The INSEAD application for the September 2020 intake is now live. You’ll find the INSEAD MBA essays within the online application.  Once again, INSEAD asks applicants to answer a series of short-answer job description essays as well as motivation essays.

The job questions are not essays. Hence, the number of words is not so important. People need to be comfortable writing 3 lines or 20. Some applicants work for companies that are well known and only 3 lines are sufficient to describe them; others work for small companies where it is more important to give the full picture.

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. (short answer)

What would be your next step in terms of position if you were to remain in the same company? (short answer)

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

Discuss your short and long term career aspirations with or without an MBA from INSEAD. (short answer)

If you are currently not working or if you plan to leave your current employer more than 2 months before the programme starts, please explain your activities and occupations between leaving your job and the start of the programme.

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. (approximately 500 words)

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. (approximately 400 words)

Describe all types of extra-professional activities in which you have been or are still involved for a significant amount of time (clubs, sports, music, arts, politics, etc). How are you enriched by these activities? (approximately 300 words)

Is there anything else that was not covered in your application that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee? (approximately 300 words)