New essay questions for INSEAD’s MBA program, starting January 2026, have been introduced. These new essays are designed to help understand applicants’ experiences, driving forces, and leadership potential in more detail.

Detailed essay questions for the INSEAD MBA January 2026 intake:

Updated Job Description prompts:

  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 maximum)
  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 maximum)

Updated Essay prompt:

  1. Give a candid description of yourself as a person and a leader, emphasizing the strengths and weaknesses you recognize 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 maximum)
  2. 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 maximum)
  3. Is there anything else that was not covered in your application that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee? (maximum 300 words)

Additional questions on extra-curricular activities

  1. Describe the activities you listed above and explain how they have enriched your life (e.g., skills developed, personal growth, community impact). (300 words maximum)

 

Video Essay:

Shortly after submitting the application form, you will receive a link to a video interview. This video component is required to start the evaluation of your application. Please submit the video interview at your earliest convenience and no later than 48 hours after the deadline to which you are applying. Once submitted, the video interviews cannot be modified. Therefore, please ensure that you carefully test your devices before starting the exercise. We are keen on getting to know you better and believe that through a video you can come to life, so be spontaneous, be creative and be yourself! We look forward to virtually meeting you.

 

Notable changes for the essays.
The INSEAD MBA essays for the January 2026 intake have been revised to offer an extra-centered evaluation of candidates to the Adcoms. While the previous essays explored broader professional narratives and private reflections, the new ones structure the process description into focused questions about professional development and goals and sharpen the “candid description” essay to specifically address leadership strengths, weaknesses, and development.

The “stressful situation” essay now explicitly asks for lessons learned about oneself and others, emphasizing leadership insights gained through adversity. Finally, a new segment dedicated to ECs lets applicants exhibit their passions providing a more holistic view of their profile. These changes mirror INSEAD’s accelerated emphasis on leadership, self-recognition, and a well-rounded applicant profile.

A few tips for the new essays.
To effectively handle the new INSEAD MBA essays, you should prioritize self-discipline and show real self-insight. Here are some essay tips:

  • For career essays, talk about your short and long-term goals, and clarify how the resources and networks of INSEAD will bridge your current role and the gap between your ambitions. Do not hesitate to discuss your weaknesses, but turn them in a way that highlights that you are keen on working on your drawbacks.
  • For the stressful situation essay, pay less attention to this phenomenon and more on how it shaped you and the lessons you learned from it.
  • Finally, you can take advantage of the new Extra-curricular activities section to demonstrate your passion and how it contributes to your personal development, highlighting skills and experiences that complement your professional profiles.

Remember, authenticity and clarity are the key. Get in touch with ARINGO experts for your INSEAD application- Contact us today!