Fortunately, I was able to schedule both interviews on the same day and so saved myself a ton of hassle, but it also meant that i couldn’t use one interview to prepare for the other, since they were back-to-back. The questions were pretty standard and as long as you know your essays and know for sure why you’re applying to the programs, there’s not much difficulty to be encountered there.
My first interview was with a female alum, the second with a male. Both had a consulting history, although the woman had recently switched industry and is now strategic director of one of the Brazilian airlines. Both were in their early 30s; both were incredibly likable and interesting. I don’t know if this is a general indication of INSEAD or maybe just because they’re both a little older than the peer group I’m used to, but I really, really enjoyed talking to them and felt like we could have kept our discussion going for hours. In a manner of speaking we did: my first interview lasted a little over an hour, my second a full two and a half hours.
Anyhow, here the questions:
- why MBA and why now (big emphasis on this — I was specifically asked to justify several times why it wouldn’t be better to do the MBA at a later time; maybe because I’m slightly younger than the average INSEAD student?)
- post-MBA plans, long-term goals
- walk me through your resume
- international experience
- Which other schools did you apply to?
- And: how likely are you to attend if accepted?
The last question was a tough one. Perhaps other people are better at faking it, but I was pretty honest with my interviwers and let them know that I couldn’t guarantee anything because there were too many undefined parameters in play. Still, I did make clear that I was very passionate about INSEAD and that I applied to the program because I could definitely see myself studying there, and that if I was admitted, I would like to get in touch with them to clarify any lingering doubts or uncertainties I had in regard to making my matriculation decision. Both interviewers were fine with that answer and one even went so far as to say that he would make sure to fill out the interview report on that question in such a way as to not hurt my chances of admission.
Final Status: accepted to the Fontainebleau program.
