How many of you say R-Square will go up?
How many say it will decrease?
How many have absolutely no idea what’s going on?
Option 3. Tick
INSEAD is a great school because #3 is a clearly stated option in our statistics class (Uncertainty, Data & Judgment) – and beer is allowed too!
Academics have escalated into a ‘firefight’ and the assignments just keep on coming.
Options to develop some great skills on the side? (Caveat: You may spend 75% of your 24-hour day on campus but the learning is well worth it!)
- Bootcamps: Social Entrepreneurship was AWESOME! Product idea to final pitch in 48 hours. Amazing learning!
- Competitions: The Venture Capital Investment competition taught me to draft term-sheets; through the ongoing PE competition, I’m learning LBOs and MBOs
- Euro Trips: Finally made it to Venice… French countryside and ski-trip is next
Off-campus, the social scene can be exhausting but oh-so tempting!
Wine and truffles followed by a Desi Mixer followed by karaoke followed by an impromptu Bollywood night at Club16. This is all that we achieved in one evening. But INSEAD also teaches you to balance things out. Post pub-crawl, I went home and finished the Financial Markets & Valuation case due at 8:30 AM four hours before the deadline. You can do the math! 
Exams start next week but we just sat for the exemption exams for P2. An exemption does make sense if you’ve got a strong academic / professional background in the subject… BUT if you’re aiming for the Dean’s List, then you might want to take the subjects you’re good at and study hard!
Careers-wise, you’ve got to work hard. You have all the resources you need and a fantastic alumni network (including access to the formidable EMBA contact base). But you’ve got to work on meeting people, getting your CV reviewed and attending the thousands of information sessions on-campus (there’s at least one EVERY day). And this isn’t even recruiting period for the J or D classes!
In short – INSEAD is intense. But if you’re thinking of consulting or banking, it’s the real life. So the learning curve is awesome. If you like diversity (food, people, courses, backgrounds), intensity and quality – AND if the people around you matter to you a LOT, start that app now!