Basically, the school topped my expectations from on all fronts; Campus, staff, current students, admits... and even parties, which started before the courses did, thanks to a wild night out at the Chateaux Villecerf around 30 mins away from campus...
Academics and extracurricular activities: Part of the day was dedicated to giving us a feel for what Amphitheater lectures would be like, and this did not disappoint! I felt the choice of lectures was tailor-made for my needs; One was about a subject I am very interested in exploring (entrepreneurship), while the other was a subject I would rather never be involved in (accounting).
Professor S. David Young, and American Professor of Accounting and Control took center-stage first, and held a very engaging conversation with everyone present on control and transparency issues at modern-day corporations, and the importance of Financial Accounting in giving investors correct information, that leads to informed investments, and thus creation of wealth, which ultimately results in furthering the interests of humanity... A great way to get many reluctant ears to open wide for a not-so-typical accounting lecture.
Professor Young made it very clear that financial accounting is undergoing a paradigm shift, and that GAAP and IFRS are converging to eventually merge into a form that incorporates elements from both accounting standards, rendering many things we currently study obsolete. Hmmmm… :$
Professor Young was also kind enough to give me some pre-reading tips when he answered a post-lecture question I had. I have a 50% chance of getting him as my Professor for the course, and I sure hope I do!
Professor Felipe Santos, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, a Brazilian, gave an interesting introduction about his department, the courses it offers, and some statistics about INSEAD MBA's and entrepreneurships. Two of them stuck in my mind: First, nearly 80% of INSEAD MBA's experiment with an entrepreneurial venture within 15 years of graduation. Second, about 6-7% of MBA's immediately pursue and entrepreneurial venture post-graduation, most of which are already established entrepreneurs. I feel a middle ground between both statistics would be a good aiming point for my ambitions. I asked Prof. Santos about what proffession the entrepreneurs who constitute the former group (Entrepreneurs within 15 years of graduation...) came from, and the answer was that they represented various professions, but noted that consultancy was an unlikely route for entrepreneurs because of the skill set required for each field... Food for thought, and a question that will definitely make a comeback in my next visit to Fonty...
During the activity-packed day, a couple of fellow admits and I managed to visit the nearby rugby pitch to see the INSEAD Crocodiles thrash the LBS Samurai, which was a surprise defeat by a London team that boasts a very impressive record, and more importantly, a pro-status player in its ranks. It didn’t take much convincing me to join the team when I become a student, as I was so-inclined before I even went. ;)
Career services: The same Amphi witnessed a presentation by Ms. Shwarzer, Career Services Director at INSEAD... It was an interesting presentation that cleared up some misconceptions on what "career services" is, and isn't.
1-It is: A very important service available to students to help them narrow down their career options, best present themselves to potential recruiters (via CV and cover letter advice), secure interviews for them, help trains them for such interviews, and even negotiate some terms on their behalf...
2-It is not: a placement agency... a turnkey solution that guarantees employment...
The future career opportunities were classified as follows: Finance, Consultancy, Industry, and Entrepreneurship. There are two are the dates of interest for the start of career services for my intake (D10); January, and March. I know from the get-go that Finance is the least likely career path for me, so I do not have to worry about the January start date of career services for that field. Career services for the rest of the possible career outcomes start in March, giving me some more time to evaluate my options and undergo the career-building tests available on the INSEAD portal.
Students: A very impressive and diverse mix of very talented people ... And when I say diverse, I mean it in all senses of the word: nationalities, skills, backgrounds, professions, hobbies and interests. It was very nice to see a familiar face; Ghassan Khlat, whom I know from my days at MS&L, as the top Philip Morris guy at Leo Burnett…
Wow... What a mix... Meeting all these individuals is a very humbling experience. We were all told that all INSEAD admits were probably treated like very special individuals in previous settings, and that they should now be ready to feel very average...
Party: It so happened that the INSEAD student inhabitants of the mighty Chateaux Villecerf were hosting a Halloween party to coincide with our Open Day… So straight after the dinner hosted in the INSEAD cafeteria (which, by the way, whips out really tasty food), we headed towards the buses, doing a last minute sprint to catch the last one!
Needless to say, I had not packed a costume, but alarmingly, managed to put together one from my own suitcase, with the help of the receptionist at INSEAD’s Ermitage executive-housing! I will leave a couple of the pics do the talking…
My place: Another thing I managed to do during my visit was to check out 
the place I rented at Fonty… Literally a 5-minute walk from campus, as described, Royal Parc is a pretty neat apartment complex described that mainly houses INSEAD’ers. My place is currently inhabited by a Aline and Leo, Brazilian couple in their last period 
at INSEAD. They were both very helpful and even emailed me the pics you see in this post… And yes, i will be changing the colour of the bed-sheets...The apartment is on the ground floor, and has a nice little terrace to enjoy that nice January weather Western Europe is renowned for!
In addition to my trip to INSEAD, my adventure included two stays in Dubai, and London, during which I managed to see Amon Amarth, Paradise Lost, Katatonia, Engel, and Entombed live in concert, and most importantly, see my sister again, and catch up with some friends I am blessed to have (In London and Dubai)… But hey, more of that on Facebook soon… :) Thank you, and you guys know who you are.
MooN
