Aarti's Rapid Journey to INSEAD: Strategic Planning and Clear Goals Lead to Success in MBA Application

Although she had an impressive career path in the real estate industry, marked by multiple promotions and a relocation from India to Singapore, her GMAT score was below expectations, and she lacked clear motivations for pursuing an MBA.

Leveraging our strong expertise in the real estate industry (having worked with dozens of applicants, including C-Level executives), we promptly helped her define clear actionable career goals. The industry was going through massive transformation following the COVID pandemic, and we wanted to leverage her Workplace & Change consulting experience to identify career goals that would make her an attractive candidate. Instead of targeting consulting, we targeted real estate consulting as her number one exit strategy. 

To craft a successful INSEAD application, it's essential to focus on three key areas:

1. Showcase Strong International Experience: Aarti had significant experience, having spent the last few years working at her firm’s regional headquarters in Singapore and overseeing all Southeast Asia markets. She also worked extensively with global teams in her previous role in India and we wanted to highlight her wealth of  international experience to demonstrate her ability to adapt to different cultures and environments and emphasize her global perspective.
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2. Demonstrate Significant Career Progression: Aarti secured 3 promotions in the span of 7 years with her firm, including a relocation to the regional office within her first 2 years with the firm - something highly unusual. That provided clear evidence of her career growth, and helped positioned her as a very strong applicant. Importantly, she led her career proactively, having consistently taken on more challenging roles and delivered impactful results.
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3. Present Clear and Actionable Career Goals: Despite the short essay allocated to the post-MBA goals (100 words), it is crucial to articulate well-defined career goals - it’s all about finding the right balance between achievable goals and ambition.

By effectively addressing these areas, using all seven essays, we were able to build a highly powerful application package for Aarti, and we felt confident that it would be sufficient to overcome her subpar GMAT score. 

Innovative Risk-Taking

Introducing new literacy strategies required teachers to step outside their comfort zones. The agency provided ongoing support and resources to facilitate this transition.

Aarti received an offer at INSEAD (her number one school) with scholarship. 

Her success story underscores the importance of strategic planning, clear vision crafting, and leveraging unique strengths to overcome challenges in the MBA application process. She also demonstrated that with the right coaching and guidance, meeting a short deadline is entirely feasible. After all, our record is 9 schools in 9 days, resulting in offers from both GSB and Booth for the applicant.