French MBA: ESSEC or EMLYON?

[FrenchMBA]

Hello,
I was admitted for both schools (ESSEC Global MBA and EM LYON International MBA) and its difficult to decide which one to choose. I also have HEC, but the economic condition and the length of the program are not good for me, therefore I will decline it.

In one hand, ESSEC seems to have a better reputation in France as an Elite Business School (ranked #2) and some people even compare it with HEC, having a strong industry relations. However the Global MBA just have one year old, reason why it is not ranked in any MBA international ranking. (But the new Global MBA seems to have a good future, well design program with competitive students and a strong business school brand).

In the other hand, EMLYON seems to be less positioned in the local rankings as a Business School, but the MBA in ranked #3 in France after INSEAD and HEC in most of the international rankings in the world (Economist, FT, BW, CNN Expansion, Forbes, etc).

If I am No-European, with decent french and want to work in France or Europe after my MBA, which school would you recommend?

Thanks,

[vineets]

Hi FrenchMBA,

If you know decent french and want to work in France or Europe, then ESSEC makes a lot of sense. ESSEC has one of the biggest Alumni networks in the world (over 35,000) who are helpful. They help you if you contact them.

My experience with ESSEC in the Global MBA program has been great. I have already studied at both the Singapore and the Paris campus, which is enriching. The coming field trip to Russia would add to the experience while my future consulting strategy project (IIP. I chose Phillipines) would add an edge compared to other MBA's. We have already done one consulting project with a French company.

The batch small size (less than 40) and diversity (12 nationalities) really adds to the learning, since you learn more from your peers. The interesting thing is that we all are from different backgrounds, experience and are also targeting different jobs. So there is hardly any competition with each other, which makes it even better. The Global MBA program is well designed and fully supported by the dean, alumni and the school. It has a great future. We (the pilot batch) have done a lot of hard work to market it through endless treks, meeting people, headhunters etc besides the school's marketing. You and the future batch should continue the good work and reap the benefits ( if you join). Also need to mention the Mentorship program where people at senior/ top level are assigned as our mentors. They also help us.

The Prof's are all from different nationalities (I have lost count of nationalities) . To name a few there are french, dutch, Chilean, British, Belgium, Spanish, American, Vietnamese, Russian, Turkish, Romanian, Indian etc. The list is long. The learning is great.

Fyi, you would have career fairs at both the Paris and the Singapore campus. So one can target companies based on the geography.

Hope that helps.

[bengirin]

Hi FrenchMBA,

I'm an iMBA student from the EMLYON.
At the time I was looking for an MBA, I had also visited ESSEC.
And I had hesitated also.

First what Vineets is saying about the ESSEC program is also true about the EMLYON one
ACtually both are very similar (small intakes, 12month)if you compare them with INSEAD OR HEC

then you say:
"In the other hand, EMLYON seems to be less positioned in the local rankings as a Business School, but the MBA in ranked #3 in France after INSEAD and HEC in most of the international rankings in the world (Economist, FT, BW, CNN Expansion, Forbes, etc)."
I would have assumed the other way around ! lol !
But overall I think it does not matter so much: the message I was given by French HRs is that on the French market, the most important is the school were you are from, and ESSEC, HEC and EMLYON are the top 3 ones.
From there you can look at ranking and see that maybe ESSEC is better than EMLYON but overall it will not make a big difference, knowing also that the ranking of the MBA program itself is less important than the school rep (we are talking about schools that are 100years old!)

Then I had the same issue as you: the ESSEC MBA did not have much history and I was unsecure goign there. But I heard recenlty that the first intake that just came out follows the reputation of the school ! so nothing to worry !

In both schools you will profit from the alumnis networks. for EMLYON also it is big, meaning big enough...

So all in all it is pretty much the same for me on that side

BUT then there are more important differences on which you should rather focus :
- ESSEC is in paris, EMLYON in LYON: what town best fits you?
- EMLYON has a strong focus on ENtrepreneurship, ESSEC i'm not sure but Vineets could answer. What you learn inside will influence you. so select the program that best fits you and be ready to be influenced by it.
- both don't have the same price ! If ESSEC has a better ranking, better reputation internationally, then maybe this is why their price is higher. But don't forget you can bargain (fill in excellence scholarship requests, etc..) and make competition play between both: you can reduce numbers! In my case the price was a serious criteria and explains partly my choice.
- check the projects inside (called ELP in EMLYON). check the differences, It will be like an internship and this will be a fresh new work experience that you should use as a lever afterwards to change path.

to go further I would say: at that level trust your emotions, not your brain !
you should not enter an MBA that you don't trust or for which you have doubts, because then you will quickly loose motivation and will see only the things that do not work.
Build your motivation up, even if it means blinding you up from some informations. Once you have the feeling, just go ! because at the end YOU make your MBA, it is all about your mindset and what you do with it !

BR

[bengirin]

I forgot to say something that is critical above all to me:
- decent french is not enough. you need to be fluent in located in France!
- work permit for non-europeans is a barrier. it is coslty for companies

then they might recruit you to develop their business in your home country, or recruit you as part of a dedicated MBA fast track program (during which you will change locations in europe during the next 3 years)...
and so on, meaning not a proper settled job in a french office.

BR

[vineets]

Hi FrenchMBA,

before I joined ESSEC, I had done research on top business schools in France, both internally ( from students) and externally. The 3 business schools I kept hearing of was ESSEC, HEC and INSEAD. ESSEC Global MBA program was unique in its structure because of its contents, international faculty & diverse student, studying at 2 campuses besides the field trips to a East European country ( Russia this year, accommodation and flights paid by school). The study at Singapore for 5 weeks was also paid for by school (accommodation at a good hotel and flights). This is besides the scholarship from school and housing subsidy from french govt. I also know of a few students who have scholarships from the french government which they applied for through the french embassy's in their respective countries. That's on the Financial aspect.

Its partly true that you have to be fluent in french to be based in France. I know of quite a few people from ESSEC who are employed by companies in France, although they are not fluent in french. This is based on the roles they have.

In France and all over Europe the B-school network opens doors for you. So the reputation of the Business School matters. ESSEC is 105 years old and is considered among the top 10 B-schools of Europe. It has a exchange programs with the best B-schools of the world.

ESSEC has a focus on Imagination, Creativity, Diversity & Innovation. As the school motto says " You have the Answer". The school culture helps you to discover and enhance your strengths and talents.

The International Immersion Project ( Consulting, strategy project) really differentiates you from rest of the MBA's. Its a idea that is now being adopted by Top Business schools of the world. This is besides the consulting project we have done with a french company as part of our Business, Sustainability & Society course.

Being located at Paris is just amazing both from a Business as well as a personal point of view. Almost all the companies ( french and non-french) are located in Paris.

Weigh your decision based on logic and reasoning, not on emotions. This decision of where you do your MBA will stick with you for the rest of your life. The learning comes from the environment, culture, diversity of the school, besides the course content. Its a once in a lifetime opportunity and experience. That's all I can say for the moment.

Cheers

Vineets

[Bruce Cooper]

Hi,
I completed the International MBA 2010/2011 at EM Lyon and was highly satisfied. I'm a little familiar with the other top ranking schools that provide MBA programmes and the feedback has always confirmed I made the right choice with EM Lyon. The class size is around 30. In my year we had 14 different nationalities and a really great class with a mixture of profiles and cultures that was very rich. I valued the small class size because we were able to dialogue easily with the professors.

To work in France as a non-European is not easy as it means the company will have to play an active role in helping you obtain your working visa. Many are reluctant to do this. Also, to work in France you really need a good level of French. Having said that 3 non-Europeans from my cohort got very good jobs in France and not all spoke fluent French. These positions were secured primarily through the many forums we have with past students who come to EM Lyon to present their companies as well as the career fairs that take place on campus. So there's a very extensive and helpful alumni that you can rely on. I have used many of these contacts since and have found it very useful and the people always helpful.

The city of Lyon should also been taken into account. It is a truly beautiful city and certainly less expensive than Paris. The school also has accommodation just across the road at very reasonable prices. Half my cohort was lodged here and the atmosphere was brilliant.

What I found most attractive in the IMBA at EM Lyon is the entrepreneurial specialization in the course. There are some excellent classes that really help any potential entrepreneurs. I also represented the school in the Business Plan competition in Austin, Texas (www.mootcorp.org), which was an exceptional experience. The MBA programme sends a team every year to this competition and the same competition in the UK at Cranfield. If you get the chance, you really should go. It's a lot of work but the rewards are very satisfying.

EM Lyon offers an extensive exchange programme. Students from my cohort went to Chile, Brazil, China, UK and Japan. I personally went to Sao Paulo and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
There is also a field trip. We went to Finland and studied Scandinavian business practices.

A large part of the course is dedicated to the ELP, which is the consulting project you will carry out with a company. The projects are very wide ranging. I personally did a CSR project with Novartis. Good experience and potential to develop contacts for possible employment. Some of my cohorts now work for the company they did their ELP project with.

As for teaching quality I really don't think there's a great difference between the top schools. I found the quality at EM Lyon exceptional.

I always maintained a very good relationship with the administration at EM Lyon, who I found to be helpful and more importantly open to suggestions and feedback.

I hope this feedback of my experience will help you. I had a fantastic year at EM Lyon and consider it one of my best decisions ever. If you'd like any further information, don't hesitate to contact me at [email protected]
Regards,
Bruce

[FrenchMBA]

Hi,
First, thanks to Vineets, Bruce Cooper and Bengirin for share the details of your experience in the Business Schools.

Second, after to see the satisfaction of the students in both schools, I can conclude that both schools and MBA are great and very competitive.

However, I took my final decision the last week. After 1 week of full research with CEOs and Alumni in France, UK, US, etc. I finally accepted the offer from ESSEC. I would like to share my rational behind my decision:
1. Financially: ESSEC offered a quite more attractive financial support than EMLYON. Therefore it was a significant difference between the scholarships that I obtained.
2. International Exposure of the MBA: ESSEC program includes 1 month of classes in Singapore, a field trip in Eastern Europe (e.g. Russia) and 2-months consulting project in an emerging country (e.g. India, Egypt, etc.) while EMLYON only have one field trip in Europe (e.g. Finland)
3. Exchange Programs: Both have exchange programs, however the exchange options of ESSEC are really TOP business schools such as Chicago, Kellogg, Mannheim, etc.
4. Alumni: The Alumni of ESSEC are 38,000 graduates, while EMLYON 20,000, meaning that I have almost the double of opportunities to do networking with the industry with ESSEC, probably mostly in Paris where the business action is located.
5. Career goals and school strengths: my career goals are more aligned with the industries where ESSEC is strong. EMLYON focus in entrepreneurship is highly attractive, but I see it for my long term goals.
6. I discuss my dilemma with a CEO from a big French company and even some contacts from LBS and Columbia, and all of them suggested me to select ESSEC without any doubt, even if the GLOBAL MBA is new. Moreover, from the perspective of my contacts from LBS and Columbia, ESSEC is more recognized internationally.

Once again, thanks for your replies. I hope that this forum will help to any other student in the future, because both schools are really good.

Regards,

[vineets]

FrenchMBA,

Welcome to ESSEC. Let me know if you need more info before joining ESSEC. Message me.

Cheers

[noobieMBA]

Hi FrenchMBA...

I have also been admitted to the ESSEC GLobal MBA programme. However, I have not confirmed the same yet. May be we could discuss the same on a personal forum...please send me your personal email ID.

Regards,

Stay noob forever and keep learning

[mbaguy2012]

Hi FrenchMBA,

You took the right decision dude.

EMLYON is a very reputed French school but their Career Services are disastrous.

Essec's career services are certainly better than EMLYON, but nowhere close to the league of INSEAD & HEC.