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Hi - I'm looking for some advice re my MBA applications - any info would be much appreciated!
I applied this June to 3 business schools: Warwick, HEC Paris & INSEAD. I'm from the UK (London) & selected these schools as I didn't want to do a 2 year course (which ruled out most of the US courses) and also would like to develop my French - hence the French schools over IMD or IE for example. I applied to Warwick as a solid school in the UK, and also thought that the 3 schools gave me a spread in terms of difficulty to get into
I sat the GMAT in June (in a bit of a rush) & got 680, although my verbal was much higher than quant (92v, 56q, 6aw)! I subsequently had interviews with Warwick & HEC and was offered places to start next Sept. INSEAD said they liked my application but encouraged me to reapply with a higher GMAT score (70-75% in each)
I re-sat the GMAT this week and got 690 (88v, 68q). I suppose I could have done more prep but had been doing the Kaplan CATs and consistently scoring in the 80s in 90s in quantitative - I now realise those don't correlate fully with the actual GMAT and probably gave me a false sense of my level in numeric! Overall I must say I think the GMAT is a waste of valuable time as you don't really learn anything from it that is business relevant - it could be replaced with something where you actually learn relevant things as you do it - but realise it is part of the game. I'm currently planning to re-sit it one last time in late Jan and will do a fair bit of quantitative study in advance!
I'm certainly close to the level needed for INSEAD and I think if I can improve the score in Jan I'll get an interview. If not I'm left to choose between the 2 other schools, which is what my real question is about!
Warwick is in my own country & is a solid school although there are several higher ranked schools in Europe. The thought of living in / near Paris does really appeal however and also I'd really like to develop my French. Also HEC scores pretty highly in the rankings and the range of modules looks wider than Warwick. What concerns me however is that here and there I have heard negative reports about the school, a couple of people saying that some of the lecturers are not good and that they didn't think it was worth the money - it's expensive at around £50k! One guy I heard actually left the course without completing it. I went to an open day there also and the guy who showed me round also said that the teaching isn't the best and didn't seem hugely energised
So my dilemma is is it actually worth going to one of the other schools if I don't get into INSEAD? What I really want is the knowledge that I'll gain and in the HEC case the experience of living in France, but at the same time £50k is a lot of money and at the moment the bad vibes that I'm picking up here and there are making me doubt whether it's worth it
Any comments would be welcome!
Thanks
James
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Hi - I'm looking for some advice re my MBA applications - any info would be much appreciated!
.....
So my dilemma is is it actually worth going to one of the other schools if I don't get into INSEAD? What I really want is the knowledge that I'll gain and in the HEC case the experience of living in France, but at the same time £50k is a lot of money and at the moment the bad vibes that I'm picking up here and there are making me doubt whether it's worth it
Any comments would be welcome!
Thanks
James
Show more
Hi James
Also interested in this dilemma of yours. I also had concerns about HEC Paris and I'm interested in getting answers for the same questions..
What's your story? What did you decide at last?
BTW I do think 690 is perfect for INSEAD. They let in a lot of people with the score like that and it's certainly in their range of interest. I am even inclined to say that an overly high score like 750+ will be a disadvantage for that school (just as I heard it is for Harvard)
Hi - I'm planning to do the GMAT one last time at the end of this month, then will put in a re-application to INSEAD and will make a decision following the outcome of that
As you can see up until now I didn't get any responses from this forum re the merits of HEC!
What's your perspective on HEC and what are your concerns based on?
What's your perspective on HEC and what are your concerns based on?
J
Show more
As to INSEAD - I had a similar story. I have 740 in gmat but I was waitlisted after applying in R3. I took myself off the waitlist and reapplied. I believe my whole profile wasn't worked on enough.
HEC concerns: - too many people get admitted from this forum.. I'd put it as suspicious, especially given the school's declared admission rate of 14%.. - concern over "some professors are great, some aren't" - that's from an HEC alumni's (and I was also said that some of the professors are unavailable for January intake and are unavailble for the English-only students, so that kinda looks like I'd stay with those professors who aren't great - one of HEC alumnis said this: if you have a job now - consider staying, not going. It's not one of the schools like LBS and INSEAD where you get a job interview just by putting the name of the school in the resume. It was a perspective from my own country though (Russia) and it's really different here from what you have there in EU, so take this with a grain of doubt - concerns over some candidate profiles of the people I know who were admitted.. - concerns over the fact that employers come to school majorly for Grand Ecole students, not MBA students - a lot of concerns from here: https://www.pagalguy.com/forum/internati ... its-3.html (there's a whole essay below on pros and cons of HEC) - a cost, as you put it above, is way too high!
All that said, I'm still considering HEC as one of the options for myself. In the end it's one of the most recognizable b-schools in my country and it's one of the best in EU based on that FT ranking...
Could you tell that story about the guy who dropped the course please?
Thanks for your perspective. In terms of the guy who dropped out - I heard it from a work colleague who did an exchange year to the grand ecole during her degree. She met a guy there who was on exchange from a top American Uni where the facilities were much better - he couldn't get used to the quality of facilities at HEC but perhaps his expectations were overly high. In addition to this I mentioned to someone else who had studied in Paris that I had an offer from HEC and they said they knew someone who had dropped out of a Masters course there! So not great vibes
Overall the fee is one of a top tier school but from what I'm picking up, whilst it's still obviously good, it's not quite in the league of INSEAD, LBS etc. Being near Paris is very appealing, but still I'm a bit uncomfortable with the time/money committment for something which is not top tier. I'd like to be convinced otherwise as obviously I have an offer and want to go to a top school but the jury is still out at the moment! Warwick for example is lower in the rankings, but the fee is less than half and there doesn't seem to be any ambiguity about what it can offer
Thanks for the link by the way - that's really helpful. If you hear any positive stories let me know!
Jim, If I guess 31 is your age, we have very similar profile in terms of nationality and age.
I would definitely apply to INSEAD with another GMAT result. You are just 1 or 2 questions away in Quant to get more than 70%.
Also if you want French experience why don't you consider IMD in Lausanne also? Great school and also some us >30 years old ones it is good crowd. Lausanne is french speaking Swiss region as I am sure you are aware.
But, when you are at HEC, INSEAD, IMD or any other French programme MBA would not give you chance to learn French as most people talk in English and apart from B School you don't really "live" in the area. You are more likely to spend all hours godsent in company of MBA crowd.
btw, 690 is really competitive. All the best for a higher one next time!
... but still I'm a bit uncomfortable with the time/money committment for something which is not top tier. I'd like to be convinced otherwise as obviously I have an offer and want to go to a top school but the jury is still out at the moment! ....
Please tell me with what score should I target to get hec, essec or escp for MIM or MIF? I have 7.68/10 cgpa equivalent to 76.8% or 4 GPA.......passed in 2018........ NO Work experience except an internship from a factory, which is now closed due to some new governmental rules. I had been a member of Rotaract Club sponsored by Rotary International for social works (High-school Time) Won a talent test and got a gold medal in one olympiad talent exam and also earned certificates in many exams at my schooling Then at my graduation, I had been the head or coordinator or organiser of 6 events I participated and got 4 certificates in some entrepreneurship-oriented competition at my college Then I got a certificate in TALL BUILDING STRUCTURES from one of the prestigious institutions of India, INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Then I was the campus ambassador of one of the top management college of India, Indian Institute Of Management, Banglore.
Then I did some online certificate programs from some great universities -- ESSEC (Marketing Analytics), HEC (Leadership- Souvoir Relier), THE WHARTON (Introduction to marketing), University of California (Time management)
please guide me, I am losing much-required confidence due to this one year gap. Your guidance will be very helpful to usher me toward my goal
Yeah the last thing I am learning french, and now I am at least able to make a few sentences, I can't vouch about fluency unless I live in a French environment...But I am sure I would help, would it?
First of All, Happy 4th of July! Sorry a bit late.
I have been through the net trying to understand if I should give it a go. What do you guys think about pursuing an Executive Master degree at HEC Paris. According to the FT ranking, HEC Paris is #1 Worldwide! I am giving a thought about the GEMM - Global Executive Master in Management offered at HEC Paris Executive Education. I came across this guy's profile on LinkedIn. I could have an overview of what could be taught. What do you guys think? Anyone? Any comment? Please share your experiences. In these articles, he gave succinct details of his personal journey. I found them awesome and I have enjoyed the illustration.