How the INSEAD dual campus /Singapore Fontainebleau structure works

Just as a complement to my previous post on how this works,

1. When you apply, you specify a campus (Singapore or Fonty) of choice. It's not guaranteed though in majority of cases you get your first preference.
   
2. You do the first 2 periods (i.e P1 and P2) in the starting campus
   
3. A lot of people switch campus in p3 for 1 period, and return to their original campus in P4
4. Those who are interested in recruitment in a certain region will be in that region campus for P4 and P5. Typically many travel from Singapore to Fonty for P4 and P5. Some from Fonty go to Singapore in P4/5 for recruitment targeted to Asia.
   
5. Once recruitment is over in P4 (in most cases), many from Singapore travel to Fonty for P5 so they can graduate with the rest of the class.
   
6. Graduation ceremonies are held in both campuses - the Fonty ceremony is obviously much bigger. Many travel from Singapore to Fonty just for graduation as well (it is allowed and possible)
   

In my case, P1, P2, P3 - Singapore. P4, P5 - Fonty
Other sample patterns are

P1, 2 - Singapore, P3 - Fonty, P4,5 Singapore
P1, 2 - Singapore, P3 - Fonty, P4 - Wharton, P5 - Fonty

How you mix it depends on how adventurous you are. But it all works seamlessly and it's surprisingly flexible. You decide which campus you want to be in, when in P2. But it can be changed.

This year, the rush to come to Singapore in P3 from Fonty was so high they had to put a wait list. Typically everyone who wants to go to Fontainebleau from Singapore gets to go (large campus, more capacity).

So, that's that about the dual campus structure. And here are a couple of pics of the beautiful river side walk near my house...its fantastic when the weather is good. Can't do this in Singapore.

INSEAD Singapore vs. Fontainebleau / Fonty

INSEAD Singapore vs. Fontainebleau / Campus comparisons Singa vs. Fonty

When researching INSEAD, there is always the question of “Fonty” vs. “Singapore.” The dual campus structure confuses many prospective applicants, and there is often misinformation on how it actually works. I wrote a long post on INSEAD Singapore to cover those misconceptions. This post is more about my impressions on how they compare – it’s been long overdue.

I started in Singapore, spent 6 months on the Singapore campus, and then moved to Fontainebleau in “P4” (the 4^th of the 5 2-month terms) and will be completing my course here in Fontainebleau (called hereafter as a “Fonty”)

So, getting straight to business, here are my impressions and contrasts based on my personal experience.

Initially setting up
Singapore	Fontainebleau
Super easy, efficient and quick Big, fancy apartments close to school Easy to travel – economical taxis, buses, trains Fantastic airport access 25 minutes from school Really simple initial immigration procedure – you get your entry visa online after filling a simple online form! In a nutshell? Easy.	Painful to find a place – language barrier can be a real hassle for all initial setup work Houses spread all around – big chateaus, quaint and pretty little houses, studios. People stay in Fonty and in villages surrounding Commuting is painful without a car. A car is very necessary to do anything. CDG isn’t a great airport and it’s in Paris Some nationalities need to take a French visa, fill up French forms even in Singapore (!), but it’s not really painful. Takes about a week if you do from Singapore. I’ve read some difficult stories for those applying from elsewhere, but they may be exceptions. Getting a carte-de-sejour is a pain (you can avoid it if you’re staying for less than 6 months) In a nutshell, not easy!
Campus First Impressions
Compact, modern and sleek Not much of a “campus” but more like a well designed exec-center Closed break-out rooms are nicer Lockers are much better INSEAD Singapore photos	Feels like a campus – big Gorgeous especially when the weather is good Bigger, nicer library Crappy little lockers. Change them! INSEAD Fontainebleau Photos
Campus Life
Smaller initial start size on campus means you get to know lot more people City style living – so most people go out together for clubs, bars, events, barbecues – the “whole class” is invited	Much larger so groups get formed Different living style – Chateau parties, small “get- together” events Everything is on a larger scale
Travel
Sunny tropics and beaches! Malaysia, Bali, other Indonesian areas, Micronesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Hong Kong, China	Attractions of Europe (weather permitting, seriously!) – France, UK, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal..
Teaching/Student mix
More than 70% of the class switches campus and does terms on both – student mix is exactly the same. If someone goes around saying something else, they’re misinformed, it’s that simple. Superstar professors in both campuses – many professors switch campuses in terms. Fonty is bigger so more electives. In P5, majority of the class lands up in Fonty for the graduation.
Recruitment
Companies have a greater slant towards positions in Asia Smaller number of companies on campus (keep in mind the number of students in Singapore during recruitment period is also much smaller) Note that jobs are open to students in both campuses – it’s common. But physical presence on campus is less in Singapore	Greater slant towards Europe/UK Bigger career fair, more on-campus events Proximity to London makes it easier for those interested in recruiting for London
Living expenses
Interestingly, it is possible to balance the additional rental expense and eating out in Singapore with the extra living cost in France. For me, the monthly cost in both places remained approximately the same.

Bottom line

The INSEAD experience is incomplete if you do not do both campuses. They’re both very different experiences and both amazing in what you can do in the few months. Think of it this way: It’s like going to another building on campus to study (similar professors, same course, same friends) except that this other building is in another continent. No other school I know has anything like this – and this is not like an exchange program. It’s an experience that is hard to describe but works extremely well.

Oh, BTW, compared to Singapore, the weather in Fonty sucks.
But then, you won't get to walk by the beautiful idyllic riversides in Singapore

random post of randomness

We have the Montmelian ball coming up tomorrow..it's going to be fun. In other news - Gmail opened up experimental features today, it's about time. iPhone 2.0 is expected to be announced on Monday - I hope to own one once I start my job.

And I have many free days from next week => more travel. Southern France, this time. And then it's time for the big grad trip...

Almost 2 years ago, I made my first post, it was the beginning of deciding to do GMAT.

INSEAD July 2008 - countdown to graduation

In 4 weeks we graduate, back to real life. I'm going to really miss this. On September 18th 2006 I finalized my school choices. And here I am, about to graduate from one (assuming I don't flunk any of my elective..naah..can't happen)

Prospective INSEAD applicants/profile evaluation - how to

This post is a brief guideline on how to ask me for a profile evaluation - you will save your time and mine, and hopefully actually get something useful instead of a generic "you have a chance" response. In particular, please avoid "hey dude, I got 690 in GMAT will I get INSEAD?".

Content desired

1. Tell a little about yourself. I'd like to read a personal email, and am more likely to respond. Remember I'm not an admissions consultant!
2. Put your latest GMAT score, years of full time experience, nationality.
3. Mention international experiences if you have.
4. Mention your most significant" extra-curricular or community achievement. being a member of a foosball club when you were 12 years old doesn't count.
5. Mention perhaps the best leadership example at work if possible.
6. Your motivation for INSEAD specifically

Presentation

1. The best way to ask a question is to make it answerable in a sentence.
2. Avoid asking me very specific % breakdowns (e.g. # of British who were bankers who are going to PE in UK or US) - I wouldn't know!
3. Don't ask me to make choices for you! I cannot tell you "where to apply" - do your research.

Research

I've written quite a bit on preparations and research. Many of your questions are probably answered in my blog - here are a fewposts that I think are useful to potential applicants.

1. This post specifically gives many pointers as part of the application. useful
2. You can read this to understand GMAT relevance, especially for post INSEAD consulting choices
3. My stand on choosing business schools is here, and it hasn't changed.

The post on US B-schools contrasted with INSEAD is coming soon - be patient :) I already see queries hitting my analytics - "INSEAD vs. Chicago GSB", "INSEAD vs. MIT Sloan" - the post is not really a "vs." so don't expect a shooting war!

And here are couple of pics from a recent trip..

to N

N,

stay strong. keep moving. hope for the best.

wishes,
-n

Who am I and Where am I headed?

I answered the question of "Who is necromonger" long ago with this post and at that time, where I would be headed was a big question in my mind. I also pondered at the difficulty of getting US jobs post INSEAD

Anyway, much has happened, after getting the choice of working here,


and also here,


I am now officially headed here!


more about my specific recruitment lessons and statistics will come soon.

Teaser Trailer :) - US B-schools and INSEAD

Major update: the INSEAD vs. HKUST 2007 numbers

A few days ago, I published a post comparing INSEAD vs. HKUST MBA as a response to some raging Internet debates. The data I used for INSEAD was from 2006 (comparing to 2007 for HKUST), but I now have limited permission to use some data (thanks!), which I have.

You should find it useful, so head over there.

Recruitment - Management Consulting Interviews, my impression

As part of my recruiting saga, I covered the initial recruitment impressions and for those specifically interested management/strategy consulting, I covered how strategy consulting recruitment is done at INSEAD.

This post is a short write-up on how my own consulting interviews experience was, with no names taken for obvious reasons.

1. It takes a lot of time to do it the right way - meet the consultants on chat sessions, go to the presentations, go to the cocktails, go to the mock interview sessions, write the cover letters.. while many speculate where one could take chances ("this is not important/that is not necessary") - I took no chances. Where possible, I put the necessary effort.
2. It is very hard to figure out why you get rejected without an interview, and why you did get selected. I saw no pattern in mine at all! In one amusing case - the company in question rejected my application without an interview. Later, they were conducting case interview workshops and I attended one - and since it was among my earlies mocks, I did not do too well. So the interviewer said "if you did this in the real interview, you would be rejected" - I almost laughed, you can't reject me twice ;) In another case the company emailed me asking to apply because they wanted to talk to me. And when I did, they rejected me!
3. Case interviews need practice - I'm sure there are few superstars who get it all right without practice, but most I know practiced. It takes a certain mindset and approach to do it right. And I also realized that it is very hard to be consistent in every interview - there were times I sailed through and interview, and then bomb miserably in the next. I am not writing a post on how to do case interviews - there are tons of resources out there, research them.
   
4. Overall, majority of consulting companies did manage to keep up to their schedules, and in many cases made offers quickly as promised. Overall, in particular, I should say McKinsey is very impressive how they do this whole process in INSEAD (no, I'm not going to McKinsey). There were those, as usual, who sent rejects online, never sent a mail, or we figured out we got dinged after we saw the interview lists on the boards!
5. Getting that initial connection with your interviewer is, indeed, important.
   

And then, *sigh*, there is always this elevator ride time after a bad interview....



Just as a side thought, today a blog visitor had some questions to me about consulting after INSEAD and he mentioned that friends/acquaintances from a couple of US schools mentioned that INSEAD "inflates" the numbers because a large number of them are already from those consulting companies going back. Oh boy. Here we go again. Guess it's time for another numbers post! (in the next day or so.. I'm slacking out, seriously!)

just as an extension to the debate of top-US vs. INSEAD, say INSEAD and Chicago GSB - there is sometimes a feel that there is a big gap between the two. So in the next 2 weeks, I'm running a simple comparison of Chicago and Ross with INSEAD just so you can judge by facts rather than by "a friend of a friend of mine said that in 1967"

The weather outside is miserable, which explains me writing blog posts. But thankfully I had a great 4 days with fantastic weather when in New York. It's OK, I don't need to cry myself to sleep.