The MBA Gatekeeper At INSEAD

Are there differences in who typically applies to the different intakes?

For the September intake, we see people who apply to multiple schools, so they often have a Plan B. And for the January intake, you have people who are usually just targeting INSEAD. That’s the main difference. But in terms of quality, it’s the same quality of applications. We recommend the January intake for people who are 100% committed to going into banking afterwards because that fits the recruiting season better.

In January we also see people who are 100% committed to doing some sort of drastic change. So, not just geography, but also function or sector. In that case, we see them going into the January intake because of the possibility of doing the internship and that gives them the opportunity to give it a try and see if they fit the new sector.

Are you seeing changes in career goals and values of applicants?

Sustainability is definitely a word we hear more and more. Social impact, social innovation are definitely trendy words. Entrepreneurship, startup are also coming in either short-term or long-term goals.

Which schools are you competing with for your best applicants?

From the GMAC data, we see we compete against LBS, Harvard, and Stanford. If we admit people who have withdrawn, we see those are usually the schools where they are going.

Do you have any applicants that stand out in your mind over the years that you took a chance on and they really thrived and exceeded your expectations?

The poker player. He was a professional poker player. And I was really wondering whether he was playing with INSEAD and how much he was gambling with his application. That was difficult for me to imagine the person — not in the class — but after in the alumni network. And for the Career Development Center team. I sought their advice as well for an opinion on this person. The application was good. Everything was properly written. The GMAT was fine. But why an MBA? He was perfectly fine. People loved it and loved him. That was five or six years ago and I’m not sure where he is now. We debated his application for sure.

Is there anything you feel applicants should know about you or your team?

One common trait for the entire team is the fact that we are all attached to our candidates in a way. We have an admissions committee, and so, we are indeed a gatekeeper, but the admissions committee makes the final vote. And the admissions committee is comprised of alumni and faculty. Sometimes when the admissions committee denies somebody we like, we say, ‘OK, don’t feel strong, don’t feel bad for this person.’ But we have this bonding and way of getting attached to our candidates sometimes, for some reason. Sometimes it’s someone who called, or someone who was nice, or someone you met on the road, but it’s hard when the admissions committee denies someone you’ve become attached to.

Do you have an overwrite button you can push?

Nope.

Any final thoughts?

I’m sure we could keep going for ages. But I think we covered most of it.

DON’T MISS: THE MBA GATEKEEPER AT WHARTON or AN INTERVIEW WITH CHAD LOSEE, HARVARD’S NEW MBA GATEKEEPER