INSEAD Revamps Its MBA Application Essays

INSEAD has just introduced its most substantial refresh of the MBA application essays in years. The structure has shifted, the wording has evolved, and the underlying expectations are more clearly articulated. As someone who spent years in the Admissions Director’s seat, I see this evolution as a thoughtful recalibration – one that streamlines the process, encourages integrated storytelling, and aims to better guide candidates in presenting their candidacy.

And yet, as with any significant change, there are trade-offs. There are elements I welcome wholeheartedly – and others I find myself missing already.

The Candid Description Essay: A Hallmark That Set INSEAD Apart

One essay that has long distinguished the INSEAD application is the “candid description of yourself” prompt. It’s long been a hallmark of the application – something that set INSEAD apart from other schools.

Old prompt: 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)

New prompt: Give a candid description of yourself as a person and a leader, emphasizing the strengths and weaknesses you recognize in yourself. Explain how you are actively working on your development, sharing key experiences that have shaped you, providing specific examples where relevant. (500 words)

This essay historically invited applicants to share personal stories and formative moments from their lives – stories that were often fascinating and deeply telling. They provided the admissions team with meaningful context and gave a sense of the human being behind the CV. These essays revealed what made a candidate tick, what shaped their values, and how they saw themselves in the world.

More than anything, this essay showed that INSEAD genuinely cared about getting to know applicants on a personal level. It often brought the application to life, giving the file reader a glimpse into the candidate’s personality and life story—something that’s just not possible to capture in a CV.

It was always my favourite essay to read. The personal narratives shared – sometimes joyful, sometimes painful, always revealing – made the application process feel less transactional and more human. One recent client told me, half-jokingly, that he was going to frame his candid description essay and hang it on the wall. And truly, that’s the kind of deep reflection and storytelling this essay inspired.

This year, however, the wording of the essay has shifted. Candidates are now asked to describe themselves “as a person and a leader” – an evolution that, while subtle, may tilt the balance more toward professional anecdotes and leadership themes. While I understand the rationale, I do worry that some of the soul of this essay may be lost. There’s ample room in the rest of the application to explore leadership experience. What made this essay so special was its focus on the personal, and I hope applicants will continue to use it in that spirit, even if the prompt nudges in a more professional direction.

Streamlining the Career Story

One of the most notable changes is the consolidation of the career-related essays. In recent years, applicants responded to four separate questions (plus an optional one), which could lead to fragmented storytelling. The new structure simplifies this into two questions while retaining a similar total word count – giving applicants more narrative freedom and flow.

Old prompts:

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. (200 words)

2) What would be your next step in terms of position if you were to remain in the same company instead of going to business school? (200 words) 

3) Please give a full description of your career since graduating from university. Describe your career path with the rationale behind your choices. (300 words)

4) Discuss your short and long term career aspirations with an MBA from INSEAD. (100 words)

New prompts:

1) Provide a summary of your career since graduating from university, explaining the rationale behind your key decisions and career progression. Include a description of your current (or most recent) role, covering the scope of your work, major responsibilities, employees under your supervision, budget size, clients/products, and any notable results achieved. (500 words) 

2) Describe your short and long-term career aspirations, including your target geography, industry, and function. How do you plan to bridge the gap between your current position and these goals, and how will INSEAD help you achieve them? (300 words)

Importantly, the career goals question now expands from a restrictive 100 words to a more generous 300, offering space for meaningful details. The addition of a prompt about how the applicant plans to bridge the gap between their current position and their goals – and how INSEAD will support that journey – is a welcome development. It sends a clear message: your transformation at INSEAD is a co-created process. The school can be a powerful catalyst, but it’s up to you to take initiative. It’s a mindset shift I’ve seen echoed in other schools recently – Columbia Business School made a similar move last year.

It’s also helpful to see INSEAD offering clearer guidance by encouraging candidates to outline target geography, industry, and function—a subtle nudge that will help applicants understand what the admissions committee wishes to know.

The Return of Extracurriculars

I was very pleased to see the return of the extracurriculars essay, which had been dropped last year. The new framing more explicitly invites candidates to reflect on personal growth, skills developed, and community impact. This essay has always offered a glimpse into what applicants bring to INSEAD beyond their professional and academic achievements – an essential part of the story. A candidate’s contributions to the school community often come as much from their passions and pursuits as from their professional background.

New prompt: Describe the activities you listed above and explain how they have enriched your life (e.g., skills developed, personal growth, community impact). (300 words)

A New Focus on Resilience

Another shift worth noting is in the second motivational essay. For years, candidates were asked to describe both an achievement and a failure – a balanced lens that revealed how they handle success and setbacks (although last year the achievement element was dropped). 

Now, the focus is on navigating a highly stressful situation. Clearly, INSEAD is placing a sharper emphasis on resilience – an increasingly important leadership attribute in today’s unpredictable world. But this essay also offers insights into emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and interpersonal dynamics. The most compelling responses won’t simply describe what happened, but reflect deeply on what was learned, how the candidate changed, and what they might do differently in the future.

Old prompt, pre-2024: 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)

New prompt: Describe a highly stressful situation you faced and how you managed it. What did this experience teach you about yourself and your interactions with others? (400 words) 

A Richer, More Human Application Experience

While the INSEAD application may seem long on paper, what we hear time and time again from applicants is just how meaningful the process becomes. Many candidates say they’re genuinely proud of what they’ve written by the end of it – that they’ve had the opportunity to express multiple facets of who they are in a way that simply isn’t possible in shorter applications. One recent client told us his INSEAD application was the most complete, reflective piece of writing he’d ever produced.

This speaks volumes about the school’s ethos. INSEAD has always cared deeply about the whole human being, not just their CV. The application reflects that commitment – it encourages candidates to bring their full selves to the table.

Final Reflections

INSEAD’s application has always invited candidates to deep introspection. It’s not an easy process – but it’s an immensely rewarding one. Our clients often comment that the INSEAD application challenged them to reflect more profoundly than any other, and in doing so, helped them clarify who they are and what they want.

As the structure evolves, I hope this spirit of personal storytelling and thoughtful reflection will continue – especially in the candid description essay, which has long been one of the most distinctive and human elements of the application.

Because while INSEAD looks for future leaders, it also looks for people with depth, character, and purpose – qualities that come through most clearly when you’re given the space to tell your whole story.