. Though you certainly don’t have to follow this model (and many of our successful clients have not), it can help shorten the word count by eliminating the need to provide context for two situations. 

TOP TIP: STAR-format examples work best here. If you’re not sure how to achieve this, check out this post, designed to help you use the STAR methodology easily and effectively in your essays. 

 

Motivational essay 3

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)

Here, we suggest choosing a few different activities you currently participate in (or have meaningfully participated in previously). Then, justify how each activity has enriched you. 

For more information on how to successfully complete INSEAD’s essays, including INSEAD’s job essays, see our essay analysis with sample responses!

*Note: this is the latest essay question as of the date this guide was published, but we suggest that you check for recent changes, as schools often update their essay questions closer to the round 1 deadline. You can access INSEAD’s essay question and more application info here.

 

Prepare a winning interview

Once you’ve submitted your application, you will wait for your invitation to interview. Once you receive this, congratulations! Landing an interview with INSEAD is an exceptional achievement.

INSEAD has a rich tradition of alumni conducting admissions interviews. You will have to complete two interviews, each with a different alumnus or alumna, in order to finish the interview portion of the INSEAD application. Each interview typically lasts 45 to 60 minutes.

The interviewer will have access to your application and thus may ask you questions related to your responses therein. Keep in mind, however, that your interviewer will not have seen your video essay responses.

INSEAD interviews, since they are conducted by alumni, tend to be slightly friendlier than interviews conducted by the admissions committee. Nonetheless, the interviewer is still trying to gauge how solid your motivations for wanting to pursue an MBA are, how interested you seem in the INSEAD program, and if you fit well with the program’s global community. 

Interviewers often ask many standard MBA interview questions, as well as questions designed to test how well you handle diversity and conflict. You can also expect numerous follow-up questions. 

Our clients who have interviewed with INSEAD in the past say that the interviewer was very friendly and demonstrated a genuine interest in their answers. For some clients, questions were far more personal in nature, covering topics like their childhood and family upbringing. Other clients reported their interview was strictly professional, so make sure you’re ready for anything when you interview with INSEAD.

 

Make sure you prepare a successful INSEAD application

Getting into the INSEAD MBA is no easy feat. 

With multiple essays, numerous letters of recommendation, and admissions interviews, a successful application to INSEAD requires that you carefully think about all aspects of your profile and craft the most cohesive, compelling narrative possible. 

Starting from scratch, though, can leave many applicants like you feeling confused and uncertain they are developing an application that will impress the INSEAD admissions committee. 

That’s why we created our MBA Resource Center, which includes everything you need to get into the INSEAD MBA, all in one place. This includes dozens of sample essays, recommendation letter questions and guides, sample letters of recommendation, MBA CV templates, interview mock sequences, and even sample answers to the most common interview questions. 

In short, our Resource Center puts the Ellin Lolis Advantage into your hands, giving you exclusive access to the materials we used to help maintain our 98.9% success rate.

The Ellin Lolis MBA Resource Center has helped countless applicants around the world get into INSEAD. Join today to put this competitive advantage to work for you.