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Sasha Makagon · Wed Apr 01, 2009 2:15 am

Hello everybody) I`d like to study in France. I`m targeting at HEC or ESSEC. Please share with me your point of view about gaining MBA in France rather than in USA in general and about these two schools particularly/

Thanks in advance)

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mayonnai5e · Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:51 am

HEC is the most elite business school in France - if you get an MBA there you will be able to work just about anywhere you want ...inside France. Outside France and it's territories well that's another matter. Essec comes in as the second best, but HEC is more well known. The career power of the Essec degree is not as high as the HEC degree, but the same stipulation must be noted - it's great for a career in France.

INSEAD is another great choice, but the interesting thing is that INSEAD is not considered by the French people as a "French" school since it is not a public institution inside the public education system. Ironically though INSEAD is far better known outside France. The choice really boils down to a career inside France or outside France.

Also HEC has a HEC/NYU dual MBA degree program (two MBA, one from each school) that spans 2 years so you could do this and walk away with an NYU degree, which gives you options in the US.

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Sasha Makagon · Thu Apr 02, 2009 12:09 am

Hello Mayonnai5e, thanks for your quick reply)
Does this mean that with Hec degree it will be rather difficult to feel a decent positions in an international companies outside France, let`s say in US or Japan?
Does it mean that among international businesses US MBA programs are more preferable than best French MBA programs?
As I know HEC|NYU is executive MBA program - for such program I don`t have enough experience/

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mayonnai5e · Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:10 pm

I can't say for sure about the career placement stats - you can look at the statistics provided by the school for details. I'm not sure what area you are from, but you can ask business people you know if they've ever heard of HEC/ESSEC and then ask them if they've heard of Harvard, Columbia, etc. It really depends on where you want to work - if you work in an area that has a French history then perhaps the French school would be better. It's really hard to tell.

http://www.mba.hec.edu/Academics/International-Partnerships/Double-Degree-Program

The dual program is not an executive program to my knowledge.

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NicoFalcon · Fri Apr 03, 2009 6:06 am

Mayo�s response is quite in line with what I�ve heard/read. HEC is supposed to be the elite of the elite in France. I�d had a Connect 121 chat with the local HEC rep and he said that about 100 of Fortune 500 companies CEOs are HEC alumnus, I haven�t confirmed it, but if true would be pretty impresive. I�ve also hear a lot about the "inner circle" trait of the HEC alumni.

HEC is not so well reputed outside France, but I�ve read that they have a respectable alumni network in both the USA and Europe.

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gmat740 · Sat Apr 11, 2009 11:54 am

Hello

Can anybody provide a little more feedback for ESSEC??

Thanks

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pickaname · Mon Apr 13, 2009 2:50 am

ESSEC is absolutely unknown outside France. Look at other options, especially if you intend to work in India because HEC and ESSEC are not going to help you achieving that goal.

What about LBS, INSEAD, Cambridge, Oxford, and the US B-schools?

By the way, 740 is very high for ESSEC and even HEC. Remember that you should want to be with classmates with your potential and interests.

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gmat740 · Mon Apr 13, 2009 6:40 am

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pickaname · Mon Apr 13, 2009 2:40 pm

I am really not an expert about VISA but due to the fact that I live in Spain and the VISA policy is the same for all the Schengen space and to the news I hear of, you should double-check all that information about receiving a work permit after the college. Especially if this is going to happen in two years time, because the president of the French Republic, mr Sarkozy, has already acknowledged that the work places should be secured for the French people. And unfortunately the same tune is all over the continent...

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Musicolo · Sat May 30, 2009 6:08 am

Hi,

I really don't get it why so many people are name obsessed in terms of general reputation of a business school and why such distinction between MBA in France/Europe for career in Europe or American MBA for career in the USA, Japan, Asia and etc.

Both HEC and Essec are great schools both highly ranked in Europe, HEC internationally, and although business people may not have heard of them (just as well as they may not have heard of some top American business schools), human resource managers, if they are good, should know both HEC and Essec whether they are in Europe or Asia or America.

Just because you want a career in Europe or in America does not mean that you should target European or American MBA for respective markets. Most big top international companies are either American or European anyway. Not everyone who works for top companies in America has obtained MBA from American business school. Companies employ you for your knowledge and capabilities on top of your choice of business school. I know bunch of people who moved to America for work and they work for top American firms with their European MBAs or other masters programs from schools ranked lower then LBS or LSE or HEC and etc.

Don't let anyone discourage you from your choice of school simply because someone may have not heard of it. We don't count, recruitment managers count and they all, I am sure, know HEC and Essec.
Go for it and good luck

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ckool · Sun Dec 20, 2009 12:33 pm

Hi All,
I wanted to know about the prerequisites of Masters in Management at Essec. On their site its mentioned that undergraduate degree with 3 years work experience is required, for MBA no experience is required. It was really surprising to me. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Thanks

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gmat740 · Sun Dec 20, 2009 9:58 pm

Hi,

Its kind of true that ESSEC MBA does not require any previous work experience. However, before one graduates he/she has to validate 18 months of work experience. This work experience can come from internships/ apprenticeship etc.

As far as Masters in Management program is concerned, there are several specializations offered and depending upon your requirement you can chose any one of them. As of now, there are only 3 specializations offered in English and the rest are in French. One of the admission requirement for these advanced M.S is that you must either have a Masters Degree or 3 years of Post Graduate Work Exp.

P.S : I got an admit from ESSEC MBA and I look forward to join it in Sept-2010. If you have any doubt you can pm me.

A note to my Friends Eric, Pranav and my BTG family : I am sorry for staying away from you all this time. I will be soon back. As of now, I have been involved in many other stuffs(Learning French is one of those activities!)

Regards,

Karan

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