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Byrne on June 10, 2014 Courtesy: Poets & Quants https://poetsandquants.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/hec.jpg For a recent business school presentation on the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Connie Chen came dressed to the nines. After all, the MBA exchange student at HEC Paris was leading a group of four classmates in the semester’s last session of a class on Luxury Strategy. The highly popular course is taught by a charismatic professor, Vincent Bastien, who was once the chief executive officer of both Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent Parfums. A Chinese-American student from New York University’s Stern School of Business, Chen was smartly attired in a haute outfit, with a black-and-white sweater vest over a flowing pleated linen dress. But what most drew Professor Bastien’s attention were her Christian Louboutin four-inch stiletto heels. The professor playfully urged Chen to come out from behind a podium to show off her black suede, gladiator-style shoes, announcing to the class in his strong baritone voice, “beautiful shoes” as the petite student obliged. When a classmate reminded the professor that such comments would be politically incorrect in an American business school, Bastien laughed aloud. “That’s why I don’t want to teach in the U.S.,” he quipped. Welcome to HEC Paris, a business school that has become truly global without completely losing its French roots. One of Europe’s finest business schools, HEC Paris is located on a 340-acre wooded campus in Jouy-en-Josas, just 12 miles southwest from Paris. It is a school that has undergone a dramatic transformation in the past five years, from a distinctly French institution, part of the elite “Grandes Ecoles” where entry is granted only to the very best students in France, to a truly international business school where every course is taught in English. ‘FREEDOM OF LANGUAGE IS FREEDOM FROM CULTURE’ As Professor Bastien says, “The students are very diverse. I want my class to be a reflection of the world and it is. Out of a class of 30 students, I had one from France, four Americans, five Chinese, with some from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Beijing, Koreans, Japanese, Mexican, Russians, Italians and a Chilean. They see the world differently. And the big advantage is that no one speaks French. You have more freedom of language here and freedom of language is freedom from culture.” In contrast to either London Business School or INSEAD, which respectively take in 400 and 1,024 students every year, HEC’s full-time MBA program is small and intimate. The latest entering class—admitted in two intakes in September and January—is composed of 178 students. Some 85% of them are from outside France, reflecting 50 different nationalities, ranging from Brazil to the U.S. The school’s acceptance rate of 28%–which falls to 18% if you take into account candidates who completed an online profile but were not encouraged to apply–makes HEC more selective than INSEAD. The students, moreover, are taught by a cosmopolitan faculty of 110 permanent professors, 64% of them from other countries. Many of the professors are relatively new to the school, replacing a slew of inbred teachers that had been born in France and were proud products of the “grandes écoles.” Six out of ten are currently on the tenure track of six to seven years. HEC faculty who teach the MBAs are surprisingly down to earth, defying the stereotype of the stiffly formal and somewhat intimidating French scholars of years past. THE SCHOOL SAYS THAT GRADUATES TYPICALLY DOUBLE THEIR PRE-MBA SALARIES When HEC’s students graduate, they tend to find jobs outside of France. The career stats show that 72% of the MBAs find jobs outside the country, largely in Europe but increasingly in China, Korea, Singapore and India, often with French firms such as L’Oreal, LVMH and Schneider Electric, that have been gaining a foothold in Asia. On average, the school says, MBA graduates from HEC double their pre-MBA salaries and last year 89% of the class had jobs three months after commencement. The average salary with bonus was 95,160 Euros, or just under $130,000. In 2009 and 2010, five out of the 15 top recruiting companies were french. This past year only one—the fashion conglomerate LVMH—was among the top 15 recruiters which includes such mainstream MBA players as McKinsey, A.T. Kearney, GE, Credit Suisse, Unilever, and Johnson & Johnson. This year’s two largest recruiters are familiar names: Amazon and Google, which have respectively made nine and five offers to the Class of 2014 which officially graduates on June 13th. “U.S. business schools are of a type,” insists Tony Somers, director of the MBA career management center. “They are all two-year programs and the jobs market is homogenous, both in terms of how the students find jobs and their ultimate location. At HEC, our students are from all over the world and they are placed all over the world.” https://poetsandquants.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/bernard_garrete_hec_paris.jpg ‘WHEN PEOPLE CALL US THE HARVARD OF EUROPE WE LIKE IT’ That diversity of people and thought has helped the school’s rankings. Ten years ago, HEC’s full-time MBA program was ranked 53rd in the world by The Financial Times. Just five years ago, it had climbed to 29th—and this year to 21st globally and seventh best in Europe. Overall, in its combined rankings of the MBA, executive MBA, master’s in management and executive education, the FT has also named HEC Paris the best business school in Europe in four of the past five years, tying with Spain’s IE Business School for the honor last year. The architect of HEC’s transformation is Bernard Garrette, a gregarious and accessible one-time McKinsey consultant who has been associate dean in charge of the MBA program since January of 2011. Garrette knows the old and the new HEC well: he earned his master’s degree from the HEC “Grande Ecole” in 1985 and his Ph.D. from HEC Paris in 1991. When Garrette stepped into the dean’s role more than four years ago, his goal was “to transform a national champion into a global champion in the business education world.” HEC graduates are a vital part of the country’s power elite. The school boasts 11 alumni among the CEOs of the 40 companies on the Paris Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalization. It ranks fifth worldwide for having the most CEOs of the Fortune global 500. “When people call us the Harvard of Europe, we like it,” says Garrette. “When they say we are the Harvard of France, it’s not enough. We want the brand to be recognized around the world.” LIKE MANY AT HEC, THIS AMERICAN MBA BOASTS MULTI-CULTURAL ROOTS AND A DEEP INTEREST IN THE WORLD Students who find their way to HEC are a remarkably global bunch. Katrina Senn, 25, who will graduate in 2015, came to the school as an American from California. But her father is Swiss and British, while her mother is Chinese and Indonesian. Senn had gone to the Lycée Francais Laperouse in San Francisco for a French secondary school diploma in economics and social sciences before doing her bachelor’s in Asian studies at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Senn spent a year in Osaka, Japan, teaching English and writing classes in high schools and then returned to San Francisco to work for the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). after graduating from Occidental College with a degree in Asian studies, she left for Osaka, Japan, to be an assistant language teacher for a year. Both her parents have MBAs—her father from Chicago and her mother from UCLA—and encouraged her to go for the degree. “I was looking only in Europe,” she says, “I was drawn to go some place new.” She focused her search on schools in Spain, France, and Italy, but found herself liking HEC Paris the best. “The culture here is unique,” says Senn. “It’s a very international program and we learn a lot about France.” Many of the students here say they have chosen HEC over INSEAD because they prefer the fact that the MBA here can be taken in 16 months, rather than 10 at INSEAD, and because of the much smaller size, an annual intake less than 20% of what INSEAD admits every year. “INSEAD is a completely different world,” says Senn. “We have a small class. We get to know each other very well, and the focus is on individual growth.” Adds Marcus Vilcinski, 29, “HEC is one of the rare schools where you can find a wide range of students from all over. And 16 months is the right timing. I didn’t want to squeeze everything in 10 months at INSEAD.” DRAWN TO THE SCHOOL BY A BOOK CO-AUTHORED BY ONE OF HEC’S SUPER STAR PROFESSORS Vilcinski is Brazilian, though his father is half Japanese and half Portuguese, and he has lived and worked in Australia for three years. “The school is in the countryside of Paris so when you first arrive, you think it’s a negative thing,” he adds. “But if we were in Paris we could easily disappear into the city and the connections with each other wouldn’t be the same.” Vicki Yang, 30, was drawn to the school for its specialty in luxury marketing just as Stern exchange student Connie Chen. The Chinese American had earned her undergraduate degree at New York University and then worked four years at the BankofAmerica. She put a year in at a strategy consulting boutique and then founded her own custom lingerie company in San Francisco. Keen to learn more about the upscale market, she found herself engrossed in the book, “The Luxury Strategy.” “I was so fascinated by the book that I flipped to the back and saw that the co-author (Professor Bastien) was teaching at HEC Paris. I had never heard of the school, but the more I read about it, the more excited I got.” A big appeal was the school’s “luxury certificate,” a deep dive in a specific topic that requires the completion of three of four courses, a three-day business game that challenges students to address the problems of growth and profitability in the luxury market, and a group project that involves hands-on experience. The two compulsory core courses are Topical Insights in Luxury and Managing Luxury Brands, while the two electives are called Sense & Sensibility and Retail and Merchandising Management. AN UNUSUAL CERTIFICATE PROGRAM ATTRACTS MANY STUDENTS WHO WANT A DEEP DIVE IN A SUBJECT MBA students who take one of the six certificates—digital innovation for business, energy and finance, innovation management in aviation and aerospace, leadership, luxury, and social business—also rub shoulders with students in the last year of the school’s Master of Management Grande Ecole program as well as students enrolled in other one-year master’s programs. In addition to having the opportunity to take a class with the co-author of a book that resonated with her, the certificate program sealed the deal. “HEC was an obvious and easy choice because I wanted to stick to luxury,” she says. “Being in the heart of the luxury market was important to me.” The bet has paid off. Her field project is with L’Oreal and as the outgoing president of the school’s luxury club, Yang organized numerous dinners with prominent alumni at such companies as Louis Vuitton, L’Oreal, Hermes, Yves Saint Laurent, and Givenchy (which she wears). ‘I WAS TOTALLY SHOCKED HOW DIFFERENT HEC IS FROM MY EXPECTATIONS’ Whether one pursues a certificate or not, the MBA experience here is different on several levels. “I was totally shocked how different it is,” says Promiti Prosun, 26, a Canadian whose parents are from Bangladesh. Prosun did her bachelor’s degree in marketing at York University’s Schulich School of Business in Toronto and didn’t want to repeat her undergraduate experience.. “Coming from a cosmopolitan culture in Toronto I thought it would be a breeze to transition here,” she says. “But in North America, you have the expectation that people adapt and blend in. Here, there really is no one culture because it is so diverse. You have to be flexible. It goes to the way you speak and to how you act. Like most MBA programs, the work at HEC Paris is challenging. “If you cruise here, you get left behind,” says Jameel Zakkout, who did his undergrad at Université du Québec à Montréal and who graduates this year with his MBA. “It’s a humbling and challenging experience. I never have had to work so hard for an A.” Some students express surprise at how the global diversity of the program tends to overwhelm the school’s french roots. “You are not really in France in this building,” says Zakkout, who speaks French, English and Arabic fluently. Adds Yang: “It’s been a little bit of a struggle to immerse myself in the French language. Within the MBA building, it’s all English.” Yang is fluent in French and expects to land a job in luxury retailing in France when she graduates. She says she would have liked to take some electives in French but the entire MBA program is in English. Otherwise, the complaints are few and far between. Students say the bus schedule to Paris is horrible, the food on Sundays is not up to French standards, and they wish it was easier to get in tune with the French culture outside the school. “It’s hard to integrate in a foreign country,” says Senn. “France is very difficult.” A TRANSFORMATION THAT HAS TOUCHED EVERY ASPECT OF THE PLACE Little has been left untouched by the transformation, from the way candidates are admitted, to where they study and work, to how they land jobs. Admissions has been revamped so that applicants get a decision within five weeks of submitting their applications. In fact, candidates are told within three working days if their applications will move forward or if they will be cut. It’s a novel admissions process because the decisions are made by an eight-person jury that consists of Associate Dean Garrette, the academic director, a representative of the alumni and the faculty, and the directors of career management and admissions. There’s also the director of the Direction des Admissions et Concours, an independent body in charge of organizing and ensuring the quality and the integrity of the selection process for French business schools The president of the jury is a professor or dean from a different university who functions as a representative of the French ministry of higher education. To get the decision time down to just five weeks, Admissions Director Philippe Oster had to increase the size of the jury and ask it to meet monthly. When the jury meets, the deputy director in charge of development and the manager of the admissions Office are also present with their teams: they present the applications and answer questions but do not participate in the decision process. The president of the jury has the final word. THE GMAT IS ONE OF 17 CRITERIA ADMISSIONS USES TO ASSESS CANDIDATES The school receives about 1,200 applications annually, and applications are up 11% so far this year. Oster says he is especially looking for candidates with international exposure, leadership potential, career progression, and generally three plus years of professional experience. “The GMAT is only one of 17 criteria,” says Oster, who notes that the average for the latest entering class is 685. About half of the applicants go through two admission interviews done by a group of 400 alumni, and the yield—the percentage of admits who enroll—is between 60% and 70%. Do the math and it comes to an acceptance rate of about 25%. The MBA students study in a new and massive building with ten classrooms and six lecture theaters and 25 breakout rooms opened in June of 2012. Modern and sparse, Building S features gray concrete walls, wire grid ceilings that expose the building’s wiring and air conditioning ducts, and rooms that are often lit by metal shop lights. The design is not without its critics, given the industrial feel of the interior, but it is a first class facility. There is a formal career management center curriculum which brings students through a process of self-assessment, industry boot camps, and one-on-one coaching to assist in job searches. Somers divides the students up into two categories: Explorers and Hunters. About 80% of the students are not sure what they want to do,” he says. “They have a plan A and a plan B. A hunter is someone who knows he wants to be an investment banker or a consultant and is coming here to do that.” https://poetsandquants.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/HEC3.jpg CAREER BOOTCAMPS FOR STUDENTS If a student is interested in finance, the MBA candidate is taken through a mini-course on finance essentials, a careers-in-finance info session, a weekend-long bootcamp, where students learn how to craft a perfect CV for the industry, how to interview and what to expect in the culture of a financial service company. There is also financial modeling sessions and specific one-on-one interview training. In other words, what MBA students typically get at any world class business school is offered at HEC Paris. Increasingly, there is a greater emphasis on internships to help line up students with jobs. “We are dealing with a culture in which internships are undergraduate mechanisms and longer term, four to six months,” says Somers. “But I’m trying to make sure that participants have the same internship experience they would in a two-year program even though we are 16 months.” Somers says that more than 140 students in the Class of 2015 have landed internships and that 25% of those internships have been converted into full-time job offers. Besides the core curriculum and a full menu of more than 70 electives that can lead to one of five specializations—finance, marketing, entrepreneurship, leadership and strategy—or one of the certificate programs, there’s also three key events at HEC that help to define the MBA experience. The first is a two-day leadership seminar at Saint-Cyr Military Academy in Brittany, the French equivalent of West Point. where students don fatigues, navigate an obstruction course, and engage in leadership exercises with debriefs by French military officers. Thomas Maudet, who came to HEC from the French Defense Department, had to manage a crisis center that set up a refugee camp. ‘ONE OF THE MAIN CHALLENGES IS TO MAKE HEC PARIS MORE VISIBLE GLOBALLY’ Then there is the MBA Tournament, a student-run undertaking that has MBAs from all of Europe’s elite business schools competing in 23 different sporting events, from chess and foosball to soccer. The event attracts more than 1,300 MBA students. This past year, as co-president, Senn helped lead what everyone calls MBAT (pronounced M-BAT) and says she slept seven hours during the three days of the event. “It was only at HEC that I could have had this opportunity,” says Senn. “I am the youngest person in the program with the least amount of work experience. So the opportunity to run the tournament was a real growth experience for me.” Finally, every MBA student is required to do what HEC Paris calls a fieldwork project that addresses a strategic challenge for a company. MBA candidates–either individually or in teams of up to four students–do the project over one term, working in a company or sector closely linked to the student’s professional goals. Many business schools, of course, have similar projects but HEC even leave open the possibility that a project can be completed with a full-time job, an unusual twist. Where does HEC Paris go from here? It’s the question, admits Garrette, that keeps him awake at night. “One of the main challenges is to make HEC Paris more visible globally,” he says. “We need to let people from outside Europe, and sometimes outside France, know better about what we are and what we are doing here.” While HEC Paris hopes to build its reputation and the size of its full-time MBA program, it wants to do so carefully. “We do not want to grow too much and to become too ‘commercial’ because that would be incompatible with our ‘exclusive’ DNA,” says Garrette, who intends to better leverage the school’s powerful alumni network which has 75 chapters around the world. “We must enhance the visibility of HEC Paris by the business community in key international ‘hotspots.’” He especially calls out London, New York, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Doha, Hong-Kong, and Shanghai. Africa, he believes, is the school’s next admissions and placement target. “An obvious reason is the economic take-off of some, if not all, African countries. The second reason is that HEC Paris’ French origin creates a competitive advantage in a large cluster of African countries. The HEC brand is already known and valued, we have some prominent alumni there and the potential is huge,” believes Garrette. “But in order to attract the best students that fit our philosophy, we must find ways to become more inclusive, facilitate funding and scholarships, without compromising selectivity. In other words, we must be socially inclusive while remaining intellectually exclusive.”

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Calling all HEC applicants (Sept 2015 intake) Class of 2017

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sirlancelot

Joined: 30 Jan 2015

Last visit: 29 Nov 2015

Posts: 16

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Concentration: Finance, Statistics

Schools: Wharton '18 LBS '18 CBS '18 (S) HEC Dec '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41 Verified score

GPA: 3.7

WE:Project Management (Telecommunications)

Schools: Wharton '18 LBS '18 CBS '18 (S) HEC Dec '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41 Verified score

Posts: 16

Kudos: 0

02 Feb 2015, 10:44

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anvitpjha

sirlancelot

Hi,

Just completed my first interview today and it wasn't as good as I had expected. Now my only chance is to perform well in the second interview which is on 2nd Feb.
So I wanted to know whether I can use a different presentation in my second interview. Any inputs?

Hi sirlancelot,

My take, stick to the same presentation. Just preparing a new one will be an unnecessary headache and think about the time you have to spend preparing. Presentations are just an avenue to gauge your innovative mindset. As far as interview goes, you can never measure how well you fared in the interview so just be calm and give the second one. Think of the interview as an avenue to connect yourself to a college representative. HEC has already certified you academically, but they still want to know how well you will gel with the students, whether you are a right fit. Thats where interview helps.

Be honest with yourself and bang the second interview :-D

Anvit

Thanks for the advice Anvit! I totally agree with your point.
I was planning to make two different presentations, each one related to the sector in which the interviewer is working. I believe that this way it would be more interesting for them and I will be able to keep them hooked throughout my presentation. The flip side is that they will be highly conversant in these topics and I have to be well prepared for the questions round. I have my interview on Wednesday (4th February, 2015). Hoping to complete my presentation tonight otherwise I will have to go with the first presentation only. :lol:

sirlancelot

Joined: 30 Jan 2015

Last visit: 29 Nov 2015

Posts: 16

Given Kudos: 16

Concentration: Finance, Statistics

Schools: Wharton '18 LBS '18 CBS '18 (S) HEC Dec '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41 Verified score

GPA: 3.7

WE:Project Management (Telecommunications)

Schools: Wharton '18 LBS '18 CBS '18 (S) HEC Dec '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41 Verified score

Posts: 16

Kudos: 0

02 Feb 2015, 11:06

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zat

sirlancelot

Hi sirlancelot,

Agree with wishingpraying. You can use the same presentation in both your interviews or make two different presentations. It is totally up to you.

Hi zat! Thanks for your inputs.
I was one of the visitors in the Open Day held on HEC Campus on 31st January, 2015. It would have been nice to meet you in person but I forgot to message you in advance. The campus is really beautiful and I just fell in love with the state of the art MBA building! Also enjoyed the networking cocktail session with the current students. It was a great decision to visit the campus. I hope I make it to HEC.

sirlancelot

Joined: 30 Jan 2015

Last visit: 29 Nov 2015

Posts: 16

Given Kudos: 16

Concentration: Finance, Statistics

Schools: Wharton '18 LBS '18 CBS '18 (S) HEC Dec '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41 Verified score

GPA: 3.7

WE:Project Management (Telecommunications)

Schools: Wharton '18 LBS '18 CBS '18 (S) HEC Dec '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41 Verified score

Posts: 16

Kudos: 0

02 Feb 2015, 11:09

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wishingpraying

sirlancelot

Hi there, I doubt that you need to use the same presentation. The presentation is more about how you put together information and present it (showing dedication and purpose). I had my interviews recently and both interviewers didn't seem to need to keep the presentation, take notes, etc. It's more about general feeling about how you present. Good luck with your second interview!

Hi wishingpraying! Thank you for your advice and the wishes. Really need that luck in this interview! :-D

sirlancelot

Joined: 30 Jan 2015

Last visit: 29 Nov 2015

Posts: 16

Given Kudos: 16

Concentration: Finance, Statistics

Schools: Wharton '18 LBS '18 CBS '18 (S) HEC Dec '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41 Verified score

GPA: 3.7

WE:Project Management (Telecommunications)

Schools: Wharton '18 LBS '18 CBS '18 (S) HEC Dec '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41 Verified score

Posts: 16

Kudos: 0

02 Feb 2015, 11:24

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Stan17

Ajinkya87

While I wait to hear my application decision in 4 days from now, my mind can not help but think about the outcome and make random calculations of my chances for getting in HEC. Does anyone know the stats for admission/rejection after the interview stage?

I heard acceptance rate post interview is close to 80%
Could somebody please validate the same?

Hi Ajinkya87 and Stan17!
I visited the HEC campus and got the opportunity to speak with HEC student ambassadors about the interview selection criteria and chances of converting an interview call. The general opinion was that HEC filters most of the candidates in the first two rounds before the interview. That is why the chances of converting your interview are somewhere around 60-70%. However, keep in mind that the school has been ranked No.4 in the world by the Economist and recently it jumped 5 positions in the FT rankings as well to No.16. Due to these factors, HEC has received the highest ever number of applications this year (as mentioned by one of the students). Even the number of participants who visited the campus on the Open Day was around 150 which they said is the highest till date.
Considering these factors I would say that the competition might be slightly higher this year so be prepared for that.

wishingpraying

Joined: 14 Jan 2015

Last visit: 17 Aug 2015

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Schools: HEC Sept'16 (A) LBS '17 (WL) Stern '17 (A) Anderson '17 (WD)

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02 Feb 2015, 12:54

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Hi everyone, I'm getting nervous waiting for my final decision. I had my interviews recently and thought they went well, but I suppose you just never know. I've read most places that acceptance rate (upon interviewing) is 75-80% but it seems like it's actually much lower. In the final round, does anyone know what they take into consideration exactly? Are they just vetting you through the feedback from interviews? Or will they reconsider other factors? One area of concern that's been brought up was my quant score on my GMAT so now I'm freaking out, thinking that will be another sore spot on my overall application and hinder me from getting accepted.

Any insight you guys may have would be great. Thank you!

zat

Current Student

Joined: 02 Jul 2013

Last visit: 20 Jun 2016

Posts: 128

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Concentration: Finance

Schools: HEC '15 (M)

GMAT 1: 700 Q50 V34 Verified score

WE:Underwriter (Insurance)

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Schools: HEC '15 (M)

GMAT 1: 700 Q50 V34 Verified score

Posts: 128

Kudos: 38

02 Feb 2015, 14:12

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wishingpraying

Hi wishingpraying,

As mentioned on the HEC website, the Admissions Jury looks at every aspect of your application before making their decision.

"Once the interviews have been carried out, our Admissions Jury will then meet to discuss and decide upon your application. The Admissions Jury is an official meeting attended by Representatives of the French Ministry of Education, of HEC Paris Alumni and of the MBA Faculty, as well as the Dean and Associate Dean of HEC Paris. They will review every aspect of your application, from your essays to your recommendations and performance in the interviews.

This meeting has three possible outcomes for your application: you may be admitted onto the program, not admitted, or placed on the official Waiting List. You will be informed of the jury's decision within hours. We hold 12 Admissions Juries per year."

Here's a link to the page: https://www.mba.hec.edu/Admissions/Application-Process

wishingpraying

Joined: 14 Jan 2015

Last visit: 17 Aug 2015

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Schools: HEC Sept'16 (A) LBS '17 (WL) Stern '17 (A) Anderson '17 (WD)

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02 Feb 2015, 14:25

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Thank you zat. I thought I read somewhere that final decision takes 2 weeks after interviews take place. Is that accurate? Does HEC post their jury meetings anywhere so I can expect when I might hear back?

zat

Current Student

Joined: 02 Jul 2013

Last visit: 20 Jun 2016

Posts: 128

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 33

Concentration: Finance

Schools: HEC '15 (M)

GMAT 1: 700 Q50 V34 Verified score

WE:Underwriter (Insurance)

Products:

Schools: HEC '15 (M)

GMAT 1: 700 Q50 V34 Verified score

Posts: 128

Kudos: 38

02 Feb 2015, 19:30

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wishingpraying

You'll find the decision dates here:
https://www.mba.hec.edu/Admissions/Admissions-Deadlines

You can expect your decision on 6th February hopefully.

Ajinkya87

Joined: 17 Sep 2013

Last visit: 11 Jul 2015

Posts: 51

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Given Kudos: 2

Location: India

Concentration: Technology, Finance

Schools: Jones '17 (D) McCombs '17 (D) Anderson '17 (S) HEC Sept'16 (D) Carlson '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V40 Verified score

GPA: 3.62

WE:Engineering (Energy)

Schools: Jones '17 (D) McCombs '17 (D) Anderson '17 (S) HEC Sept'16 (D) Carlson '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V40 Verified score

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02 Feb 2015, 23:58

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sirlancelot

Stan17

Ajinkya87

I heard acceptance rate post interview is close to 80%
Could somebody please validate the same?

Thanks for the info, Stan17 and sirlancelot. Let's just hope that we don't end up being a part of those 30-40% unlucky people. 3 more days!

anvitpjha

Joined: 02 Apr 2013

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Location: United States

Concentration: Strategy, Entrepreneurship

Schools: LBS '17 (D) ISB '16 (WD) IMD '16 (WD) INSEAD Jan '16 (D) Cambridge'16 (WD) Said'16 (D) HEC Dec '17 (A)

GMAT 1: 710 Q51 V34 Verified score

GPA: 3.8

Schools: LBS '17 (D) ISB '16 (WD) IMD '16 (WD) INSEAD Jan '16 (D) Cambridge'16 (WD) Said'16 (D) HEC Dec '17 (A)

GMAT 1: 710 Q51 V34 Verified score

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03 Feb 2015, 01:49

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Stan17

Ajinkya87

I heard acceptance rate post interview is close to 80%
Could somebody please validate the same?

Hi Stan17,

Looking back, I was also in the same boat, searching fanatically for that magic post interview admission rate %. But after sometime I thought, considering HEC is having less seats and that the alumni and not admission committee is conducting the interviews, they might not send huge interview requests. So, as per my thought process, HEC has already certified you and unless you piss off interviewer big time :-P

, your application wont be declined.

Anvit

sirlancelot

Joined: 30 Jan 2015

Last visit: 29 Nov 2015

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Concentration: Finance, Statistics

Schools: Wharton '18 LBS '18 CBS '18 (S) HEC Dec '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41 Verified score

GPA: 3.7

WE:Project Management (Telecommunications)

Schools: Wharton '18 LBS '18 CBS '18 (S) HEC Dec '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41 Verified score

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03 Feb 2015, 06:45

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anvitpjha

Stan17

Ajinkya87

I heard acceptance rate post interview is close to 80%
Could somebody please validate the same?

, your application wont be declined.

Anvit

You have a point there and I just hope it is true. Preparing for my interview tomorrow and am already having so many negative thoughts in my mind. Got dinged after the interview by HEC last year as my GMAT score (670) was low according to the selection committee. Anyways, I have 740 this time so at least I've got that base covered. 8-)

wishingpraying

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03 Feb 2015, 11:03

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Hi Sirlancelot, I scored 670 on my GMAT so I'm anxious that it will affect my chances at HEC post-interview. Would you mind letting me know if your interviews went well last year? I know there's no point in worrying at this point but I can't help it!

shank001

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03 Feb 2015, 13:35

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The admissions jury is not until 12pm CET on Thursday 5th.
Get ready to hear the news on 6th.

sirlancelot

Joined: 30 Jan 2015

Last visit: 29 Nov 2015

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Concentration: Finance, Statistics

Schools: Wharton '18 LBS '18 CBS '18 (S) HEC Dec '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41 Verified score

GPA: 3.7

WE:Project Management (Telecommunications)

Schools: Wharton '18 LBS '18 CBS '18 (S) HEC Dec '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41 Verified score

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03 Feb 2015, 15:46

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wishingpraying

My interviews went well last year but one of my interviewers had pointed out that I have a low GMAT score compared to the applicant cohort having profiles similar to mine. I guess it also depends on other factors. For instance, I met an engineer from India during the Open Day who had a score of 690 and still her application had been put on hold just because her GMAT score was lower than the average GMAT score for the cohort of "Indian applicants having engineering degrees" which is higher than 700 (as mentioned by her). On the other hand, there were also candidates from countries such as Azerbaijan and Romania having GMAT scores in the range of 660-680 who had already been admitted.

Ajinkya87

Joined: 17 Sep 2013

Last visit: 11 Jul 2015

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Location: India

Concentration: Technology, Finance

Schools: Jones '17 (D) McCombs '17 (D) Anderson '17 (S) HEC Sept'16 (D) Carlson '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V40 Verified score

GPA: 3.62

WE:Engineering (Energy)

Schools: Jones '17 (D) McCombs '17 (D) Anderson '17 (S) HEC Sept'16 (D) Carlson '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V40 Verified score

Posts: 51

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Updated on: 04 Feb 2015, 20:10

Originally posted by Ajinkya87 on 03 Feb 2015, 22:26.
Last edited by Ajinkya87 on 04 Feb 2015, 20:10, edited 1 time in total.

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shank001

The admissions jury is not until 12pm CET on Thursday 5th.
Get ready to hear the news oonn 6th.

Looking at previous year's posts, the results will not be available till 12 PM CET on the 6th, so roughly 4-5 PM IST. ~54 hours countdown :eh:

sirlancelot

Joined: 30 Jan 2015

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Concentration: Finance, Statistics

Schools: Wharton '18 LBS '18 CBS '18 (S) HEC Dec '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41 Verified score

GPA: 3.7

WE:Project Management (Telecommunications)

Schools: Wharton '18 LBS '18 CBS '18 (S) HEC Dec '17 (D)

GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41 Verified score

Posts: 16

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03 Feb 2015, 23:56

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Ajinkya87

shank001

The admissions jury is not until 12pm CET on Thursday 5th.
Get ready to hear the news on 6th.

Looking at previous year's posts, the results will not be available till 12 PM CET on the 6th, so roughly 4-5 PM IST. ~30 hours countdown :eh:

All the best guys! I am on my way for my second interview. Hope it goes well.

cyrill001

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04 Feb 2015, 00:04

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Ajinkya87

shank001

The admissions jury is not until 12pm CET on Thursday 5th.
Get ready to hear the news on 6th.

Looking at previous year's posts, the results will not be available till 12 PM CET on the 6th, so roughly 4-5 PM IST. ~30 hours countdown :eh:

Hi Ajinkya87, it is good to know. I haven't been so anxious for long now.

binmahmood

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Location: Pakistan

Concentration: Finance, Entrepreneurship

Schools: LBS MIF '16 (A) HEC Sept'16 (M) Bocconi '17 (A) Said'16 (D)

GMAT 1: 650 Q48 V32 Verified score

GPA: 2.7

WE:Corporate Finance (Other)

Schools: LBS MIF '16 (A) HEC Sept'16 (M) Bocconi '17 (A) Said'16 (D)

GMAT 1: 650 Q48 V32 Verified score

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04 Feb 2015, 01:55

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shank001

angelfire213

wouldn't it be more prudent to confirm with them?

shank001

HEC paris is asking for official transcripts.
Do they mean sealed transcripts or notarized copies are also fine?

I received transcripts from my college when I graduated. Can i send notarized copies of transcripts to HEC as the official transcripts will take a lot of time to reach paris?

already did. but posting here gets a faster response

Hi, Apologies for the late response - hoping this would still matter.

Notarized copies or copies stamped by your college's dean are fine. I had sent the same.

binmahmood

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Location: Pakistan

Concentration: Finance, Entrepreneurship

Schools: LBS MIF '16 (A) HEC Sept'16 (M) Bocconi '17 (A) Said'16 (D)

GMAT 1: 650 Q48 V32 Verified score

GPA: 2.7

WE:Corporate Finance (Other)

Schools: LBS MIF '16 (A) HEC Sept'16 (M) Bocconi '17 (A) Said'16 (D)

GMAT 1: 650 Q48 V32 Verified score

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04 Feb 2015, 02:47

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wishingpraying

Hi wishingpraying,

don't worry about the GMAT now -just hope for the best. My GMAT score is 650 and I got accepted. Many other factors beside the GMAT score are taken into consideration.

wishingpraying

Joined: 14 Jan 2015

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04 Feb 2015, 09:48

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binmahmood

wishingpraying

Hi wishingpraying,

don't worry about the GMAT now -just hope for the best. My GMAT score is 650 and I got accepted. Many other factors beside the GMAT score are taken into consideration.

Appreciate the encouragement, Binmahmood and Sirlancelot