[dasi]

Hi guys,

Mine's a pretty strange story. Applied to HEC in R-2 (December 3rd deadline). Got a reject in ONE week FLAT!

About 45 days later - Jan 17th to be precise, I get a mail from Rick Doyle, HEC Admissions, that they want to consider my application further! ... well well.. after that, I had to wait almost 3 weeks to get a mail from Jane Birchall about my interviewers.

Had my first interview with an alum (2004 alumnus) a Singaporean lady who works with Bharti Axa, Bangalore- yesterday. Had been to her office, since we dint find any conf rooms, we went down to the Coffee day in the campus, and had the interview there for about an hour and half.

Honestly, it wasn't my best interview. Not coz of any shortage of preparation, but more so in terms of the questions asked (this is my third adm interview of this season) - Questions about what do you want to do after the MBA? What would be your criteria to choose if you got multiple admits? What do you bring to the table, consdering you are on the lower experience side? How would you be able to work in a team, considering you would be younger than others in the team? etc...

I had decided what I wanted to say - but the lady just delved a lot into each of the answers with counter arguments like - Easier said than done, that is pretty standard in terms of a profile, your GMAT score is still not the best considering Indian standards, not as easy to get along with people from 55 countries, as you think (I had cited that I had the opportunity to work with people from 5 countries during my short stint of international experience in the US) etc. Now, I am not sure what I am to make of it - either I wasn't convincing enough, or she just wanted to check the depth of my earnest... Whatever it was, may be the final decision will shed more light on it!

Additional info she gave me - There are quite a lot of guys to be interviewed in this round.

Well, that's my side of the picture as of now. Waiting for details about a second interviewer. It might be telephonic is what Jane said in the first mail. Awaiting more info.

To finish, my profile: 720 - 50/36/5, 3.5 years work ex with an Avionics specialized MNC in Bangalore, strong EC, CS etc (well i thought it was strong, but the "standard" word i heard has dented my confidence a bit, i'm not sure if i really know my competition as well )

dasi

[asv711]

Trust me.... u have had a good interview...

I had both my interviews in Mumbai... and the second one was way too grilling... it went on for two and half hours... the longest... i was tested on all grounds... my academic excellence, work experience, ECS... given a case study... i was told something like 'either u r too good or u can bluff very well'... And this line was repeated periodically during the interview.

It was a stress interview but I maintained my calm throughout. I have 3 years work exp and same GMAT score... Even my interviewer asked me some tricky questions apart from the normal ones... He also told me things like "Your career goals are a misfit"... "you wont get a job easily"....

The only difference is the interviewer admitted that he was trying to test my patience and see the depth of my answers and whether I am capable to handle an international MBA program... he told me to be rest assured and he would recommend me....

So considering this, I can definitely understand your emotion and if u have given convincing answers confidently... i think u should make urself in... what other options do u have? How badly do u want HEC?

[rppandey]

Even I had a two hour interview.. But got through.. So taking it as a good sign, you guys should breeze

[Ding_exp]

Originally Posted by dasi

Hi guys,

Mine's a pretty strange story. Applied to HEC in R-2 (December 3rd deadline). Got a reject in ONE week FLAT!

About 45 days later - Jan 17th to be precise, I get a mail from Rick Doyle, HEC Admissions, that they want to consider my application further! ... well well.. after that, I had to wait almost 3 weeks to get a mail from Jane Birchall about my interviewers.

Had my first interview with an alum (2004 alumnus) a Singaporean lady who works with Bharti Axa, Bangalore- yesterday. Had been to her office, since we dint find any conf rooms, we went down to the Coffee day in the campus, and had the interview there for about an hour and half.

Honestly, it wasn't my best interview. Not coz of any shortage of preparation, but more so in terms of the questions asked (this is my third adm interview of this season) - Questions about what do you want to do after the MBA? What would be your criteria to choose if you got multiple admits? What do you bring to the table, consdering you are on the lower experience side? How would you be able to work in a team, considering you would be younger than others in the team? etc...

I had decided what I wanted to say - but the lady just delved a lot into each of the answers with counter arguments like - Easier said than done, that is pretty standard in terms of a profile, your GMAT score is still not the best considering Indian standards, not as easy to get along with people from 55 countries, as you think (I had cited that I had the opportunity to work with people from 5 countries during my short stint of international experience in the US) etc. Now, I am not sure what I am to make of it - either I wasn't convincing enough, or she just wanted to check the depth of my earnest... Whatever it was, may be the final decision will shed more light on it!

Additional info she gave me - There are quite a lot of guys to be interviewed in this round.

Well, that's my side of the picture as of now. Waiting for details about a second interviewer. It might be telephonic is what Jane said in the first mail. Awaiting more info.

To finish, my profile: 720 - 50/36/5, 3.5 years work ex with an Avionics specialized MNC in Bangalore, strong EC, CS etc (well i thought it was strong, but the "standard" word i heard has dented my confidence a bit, i'm not sure if i really know my competition as well )

dasi

I had interview with the same lady last year, believe out of so many MBA interviews I was never grilled so much. That interview made me go against all Alumni interviews ....but I believe that was one of the kind. By the way you have a great profile ....720 is quite good score for atleast HEC.

She does interview almost all days so dont worry ...I am sure u will hear something good from the school

ATB

[itsrahul]

Originally Posted by Ding_exp

720 is quite good score for atleast HEC.
ATB

Not really! For an Indian with IT (engineering background) and 3-4 yrs of experience, 710-720 is the average score at HEC!!!

[rppandey]

Originally Posted by itsrahul

Not really! For an Indian with IT (engineering background) and 3-4 yrs of experience, 710-720 is the average score at HEC!!!

Also GMAT is only one of the criteria. Essays, interviews, recos, and luck are also equally important

[coachgmat]

Hi....
This post is for everyone who wants to pursue an international MBA. Pagalguy is a great forum and has been of immense help to me during my MBA days. I completed my MBA from INSEAD '03 batch and working with a top consultancy firm in India.

Would love to give back and help MBA aspirants in answering their queries regarding international business schools, having a good in-depth knowledge of the process and I have done it :smile:

So... do shoot your questions and I would be glad to help you.

[azmodeuus]

Hi Coach,

Appreciate the effort. Am looking for an objective comparison between IE and HEC and also insights on other comparable colleges such as IESE, ESADE, RSM etc.

I've done some research and looking at list of recruiters for the 2007 batch (as posted on the official websites), the HEC list looks far better (in spite of having lesser number of students). But IE's like really climbed up the rankings whereas HEC has come down drastically ( Also have heard that HEC is greatly overshadowed by the Fontainbleu campus nearby).

Would be great if you can provide your perspectives on the same.

Warm Regards.

P.S - I have an admit at IE and an interview pending with HEC.

Originally Posted by coachgmat

Hi....
This post is for everyone who wants to pursue an international MBA. Pagalguy is a great forum and has been of immense help to me during my MBA days. I completed my MBA from INSEAD '03 batch and working with a top consultancy firm in India.

Would love to give back and help MBA aspirants in answering their queries regarding international business schools, having a good in-depth knowledge of the process and I have done it :smile:

So... do shoot your questions and I would be glad to help you.

[coachgmat]

Congratulations on your admit to IE.

Now here's the scene. I am going to give u a non-biased opinion on both the schools. Having said this, please understand both are superior business schools and I have not done my MBA at either school, so I can only tell you from what I have heard and understood.

Let me dissect your question.

1. Lets keep RSM aside when you have already made it to IE.

2. IESE - It's a two year program and very expensive. So when you have IE, lets even keep IESE aside.

3. ESADE - What is your career goal? is it in marketing? Then Esade is a very good school. But for other specializations like finance and strategy, ESADE is just about mediocre. But, I would definitely put ESADE on the league of IE Spain though there is a huge difference in their rankings.

Now we come to HEC v/s IE Spain. I need to know your career interests to give u a more detailed answer on this. If i were you, I would have taken HEC - Paris and I'll let you know the reasons.

(i) Curriculum - The way HEC has planned its 16 months curriculum is fantastic with projects, internships and its a shortened 2 year program. So you enjoy the process of management.

(ii) Diversity - After INSEAD, HEC is second when it comes to class diversity. With IE you will have 75% Spanish speaking people. If you know Spanish well, its great (you will anyway have to learn either French or Spanish) but you might just feel left out because the Asian influence on this school is very low.

Whereas HEC is 30%+ Asian, along with applicants from other parts of the world. The school is completely in English. I have also visited HEC long time back and the campus is beautiful. You will definitely need to learn French but during the 16 months, French is not a mandate, you pick it up along the way. and that's beautiful because by the time u r out, you know an extra language which takes u so many notches higher.

(iii) INSEAD does not give HEC a competition, for one that HEC has a class size of 150 and its easier to place these students. INSEAD is in a different league altogether. INSEADians wont find it tough to get a job.

(iv) Placements wise IE and HEC will have the same placements, though HEC being in France, closer to LUX, BEL, SWI and UK will give u better opportunities.

(v) It scores over IE in marketing, strategy and finance. IE scores over in entrepreneurship.

(vi) The experience of studying in Paris is an all time high. Fontainbleau is 60 miles south of Paris. We used to look forward to go to Paris as and when we could. Have roamed all over the world, but Paris offers u something 2nd to none. and HEC is in Paris. Vola :xmas:

Hope this analysis helps you. It's my personal analysis. The ranking speak something different. But they are rankings. When an ISB markets itself better, it comes to 15th rank (which is ridiculous). The school has no diversity, less experience and few international placements. I don't know how far you would want to rely on rankings.

Cheers!

[dasi]

CoachGMAT,

Thanks a ton for those views. One step further from here please - you mentioned the duration of the course as one of the factors HEC is better than IE (16 vs 13 months).

I have an admit from IE as well, completing my interviews with HEC, plus, have an admit from ESADE. Now ESADE and HEC are similar atleast in terms of duration. My career goal is to change from my engineering background and work with sustainable businesses - probably initially into consulting and later on, with experience, start my own venture - in India. (Having said this, I am open to other options I discover along the way - but not any drastic change in future goals).

So could you extend your views w.r.t my situation?

Thanks and regards,
dasi