Second Visit to INSEAD

(22-Aug-2007)

On the second day we were very eager to use some internet, and since the apartment does not have internet yet, we came back to INSEAD cafeteria.
This time we explored the place some more.

Yesterday I wondered how I am going to survive on sandwiches in the year. Well, by going up the stairs from the cafeteria, we came to the restaurant, where food from all flavors is served for reasonable prices: Italian, vegetarian, meat, sea food, and much more. It all looks quite good.

I went up from the cafeteria toward the fitness center. On the way we checked out the cubicles for group study. They give the place a real serious look – each one has a board and a computer connection and a small meeting’s table – almost like a small office. They are built with the same red stones as the building. A note with the cubicle’s policy is hanged on the wall – “How to achieve cubicle’s heaven” or something. Apparently this is a valuable resource that everybody fights over, so students used to save cubicles for later, use them for things other than study in groups, so there are norms that the university tries to enforce.

I also saw an amphi where classes are given, and it looked very sophisticated.

The fitness room is on the 3rd floor, and it is not very big (it's pretty disappointing) but fully equipped. Outside the window you can see the other facilities that INSEAD has to offer, including the Tennis courts and the swimming pool (25 m). There are group activities, such as walking in the woods, Yoga, and more (but those are expensive).

First Visit to INSEAD

(21-Aug-2007)

In my first day in France I had some spare time (probably something I am going to miss), so I went with my wife to see INSEAD in my own eyes. The GPS took us right there, and we only had to circle the complex twice to find parking space. Then we walked for half an hour trying to figure out where the main entrance to the building is (that do not require a magnetic card to open).

We finally found it and were very hungry (don’t forget that we didn’t eat anything good in the past 24 hours) so we went straight to the cafeteria (and still we haven’t eaten anything good). We found out that there is free internet there, so refugees as we are we decided to hang around. We spent half an hour to send and receive emails, and I took notes of addresses of banks and telephone companies in Fonty, then we drank a crappie cup of coffee and even worse sandwiches for 6 Euros (I hope it will not cost as much once I am a student). Also, I hope that INSEAD students don’t eat sandwiches everyday cause I am on a diet.

INSEAD is a bit of a gray place. The buildings are old built with red stones, giving them a New-Yorkish appearance, that someone installed on them a lot of high-tech windows, so it appears almost modern. There are several buildings but the place is not very big. The main building contains several amphis were lectures are taken, and many many cubicles for group study. Also I found lockers for the students, fitness area (with a pool), the cafeteria, and a reception desk where we were issued a temporary visitor tickets. The building is equipped with WiFi, but you must have an INSEAD username and password in order to login (or you can just go to the cafeteria).

We saw that people wore badges, so we asked the receptionist to give us one. We only got a temporary visitor badge for the week, which fell off after a couple of minutes.

The library is the building near the main building. It has a room with copy machines (you must pay by loading your magnetic card) and some payphones.

The campus is surrounded with grass and green, and it is quiet, peaceful, and beautiful. Overall it is built in a way to help the students study all day every day (if in lectures, groups, or alone). It is not as beautiful as Oxford, and not as modern as LBS, but it sure has its grace.

My Oxford-Said Visit

I visited Oxford Said Business School after I was admitted to the school. I wanted to see it with my own eyes before I commited. I had also been admitted to MIT Sloan at the time, and I had my own reasons for choosing an MBA in Europe. So I had a tough choice to make, and I decided it was worth it to visit Oxford. I will try to describe the place, atmosphere, and some technical details. It will be a bit long, so be patient.

I scheduled the visit in advance with Ms. Sally Webb from the admissions office. Everybody there was very nice throughout the visit. They did not try to presure me into accepting their offer, but tried to explain the advantages and disadvantages of Oxford vs. MIT.

Let's start with a short introduction. Oxford Said is ranked aroung the 20th place in the rankings, which makes it a second tier school in Europe. It is located one hour from London by train (a round-trip ticket costs around 18 pounds, and a train leaves every half an hour until late hours). The school is located in Oxford town which is in fact a gigantic campus. The Oxford University is one of the most ancient in the world, and the amazing town combines old with new in a unique way. Near old colleges lie shopping avenues and contemorary buildings. The university is one of the most respectable facilities in the world (in the likes of Harvard and Cambridge). In the university one can study any subject the mind can think of.

The Business School is named after Said (a big donator). It lies inside a new large building shaped as a cube. The school is located only one minute from the train station. 60 Million pounds were invested in the building and you can easily notice it. The building was designed so it would be easy to study in it. The program itself is relatively new (around 10 years old), and 220 students from around the world enroll it each year. The program is only one year, and the tuition is 28000 pounds (to be paid in advance – there is a 4200 pounds deposit). The estimated cost is 50000 pounds for the year, so it is a little more than 1 year in USA, but because it is a one year program it is cheaper. It is difficult for Israelis to receive scholarships. It might be possible to get a loan. One should own a bicycle and a laptop. The partners receive an automatic work permit (or they can study). It is fairly easy to receive a work permit (for you and your partner) after school, but they change the regulations once in a while.

In the building there are several state-of-the-art lecture halls, a beautiful computerized library (and there is an adidtional quite library for those of you who needs it), and an amphitheatre (in the summer they give lectures there). The building is square and in it's center a large relaxing patio. There are many sitting areas, study rooms (that you need to book in advance), and a comfortable cafetiria. Everywhere there are electricity sockets for your laptops (WI-FI of course).

The career services in the university are quite developed. I spoke with a representative, and she told me that companies come to recruit on campus all the time. They seem to get better and better each year. Companies seem to come to Oxford less than London because of the distance, but still you can find Oxford graduates in all the big companies. They use the alumni network in the recruiting process, and the vast majority of the graduates find jobs. The Placements Report of Oxford-Said shows that the salaries of the graduates do not fall behind the top tier schools, there are students from all backgrounds, and in all business fields (one third in high-tech companies, one fifth in consulting companies, and there are students in all other fields as well).

As for the accomodations and social life, Oxford has a unique system. The school is responsible for the teaching and career services. For the students' wellfare the Colleges are responsible (kind of fraternities). You must belong to a college (you pay 3000 pounds for the pleasure – not including rent). There are 39 colleges around campus, some of them ancient, and they are responsible for providing dorms (based on availability). They organize parties and events. One of the colleges has an Olympic pool and a gym. Templeton College owns 65 apartments for couples close the business school (it is also not very expensive – 600 pounds per month). It is said that some of the networking is done through the college and other departments in the university.

Studying seems very hard. The degree is intensive and demanding. There are two practical projects (one of them is a summer consulting project - similar to an internship). There are three semesters of 3 month, and in the end of each semester there is a tests week (tests in 6 days) - A bow-tie and a gown are required (Oxford = tradition). The average grade is 60-70 (I guess the Technion was easy compared to this). In the first semester they divide the students to groups of 75, and to study groups of 5. In the second semester they reshuffle the groups.

I sat in a Marketing lecture, and it was really interesting. The professor was very sophisticated, and presented the material in an impressive way. I understood why it is important for the class to be diversed. The students gave examples from the real world. The class is very diversed – engineers, economists, salespersons, marketing, enterpeneuirs, and a few lawyers.

In summary, Oxford seems a very strong alternative to the top tier schools. Especially to those of us who looks for a one year less-expensive program in Europe.

Finalizing the Application

So, you have written the essays, arranged the recommendations, did the GMAT and perhaps the TOEFL. What else should you do?

Visit The Schools

There is quite a debate whether visiting the school is helpful to the application. In my opinion, visiting the school shows the admissions committee that you have taken some measurements to evaluate their school and have shown interest. Other than that it will contribute nothing to your application and essays. However, visiting the school will give you perspective on the life in campus, teaching methods, atmosphere of the school, and chemistry with the other students. You can learn a lot from a one day tour of the campus and its surroundings. It can help you decide on the schools that you want to apply to.

If it is possible, I recommend visiting some of the schools. Of course it envolves taking days off work and financing your stay. So visiting the schools is definitly not mandatory. Personally, I did not visit any school before submitting the application. Only after I was accepted I went to visit Oxford, and London Business School on the way. My visits were real education, and there are clear differences between those schools.

When you plan the visits contact the schools' offices to coordinate the meeting. Each school is at least a 1 day visit. Arrange an official tour. If you can arrange to meet students (maybe from your origin) it might give you more insights. Definitely sit in a lecture. I coordinated a meeting with the placement office in order to find out more about employment possibilities after Oxford. After the visit don't forget to sign up in the admissions office, and mention it later in the application.

Endorsement Letters

Letters from alumni, current students, faculty members and known persons can give small contribution. Try to arrange one or two short letters in which people related to the school can tell that they have met you, or know you well, and that you fit into the school. Try to create a small network from the conventions, internet forums, and school meetings for applicants, and by staying in touch you might get such a letter. Those letters, if written appropriately, can help in little extent. They should be short and to the point, no need for full recmmendations, and no more than a page long. I recommend that those letters will be sent directly to the school, or by you in a sealed envelope.

Send material to the school

The application forms are submitted on-line. In the Application Forms you provide personal information, previous education details (including unofficial score reports - you might have to upload a scanned version), employment history, unofficial test scores (GMAT and TOEFL), essays, recommenders details, and other information (in the form of very short essays). Those will take few hours to complete, so fill them ahead of deadline. You must submit them before the deadline.

The recommenders should send the recommendation letters on-line. Most schools allow for hard-copies, and in those cases the recommender should either send the letters directly to the schools, or give them to you in sealed envelopes and you can send them with the rest of the material.

Send the official score reports (in English) from all your previous institutions. Some schools require that you provide a deploma, and if applicable a class ranking report. My undergraduate university, The Technion, had sent the reports to me, and I sent those with all the other materials.

You have to arrange for the GMAT and TOEFL score reports to be sent to school directly from the companies (ETS and Pearson-Vue). The GMAT can be ordered on-line in a friendly user interface. The TOEFL score report can be ordered telephonically and it takes some time for it to arrive, so do it in advance (it is best to send them when you take the exam - this way it is free). If you think that there is a chance the grades will not be received on deadline, don't panic - simply notify the admissions office of the school. Your status will be pending until all the materials are received, but it will be ok.

You can send the material by regular mail, registered mail, or use a shipping company like UPS, DHL or Fedex. I sent all my stuff with UPS for 20$ per school. I was able to track the envelope on-line and to be certain that they were received (it is funny to watch your package travel all across the world, only to get from Israel to France in 2 days). Make sure that the date of the delivery is before the deadline - this way you can be sure it arrives on time. The date that matters for most school is the date you send the package, not the date it was received.

Once you submit and send everything, you should get a notification from the school (each school has its own procedure). Now, you have to wait patiently for the reply. Each school publish a deadline for interview invitation. The respond might be an interview invitation, or a rejection letter (most school correspond withyou through emails).