What you should know about applying to INSEAD in 2021-2022

Get expert INSEAD MBA application tips for 2021-2022 directly from the admissions director. Learn about essays, GMAT, diversity, and the unique one-year program.

On this topic, Caroline Diarte Edwards interviewed Virginie Fougea, Global Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at INSEAD. Ms. Edwards, in turn, was Head of INSEAD Admissions from 2005 to 2012 and left INSEAD to help found Fortuna Admissions, now one of the world's leading MBA admissions consulting firms.

In an open conversation, Virginie Fougea describes what learning looks like in the face of the pandemic, why the school attracts (and admits) slightly older candidates compared to top programs in the US, what she looks for in applicants, and the success of their new Master in Management (MiM) program, among many other topics.

INSEAD is the largest full-time MBA program among the world's leading business schools, admitting approximately 1,000 students each year from very diverse backgrounds and with a wide range of ambitions. Even in a typical year (which this year definitely was not), the INSEAD Admissions team maintains a uniquely fast pace, managing eight different deadlines for two intake procedures (in September and January) with campuses in Fontainebleau and Singapore. Notably, INSEAD just admitted its largest January intake class in history, 20% more than in previous years, including students who chose to defer their September 2020 intake.

Below, INSEAD Admissions Director Virginie Fougea writes about five useful application tips:

1. More and longer essays require introspection and an opportunity to better tell one's own story.

It was asked whether INSEAD is trying to make the admissions committee's job tedious by following the US trend of reducing essays and word counts. Virginie praised the substantive nature of the application, as it encourages participants to engage in self-reflection in order to take full advantage of the school and community from day one. She emphasized that with a one-year program, you really have to put in the effort. Students like this intensity, and recruiters also appreciate the ability of INSEAD graduates to thrive in a fast-paced work environment. The introspective application is therefore about preparing applicants for this intensity and setting them up for success. The length of the application is also valuable given the incredible diversity of the applicant pool, as it gives everyone a chance to present different aspects of themselves, demonstrate their suitability, and convey a wealth of personal, professional, international, and extracurricular experiences. And indeed, I hear from applicants we work with at Fortuna that when it's time to hit the button for the INSEAD application, they often feel a great sense of pride in the multidimensional story they were able to convey thanks to the range of questions in the INSEAD application.

2. Slightly older candidates reflect a commitment to global diversity and lived experience.