Stairway to INSEAD
If you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse. - Jim Rohn
I'll let you in on a secret. INSEAD has been on my "to-do list" for a long time. I was drawn to INSEAD because of the cultural diversity it offers and the chance it would give to get back to the classroom. A year-long journey breaking away from the everyday routine, while shifting gears and changing career, is more than the quintessential icing on the cake. An alluring to-do for almost half a decade!
For almost a decade, I chased the goals that were in plain sight. Unilever was a great teacher and mentor - the work was always exciting, and I never stopped learning from the bright minds and accomplished leaders.
One June evening, it was pouring cats and dogs and I had to stay home with nothing but the sound of rain and a clear mind. If not now, then when? I made the INSEAD plan - catch round one for the September 2017 intake. That gave me three months to study and take the GMAT, and complete my application.
Happy with my decision, I shared my plan with my husband. “Why not January?” is all he said with a strange comfort in his voice.
He had just taken to entrepreneurship – he’d surely want me to make “safer” decisions! In about ten minutes I realised I had thought of several reasons– too little time to prepare, impact on financial stability, likelihood of getting through in R4 etc. These were excuses. They kept me in my comfort zone.
The one-month journey began!
- GMAT: I must say, when you are running against time the Official Guide and the various resources available online can actually seem more overwhelming than reassuring. I decided not to refer to more than one book per topic. Practice tests really helped me identify areas that I needed to work on. I learnt very soon – nothing matters more than keeping your cool.
- Essays: Aristotle said “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom”. It definitely is the first step to writing the applications essays. I wrote my essays earnestly and I felt many things as I did that – content, vulnerable, motivated, exhausted and self-aware. There are several essays in the INSEAD application. It’s best to plan adequate time for each, bearing in mind that the motivation essays could take longer as they inspire more soul-searching. If there’s one thing I’m glad I did it was this– I started over my essays each time I didn’t see enough of “me” in them.
- Recommendations and everything else: The application needs two letters of recommendation and it’s best to send out these requests as soon as possible! Most of us reach out to people who have demanding schedules. The great thing is that the requests can be sent out long before the rest of the application is filled in! Everything else on the application is a breeze and it helps to keep a good day with a clear mind to proof read it all.
It wasn’t an easy month by any measure. It took oodles of coffee (mind you, tea is my beverage of choice), and many sleepless nights of writing and re-writing essays. July 2017 left me energised and I waited with bated breath to hear from INSEAD. My interviews with alumni left me even more eager– it gave me a glimpse of the possibilities the diverse alumnus network could bring to fore. Now, with two weeks to go before I attend orientation week in the Singapore campus, I have only one thing left to say:
The first step is to establish that something is possible; then probability will occur. - Elon Musk
