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Sample INSEAD MBA Essay: Achievements and Failures (Venture Capital)

INSEAD MBA Essay: Describe the achievement of which you are most proud and explain why. In addition, describe a situation where you failed. How did these experiences impact your relationships with others? Comment on what you learned (approximately 400 words).

In the fourth fictitious example, we look at a disadvantaged applicant who was raised by a single parent. The mother’s networking and volunteering skills were an inspiration for the person to join similar initiatives at school. The network assisted him in meeting his mentor, who coached him for the SAT exam that became a turning point in his life.

With only a handful of students from India selected for Wharton’s prestigious finance undergraduate program, the applicant cites the selection as the proudest moment.


A particular deal in the VC firm where he joined post-Wharton is mentioned as a failure. The biases in his decision-making are dissected with maturity, and a realistic flavor is offered in the narrative. The challenges of interpreting the new market and additional pressures on his identity while evaluating an entrepreneur are provided as the background for the failure. 

Sample INSEAD Essay: Achievement and Failure (394 Words) (Venture Capital)

My father left us when I was three. Through the kindness of a distant aunt, we joined her ancestral home and agreed to support her through old age in return for a roof over our heads. My mother worked as a maid in X, where doctors and engineers resided. Seeking advice from them, she oriented me to build networks and work on my extracurricular.  Even on Sundays, she volunteered for Y to spread awareness on vaccination and earn a respectable daily wage. Since she benefited from the community engagements and networking at work, I  joined the school’s student initiatives on fund-raising, neighborhood cleaning drives, and educated children coming from poor neighborhoods like ours on the career potential in science, management, finance, and engineering ...
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F1GMAT's INSEAD MBA Essay Guide

Question 1: Provide a summary of your career since graduating from university, explaining the rationale behind your key decisions and career progression. Include a description of your current (or most recent) role, covering the scope of your work, major responsibilities, employees under your supervision, budget size, clients/products, and any notable results achieved. (500 words)

Question 2: Describe your short and long-term career aspirations, including your target geography, industry, and function. How do you plan to bridge the gap between your current position and these goals, and how will INSEAD help you achieve them? (300 words)

Question 3: Give a candid description of yourself as a person and a leader, emphasising the strengths and weaknesses you recognise in yourself. Explain how you are actively working on your development, sharing key experiences that have shaped you, providing specific examples where relevant. (500 words)

Question 4: Describe a highly stressful situation you faced and how you managed it. What did this experience teach you about yourself and your interactions with others? (400 words)

Download F1GMAT's INSEAD MBA Essay Guide

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