HEC Paris - Sep 2010 intake

Hey guys, I was also admitted a few days ago. 26, M, Chinese Canadian, lived a few years in Montreal when I was a kid, so the bilingual stream was a huge draw for me. I also work in IT doing software design in Hong Kong.

Looking forward to seeing you all in Paris. I just joined the HEC Paris - September 2010 intake LinkedIn group and there are already 25 members

Congratulations everybody !!!
Don't you have some advice for a wannabe ?

I was asking for your experience with HEC interviews, of course... ;p

Hi Baky,

Feel free to PM me with questions about the interview. Also, if you Google "HEC Paris Pagalguy 2009" you will find a very lengthy thread with plenty of useful information about interviews. (I used it for my own preparation.)

Generally, the interview includes a ten-minute presentation (can be about anything) and a 30-45 minute Q&A session with the standard interview questions. You are provided two alumni interviewers if you are not able to go to campus for an interview and you can present the same presentation to both interviewers. I am based in Northern California and my interviewers included one alum who currently lives in Seattle and a previous HEC exchange student (he's actually a UCLA MBA alum) who lives in LA.

Best of luck!

EggWhitesOnly

I had a similar experience. I'm based in Brussels, so I had two interviews with alumni here (although I wouldn't have minded hopping on a train to Paris!). For my presentation - which ended up being more like 15 minutes - I picked something work-related and which helped support my overall application 'story'.

The first half of the interview included the presentation and follow-up questions. The other half was regular Q & A-style. But I have to say that the questions from the interviewers were not what I expected. They had very little to do with what I had been doing to date and were almost entirely about 'why an MBA now?', 'what next?' and especially, 'why HEC (and France/Europe)?' and 'what can I bring to the program?'. But both interviewers and interviews were really easy going. It ended up being more of a conversation than anything, and they made it really easy to relax. More than anything, I think both alumni genuinely wanted to make sure that HEC was a good fit in both directions - i.e., that it was a good fit for me and that I was a good fit for the program.

Regarding preparation, I found this link to be of use: https://www.accepted.com/mba/interviews/ ... mit&bhcp=1. I also re-read my application a few times, practiced my presentation with a friend to get comfortable with it and wrote out responses to some common questions (which, in the end, I didn't even really need). In general, I'd say to keep your answers pretty short. The Q & A part was only 30 - 45 minutes, and it became clear very quickly that, given this constraint, the interviewers were after concise answers.

What I would warn against, though, is over-preparation (and this is a theme I found to be common in the accepted.com write-ups found in the link I shared above). I can only speak for the alumni interviews (and not adcom or professor interviews, which are what I think you would see if you had your interviews on campus), but they were really geared toward getting to know you on a personal level. If you sound rehearsed I think you run the risk of not really letting yourself come through.

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me. And good luck!

Thanks a lot both of you !! I do hope to join you for sep 2010 Intake... I submit for R3 (2 days left).
To be continued...

Nyinbxl, did you decide if you're going to HEC? I think I found you on LinkedIn

Almost there, but no decision yet...will let you know!

Hello Everyone

I got the offer too. I'm chinese, female, 26 years old, French speaker. I've been to Europe several times and really loved Paris, it will be my first time living in a foreign country. I'm so excited, and can't wait to meet your guys.

Regards

Alix

Welcome, Alixch!

This is awesome - including me, I can count at least 3 Chinese females from three different countries heading to HEC for Sep 2010. Please practice French and Mandarin with me!

EWO

Hello EggWhitesOnly

I'd love to, and I need practice my english too. I left my msn in the linkedin group, maybe we can already start practicing (by typing), are you the one who can type like a mad man?

Alix

Yes, that's me! Will email you so we can get started on practicing, haha!

Hi All,

Congrats to you guys for selection in HEC. I am applying for the same. I wish if I could meet you guys

I am facing an issue in app. I clicked on generate recommendation links and it flashed a text in "Recommendation Prefix" field but it is not a link and I am not getting that where is the link and what to do with that "Recommendation Prefix". I went though FAQs on HEC's website but found no relevant question.

Please help me.
Thanks a lot and CONGRATS again

There should be a "SHOW LINKS" button to the left of the "Recommendation Prefix" box. Push the "SHOW LINKS" button and it will try to open up a page in your internet browser. The recommendation links will show up on that page. Make sure that you "allow" your pdf reader to access your browser.

Thanks a lot. It got resolved. Problem was with Pop-up blocker.

Hi all,

Congrats to all the admits. I got the offer for September 2010 intake too.
I am 28, Chinese, male, and I am living in Paris. I'm currently consultant in investment banking.
I grew up in China until age 15, then I used to live in Morrocco for 4 years. Now I'm in France for 8 years.
Let's keep in touch. If you come to Paris, don't hesitate to contact me. See you later!