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2004 FULL-TIME MBA PROFILE
INSEAD
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CLASS OF 2004 GRADUATE COMMENTS
At INSEAD you learn a lot in a short period of time, and you see yourself growing fast. Fast and effective: That's perfect for anyone who already has five to six years working experience.--Finance
I am a U.S. student at a highly ranked non-US institution (INSEAD). I would not recommend that other U.S. citizens attend INSEAD unless they have access to European work permits and/or are 100% sure that they will remain outside of the United States following business school. INSEAD's brand awareness is so low in the United States that it is not worth the investment if you have also been accepted to a comparable U.S. MBA program. The one-year format of the program is also not well suited to students who have not had prior business training. I would not recommend that any students without prior in-depth business training attend this school as it will be academically challenging and the student is unlikely to learn up to expectation levels in just 10 short months. Relative to what I have heard from friends at U.S. business schools and what I myself observed during the application process, INSEAD is clearly sub-par in the way the administration addresses students. This is a recognized problem which, we are told, is being addressed. I hope so.--Marketing
I think the INSEAD MBA program is a great enrichment for people with higher management or entrepreneurship aspirations. It strengths lay, in my opinion, in its selection of highly qualified international students who help each other to expand their horizon, build a strong network in every country around the world, and enhance their abilities to conduct business in an increasingly global economy. This international environment is further fostered by the two campuses of INSEAD in France and Singapore as well as the partnership with Wharton. Despite the fact that I already earned a business degree and had four years experience in strategy consulting, I found the INSEAD MBA very helpful from an academic perspective thanks to high-quality professors and well-designed core courses and electives. Although the INSEAD MBA is very intense because it is only one year, I personally found that to be an advantage as it keeps costs (including opportunity costs) lower.--Entrepreneurship
INSEAD is a great alternative for an international-focused person who is at a stage in his/her career, in which it is best to spend one year getting an MBA. The diversity one would experience in the INSEAD environment is staggering -- nowhere else would one be going to a business school with people from 60 countries around the world.--Human Resources
[Recommend program to friends/colleagues?] It's the world's best one-year program, and it is a lot more cost-effective than U.S. schools. The international dimension is also more than a cliché, it truly works at INSEAD. Having spent an exchange period at Wharton, I think, however, a two-year MBA program at a top U.S. school is better if you can justify the cost or want to work in the United States. It's not that you learn more. (I calculated 640 class hours at Wharton over 21 months, compared to 530 class hours at INSEAD over 10 months), or that the professors are better (on average I found the quality is similar); it's just the whole MBA experience is richer because you have more time for a summer internship, extracurricular pursuits, etc. Plus, the name of a good U.S. school is much better for opening doors to U.S. firms.--Finance
The consulting project highlighted for me the importance of not just understanding the models, but also in asking the right questions to apply the models. After that experience I was very interested in understanding the sources of information.--Consulting
[Did consulting project enhance learning?] I had to negotiate to purchase a company for sale. This will greatly help me the day that I decide to do this for real for myself.--Consulting
The one-year program is a key competitive advantage of INSEAD. I didn't think about it before, but I see now how much the cultures vary between European and U.S. schools. INSEAD is relaxed and informal (joke mass e-mails by students, neat but casual dress to recruiter presentations, fun-filled national weeks, cross-cultural teasing), whereas I found Wharton highly conscious of being professional (many protocols, politically correct, business dress to functions, serious atmosphere, career-focused). There are pros and cons with both cultures; one could read immature for relaxed or uptight for professional.--Finance
[Did consulting project enhance learning?] There is no substitute for getting real-world feedback on concepts we learned in class and then applied to a real situation.--Entrepreneurship
I helped a startup company in Singapore to build a business plan. Not only was I able to apply many tools learned in class but also and more importantly, I could improve my ability to craft effective business plans through discussions with other students, feedback sessions with faculty members, and support from alumni as entrepreneurs or investors. As a result, we finished second in the 2004 Roland-Berger Insead business-plan competition.--Marketing
I worked with L'Oreal Canada on a marketing assignment. Having access to top executives at L'Oreal was a great experience.--Not Available
I believe INSEAD is the only MBA program that brings diversity while attracting the best students in the world. One of the nicest things about the students is that they stay humble, probably thanks to their open-mindedness and maturity. The quality of the teaching is outstanding and so is the access we have to professors. The INSEAD MBA translates into great career opportunities all over the world.--Not Available
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