Master in management Grande École

thanks a lot!!

to be frank, it was tough..
there were 3 interviewers, 2 alumni and 1 french lady. i shared a similar career path with one of the alumnus, so he could relate a lot to what i wanted to do and my future plans. but he could also go into depth in it, so there were some drawbacks also..
one of the most shocking questions i got was : Have you considered an professional masters degree in Wine Tasting in france..??

lol..

Haha funny french people ! But hey thank you for the answers by the way, HEC is my dream school for sure. I see that you have an impressive gmat, is your gpa also amazing ?

nah! not so much.. my gpa is ok, 8.2 on 10. but i guess that doesn't matter so much, they look at your entire profile before evaluating. i guess my many extra curricular activities and involvement with different projects outside of my college helped a lot.

hey

I can see the rankings where HEC scores over ESCP Europe ! But do you guys know more about the difference
Like what are the unique features; I have decide between ESCP this year and HEC next year.

And i wanted to understand whether it is worth it ?
IT would be great to get your response !

your first point : a bird in hand is definitely worth two in the bush.. getting into HEC is quite difficult, and you wouldn't want to lose the opportunity you have now. Also, it will matter what you do in this year if you decide to wait, the adcom will be interested in that.

HEC scores over ESCP in many ways. the most obvious one is the recognition / reputation. if after graduation and 6-7 years in a job, you want to change jobs; when applying for the new job the fact that you are from HEC will matter, in your favor. Also, although both schools are a part of the CEMS group, HEC also offers many other exchange programmes like the one with MIT Sloan.
FT rankings for 2009 say that ESCP is ranked 2 in MiM programmes. This, while true, is only half the truth. It is difficult to gauge the difference between 1 and 2 based on rankings. The alumni network of HEC is better spread and more active.
These, and other factors led me to choose HEC over ESCP this year. However, if you already have an ESCP admit, and are wanting to wait for HEC next year, i would say consider your position on the basis that you would be taking a gamble by waiting..

Also, the costs of the programme at HEC and ESCP are €17,200 and €15300 respectively. Not much difference i would say. also, both schools have the option, if fact they recommend, that you take a year off to do internships between your two years of study. You can save some money during this gap year of internship.

feel free to contact me if you need more info / help.

hi Mihir008,

Thanks for the insight:) I am also applying for HEC grande ecole for sept 2010 intake. I've got into the interview for R3 and would like to find out what are some of the things that were being discussed during the interview? some interview tips will be appreciated!

hi Mihir008,

Some of your points in your arguments are not correct :

The difference of recognition between HEC and ESCP is not that great. ESCP is not part of CEMS Group. There is no real exchange program between HEC and MIT, just the opportunity for 2 or 3 students to pay thousands of euros to go to MIT for a specific program after graduation from HEC (anyone can apply with or without HEC). The alumni network of ESCP is worldwide spread and active, not less or more than HEC's.

+ ESCP is a wonderful school with campuses in Paris, London, Madrid, Torino and Berlin, and not "just" a business school. It's completely international : students go from a campus to another. ESCP has built a programme to provide a unique multicultural learning experience and as an alumni i can tell you that my years of study at ESCP were some of the best in my life.

HI I am an international student from India for ESCP - Paris Master in Management (english), got through with 50% scholarship for September-2012 intake. I have an experience of 1 yr in tech consulting. Can some one give details of present situation of placements , companies , profile , salary etc .... i heard there is disadvantage for intnl students in terms of getting placed..can some one explain if its true or not ? in general is it worth giving 3 years time to this degree.... Thanks for replying.
@Mihir can you share experience being in France & u r thoughts about course in general

Hi Guys,

I recently got selected in HEC Paris Grande Ecole program. I had a few queries regarding the program. It would be really helpful if you could answer them.

1. How are the job prospects after graduating from HEC?
2. Would it be a good decision to go to Paris, given the financial crisis in Europe?
3. Now that the Visa regulations have become more stringent, how difficult it has become to land up in a job (both in France and outside, say UK) ?
4. Is it easy to get internships in the gap year?

Kindly reply soon as I have only 3 days left for my confirmation deadline.

HEC Master in Management: Application advice

The HEC Master in Management (Grande Ecole) is one of the most sought-after MiM programs in Europe. Many even consider it to be a great alternative to the MBA, as the program is really extremely comprehensive, offering multiple opportunities for learning and gaining practical experience. In the array of learning options available, the HEC MiM is definitely top notch.If there is one word that can be used to summarize the entire HEC MiM program, that word will be ‘contemporary’. The program has been designed keeping not just traditional options (Marketing, Finance etc.) but also emerging business areas in mind. For example, one can choose in-depth study and exposure across a specific subset of business areas to earn certificates.

Read More Here

Well i am currently a student at ESCP & i will try to make you understand the differences between HEC and ESCP in a un-partial & objective way.

First thing that you have to understand is that HEC,ESCP and ESSEC are the top 3 grand ecoles of france, they are the most well respected and well recognized names when it comes to business schools (in france), and are well known to accept only the creme de la creme (the top layer of students). So if you make it into any one of the 3, congratulate yourself! Its a great school. I know many french student who will give off their arm, to get into any of these 3 top schools. Of course there are differences among the 3, but there are many many more similarities.
Also one thing to keep in mind here is that the placements opportunities for all these 3 schools are almost the same. All top companies in all sectors come and frequent these schools, and none of them has a specific advantage over the other. You can launch a great career from any of these 3 grand ecoles.

The main differences among them, as per me, are as follows:

Prestige: According to the FT rankings, all 3 schools occupy really high ranks. HEC- 2nd, ESSEC- 3rd and ESCP- 7th. But these rankings vary a lot year by year, for example ESCP was 2nd in 2014. That said in France all 3 schools are regarded as very very good business schools. The top of the top or creme de la creme in French. If a french student makes it into any of these 3 he is at the top of the world. From what i have gleaned in the past one year the preference is usually HEC, ESSEC and then ESCP. But there is a very think line differentiating the 3.
On the international scale HEC has a heavy hand as it gains a lot of popularity because of its MBA degree, ESSEC also offers MBA and is slowly climbing the ranks, whereas ESCP only offers EMBA and no MBA as such, because of this its relatively unknown in the international MBA circles but its Executive MBA is one of the best in the world.

Curriculum: Its almost the same, all 3 schools have a 2 years course which is broken into 4 semesters. One can take the option of Gap years and gap semesters to gain some work experience. Also the electives and courses are also the same. Though some colleges offer limited specializations so that is something to check up on.

Exchange opportunities: Well here all 3 schools have good relations with colleges all over the world and offer many exchange and double degree programs, the quality of exchange programs is slightly better in ESSEC and HEC compared to ESCP. But ESCP has 5 campuses in 5 major European cities( London, Paris, Madrid, Turin & Berlin) so it compensates for the lack of high quality exchange opportunities with a chance for students to earn MSc degrees of up to 3 countries. One can do this by studying in ESCP campuses in London, Paris and Berlin. So this can be very beneficial as you get degrees recognized by 3 countries.

Location: ESCP is a clear winner as it is in the center of the city and students can enjoy many networking opportunities organized by companies which keep on occurring in the city. This is troublesome for HEC and ESSEC which are pretty far from Paris( about an hour each).

There may be a few other trivial differences but according to me, these are the most major ones.
Lastly, again i repeat each of the 3 colleges are amazing in their own way, and are great places to study in.

For people who have doubts about how the job prospects would be, well i have already told you that all major companies come and recruit from these campuses.
That said.... the school can only open doors for you, you are the one who has to go through them. You can be sure that it wont be a walk in the park, it will be tough finding a good job. Mainly because the job market is very competitive. But the name of the school will surely help you get many interviews, and after that it is upto you, your skills and how hard you have worked while at the school. Also getting internships is fairly easy, all students do find an internship in their gap semesters or gap years. Ofcourse there would be some language barriers, but they can be mitigated if acted upon( you are in France for 2-3 years remember, LEARN FRENCH).
Lastly, all my seniors struggled a bit early on after graduation, but are all doing great and have well paying jobs now. So it is definitely not impossible to get a good job, in this economy. Also the EU market is improving, so it is just going to get better now.

Hope the answer helped.
You can get more info about the MiM degree in general and its requirements by checking out https://www.mim-essay.com
Regards,