How do you know if you are right for INSEAD? And what are the things INSEAD is looking for in their prospective MBA students? Here are a few thoughts on INSEAD’s motivational essays.
MOTIVATION ESSAYS
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. (max. 500 words)
MBA applications frequently discuss strengths and weaknesses. A question regarding strengths and weaknesses is intended to assess your maturity and self-awareness. This is an opportunity to emphasize leadership, teamwork, or other skills that can help you succeed in the future.
Although examples aren't needed, keep in mind that the INSEAD MBA admissions committee reads a lot of essays. Stand out by using concrete examples. Focus on the flaws that you have taken concrete actions to address while describing them. Or it could have been a means of discovering more about yourself. Strengths and weaknesses are frequently two sides of the same coin, and your significant flaws might be linked to your important strengths.
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. (max. 400 words)
This essay is an opportunity to highlight one of your most noteworthy accomplishments. Impressive accomplishments that stand alone provide excellent fodder for this essay. It's also crucial to explain why these achievements are significant to you. Provide the context for your professional satisfaction once you have succinctly explained the success.
Failure is the polar opposite of success, and INSEAD wants to know how you view both. It's critical to use a true failure that has emotional relevance for you while writing a failure essay. It will be simple to see through an accomplishment portrayed as a failure. Use a real failure to show your maturity and growth potential. It's fantastic if you can explain how you changed as a result of the failure.
The third section of the essay discusses how these events affected your relationships and what you learned from them. This section of the essay is about how other people felt, whether you were part of a team or the main impact was on a loved one.
A team or a management is likely to be happy if they succeed, whereas a failure is likely to be disappointing. However, your accomplishment or failure may have provided your company with a learning opportunity. Or perhaps something better came along for someone else. It could have been a team challenge that brought you closer to another person. Consider it from a different perspective.
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? (max. 300 words)
What you do outside of school or work is more personal than anything else. What are the most meaningful things you've done with your time? You should both define and explain your key interests outside of your professional efforts, as well as why they are important to you and why you devote time to them.
You should also be able to explain how you want to continue your involvement while at INSEAD, citing any specific clubs or organizations where you see your hobbies contributing to the community.
OPTIONAL
Is there anything else that was not covered in your application that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee? (max. 300 words)
This essay is 300 words long and can be used to discuss anything you like. You may have covered all aspects of your candidacy because the INSEAD MBA questions are so detailed. Consider themes that would be difficult to incorporate into the remainder of your application. Make certain that you have included personal characteristics. This could be a wonderful spot to talk about a fun pastime or a significant achievement.
If you've already covered everything, you can skip this question (it IS optional). However, if you have any issues in college, such as a low GPA or a failing grade, this is the place to address them. It's far preferable to thoroughly describe any concerns with your application. You don't want the INSEAD MBA admissions committee to have to guess what went wrong.
More information on how to apply may be found here.