When should I go to Singapore/Fontainebleau?There are several ways to do the campus switches. I present below what I think are the optimal combinations:
September Start:
1. Begin in Singapore, then move to France in Period 4 (March) in time for spring and recruiting season.
2. Begin in Fontainebleau, then do Period 3 in Singapore (January/February), thus missing the worst of the French winter.
January Start:
1. Begin in Singapore, then move to France in Period 3 (May) for French summer.
2. Alternately (and preferably), move to France in Period 4 (after the summer break), and spend Periods 4 and 5 in France.
RECRUITINGHow does recruiting work at INSEAD?Recruiting season starts in Period 4 of both promotions. By this point, of course, you need to have a resume and cover letters prepared. Be warned though: If you happen to be a September arrival and are looking for a job in investment banking, recruiting happens almost immediately, in October.
At INSEAD, there are three main kinds of recruiting opportunities.
Companies that come on campus to recruit: mainly the consulting firms, investment banks, and large multinationals.
Companies that post job notices on MBA Exchange, which is the outsourced INSEAD job board where smaller companies with less-formal recruiting programs post jobs on an ad-hoc basis.
Jobs that you find yourself. If you're not looking for a consulting, banking, or mainstream industry position, then chances are you will be searching for your job on your own. Be prepared to do so. If you're doing your own recruiting, then recruiting season starts as soon as you get to INSEAD.
Does INSEAD provide you with enough information/knowledge to successfully change fields?The Career Management Service at INSEAD does run a series of workshops and information sessions to help you decide what career you would like to pursue. Personally, I doubt the usefulness of the sessions. The biggest resource for information about other fields is your fellow students at INSEAD, who have probably been there and done that for almost any career you might be interested in.
A cautionary note: It is not all that easy to change fields these days, even after an MBA. Many companies seem to prefer applicants with prior experience in the field, which means that people get hired to do things they have already done. It's not impossible, but it is difficult.
Are there differences in recruiting from Fontainebleau and Singapore?Definitely. The jobs in Singapore are definitely more focused toward working in Asia, while those in France are more often geared toward Europe and America. A lot of the large companies (the consultants, most banks, and some multinationals) recruit at both campuses. Those that do not will often conduct first round interviews via videoconference.
Inevitably though, there are more jobs and a greater variety of them offered through the Fontainebleau campus (being older and better established and having a larger number of students). If you're thinking of working in consulting or banking or for a multinational, it doesn't matter that much which campus you recruit from. But if you are looking for something else, make sure you spend Periods 4 and 5 in the appropriate campus.
Remember that the campus at which you start is not necessarily the one you will recruit from, because you can easily switch campuses by Period 4.
LIVINGWhere should I live?In Singapore: Almost everyone lives in Heritage or Dover apartment complexes. Of the two, Heritage is the slightly newer and better one.
Both INSEAD campus and the apartment complexes are fairly far out of the city center, but you'll end up catching cabs when you need to go out at night, so it's not a big deal.
Unless you already have a really nice place somewhere else in the city, it's really not worth the commuting trouble to live somewhere else. The only other possible option is to live in Holland Village, which is not too far from campus and has more restaurants, bars etc.
In Fontainebleau: If you want to get good housing in Fontainebleau, you absolutely need to start looking very early in the game. For a September start, come to Fontainebleau by March at the latest (preferably earlier). There are three main living options:
Chateaus: They are more expensive to live in but are usually the most social places. And they're damn cool.
Houses: You have a range of houses in different villages around Fontainebleau.
Fontainebleau Apartments: Live in an apartment in Fontainebleau only if you have a partner or if you really don't want, or can't afford, a car.
The Chateaus:
Montmelian: That's where I stayed, so I'm biased. It's the closest drive to campus, has the most beautiful grounds, and threw the best parties during my time there.
Fleury: Definitely the most imposing-looking of the chateaus. A good place to live, because it's closer to Paris than all the others. However, the suite setup (each person has a self-contained apartment) means that you don't interact with your roommates as much as you might wish to.
Tavers: A nice place, but really, really far away from campus.
Villecerf: Not so much a chateau as a cluster of houses all rented by INSEAD students. Pretty far away, too.
The Houses:
The following are some of the better houses traditionally rented out to INSEAD students:
Le Vieux Moulin: Easily one of the most beautiful residences around. Perched right in the middle of the Loing River in Moret, it looks like a fairy-tale house.
Le Vivier: A beautiful compound of two houses with a common courtyard and a duck pond. A little far from campus, however.
Auberge Moulin: A pretty house perched right on the river.
Villa Vivante: Based in Avon, it's sort of like the best of both worlds -- a big house, but right in town.
There are a ton of other smaller houses that you will stumble upon. The best villages to live in (my personal opinion) are:
Samois sur Seine
Moret sur Loing
Bouron Marlotte/Montigny sur Loing
Barbizon (far, but lovely)
The best way to house-hunt is to just go to Fontainebleau and start talking to people at INSEAD. Everyone is fairly friendly and will point you to people who live in the places you want to take a look at.
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