Hi everyone!
I’m planning to apply for the MiM at INSEAD and HEC Paris as my primary choices, along with a few other schools like ESSEC and ESCP.
I took the GRE on October 5 and scored 313. I’m currently working on my weaker areas and aiming for a score of around 323–325, with my retake scheduled for November 18.
At the same time, I’ve been speaking with a few admissions consultants to understand how they could help with my applications. Most of them have strongly recommended applying in Round 2 rather than Round 3, saying that Round 3 tends to be more competitive and that there may be fewer seats available by then.
However, I’m a little conflicted about this. The Round 2 deadlines for some of these schools are only around 10–15 days after my GRE retake. I’m worried that if I don’t achieve my target score, it might not make sense to proceed with these applications in Round 2, especially considering how expensive admissions consultants can be.
On the other hand, I don’t want to miss out on a potentially better admissions opportunity by waiting until Round 3. I’m trying to figure out whether it’s worth committing to Round 2 applications now and preparing everything alongside my GRE prep, or whether it would be wiser to focus on improving my score and submit stronger applications in Round 3 if needed.
I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who has applied to these schools, gone through a similar situation, or worked with admissions consultants.
A few specific questions:
- How significant is the difference between Round 2 and Round 3 for INSEAD and HEC Paris MiM admissions?
- Would you recommend applying in Round 2 with a potentially lower-than-target GRE score, or waiting until Round 3?
- Is it possible to prepare most of the application beforehand and decide whether to submit after receiving the GRE result?
- For those who worked with admissions consultants, did you find their advice on application rounds reliable, or did they tend to push for earlier submissions?
I’d be grateful for any advice or personal experiences. Thank you!