What Students Say
Likes
- Right mix of international and French culture- Most of the students are international, however the school values its French culture.
- Ambitious cohort- The cohort is not only diverse but everyone is highly ambitious, forcing you to work hard just to keep up with others, elevating your professional skills in the process.
- Location- I personally prefer the countryside and the college is located in the outskirts of Paris, but within reachable distance. The campus has a pristine lake inside it as well as a small forest.
Dislikes
- Lack of active efforts for cultural amalgamation- The college does not actively keep events to introduce people with different nationalities. Hence, some people may tend to stick with people of their own nationality.
- Lack of transport to the city of Paris- Even though the college has its own bus service to the city, it is very infrequent and uncertain.
- Disparity in hostel rooms- Only first year students are provided with rooms that have a kitchen in it, rest of the cohort do not have such rooms.
Course Curriculum
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- The course curriculum in the first year is very broad, covering the basics of all major business fields such as Finance, Strategy, Operations and Marketing. There are a lot of case studies in all the courses and this gives the students an opportunity to get to know their classmates and improve their leadership and teamwork skills.
- The second-year specialisation delves deeper into one of the above fields according to the one you choose. It is more practical in nature and the Finance specialisations even have a study trip to London where students get to meet Investment Banking alumni.
- The average number of students in each class is around 70-90 for mandatory courses. And it varies between 15 and 50 in electives based on popularity, of course.
Admission Experience
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I applied for the following universities:
- HEC Paris – Admitted
- ESSEC Business School – Admitted
- London Business School – Shortlisted
- I was shortlisted (invited for the interview) but not admitted to London Business school. In my opinion, London Business School prefers people with 1 year or less experience for their Master in Management programme, and I had 2 years of experience when I applied.
- I mainly chose HEC Paris over other schools because of the option to do a gap year in between the two academic years, as I wanted to explore different fields. The reputation of the college was, of course, an important aspect of my decision as well.
- The overall admission process was very smooth and the interview process was fun as well. The process was very similar for all three colleges that I applied to. The college accepts the GMAT as well as the GRE.
- I applied in round 2. I submitted my application on January 4th and I received my interview invitation around 23rd January. My interview was on the 7th of February and I received my admit on the 16th of February.
- Prior to submitting my application, I gave my GMAT in November. I had prepared for my GMAT for 3 months. So the whole procedure started in August.
Faculty
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- The faculty-to-student ratio depends on the type of course. For electives, it is around 1:20, enabling individual attention.
- The common courses have a ratio of 1:70 and have a more traditional structure. The faculty are very helpful though and are always ready to solve your doubts in or after the class.
- The faculties may not directly refer you for full-time jobs but they always guide you on how to approach the job-finding process. The career centre helps in this regard as well.
Campus Life
10
- The college has only one campus in Jouy-en-Josas, near Paris. It is fully equipped with all sports facilities, from a gym and football to rugby and an athletics track. It has a spacious library that even has a Bloomberg terminal for finance enthusiasts.
- There are a lot of clubs on campus, many representing their home nations. Hence, all different festivals are celebrated on campus. Right from Indian festivals such as Diwali and Holi to the Chinese Spring festival. There is a grand sporting event as well known as MBAT, where schools from all over France and even the UK come to participate.
- One can hope to enjoy a lot of things outside academia; they just need some enthusiasm.
Part Time Jobs
- The TA/RA/DA are fairly rare. There are no on-campus jobs available. There is a portal where professors publish any TA/RA/DA jobs they need and they select the most suitable applicant just like a normal job.
- It is generally a bit difficult to secure these positions, as these are filled by PhD students. However, if one is ambitious enough, one can ask to work with the professor informally and hope to turn it into an RA position.
- Most of the Indian students do not do a part-time job. A few students work for application consulting agencies as part-time essay writers. The location of the college makes it difficult for students to find part-time jobs in Paris and given the schedule of the course, it is difficult to travel to Paris on weekdays. I personally don’t know anyone doing a part-time job in Paris during the course.
Placement
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- I personally have not graduated yet so will not be able to accurately answer this. According to the college website, 100% of students found a job 3 months after graduation. The average salary of a Master in Management graduate was 65,000 euros when I joined the course in 2023. It rises to 125,000 euros 3 years after graduation.
- Students usually find a job through networking on LinkedIn or applying on an internal job board called Handshake.
- Major companies that hire from the college are L’Oréal, BCG, Bain, and P&G.
Accommodation
Off Campus
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- The accommodation differs based on your course. For the first year of your Master in Management program, you are allotted the T1 room. This room has a kitchenette and a bathroom attached to it. The rent is around 620 euros.
- For the second year, you are allotted a room in the AP building. This room does not have a kitchenette attached; however, it has a bathroom. There is one common kitchen per building in these buildings and the rent is around 570 euros.
- The T1 buildings are naturally more comfortable to live in but you would also get used to the AP buildings when you have to. One advantage of the AP buildings is their proximity to the academic block. You can reach the academic block within a few minutes. For the T1 buildings, you will require around 7-8 minutes to reach the academic block.
Exams
- The GMAT/GRE and an english language examination such as IELTS/TOEFL are necessary for admission. The English language examination can be exempted if your Bachelor’s degree is taught in English.
- Documents necessary are SOP(essays), LORs -2 , CV.
- Interview was part of the process. The interview was not very technical for the Master in Management program; focused more on my goals, aspirations and expectations for the course.
Fees
- First-year fee: 24,650 euros. Second-year fee: 24,897 euros. The fee is charged yearly.
- The monthly expenses range from 800 to 1200, depending on month-specific choices. The rent is around 600 euros; however, after CAF (a concession given by the French government) It may come down to 400 euros. Other regular expenses will be around 300 euros; however, there are always ad hoc expenses.
Scholarship
- I did not receive a scholarship.
- There are mainly 3 types of scholarships.
- Eiffel scholarship: It’s given by the government of France for students with outstanding academics and experience. Hence, it is a profile-based scholarship and every applicant to HEC is automatically considered for this scholarship. Typical amount is 50% of the tuition fee.
- Academic scholarship: This scholarship is provided by HEC for students with outstanding academics and experience. The amount ranges from 4,000 to 8,000 euros based on the profile of the student.
- Charpak scholarship: This scholarship is for Indian students studying in France. It is a profile-based scholarship as well and has a separate application.
