Any info. on a French MBA

MBA
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Hello, I have recently been admitted to HEC-Paris (Although Rankings are to be taken with a pinch of salt as 20-30 years from now when we would be peaking in our careers these might have become irrelevant :smiley: these are some of the majo…

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Hello,

I have recently been admitted to HEC-Paris (Although Rankings are to be taken with a pinch of salt as 20-30 years from now when we would be peaking in our careers these might have become irrelevant 😃 these are some of the major ones just to give you an idea, 8th amongst Non US MBA- Businessweek, 4th International School - WSJ, 27th - Economist, Which MBA, 37th- FT 2005)

I am hoping to hear from the PG group if there is anything in the rumor mills about a French MBA and HEC specifically that anyone could share with me..As I have admits from Schulich and Melbourne Business School as well (although I am struggling with the financial bit ) and I have been thanked regretfully at 2 of the top 5 US MBA programs your tips would be very helpful. I am also open to apply for fall '06 session if things don't work out this year.

Please send me a personal message if your comments are of the candid kinds.

Vipin

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Vipin, I am in the same situation. I was just accepted to the HEC program and contemplating going to Paris. I have applied to some schools in the UK as well so not sure where I want to go this fall. But from what I hear about HEC, they are on a real push for international recognition, as shown in the strong rating in the journal. Their ties with schools around the globe is top notch and alumni have told me about how their education compared to their colleagues from LBS, Harvard, IMD, etc... was very similar. It is definitly a program with high potential to become a world top ten in a few years if they take some of the emphasis away from a french connection and act solely on world affairs. Which it seems they have been doing for the past few years with the international to national ratio of students getting higher and higher.

And I am still stuck on where to go, but I will wait to see what kind of scholarship I am offered from HEC before deciding anything.

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I know that one of the other students got the scholarship award news within 2 working days however in my case it has been 5 working days already. Financial Aid office has been non-committal in this regard as well. Do you have any idea when would they release the scholarship results ?

As 9th June was the last date for submitting the scholarship applications for the candidates who have been admitted on 2nd June so I am hoping that the results would be announced soon. All the best to everyone who is awaiting results.

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Hi,

From what I know, its difficult to get a work permit in Europe. FYI.. There were two Indians who graduated from HEC last year. Both came back to India to work... I got this info from Rick Doyle.. (HEC guy). Now I wonder.. why after spending so much money on HEC MBA, did those guys return to India..?? They could have made more money by staying in Europe and earning in Euros!

I am not making any conclusions or suggestions. I just wanted to present a fact. I have not researched on this topic, so cant comment more.

I hope this could be of some help.

All the best!
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I am also wondering if the new political climate in France would have an impact on the direction their Labour Policies take w.r.t work permits and visa regulations..something to ponder for all of us considering France. Personally, I would also like to explore the labour market in UK as that seems to be doing relatively well and I can leverage a French MBA staying close to Europe. I understand that HEC not figuring in the top 50 HSMP list could raise an alarm but I have heard that the HEC job fairs in London have had a good response.

If I am not mistaken only Canada seems to be alien friendly as some of the Right wing Australian parties have been gaining in influence on their workers regulations lately.

It seems like one has to really be prepared to bite the bullet in case we have to return back to India and while we are at our MBAs we should be making all the efforts to netowrk within the local industries to get a foothold. thoughts ??

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I agree more research has to be done on how the recruitment is for the HEC MBA. For the two guys who came back to India it could be any number of things. I myself have thought of staying in India after graduation if offered a good enough position. Mainly because Europe can get expensive for cost of living. And I personally because of having lived outside of India, will want to go back.

I currently am in Chicago so for my interview it was with two alumni who were working and living in Chicago. They graduated in '95 with the HEC MBA and said recruitment at that time was very easy. One was from america with no conections really in Europe and was offered a position with France Telecom, thanks to a professor recommendation, right away. The other with L'oreal, where they came to him, he had not started looking for a job yet. From there they worked for different companies in Europe. They said the UK was very easy to get a job in as HEC is well know there, and all the consulting firms hire from the school. Now this is what they told me, and they are alumni, I don't know what is true or not.
A positive for HEC is the affiliation with US and European schools, if you want to get a hold in the US or europe, spend a term at Wharton, NYU, LBS, or anywhere else. I am thinking of the dual degree program with LSE to have more recognition in London. I have already done some work for JPMorgan in NYC so my desire to go to NYU is there but not as strong as London right now.

What are some other ideas people have about HEC, or more areas to look at? Since this school seems relativly unknown for all of us....

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I am also looking at similar advantages and the added benefit of learning a new language. I understand that expecting to master the language at HEC would be asking for too much but I hope to make a beginning and then take it from there as I hope that it would open up a whole new set of doors for me. I have worked for a bit in the American system inside and outside the country and I would prefer to now explore the European system instead of learning more of the same.

Also,I have majored in Hospitality Management and that attracts me to France as I am also hoping to leverage the opportunities French exposure would offer to me. I am looking forward to the MBA Olympics at HEC where we get to meet and interact with students from all across Europe and a few guest schools.

Any idea about the scholarship decisions ?

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I recieved a email yesterday saying my scholarship info was posted in my account yet cannot see anywhere in the online application pages or Intranet sites for where I can look up my scholarship information. Any ideas on where to go Vipin to look this up?

It would be tough to master the French language in 16 months, but you could certainly become intermediate at the language. Plus, the MBAT tournament is a great strength for HEC, it does show how the school is highly regarded in that it can get all the top European MBA schools and even one from the states (NYU) to come to its tournament.

I just got a letter of acceptance from Manchester Business School today so I am a little confused as to what to do now. I know HEC is the better school, but MBS has a nice exchange program with IIM-A to consider. It will be a tough decision.

Anyway, I will be meeting with a friend who is currently attending Rotterdam Bus School, in the Netherlands to discuss HEC tomorrow. He was at the tournament in HEC two weeks ago, and is doing his summer internship in Paris. Also, he knows one current and one former student of HEC. So he will have some good info for me on the program. I'll let you know if I find out anything worthwhile.

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I faced the same problem and had to write to the financial aid office. For some reason they were waiting for my loan application form before letting me know about the scholarship. I suggest you could also write to them and speak to them.

MBS is a great program especially if you are looking at UK. Congrats! They are a part of the top 50 HSMP approved programs so that would make it easier for you to work after you graduate. I am attracted towards mainland Europe although I understand the going could be tough !

I would be glad if you could share your friend's experiences with us as European MBAs are not as well discussed as the MBAs in US. If you could ask him about the Job/Work Permit situation in mainland Europe for me please, I would be specially thankful.

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OK, so I met with my friend Ajay today to talk about his MBA experience at Rotterdam and what he knows about HEC. As I said earlier he is also doing his internship in Paris so has a feel for the work environment there. And convieniently he was in Chicago this week to take care of some work.

Based on what I gather from my friend, HEC has a lot going for it and against it. one, its not really in Paris, its an hour away by train or car, and is a hassle by public transportation. two, its in its own village with not much outside of the campus, except mainly fields. third, work permits are difficult in Europe in general, no matter which school, with UK as an exception. But, HEC is tops in France and landing a job in France is a sure bet, just the work permit phase takes a long time to process, so early planning is needed with your company. fourth, the campus is very nice and modern with everything one would need for a great MBA experience.

Further, it seems HEC has only recently started this international profile push for its program. In the last two years is when they have focued more on admitting Asian students and marketing the program worldwide. Before that is was mainly French and European driven.

He told me the MBAT tournament was fun but the networking suffered because of the competition of tournament and that each school had 50-60 people there so everyone stayed in their own groups most of the time. Finally, he said that MBA's are dropping in importance for companies right now as many companies are highering undergraduates and training them in house instead of always paying high salaries to MBA's. Also, that no matter where you study the only important factor is how you apply and implement the knowledge learned. He even said that for him the best part of the MBA experience was not his time in classes but meeting the new people he did from all over the globe and getting to use the MBA program to travel all over Europe for conferences and competitions. His team at Rotteredam is currently developing their case study for the MBA competition at Stanford coming up.

Oh and I finally got my scholarship information on-line. Thanks for your help on that!
So which way are you leaning for which MBA program your going to go too?

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Thanks for such detailed information. I would like to work in the European environment as I am not a fan of the North American lifestyle. Hopefully, there would be some good news from HEC. (fingers crossed as I have heard from another Indian applicant that the loan application was not approved).

If not, I would have to request for deferral and also apply during R1 to programs in US which offer guaranteed loans.

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Vipin,


Have you heard back from HEC on your funding?

Also, where did you go to apply for the loans threw banks in France for the HEC program?
I see on their intranet the list of banks offering loans, but nothing on applying for the loans. And info would be appreciated! Thanks! 😃

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I haven't heard back from them yet. I guess the banks are taking time in getting back to HEC. I know that another Indian resident candidate got a denial for bank loans so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

I have anyways started looking at the essay questions for fall'06 R1 admissions.:).let me know how it goes with you..all the best.

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Hey guys,

I wanted to see if anyone on the forum will be attending the HEC, Paris MBA Program in September. I have accepted their offer. But am still waiting to here back from INSEAD for the January starting class. And will be applying to ISB for April.

So anyone going to HEC (or currently there) who can further convince me its a good choice to go to???

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You could visit BW MBA forum and you would find a thread being moderated by current HEC students some of whom are Indians.

Also, HEC has student ambassadors who are listed on their intranet site so you could write to them directly.

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Thanks for the info Vipin!
Good luck on your Round 1 apps! 😃
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Hi,

Can u guys tell me:

1. Average Tution + living expense for an MBA in France
2. Duration of MBA
3. Minimum Work Exp, if any.
4. Exams to be given.
5. RoI . The probablity of getting a good job. Is it hard to stay back in France.
What do u suggest UK or France ?

I am a software engineer with approx 10 months of work ex as of now.

Regards

Aseem

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1. Average Tuition + living expense for an MBA in France -> upto 50 lacs.
2. Duration of MBA -> 10 months - 16 months
3. Minimum Work Exp, if any.-> some universities expect no work experience but INSEAD has an average of more than 7 years +
4. Exams to be given. - > GMAT,TOEFL
5. RoI . The probablity of getting a good job. Is it hard to stay back in France. -> Would depend on the B-School and the effort you put in. Hard to say for sure !

What do u suggest UK or France ? Depends on your career goals and cultural affinity.

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I thought some of you guys would be interested in this information just in case you are considering France for your post graduate studies. Please note this exam would not cover MBA programs necessarily as HEC requires GMAT but this could be a good bet for someone who does not have sufficient work -ex and would like to explore global education in a non Anglophone environment.
The SAI - International Admissions Service - has been created in 2004 by the CCIP - Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris - to manage the selection tests for 4 French Graduate schools of Management (CERAM Sophia Antipolis*, E.M. LYON, ESCP-EAP* and HEC PARIS) for the recruitment worldwide of applicants with a non-French degree obtained upon successful completion of at least three years of university education outside France.
http://www.sai.ccip.fr/SAIanglais.asp