How I Got to INSEAD

Vitor Hercules

Hi everyone!

First, let’s start with a little introduction: my name is Vitor, I’m a 28-year-old Brazilian writing to you from Thailand, just before I begin my INSEAD journey in Singapore (Yeah it's good to be travelling a bit and getting to know a few new places).

In my first post here, I would like to talk about why I decided to do an MBA, why INSEAD was always my first choice, and some tips for the application process.

My journey started in 2011, while I was pursuing my undergrad in Business. I had the opportunity to go to Montreal, Canada for an exchange in HEC and decided that even though it would delay my graduation for six months, it was going to be worth it. And it was!

Montreal was one of the best experiences of my life and it sparked something in me to study abroad yet another time.

While working at Itau, the biggest bank in Brazil, I saw how much an MBA was worth in terms of not only career progression but also personal growth potential. I had awesome people talking about their MBA journeys and that spark suddenly lit up again.

I started trying to do everything on my own; but long hours at work, studying for the GMAT, talking to MBA students and writing my essays was too much. So I got some help from application consultants to organise and focus my efforts on what was important at the time.

From the moment I started to look into which schools to apply to, INSEAD was always my first choice, not only thanks to its rankings but also due to its global nature.

INSEAD is recognised to be the most international MBA in the world, and you will be able to meet people from everywhere, study in places you never imagined, like Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and France.

Below, I leave for you guys with some tips that helped me through the whole MBA application process:

Don’t be afraid to ask for some help if you need to;

  1. Use the process to understand more about yourself and why the MBA is important to you (my MBA goals changed a lot during the process and the application is designed for the school to get to know you but also for you to know a little more about yourself);
  2. Don’t worry too much about the GMAT (yes it is an important part of the application but it’s just a part of the whole puzzle that is your application - I worried a bit too much in the beginning and it was not worth it);
  3. Don’t worry about financing your MBA (Prodigy - https://prodigyfinance.com/ - does an awesome job on helping you with this part);
  4. And last but not least, talk to people from the schools you want to apply (especially INSEADers, as they are always keen to help everyone! Just give a shout and I can help with any doubts you may have!).