u/Aasha-sangwan

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to apply to INSEAD and would really appreciate an honest evaluation of my profile, along with advice on the GMAT score I should target.

Profile:
Gender: Female
Nationality: Indian

Academics:
Class 10: 6.8 CGPA
Class 12 (Commerce): 89.75% (Best of 5)
B.Com (Hons.): 7.1 CGPA

Work Experience:
Around 4 years of experience in Brand Management, Marketing Campaigns, and Digital Marketing across three companies.
My experience has primarily been with startups and marketing agencies rather than large MNCs. My work has involved brand strategy, campaign management, client servicing, and marketing execution.

Entrepreneurship:
For the past year, I've been running my own corporate and personalized gifting business.
The business is still in its early stages and hasn't reached significant revenue or scale yet. I'm unsure whether this should be a key part of my application or whether admissions committees would expect stronger business metrics.

Background:
Non-engineer
Non-IT
Commerce background (Class 12 Commerce + B.Com Hons.)
I'm currently preparing for the GMAT and plan to take the exam on 31st August.

I'd love your thoughts on the following:

1. Based on my profile, what GMAT score should I target to have a strong chance of admission to INSEAD?
2. What score would make me competitive for scholarships?
3. Does being a female applicant from a non-engineering, non-IT, commerce background provide any meaningful diversity advantage?
4. Will my experience at startups and agencies be viewed positively, or is the lack of experience at large multinational companies a disadvantage?
5. Should I highlight my entrepreneurial experience even though the business hasn't scaled significantly yet?
6. Are there any obvious weaknesses in my profile that I should address before applying?

I'd really appreciate honest feedback, whether
positive or critical. If you've seen similar profiles get into INSEAD, I'd love to hear what helped them stand out.
Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to apply to ISB and would really appreciate an honest evaluation of my profile along with advice on what GMAT score I should target.

Academics:
Class 10: 6.8 CGPA
Class 12 (Commerce): 89.75% (Best of 5)
B.Com (Hons.): 7.1 CGPA

Work Experience:
Around 4 years of work experience in Brand Management, Marketing Campaigns, and Digital Marketing across three companies.
Most of my experience has been with startups and marketing agencies, not MNCs. My work involved brand strategy, campaign execution, client management, and marketing.

Entrepreneurship:
For the past year, I’ve been running my own corporate and personalized gifting business.
To be completely honest, the business hasn’t achieved significant revenue or scale yet, so I’m unsure whether this is something I should highlight in my ISB application and interview, or if it might actually weaken my profile.

Background:
Non-engineer
Non-IT Female
Commerce background (Class 12 Commerce + B.Com Hons.)

I’m currently preparing for the GMAT and plan to take the exam on 31st August.

I have a few questions:

1. Based on this profile, what GMAT score should I realistically target to have a strong chance of getting into ISB?
2. What score would make me competitive for merit-based scholarships?
3. Does coming from a non-IT/non-engineering background work in my favor?
4. Will my experience at startups and agencies be viewed positively, or is the lack of MNC experience a disadvantage?
5. Should I include my entrepreneurship experience even if the business hasn’t scaled much yet? Does ISB value the learning journey more than the numbers?

I’d really appreciate honest feedback, even if it’s critical. If there are any weaknesses in my profile that I should work on before applying, I’d love to hear your suggestions.

Thanks in advance!