Welcome to today's episode of the ‘Crack The MBA Show’ with Pallavi Kaul who is a graduate of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, popularly known as CBS. Pallavi completed her Bachelor of Business Studies degree in 2014 and worked with Kearney for close to four years immediately thereafter. Post Kearney, Pallavi worked with FSG in social impact consulting for a little over three years. Pallavi got through INSEAD with a ~30% scholarship and a GRE score of 328. For her summer internship, Pallavi interned with an ed-tech startup called SAMA Sidekicks, which is headquartered in London. Through our conversation, we discussed Pallavi's experience at INSEAD, MBA admissions strategies, academic experience, involvement in activities, internship recruiting process, and more: 00:00  Introduction 02:48 Why MBA (7 years into career) 07:07 School Selection Strategy 08:23 European MBA vs. American MBA 12:52 Why INSEAD 15:40 Admissions Success: Top Factors 17:43 INSEAD’s Scholarship Process 19:07 Career Goals: How to Craft 21:55 Work authorization and Visas 23:57 Outreach to learn about INSEAD 25:07 Networking Tips (Cold Outreach) 25:45 Admissions: Could Have Done Better 27:22 MBA Application: Overcoming Weaknesses 30:29 Importance of Extra-Curricular Activities 31:53 Campus Choice: Fontainebleau vs. Singapore 34:14 August vs. January Intake 36:50 Star Professors & Popular Courses 42:50 Major Events at INSEAD 44:56 Feasibility of Career Switch in 1-year MBA 49:23 Wish I Did Prior to INSEAD 51:18 Biggest Challenge Faced at INSEAD 53:10 Housing at INSEAD Fontainebleau 57:04 Social Activities Outside Class 59:13 Alumni Support 1:00:47 Activities at INSEAD (Women in Business, Social Impact) 1:06:39 Summer Startup Tour 1:11:40 Active Clubs On-Campus 1:13:04 On-Campus Internship Search 1:18:07 Impact of Recession on Recruiting 1:19:03 Geographies: Full-Time Jobs 1:19:39 Parting Advice Thank you for listening! — Nupur Gupta is the founder of Crack The MBA (https://crackthemba.com), India's leading MBA admissions consulting firm. Every year, Crack The MBA's clients attend ivy league, M7 and other top MBA programs globally. Nupur is a graduate of the full-time MBA program at The Wharton School. She has been recognized by Economic Times among the 'Most Promising Women Leaders', by Business Insider among the 'World's Leading Admissions Consultants', along with other honors. Nupur serves on the board of the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants (AIGAC) - the primary industry association in MBA admissions. Nupur has also served as two-term president of AIGAC. Follow Nupur and ‘Crack The MBA’ on our social media platforms for more updates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nupurgupt/ https://www.facebook.com/CrackTheMBA/ https://www.instagram.com/crackthemba/