hec paris mba application essays

2023-2024 HEC Paris MBA Essay Tips and Example Essays

Jul 5, 2023

• Who is HEC Paris looking for?
• How should I answer the HEC Paris essay questions?
• Make sure you get into the HEC Paris MBA
• HEC Paris Deadlines

UPDATE: This article was originally posted on September 6, 2019. It has been updated with new information and tips below. 

With a diverse community, unique opportunities to pursue a dual degree at partner business schools around the globe, and location in one of the world’s most famous cities, HEC Paris is at the top of the list for an increasing number of applicants who seek to pursue (or continue pursuing) a high-impact, global career. 

However, competition to join HEC Paris’ elite MBA is more difficult than ever. 

That’s why we’ve prepared this guide to help you use your HEC admissions essays to stand out. We’ve rounded up our best tips and links to HEC Paris MBA sample essays to ensure you give your Haas application your best shot. 

1. Who is HEC Paris looking for?

( Photo courtesy of @hec_paris on Instagram)

“Founded in 1881, HEC Paris has continuously strived to give its students the necessary knowledge to become the business leaders of tomorrow. At over 130 years old, it is clear that we can stand the test of time. From its early days, HEC Paris has been a leading institution with an extensive array of options tailored to suit every student’s needs, which is why the MBA program (formerly Institut Supérieur des Affaires) was created in 1969 and has been teaching the business elite ever since.” HEC Paris Admissions

Every year, HEC Paris literally searches the globe for outstanding professionals given the honor of joining each class (HEC has two intakes per year), each of around 350 students. With a strong emphasis on diversity, there is no “typical” HEC student, yet the average admitted student for the Class of 2023 had a 690 average GMAT score and 6 years of work experience.  

Though diversity is a key point at HEC, the admissions committee is looking for candidates who embody the following characteristics:

( Photo courtesy of HEC Paris’ website)

If this sounds like a community in which you’d be right at home, you’ll first have to prove you’ve got what it takes by successfully answering HEC Paris’ admissions essay questions. 

2. How should I answer the HEC Paris essay questions?

Though HEC Paris does require numerous essays, this approach allows you to fully present who you are and why you’re passionate about the school in your application. 

2.1. Essay 1 Tips

Why are you applying to the HEC MBA Program now? What is the professional objective that will guide your career choice after your MBA, and how will the HEC MBA contribute to the achievement of this objective? (500 words maximum)

Though it may seem that you have a lot of space to discuss why you’d be a good fit for HEC in your overall application, you will want to pay special attention to this question!

That’s because this goals essay not only shows your career ambitions (an important part of determining how prepared you are to leverage your MBA after graduation), but also asks you to answer one of the most important questions in the application: why us and not another business school?

First, when discussing your goals, clarity is king, so make sure you include a job title and industry in your description of your post-MBA aspiration (mid-term) and also a connected long-term goal. 

However, goals without context can be a little confusing to decipher or understand (or they can just seem a bit lackluster). For example, a client last year initially started his essay by saying: 

“ I want to become a Business Development Director at a Brazilian company. ”

While interesting, it’s better to give a little bit of context to help these goals come to life. Check out the final version of the same essay’s introduction:

“In the 1970s, the phrase “think global, act local” came into use, suggesting that for the world to change, one must be active locally. With this mindset, I focused my career on Brazilian multinational companies to start creating global change at home. I now seek to take the next step to become a “glocal” leader by becoming Business Development Director at a Brazilian company.”

After clearly stating your goals (and your motivations for having these goals), we suggest you briefly touch on how HEC can help you achieve these goals. This should not be a “laundry list” of 10 classes you found on the HEC site, nor a section in which you repeat clichés about the school. 

Instead, you should thoughtfully consider how you must grow personally and professionally to reach your stated short-term goal and what elements of HEC (classes, faculty, clubs, etc.) will help you reach them. 

Ending your essay with a killer conclusion sentence to leave your reader with a strong image of your profile is the perfect wrap-up. 

2.2. Essay 2 Tips

What do you consider your most significant life achievement? (250 words maximum)

Over your career, you’ve likely had a lot of wins — both big and small.

Though you’re hopefully nodding your head in agreement, when was the last time you really reflected on which of your achievements are your strongest?

Go back and think of all the moments of your career and life that you are proudest of. Since this question does not state you have to use a professional example, you can surely include a personal example here. 

Then, consider what else the admissions committee will learn about you in the rest of your application and choose an example that adds a new angle or perspective that will enhance your appeal as an applicant. 

Finally, we suggest choosing an example that works well with the STAR format since these types of examples will be easier to explain in a 250-word essay. 

To wrap up the essay, don’t just mention the result of what happened in the story, but be sure to tell us why you consider this your life’s most significant moment. Perhaps it created a passion you’ve been following ever since. Perhaps it gave you a new perspective on your life. Whatever it is, make sure we get to learn this information in your essay. 

TOP TIP: We’ve written extensively on how to make your achievements shine in an MBA essay. Check out that article here !

Need more guidance?  Our MBA Resource Center has dozens of HEC Paris MBA essays that worked to get our clients admitted to help you plan out a winning HEC Paris essay. Our library also includes guides for all top global MBA programs, detailed essay brainstorms, interview tips and mocks, CV templates, and recommendation letter guides. Click to join ! 

2.3. Essay 3 Tips

Leadership and ethics are inevitably intertwined in the business world. Describe a situation in which you have dealt with these issues and how they have influenced you. (250 words maximum)

This essay can be slightly tricky. Though you should definitely stick to a straightforward story here, make sure you choose one that doesn’t make you look unethical. 

For example, a few years ago, a client shared that he’d accidentally shared classified information during a due diligence. Though the error was an important learning lesson and his mistake was totally due to inexperience, it still didn’t give a great impression of his ethics. 

As such, we suggest you choose a story where you faced external ethical challenges and used your leadership to overcome this issue. An important note: make sure your choice of example shows you in the driver’s seat ! Leadership essays built around examples where the applicant is not really leaving inevitably fall flat. 

For example, our client Bianca faced an ethical issue when her company’s suppliers asked her to fudge the numbers on import documents so both the supplier and the company could save money on taxes. Bianca then went through how she kindly worked with the client (understanding this suggestion could be due to a difference in cultures) to ensure the correct numbers were included. In the end, Bianca shared what this taught her about ethical leadership. 

When building your essay, follow a similar model. Use the STAR method to explain what happened ( making sure the conflict is clear in this essay to ensure you fully answer the question) and then showing what you learned. 

2.4. Essay 4 Tips

Imagine a life entirely different from the one you now lead, what would it be? (250 words maximum)

In this essay, the admissions committee wants to get to know you better as a person. You do not have to answer something business-related; just make sure what you do choose is not in conflict with the personal brand you’ve established in other elements of the application. 

I’ll never forget Carlos’ essay for this prompt several years ago (which you can read by downloading our sample essays!). An investment banker, he also fostered a voracious interest in history. In this essay, he shared this passion with us, saying he’d choose to be a history professor in this alternate life! It made for a very interesting essay that gave his IB profile a bit of extra spice. 

Remember, there is no “right” answer to this question, so be yourself! 

2.5. Essay 5 Tips

Please choose from one of the following essays: (250 words maximum)

• a) What monument or site would you advise a first-time visitor to your country or city to discover, and why?
• b) Certain books, movies or plays have had an international success that you believe to be undeserved. Choose an example and analyse it.
• c) What figure do you most admire and why? You may choose from any field (arts, literature, politics, business, etc.).

As these options are all equally good, make sure you choose the one you like the best (as long as you have some sort of story or angle you can use to answer this one, of course!)

If you choose to go with option A , think about what you would want to teach someone about your country . If you’d like to share your passion for cooking (and maybe tie in that popular cooking blog you run?) perhaps you could mention taking your guest to a famous market as a way to share your interest and introduce your country’s culinary history. 

Or perhaps you love to get outdoors and would encourage your visitor to head out into the mountains on your favorite hike. 

Whatever you choose, make sure you explain both what you would share and why you would share it , connecting any of your relevant activities or interests. 

Option B is essentially asking you to share your favorite book, movie, or play (though asks it not be a “famous” one). Here, again, there is no right answer, so be genuine. Regardless of the piece you choose, make sure you explain the general storyline and why you love this work so much. 

If option C stands out the most to you, choose wisely! While selecting your person, make a list of the characteristics you admire about each person, thinking about what stories or elements of your profile you can link to your choice. 

For example, a client who wrote this essay for LBS’ EMBA program chose Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi, the first female CEO of PepsiCo. This was the perfect opportunity for the client to discuss her values of resilience and diversity, and also gave her the chance to discuss the women’s empowerment initiatives she leads at her corporation. When discussing what you admire about the leader, however, make sure you discuss why you admire the person as a leader , not as a human being. We also suggest detailing your interpretation of what it means to be a leader. 

After giving background on your choice, we suggest you devote a good portion of the essay to the real star of the show: you . Make sure to focus on why the qualities/accomplishments of the person you have chosen are so inspiring and try to build some connection to your profile or background. 

2.6. Mini Goals Essay Tips

Please describe your immediate career goals following your MBA including location. (200 words max)

Here, you want to make sure to either copy the goals statement you wrote in Essay 1 and add additional information, including location, if not mentioned in the other essay. 

However, if your goals are not explicitly stated in Essay 1, be sure to include that information here. 

Though the question only asks about short-term goals, you may also wish to include information about your long-term career goals to demonstrate the link between your post-MBA plans and your ultimate career goals. 

Not sure exactly how to define your goals for your MBA application? Check out our post on that topic here . 

2.7. Optional Essay Tips

Is there any additional information you would like to share with us? (900 words max)

Though with such a short application you may be tempted to use this response to add additional stories and information you couldn’t quite squeeze in elsewhere, restraint is necessary here. Make sure you focus on explaining gaps in your application only , though you can use these explanations to highlight related achievements. 

For example, our client Fernando needed to explain his 6-month gap in work experience. As luck would have it, he spent these 6 months volunteering in Asia, so we not only addressed a “weakness” but were also able to include a new achievement in his application. 

We have written extensively on the issue of optional essays, giving tips and tricks for how to address issues like low GMAT scores or poor academic performance here . 

2.8. Reapplicant Essay Tips

At the beginning of the application, you will be asked if you have applied to HEC before. If the answer is yes, you’ll be asked to answer the following question:

If yes, please explain the reason that you are re-applying below

There is no stated word limit, but we suggest you keep your answer between 300-500 words. You should use this space to recap what you have improved since your previous application, any additional contact you have made with the schools, and any clarifications you feel will strengthen your application. 

We have written extensively on the topic of reapplicant essays. Check out our best tips and sample essays here !

3. Make sure you get into the HEC Paris MBA

Landing a spot at HEC Paris is no easy task. You’ve spent years building a track record of professional success, dedicated yourself to getting a good GMAT score, and carefully developed your application strategy . 

Now is the time to make sure your accomplishments truly shine, and the only way to do so is to write a clear, compelling admissions essay. 

Ellin Lolis Consulting began with one mission: provide the best possible service to our clients and get them the best possible results . 

Serving our customers is at the core of our company, and we know that applying for an MBA can be a difficult, long process, but our goal is to take away as much of the stress as possible by acting as your ally in the process. 

So if you need much more than just a few comments on your essay but instead want focused help shaping how you present your life’s greatest hits to one of the world’s toughest critics, you can count on us. 

In the words of our client Henrique , 

“Ellin helped me in the application process since the beginning on how to organize myself for the whole year. I truly believe that my interactions with her not only provided a foundation for the application creation, but also, and more importantly, structured my life at business school. I even got a scholarship. I really recommend her since she is really committed, hard-working and made me feel comfortable and confident during the entire process. Thanks for the phenomenal service, Ellin.”

Get in touch and let our award-winning team of writers and storytellers help you make an unforgettable first impression. 

4. HEC Paris Deadlines

HEC admits students on a rolling basis . You should receive a final answer 5 weeks after applying. 

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HEC Paris MBA Essays : Sample Essays & Tips for Alumni

MBA & Beyond Team

22/12/2023 | 3:57 pm

The MBA program at HEC Paris is renowned for its rigorous academic curriculum, diverse student body, and exceptional global exposure.

Your journey towards this esteemed MBA program starts with a critical step: the application essays. These essays are more than just written responses; they are a window into your personality, aspirations, and potential contributions to the HEC community.

HEC Paris MBA Highlights :

• HEC Paris MBA Class Profile
• HEC Paris MBA Scholarships
• HEC Paris MBA Eligibility
• HEC Paris MBA Essays
• HEC Paris MBA Interview Questions
• HEC Paris MBA GMAT

ESSAY 1: CAREER OBJECTIVES AND REASONS FOR APPLYING

Why HEC Paris, and why now? This question is at the heart of the first essay. It’s your chance to articulate not just your career goals but also how the HEC MBA program aligns perfectly with your professional trajectory.

KEY COMPONENTS TO ADDRESS:

• Articulating Career Goals: Be specific about your post-MBA career objectives. What role are you aiming for? In which industry? How does this align with your long-term aspirations?
• The ‘Why Now’ Factor: Why is this the perfect time for you to pursue an MBA? Connect the dots between your current professional status and the leap an MBA represents.
• HEC’s Unique Offerings: Delve into what aspects of HEC Paris’ MBA program resonate with your goals. Is it the global exposure, the diverse alumni network, or specific courses and faculty?

HOW TO MAKE YOUR ESSAY STAND OUT:

• Personalization: Avoid generic statements. Tailor your response to reflect a deep understanding of what HEC Paris offers.
• Clarity and Conciseness: Your goals should be clear and well-defined. Use examples to illustrate your career path and how an HEC MBA is pivotal in this journey.
• Connect the Past, Present, and Future: Show how your past experiences, current skills, and future aspirations are interconnected and how HEC acts as a bridge to your goals.

ESSAY 2: MOST SIGNIFICANT LIFE ACHIEVEMENT

In the second essay, you’re asked to reflect on your most significant life achievement. This is a golden opportunity to give the admissions committee a glimpse into what shapes you as an individual. It’s not just about what you’ve achieved but also why it matters to you.

CHOOSING YOUR ACHIEVEMENT:

• Professional vs. Personal: While professional achievements are valuable, don’t overlook impactful personal experiences. Sometimes, it’s the personal victories that truly define us.
• Impact and Significance: Focus on an achievement that had a profound impact on your life or on others. What did this achievement change or demonstrate about you?

CRAFTING YOUR NARRATIVE:

• Storytelling: Use a narrative style to engage the reader. How did you accomplish this feat? What challenges did you overcome?
• Reflective Insight: Don’t just describe what happened. Reflect on why this achievement is significant to you. How did it shape your perspectives or future choices?

ESSAY 3: LEADERSHIP AND ETHICS

This essay intertwines two critical aspects of business: leadership and ethics. It’s your chance to demonstrate your understanding of these complex, often interconnected domains.

STRUCTURING YOUR RESPONSE:

• Choosing the Right Example: Select a situation where your decision-making and leadership skills were tested, particularly in an ethical context.
• Detailed Narrative: Describe the situation, your role, the ethical dilemma, and the outcome. Be honest and introspective about the challenges faced and the choices made.

DEMONSTRATING YOUR LEARNING:

• Personal Growth: How did this experience influence your understanding of leadership and ethics? What did you learn about yourself and your approach to ethical challenges?
• Application to Future Scenarios: Reflect on how this experience has prepared you for future leadership roles, especially in ethically complex situations.

ESSAY 4: IMAGINING A DIFFERENT LIFE

The fourth essay of the HEC Paris MBA application takes a more creative turn, asking you to imagine a life entirely different from your current one. This essay is a unique window into your personality, dreams, and the breadth of your imagination.

APPROACHING THE ESSAY:

• Creative Liberty: This is your chance to showcase your creativity. Imagine a life that reflects a hidden passion, an unexplored career path, or a dream yet to be pursued.
• Connecting to Your Current Self: While your imagined life should be different, it should still connect to who you are. For instance, if you have a passion for art, you might imagine a life as an art curator or artist.

MAKING IT MEANINGFUL:

• Depth Over Drama: Your imagined life need not be overly dramatic or fantastical. It should, however, offer depth and insight into your values, interests, and personality.
• Reflective Tone: Discuss why this alternate life appeals to you. What does it say about your aspirations, interests, or the diversity of your character?

ESSAY 5: CHOICE OF THREE TOPICS

For the fifth essay, you have the option to choose from three distinct topics. This essay allows you to further diversify your application by discussing an area of personal significance or interest.

THE TOPICS:

• Monument or Site: Discuss a significant monument or site in your country or city. Why is it meaningful to you, and what does it reveal about your background or interests?
• Analyzing Success: Choose a book, movie, or play that has achieved international success but you believe is overrated. Share your critical analysis and what your perspective reveals about you.
• Admired Figure: Write about a figure you admire from any field. Explain why and how this admiration is reflective of your own values or life philosophy.

TIPS FOR EACH TOPIC:

• Personal Connection: Whether it’s a monument, a piece of art, or an admired figure, the key is to establish a personal connection. How do these choices relate to your life, experiences, or values?
• Insightful Analysis: Provide thoughtful analysis and insights. For instance, if you choose an admired figure, delve into the specific attributes that you find inspiring and why.

OPTIONAL ESSAY: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The HEC Paris MBA application includes an optional essay, providing a platform to share additional information that might not fit into the other essays. This is your chance to address any part of your application that might raise questions or to highlight unique aspects of your background.

WHEN TO USE THE OPTIONAL ESSAY:

• Addressing Concerns: If there’s a gap in your work history, a low GPA or GMAT score, or any other red flag in your application, this is the place to explain it.
• Showcasing Diversity: If you have a unique aspect of your background or an unusual experience that hasn’t been covered in other essays, use this space to share it.
• Be Direct and Concise: Get straight to the point. If you’re explaining a gap in employment, briefly state the reason, what you learned or how you grew during that time.
• Highlighting Positives: If you’re using this essay to showcase a unique aspect of your profile, focus on how it adds value to your candidacy and potentially to the HEC MBA community.

Crafting essays for the HEC Paris MBA program is an introspective and strategic process. It requires a balance of personal reflection, professional clarity, and creative thinking. Each essay serves as a piece of your narrative, together painting a comprehensive picture of who you are and what you aspire to achieve.

Final Thoughts:

• Be Authentic: Authenticity resonates. Let your true self shine through in each essay.
• Be Reflective: Use the essays to demonstrate your ability to reflect on your experiences, learn from them, and articulate your future goals.
• Be Concise and Clear: Given the word limits, it’s crucial to be concise yet impactful in your storytelling.

Embarking on your HEC Paris MBA journey begins with these essays. Use them as a platform to showcase your uniqueness, your aspirations, and how you envision contributing to the HEC community and beyond.

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• HEC Paris Essay Tips and Examples

August 17, 2023

Jeremy Shinewald

HEC Paris 2023–2024 Essay Tips

Why are you applying to the hec mba program now what is the professional objective that will guide your career choice after your mba, and how will the hec mba contribute to the achievement of this objective (500 words maximum).

Your essay response to this prompt will include several key factors of a traditional personal statement: what your overarching post-MBA career goal is, why you need an MBA to be successful, why you need the degree at this point on your professional path, and why the school you are applying to is the right one for you. To craft an effective essay response, you will need to accomplish a few things (though not necessarily in the order we list them here). One, present your post-MBA career objectives—ideally, both your short- and long-term goals, making the connection between them clear. Two, explain why an MBA is the crucial factor in your being able to attain your objectives. A good way to frame this argument is by noting the skills and experiences you need to develop via the MBA experience to be successful in your desired role/industry (thereby demonstrating your understanding of what will be required of you). Three, clarify what makes now the right time for you to earn this degree. And four, identify the resources and opportunities HEC offers that will allow you to gain the abilities and exposure you currently lack. We explain these concepts and how to achieve them in more detail in our mbaMission Personal Statement Guide , which is available free of charge. Download your complimentary copy today!

What do you consider your most significant life achievement? (250 words maximum)

Your response to this straightforward prompt should be equally straightforward. Simply present and describe the accomplishment, taking care to avoid bragging. As for which anecdote you should share, we have to ask, “Well, what are you most proud of?” Rest assured that this is not some kind of test in which the admissions committee is waiting to see if you pick the “right” one. The school does not “like” certain types of achievements and dislike others. The particular achievement you choose to describe is not actually the point here. Instead, it is meant as an avenue through which you can create and convey an impression of yourself.

To ensure that you write a compelling essay response, use a narrative approach to illustrate how you achieved your goal. If you write, for example, something like “My proudest achievement was completing the Kona Ironman Triathlon,” your story has (unfortunately) both started and finished in the very first sentence. Keeping it going from there and holding your reader’s attention would be quite difficult. Instead, let your story develop by taking your reader step by step through each part, describing how you were able to achieve what you did. Because our greatest accomplishments are often hard won, your account will ideally involve a clear conflict or challenge—otherwise, anyone could have done what you did, and that would lessen the impact of your story. 

Although the school does not ask you to explain why this chosen achievement is so significant for you, this is an important element of the story, so you should share this information briefly. Doing so will round out the story for the admissions committee and provide useful insight into your character and values, which can help set you apart from other applicants. Consider clarifying what has changed about you since the achievement or what you have chosen to pursue or not pursue as a result. Perhaps touch on how your life, your personal philosophy, or the way you prioritize things is different than it was before your accomplishment. Reflect thoroughly on this aspect of the situation so that you can convey this element of your story clearly and succinctly.

Leadership and ethics are inevitably intertwined in the business world. Describe a situation in which you have dealt with these issues and how they have influenced you. (250 words maximum)

Ethics is an important part of business today and an integral element of an MBA education, so we are not surprised that the HEC admissions committee wants to get a basic understanding of applicants’ firsthand experience with—and views on—the subject. When ethics are at the core of a situation, the decisions or moves to be made are not immediately obvious, or at a minimum, not unanimously agreed upon, so some degree of courage and value judgment is required. Perhaps you had to deal with the ethical (or unethical) actions and motivations of a leader with whom you worked, or maybe you were the leader in the situation and had to grapple with an ethical decision of some kind. The school does not stipulate that you must have been the person tasked with making the call, so be sure to consider all your options to identify the story that was truly the most affecting for you. HEC wants to understand your view on how these kinds of issues should be approached and navigated in a professional context. Take care not to blame or shame anyone in your story, and likewise, avoid coming across as sanctimonious. You want to demonstrate that in such situations, you are realistic, measured, rational, and thoughtful.

Do not focus too much on describing the situation and forget to explain the effect and influence the experience had on you. This is arguably the most important part of this essay. HEC wants to see not only how and what you learn from challenging situations in general but also how the specific incident you describe has helped shape the kind of ethical leader you will be in the future.

Imagine a life entirely different from the one you now lead, what would it be? (250 words maximum)

We have seen schools pose this kind of question with respect to applicants’ career goals, but HEC has significantly broadened the scope. The key here is demonstrating that you have a genuine understanding of yourself and your current reality. This question has no “right” answer, but whatever you propose has to be credible, so the alternate life you describe needs to make sense and be feasible for you. Basically, the admissions committee wants to understand that you are not rigid and single-minded (the business world requires flexibility, after all, and can certainly be unpredictable) and that you view yourself as multifaceted, with potential and interests in multiple arenas. You can view your skills and qualities from more than one angle and picture yourself in different scenarios and settings. By thoughtfully discussing another probable version of your life, you will demonstrate self-awareness and openness, thereby positioning you as an attractive MBA candidate.

Please choose from one of the following essays (250 words maximum):

A.) what monument or site would you advise a first-time visitor to your country or city to discover, and why.

The HEC community is an extremely diverse one, bringing together individuals from all over the world (92% of the Class of 2024 is international!). This essay prompt allows candidates to highlight something they love or are proud of from where they grew up, thereby shining a bit of a light on their background and character and helping the admissions committee view them more clearly in the context of the diversity they could bring to the student body. Note that the query specifies a “monument” or “site” (so no favorite restaurant or activity), and these are often associated with some sort of historical event or person. Make sure you are fully informed not just about the modern-day perception of the location or monument you wish to highlight but also about its background and that of anyone it might commemorate, so that your choice is true to your character and beliefs and reflects back on you the way you want it to.

b) Certain books, movies or plays have had an international success that you believe to be undeserved. Choose an example and analyse it.

Let us first make one thing very clear—the admissions committee is not using this essay to judge your taste in books, movies, or plays! If your opinion happens to be the complete opposite of that of your admissions reader, this is not going to be a problem or negatively affect your chances of being accepted. Like all other business school essay questions, this one has no “right” answer, so do not worry about potentially choosing the “wrong” piece of art to discuss. The admissions committee wants to see evidence of original, critical thought and to get an idea of how you might stand out from the pack. When much of the world zigs , you zag , but why? How do you view things that is different from the norm? Try to pinpoint a play, movie, or book that will allow you to discuss something you believe is truly pivotal or especially interesting about your personality and/or world view, so that you have the best chance of leaving a meaningful impression on the admissions reader.

c) What figure do you most admire and why? You may choose from any field (arts, literature, politics, business, etc).

Here, the admissions committee wants to know which values and strengths you believe are commendable, impressive, honorable, deserving of respect, and/or worthy of emulating and also why you view them as such. Before we address how you should approach this essay, though, we want to point out a few things you should not do. First, avoid choosing any individuals who would come across as obvious or cliché, such as Steve Jobs or Barack Obama. Second, like all application essay questions, this one does not have a “right” answer, so do not spend any time or effort trying to guess who the admissions committee wants or expects you to pick. And third, resist the urge to choose a parent, grandparent, or other close relative, unless the person in question really has something distinctly and obviously special to offer.     

Authenticity is key to your success with this essay, so start by thinking of people who really do inspire and appeal to you—who elicit a strong response from you in some key way. Then identify the qualities in these figures that resonate the most with you and describe what kind of feeling these qualities elicit (thereby illustrating the why). Although you will be discussing another person, the aspects of your chosen figure that you highlight will help convey to the HEC admissions committee who you are.

Is there any additional information you would like to share with us? (900 words max)

With this prompt—and its generous word count, compared to that of the school’s required essays—HEC is acknowledging that some candidates have aspects of their profiles that might need a little special clarification. This essay is therefore your opportunity—if needed—to address any lingering questions that an admissions officer might have about your candidacy, such as a low GRE or GMAT score, a legal or disciplinary incident, or a gap in your academic or professional record. The other condition under which you might want to submit an essay here is if you have something in your candidacy (not already covered elsewhere in your application) that would help you stand out and/or contribute in a special way to the HEC community—perhaps a unique background, skill, experience, or accomplishment. If you do not feel that the school’s required essays allow you to share enough about yourself and your story for the admissions committee to evaluate you fully and fairly, this would be your chance to fill in the missing pieces. 

Keep in mind, however, that by submitting an optional essay, you are requiring the already overtaxed admissions readers to do additional work on your application, so do not rush to fill this space just because you fear that not doing so will somehow count against you (it will not), and also avoid being overly verbose or sharing more information than is truly necessary just because you technically can. Focus on being direct and succinct so that you convey your intended information without placing undue burden on the admissions readers.

If you feel you might have a valid reason for submitting this additional essay or are not sure whether the issue you are considering would warrant doing so, we encourage you to download a free copy of our mbaMission Optional Essays Guide , in which we offer detailed advice on when and how to take advantage of the optional essay, along with multiple sample essays.

Business schools outside the United States are increasingly popular among MBA hopefuls, and we at mbaMission are proud to offer our latest publications:  International Program Guides . In these snapshots, we discuss core curricula, elective courses, locations, school facilities, rankings, and other key program features. Click here to download your free   copy of the  HEC Paris Program Guide .

2023-2024 Business School Essays HEC Paris MBA Essay Tips

Tags: business school essay European business schools hec paris international programs MBA application essays

Upcoming Events

• Mar 26, 2024 Your 2024 MBA Application Action Plan (Online)
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Upcoming Deadlines

• Mar 25, 2024 Dartmouth Tuck (Round 3)
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Click here to see the complete deadlines

2023–2024 MBA Essay Tips

• Berkeley Haas School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
• BU Questrom School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
• Cambridge Judge Business School Essay Tips and Examples
• Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
• Chicago Booth School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
• Columbia Business School Essay Tips and Examples
• Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management Essay and Examples
• Dartmouth Tuck School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
• Duke Fuqua School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
• Emory Goizueta Business School Essay Tips and Examples
• Esade Essay Tips and Examples
• Georgetown McDonough School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
• Harvard Business School 2+2 Deferred MBA Program Essay Analysis 2024
• Harvard Business School Essay Tips and Examples
• HKUST Business School Essay Tips and Examples
• IE Business School Essay Tips and Examples
• IESE Business School Essay Tips and Examples
• INSEAD Essay Tips and Examples
• International Institute for Management Development (IMD) Essay Tips and Examples
• Ivey Business School Essay Tips and Examples
• London Business School Essay Tips and Examples
• Michigan Ross School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
• MIT Sloan School of Management Essay Tips and Examples
• Northwestern Kellogg School of Management Essay Tips and Examples
• Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business Essay Tips and Examples
• NYU Stern School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
• Ohio Fisher College of Business Essay Tips and Examples
• Oxford Saïd Business School Essay Tips and Examples
• SMU Cox School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
• Stanford Graduate School of Business Application Essay Tips and Examples
• Texas McCombs School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
• The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management Essay Tips and Examples
• The Wharton School Essay Tips and Examples
• Toronto Rotman School of Management Essay Tips and Examples
• UCLA Anderson School of Management Essay Tips and Examples
• UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Essay Tips and Examples
• USC Marshall School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
• UVA Darden School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
• UW Foster School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
• Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management Essay Analysis, 2023–2024
• Villanova School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
• Yale School of Management Essay Tips and Examples

Click here for the 2022–2023 MBA Essay Tips

MBA Program Updates

• Berkeley-Haas
• Boston University (Questrom)
• Cambridge Judge Business School
• Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper)
• Columbia University (Columbia Business School)
• Consortium for Graduate Study in Management
• Cornell University (Johnson)
• Dartmouth College (Tuck)
• Duke University (Fuqua)
• Emory University (Goizueta)
• George Washington University (GWSB)
• Georgetown University (McDonough)
• Harvard University (Harvard Business School)
• IE Business School
• IESE Business School
• Indian School of Business
• Indiana University (Kelley)
• Ivey Business School
• London Business School
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)
• New York University (Stern)
• Northwestern University (Kellogg)
• Notre Dame (Mendoza)
• Ohio State University (Fisher College)
• Oxford University (Saïd Business School)
• Penn State Smeal College of Business
• Rotman School of Management
• Saïd Business School
• Southern Methodist University (Cox School of Business)
• Stanford University (Stanford Graduate School of Business)
• University of California Los Angeles (Anderson)
• University of Cambridge (Judge)
• University of Chicago (Booth)
• University of London (London Business School)
• University of Michigan (Ross)
• University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)
• University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
• University of Southern California (Marshall)
• University of Texas at Austin (McCombs)
• University of Virginia (Darden)
• Vanderbilt University (Owen)
• Villanova School of Business
• Yale University (School of Management)

Which program are you applying to?

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March 5, 2024

HEC Paris MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2022 – 2023] & Podcast Episode 565 with  Sara Vanos

Don’t miss our  Admissions Straight Talk  podcast interview with Sara Vanos, the Executive Director of Marketing and Admissions for HEC Paris MBA Programs . Sara highlights the unique aspects of the full-time MBA program, such as the 16-month duration, on-campus housing, and flexibility in specialization and electives. She also mentions the New Horizons program, which focuses on anticipating trends and thinking creatively. Listen below or click the image to read the full transcript.

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The HEC Paris MBA application essays – and there are many compared to most MBA applications these days –give the adcom a well-rounded view of you. They go beyond what you’ve done to capture how you think and respond, even how you imagine. Moreover, they require you to communicate complex thoughts and experiences succinctly. For the four shorter essays especially, don’t waste words on conventional introductory and concluding paragraphs. Jump right into your point or story and use straightforward sentences that avoid wordy constructions (e.g. “had the opportunity to”); don’t hesitate to use direct, declarative sentences. This writing approach has an added benefit: it conveys confidence.

Since there are several essays, I suggest first sketching out ideas for them all, then stepping back to assess how all these facets add up as a whole, and adjusting topics if/as necessary to avoid redundancy and ensure a well-rounded presentation that will make the adcom feel that they  must  invite you for an interview.

HEC Paris MBA application essays

Hec mba essay #1.

Why are you applying to the HEC MBA Program now? What is the professional objective that will guide your career choice after your MBA, and how will the HEC MBA contribute to the achievement of this objective? (500 words maximum)

This is a traditional goals question with a couple of twists.

• First, the “why now” part should be explicitly addressed, even if it seems obvious. Briefly is fine – the essay overall should make this case ultimately.
• Second, the “professional objective” is essentially your long-term career vision. The question implies that this vision or goal will drive your preceding steps, so present your shorter-term goal(s) in that context: show how they pave the way for you to pursue and achieve your ultimate professional objective.
• Be brief but specific when discussing the HEC MBA – tie its program directly to achievement of your goals, and detail the 2-3 points about the program that are most meaningful to you.

Finally, connect the dots. This essay, well done, will convey how your goals grow organically from your experience and are achievable given your previous experience and an MBA from HEC.

HEC MBA essay #2

What do you consider your most significant life achievement? (250 words maximum)

Most significant life achievement – Wow. It probably didn’t happen yesterday. And for many people it didn’t happen at work… Few work accomplishments rise to the level of MOST SIGNIFICANT LIFE ACHIEVEMENT. Imagine if, for example, you state that boosting your organization’s bottom-line (by whatever amount) is your greatest life achievement – the adcom might wonder about your values or whether you really have a life. Although, if you can say that at work you saved jobs or lessened negative environmental impacts or were instrumental in developing a new medical advancement, that would be more substantial and could possibly fit the bill.

For many people, this story will be personal – I think of clients who have persevered through, managed, and overcome major family crises. For others, it will involve impact with community, religious, and/or social organizations or groups; for yet others it could involve a major milestone such as a national sports ranking or photo exhibit or music performance.

Whatever topic you select, with only 250 words, simply narrate the story and include the results or impact. It would be fine to have a sentence or two of reflection on why it’s so meaningful to you, but don’t make a long explanation. The reason should be clear from the content.

HEC MBA essay #3

Leadership and ethics are inevitably intertwined in the business world. Describe a situation in which you have dealt with these issues and how they have influenced you.  (250 words maximum)

Again, keep the structure simple: tell the story, and end with a brief discussion of how the experience has influenced you. Don’t feel the need to present a very dramatic story – many such situations are gray, not black and white. It may seem like a challenge to identify an experience that encompasses both leadership and ethics. However, addressing an ethics challenge will almost inherently require leadership (even if informal), whether on your part or someone else’s. When you explain how it influenced you , don’t just state generalities; give a specific example.

HEC MBA essay #4

Imagine a life entirely different from the one you now lead, what would it be? (250 words maximum)

This essay is an opportunity to show a different side of yourself. Describe an imagined life that reflects something meaningful to you . Make it vivid, show your passion . Note that the question does NOT ask what you would do if not in your current life/role; it asks you to imagine a life. Use that openness to express your creativity. In doing so, however, avoid being abstract. Weave in and employ your actual knowledge and experience, e.g., if you love ballet and are an avid ballet-goer, you could build your imagined life in a way that portrays your knowledge of and passion for dance. The reader would learn something interesting about you – and your prospective contribution to the social milieu of the program.

HEC MBA essay #5

Please choose from one of the following essays:  (250 words maximum) a) What monument or site would you advise a first-time visitor to your country or city to discover, and why? b) Certain books, movies or plays have had an international success that you believe to be undeserved. Choose an example and analyze it. c) What figure do you most admire and why? You may choose from any field (arts, literature, politics, business, etc.).

All these options are equally good – choose the one that resonates most with you; the one that you want to answer. It’s another opportunity to showcase your interests and passions. The “why” part is key: avoid platitudes, be specific and present focused, fresh insights.

HEC MBA essay #6

Is there any additional information you would like to share with us? (900 words max)

This question invites you to explain anything that needs explaining (e.g., gap in employment, choice of recommender, a bad grade, etc.) as well as to present new material that will enhance your application. If you choose to do the latter, make sure it’s a point that contributes to a clear and full picture of your candidacy. They give you a lot of words to work with; don’t think that you must use all 900!

HEC Paris at a glance

HEC MBA average GMAT score: 690

Class size (Class of 2021): 281

HEC MBA acceptance rate: 18.9%

You’ve worked so hard to get to this point in your journey. Now that you’re ready for your next achievement, make sure you know how to present yourself to maximum advantage in your SCHOOL NAME application. In a hotly competitive season, you’ll want a member of Team Accepted in your corner, guiding you with expertise tailored specifically for you. Check out our flexible consulting packages today!

HEC Paris remaining MBA application deadlines for Jan 2023 intake

*Application deadlines may be subject to change 

** For non EU nationals, we encourage you to apply sooner due to housing and student visas

Source: HEC Paris website

***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***

For expert guidance with your HEC Paris MBA application, check out Accepted’s  MBA Application Packages , which include comprehensive guidance from an experienced admissions consultant. We’ve helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to top MBA programs and look forward to helping you too!

How to Get into HEC Paris MBA? [Episode 565]

Show Summary

Are you interested in an MBA program located in Europe, with a strong global and entrepreneurial flavor, a program that prides itself on flexibility and personalization? And would you love to complete your full-time MBA in just 16 months? Then HEC Paris may be just the ticket for you. 

In this episode of Admissions Straight Talk , Linda Abraham interviews Sara Vanos, the Executive Director of Marketing and Admissions for HEC Paris MBA Programs. They discuss the MBA programs offered at HEC Paris. Sara highlights the unique aspects of the full-time MBA program, such as the 16-month duration, on-campus housing, and flexibility in specialization and electives. She also mentions the New Horizons program, which focuses on anticipating trends and thinking creatively. Sara emphasizes the importance of work experience, extracurricular activities, and language proficiency in the admissions process. She also addresses the use of AI tools like ChatGPT in essay writing and the relevance of an MBA degree in today’s world. 

Welcome to the 565th episode of Admissions Straight Talk . Thanks for tuning in. Are you ready to apply to your dream MBA programs? Are you competitive in those programs? Accepted’s MBA admissions quiz can give you a quick reality check. Just go to accepted.com/mbaquiz , complete the quiz, and you’ll not only get an assessment, but tips on how to improve your qualifications. Plus, it’s all free. 

It gives me great pleasure to have, for the first time on Admissions Straight Talk , Sara Vanos, Executive Director of Marketing Admissions HEC Paris, MBA Programs. Sara started her career in higher education at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, and in 2014 she moved to HEC Paris, starting out in their careers office. Since 2016, she has worked in marketing and recruitment. Sara became the Executive Director of Marketing and Admissions for HEC’s three MBA programs in April 2023, and she also earned her MBA at HEC in the executive MBA program. 

Sara, welcome to Admissions Straight Talk . [1:54]

Thank you so much, Linda. It’s a pleasure to be here today.

Can you start by just giving us a very high-level overview of HEC’s three MBA programs? [2:01]

Sure, I’d be happy to. So we have our full-time MBA program, which is a 16-month program that can be residential. We have on-campus housing, or you can live off-campus. So that’s in our Jouy-en-Josas campus, which is quite close to Paris. You can do specialization, you can do electives, plus your core plus all kinds of other sorts of surprises and leadership activities. So that would be our full-time MBA.

Then we have our executive MBA. That can take anywhere from 15 to 21 months because it’s part-time. It’s either modular block, so you come on campus every two months, or you can do every other weekend in Paris. It’s typically for more senior professionals. So the average age is 40, usually with some management experience. And then we have anything from directors to CEOs to CFOs in that program. So very senior crowd. And then we have TRIUM, which is one of our flagship partnership programs. So it’s in partnership with LSE and also NYU. Even slightly more senior profiles that join that program. And it’s really exciting because it takes place in modules all over the world.

How long is that program? [3:17]

That one is almost 20 months.

Let’s zoom in on the full-time MBA program’s more notable and distinctive elements. Can you describe them? You’ve hinted at them a little bit. By the way, I once visited HEC Paris and it’s absolutely beautiful. [3:26]

I commute from Paris every day to go on campus, so it’s actually really easy to reach. And like you said, it’s beautiful. So it’s a wooded, private, acres of a forest, tennis courts, a chateau of its own, and of course, our other programs. But the one that we’ll zoom in on now is the MBA. So a beautiful campus with the possibility to live on campus, which is kind of interesting and different because a lot of MBA programs, you’re spread out everywhere. So we feel that having this on-campus housing really builds the community from day one because you’re with about 80% of the students living in our residential housing, you can easily attend club activities, and different community events, so you really foster that connection from day one.

If we start with the curriculum or notable things there, I think the 16 months is really unique. So typically, you’re looking at an MBA, “Where do I do it, how long, my ROI.” Et cetera. So we’ve kind of found the sweet spot. So you can either do 12 or 16 months, depending on your intake. So it can be a little shorter than the longer programs, but you get all the benefits of the longer programs. So electives, specialization, participation in our MBA Olympics, New Horizons, which is broadening your horizons and figuring out how to anticipate trends. So that’s unique.

We have a pretty smaller than I would say, some of the larger class sizes. So usually, an average of about 300 students come in two intakes. And you can start in September or January. So that’s also unique. I think if we say maybe one takeaway from these things I’ve kind of thrown out, there would be flexibility and customization. So I know that’s what a lot of people look for in their program. So whether it’s program length, how to sort of specialize what you take, so we have the specializations, which electives, where you live, if you live on campus, all of that really offers the flexibility to have a great experience.

You mentioned the New Horizons program. Could you tell us what that is? [5:38]

So it’s a type of capstone, but it’s really tailored specifically to HEC Paris. So it’s relatively new in our curriculum. We always had a type of MBA project or capstone, but we’ve really refined this one. So when students come in, they’re challenged to come up with a strategic question, but then they have followings or courses or workshops through their MBA. There’s always a surprise visit. And the goal of New Horizons is  to prepare you professionally, possibly have your question address something that will have your career sort of at heart, but it teaches you to anticipate trends and think about the what-ifs.

So it does that in different ways. For example, we have different improvisation workshops, so really hands-on how to react. We have workshops taught by consulting firms, so how to think like a consultant. And then we also have this kind of surprise visit. So every year the visit is changing. This year the students were surprised at 3:00 AM to visit a place called Rungis, which is where all of the fresh food produce comes in just outside Paris. So operationally, there are so many things to look at, especially because we’re receiving from countries all over the world and just how to scale, how to anticipate, how to think about it could be AI trends, it could be many different trends. So just addressing those in a real life place and then speaking about them in the following workshops. And it culminates with a project or a paper where you have to take your strategic ideas, challenge it, take all these workshops, put them into place, and then your final project, which can be used towards your professional career or starting your own company.

The interesting thing about the fruit and vegetable market is that it’s also so old. [7:17]

It started in Paris a long time ago, and now it’s scaled quite a bit and moved out, but it’s just the most interesting place at such a scale to think about that and managing that and anticipating trends, and what if there’s a pandemic? How do you receive what happens next?

HEC’s program is a 16-month program with two possible intakes. What about the internship? Most MBA programs feel that the internship is very important, especially for career changers. What does HEC say about that? [7:45]

So HEC and myself are very, very happy behind the internship. It can be very important step in someone’s career. Not necessarily, but we do offer that choice. So if someone joins in September, they do the MBA internship in the traditional timing, so it would be a summer internship. So there are different ways through the curriculum to prepare. That would be sort of similar to a two-year program where you have that gap in the summer, then you come back for your specialization and graduate early.

For January, it’s kind of interesting and cool because they can do a smaller summer internship, so a two-month internship in the summer, and then for their fourth term, they can choose to do a longer internship. In Paris, sometimes internships can be up to six months. So this allows them to do that kind of traditional French internship and/or they could go straight into full-time. So it’s quite flexible there as well. Shorter, longer internship and/or short internship. So many combinations. I think the hardest part is deciding and wrapping your head around which one is best for your career. Some of our students will choose to do other things in the summer instead of internships. Some will choose to learn French intensively. Some will choose to travel, some will choose to work on a startup or MBA project. But I would say about 80% of students will follow some kind of internship before they graduate.

What are the language requirements for entrance to HEC and for graduation? [9:20]

To enter, you just have to be able to pass your TOEFL,or be a native English speaker, and have done a degree prior to that in English. So the entry requirements are quite easy. I think graduating becomes a little bit trickier because we expect you to learn at least one new language before you leave the program and at a level designed for your goals. So we have in-person French classes, which our students can take. They can, however, choose the level based on how far they want to go. So let’s say they know they want to work in France, they’ll choose something a bit more intensive. So they’ll evaluate their level before, and their classes will be very intense and directed at giving a certification at a level where they can work with a proficiency, versus other students might say, “Okay, I want to have a level of French to communicate, to get around Paris to enjoy, but I don’t necessarily need it to work.” So they could choose that level.

On top of that, we sometimes have students who will choose to follow an additional language. There are up to 14 available, some in person, and some through our language center. But for example, when I worked in careers, I had quite a few students who would learn German instead of French because they were targeting to work in Germany afterward. So you have a lot of choices there, and it’s all included in the tuition, and it’s kind of at the desire of the student based on where they want to go. And then, we complement that with what we think can help to their professional goals or personal goals.

Do you ever have students who, let’s say, are very good at a particular language and say they want that to be their second language so they really don’t have to learn a second language or third language would be the case? [10:48]

Yes. Those ones have to learn a third language.

The basic requirement is that everyone needs to come out with a minimal, I think it’s a B1 level in an additional language. So we do have some students who come in speaking two languages. Most of our students, I think we looked and I think almost 90% of our students already come in with two. So they need a third. There are students with three already who need to learn a fourth. So we just want at least one new language at proficiency as part of the overall experience.

A very high percentage of students at HEC do not come from France. How does career placement work if they want to go back to their home country or they want to a country other than France? [11:27]

I just looked at this stat this morning, and I think 74% of our students work outside of their home country, but in over 50 different countries. So we do have students coming who want to work in France or Europe or UK. So that’s happening. I think generally, about 50% of our class has placement in Europe or the UK. We do have a lot of students though, however, who want to experience a new geography or who want to return to their company. So we have sponsored students who return to their home company or we sometimes have students who want to go back to their home country. We also have double-degree students who do one year here and one year at a university in another country, so they have those double networks.

What I think is important is that we have alumni and even alumni chapters, but also sometimes alumni offices across different countries in the world. Our careers team works with companies that are global. Often they’ll work with a global office that will look at regional placements. So we do have connections, I would say, worldwide. There are places where we place more students. So I would say in Asia we have more. Also, the US. Last year we had a lot of placement across Latin America, specifically Mexico in consulting. So our careers team works globally, but sometimes they’ll chase opportunities based on the makeup or desire of the class because that seems to be ever-changing.

Years ago, everyone wanted to work in France. The last two years I think our students have been a bit more open based on opportunity. We’ve had a lot of placement for consulting firms in the Middle East as well. So sometimes MBB students are more geographically open. So again, we have the connections and we kind of have our plan, but then every year we make some tweaks to it with the careers team based on what our students are looking for.

What don’t people know about HEC Paris that you would like them to know? Are there any misconceptions you’d like to dispel, myths you’d like to bust, or just things that you think are unknown? [13:25]

So I think one of the myths, perhaps is that you need French, that the classes are in French or that you need French to survive and thrive. We have lots of students every year who say, “It’s not important to me.” And they have a fantastic time, and you can get by and especially where our campus is and the surroundings and in Paris, it’s nice to have French, but it’s not important. So I think first off, to live in France, to even work in France, is a nice to have. It depends on what you want to do and where you want to go, but you don’t need it. And our courses outside of language classes are all in English. So I would say that’s a common myth.

What would I like people to know? 

Maybe that you have kind of all of the things that you’d expect from an MBA, but then there are some very special things about HEC that are memorable and stand out that I would say, yeah, don’t exist everywhere. So first the specializations, that’s a four-month intensive themed kind of journey where you decide a specialization. So we can take entrepreneurship or we could take consulting or we could take finance. So you really do a deep dive there outside of the electives. So that’s really great. We have our MBA Olympics, which I think is a standout feature as well. So we host MBAs from around the world on our campus. I think it’s just a really special place, and you almost don’t know it until you talk to somebody who’s working there or studied there. It’s something that’s not very easy to communicate in words, but I think through fit, vibe, and community, you’ll feel at the moment, hopefully, that you talk to somebody who’s linked to HEC.

HEC requires a GMAT or the GRE. Any plans to accept the executive assessment or other tests? Are you considering introducing test waivers? [15:10]

I love that you asked this. It’s a really timely question because I think in the last month or two months we’ve decided to accept the executive assessment. So we could take the GRE, the GMAT, or the executive assessment. I would say, as always, it’s a great idea to talk to our marketing and recruitment managers before you decide which test because they might be able to help you find the one that is the best fit for you. We have had a very low percentage recently as well of GMAT or GRE test waivers. That would be someone with a CFA level three, for example, someone with a really strong finance background paired with a strong English test or English university, et cetera. So it’s possible, but again, it’s a conversation where we look at holistically all of the elements that we would normally find in those tests. So it can happen. We have quite a bit of flexibility there. But I think it’s good to speak to a marketing and recruitment manager because it’s really specific to the person.

Sometimes it’s about the time and preparation you put into the test that helps you to prepare for this big step, be ready in courses, but also sort of mentally prepare, mentally prepare for studying again. I think there are a lot of benefits to the tests outside of just the score to get into a program.

The website says that HEC students have an average of six years of full-time work experience. Qualitatively, what makes for impressive work experience in your eyes? [16:47]

Six years is the average. That’s just taking everyone. It’s really much wider because sometimes we have someone with, I would say usually two years would be the minimum. However, we have had once or twice someone with a little less than that. So we like to look at everyone individually. We examine, I’m in every jury, I hear about every single applicant from what they wrote in their essays to all of the things that we look at. So we do look at everything. Strong work experience is typically someone who has done something impressive or has shown a promotion or has a good motivation that matches what’s happening in their careers.

So we’ll look at the CV, we’ll look at the roles that the person has had. We’ll also look at their motivations alongside that, then we’ll look at their essays to understand a little bit more deeply, possibly their projects. A clear CV is always nice because sometimes, when there are many points and there’s a mumble jumble or a really crazy format, it’s harder for us to really assess the CV. But I would say usually career progression, interesting projects, and promotions. Sometimes brands can be interesting as well, but they’re not necessary. A really cool startup project can jump out. We’re looking for a diversity of professional backgrounds as well.

So sometimes we might have a pile of amazing investment banking CVs, but then we’ll have a designer or an architect, and that will really stand out to us. So we’re looking at everything. So not just what you think would be a perfect CV, we’re looking to add that professional diversity to the classroom and things that will really be interesting or that are interesting to employers. So if we talk about designers, it’s so interesting because in the last couple intakes, we’ve had some really cool or atypical profiles, and they’re the profiles that the companies that were recruiting we’re really looking at. So I would just say people don’t count themselves out because you have sometimes no idea what will jump out in the MBA world or what will be a success.

You mentioned a minute ago the MBA Tournament, which is one of HEC’s better known programs. It’s a three-day multi-sport competition. There have been 1,500 participants from 15 leading international business schools participating. I’m sure it’s an organizational challenge for the students. But that and HEC’s essay questions lead me to ask about the importance of non-professional, avocational interests or activities in your admissions process. Is that something that you are looking for? [18:56]

We definitely assess extracurriculars. There’s a section where you can put any additional information. It’s important to us that people learn both in kind of traditional ways and non-traditional ways. So when you’re taking an MBA, we’re looking for you to learn in the classroom, but outside the classroom, that can be through clubs, social activities, and conversations. Sometimes we even look also at it can be travel or things that show that you’ve opened your mind. Not everyone would’ve had the chance to study or work abroad, but it could be something as simple as an extracurricular that’s global, or it could be working with business colleagues across countries. So we do look at that. We have a section where you’re able to share.

Again, you can be creative in some ways there. We don’t need you just to have volunteered at a food bank. That can be fantastic. But if you’ve volunteered in other ways, if you’ve made a committee at your work, if you have, again, started a company, if you have some kind of social purpose, or you’re involved in something within your community, I think any of those are good to share. Probably the more the merrier because some people, I think undervalue what they do, and then we see the line on their CV that says they’re like, I don’t know, a martial arts champion, but they didn’t add that into their actual application or a dance champion or somebody who’s a guitarist on YouTube. I don’t know. We see all kinds of interesting things, and sometimes we find that in the line in the CV, not in the application.

What do you look for besides stats? [21:13]

We’ll start by looking at their CV. So that’s one of the criteria. We’ll look at the GMAT, GRE test. These are things that kind of all follow and complement each other. We look at previous academic backgrounds. So which school did you go to? What did you study? And again, we try to tie all of this back to motivation. So there’s a motivational paragraph where you get to explain what’s next, why an MBA. So we’re kind of trying to look holistically. As discussed, we look at extracurriculars. We also look at languages. So we think it can be interesting, even if you’ve just started to learn a language, if your goal is to work in France, it can be helpful if you’ve already started learning. It’s not necessary, but we do look at that in terms of, again, motivation, career desires and outcomes.

We look at the essays, so we read all of the essays, and then discuss them. So sometimes, things can jump out. Some of them are kind of creative. So I would say in there, depending on the essay topic, we’re looking for different things. The additional essay is something that maybe only 10 to 20% of students use, but it’s extremely interesting because it’s where you can add anything that we might not have known about you. And it’s often where we learn something extremely interesting. So I would say that’s something to look at.

Where we also evaluate, but it’s at a later stage, would be the interviews. So how did it go with your alumni interviewer? How did the alumni interviewer rate your presentation? Because you have to make a presentation. Communication skills and motivation, et cetera. I think those are all of the main buckets if I’m thinking through them. There’s none that’s weighted super heavily. They’re all kind of pairing together and matching together. And even if someone doesn’t have the perfect application, because we discuss each and every profile in a jury of several members, there are other things that can come into play. So for example, our marketing and recruitment managers try to have a call or meet everyone that comes in the program. So it can be very interesting because often they’ll add complementary information that can boost almost if somebody forgot something and the marketing recruitment manager knows, they can also talk about their conversation, talk about things like that. So I think that’s also somewhere that can add value.

Is there a conversation in addition to the interview, or are they one and the same? [23:30]

The process is basically we evaluate the whole application. The marketing recruitment manager presents the file, we speak, and we all go there. Then we decide who moves to interviews. So from there, that stage, then they have two alumni interviews, and that’s where we leave the decision to our alumni. So that’s a bit almost scary because in my teams, we could say, “This is the perfect CV, this is the perfect profile.” Unfortunately, if they don’t make it with the two favorable comments from the interviewers, they can’t be admitted. So if both say no, we are like, “Oh no.” That has happened. It’s always unfortunate because if we move someone to interviews, we really believe in them, but we believe more in our graduates’ opinions of who will fit best at HEC and who will make HEC shine the most. So we send them off and let them have that final decision.

What if the interviewers don’t agree? [24:27]

So if there’s two that don’t agree, which it’s more rare than you would think, if they don’t agree however, then it comes back. So we have a final, final jury, which involves people from our academic and delivery team, the dean, the careers team, and myself. It’s quite a large team. So that’s where we vet them all. If they all had a great application, they made it to interviews, it’s good, so we still check in case there are any flags that the larger community would like to discuss. That’s where we debate as a group. We read the comments, we look at the assessments of both interviewers, and we try to understand what the interviewer said, what that means, and how that ties back. So it’s kind of a final check and balance, and then the members of the final jury get to vote.

That’s quite a process. What do you want to learn from these essays? [25:30]

What we’re looking for there depends on the question. So sometimes we’re looking at maybe an ethical dilemma or something that someone’s facing in their work, we’re looking for a genuine example. It’s not necessarily like, “Are you writing a poem? Are you a great writer?” It’s more about the content of the essay and what’s there, and is it genuine. Is there something interesting? Do they assess themselves? Do they have emotional intelligence? It’s hard to read all of this from an essay, but actually, you can get a lot more, I think, in these paragraphs than you would imagine based on the differences of the questions.

I don’t know, sometimes you can see that someone is a little bit creative when they describe where they might take you in their home city. You can see how they kind of struggled with the decision or how they turned it around. So we’re just trying to get to know the person because, until that point, we may or may not have met them. We want to get to know them over paper. So it’s not something that you can just say like, “Yes, no”, it’s a lot deeper than that, I think. So the more someone would share, I think the more we would be able to assess and get to know them and hopefully move them to the next round.

I also found it very interesting that the longest essay question, or the one with the highest word limit is optional. The required questions are around 200-250 words, right? [26:46]

Yeah. They’re quite short. We’re looking for, usually, a couple of paragraphs, sometimes a little longer, depending on the person. Definitely, a word limit can be important because I think our longest CV was 24 pages. It was a researcher citing a lot of research.

For us that was just a little bit too long so we want to make sure that we find that sweet spot. Additional can go a lot longer because sometimes people use that to articulate various things for scholarships. So they might want to put additional information if they’re looking for a scholarship that we couldn’t have measured. Some people are telling us more about their life situation. So for the additional, we let it go. We haven’t had anything too, too long yet. And, like I said, not that many people use it, but it’s always quite valuable when they do.

Some people will use it to explain a GMAT score if it’s maybe lower than they would’ve hoped, other people will use it, for example, we have our Laidlaw scholarship, so that’s 100% funded tuition. So some of our female students will use that as a place to kind of indicate that they’re interested, and there they would have to express financial need and a little bit more information. So we kind of use that for everything for now. We’re changing to a new CRM relatively soon, wherein we’ll be able to break that down a bit more based on yes or no. So it’ll become more sophisticated shortly.

What’s the most common mistake that you see applicants making in the application process? [28:28]

Yeah, it’s a funny one. Usually, we kind of let it go because it’s so common, but a lot of people will cut and paste essays and keep the other schools that they’re applying to. It’s okay because we know that they’re applying to multiple schools, but sometimes people will say, “I’m applying to HEC only.” And then they will cut and paste an essay in a CV where they cite another school. It’s the most common one. I think for the admissions team, we are rather used to it. We know that it can happen. We know, “Okay, it’s an oversight. Maybe the person is not super detail-oriented.”

But where it can have a larger impact is our alumni will have access to the application of the person who’s applied and moved into an interview round. So for I would say our alumni, it’s a more big mistake because they want people who are like diehard HEC, they want them to love HEC, to only be thinking about HEC. So common. Easy though, I think, for applicants to take a quick double-check, put a PDF of your application file, look the whole thing through, and just look for these very small but easy-to-fix things, I would say.

Yeah, this is one of the things that comes up repeatedly from admission directors. My suggestion for applicants is if you are adapting essays from another school, don’t cut and paste, number one. But if you are adapting essays from another school, when you start that process, not at the end, when you start, do a find and replace. That way, you will not miss it. 

You mentioned chatgpt a few minutes ago. are you concerned at all about it [30:17].

What’s quite interesting is recently we had a professor who gave an exam, and he allowed half the class to use ChatGPT, and he allowed half the class not to use it, and it turned out no one knew who did, who didn’t. And the professor, when they were marking the test, they didn’t know who had used it or who didn’t. The grading was much, much higher for those who did not use it. So A, I think that says something for now I think that you may lose creativity, and sometimes we know people did ChatGPT because of the format of the paragraphs or how they use emojis or kind of how they do things, it’s quite easy to know.

In the end, we are not going to ding anyone for it, but I think you might be doing yourself a disservice because A, you miss the thought that you put into the essays, which is just as important as what you write. I think the process of taking the time, finding your achievement, wording it, having that deep impact to how it comes across and how we’ll read it might or might not be more generic. I don’t know yet, and I’m sure chat GPT will get better. But for the moment, I don’t think it helps candidates that much. Maybe to formulate their ideas. But then I would still go back, and if you want the best essay, I think probably for now you’re still better than the robots. But we’re not too worried for the moment. We’ll kind of see what happens in the future. But again, we’re not looking at somebody who writes perfectly. We’re looking to understand the person, their ideas, their flow, et cetera. So if they have someone or a robot that helps them, it’s not the end of the world today.

What about applicants applying for your January 2025 intake or planning ahead for the September 2025 intake? What advice do you have for these two groups? [31:57]

I think they kind of have a pleasure and a joy of planning because we see both the people who plan really early, especially when we go to fairs, for example, in Germany, they’re planning two years out, and then we see last minute applicants who are coming in one month. We like all of them, but I do think that there’s a joy in planning early because it allows you to kind of check the boxes, make a financial plan, figure out the funding, how you’re going to be able to pay for this, make a really good Excel. Because I think funding and understanding that is quite important, and sometimes it can be maybe overlooked or rushed. So I think it’s great because you can actually make, “I want to save X.” And how much your loan is for.

I think the other thing is that you have more time to perhaps visit schools, explore, maybe do that thing where you go on multiple campus visits across schools to assess fit, more time to get in touch with current students or alumni or the schools themselves. What I would probably look at for those candidates, too, schools are changing their curriculums, not rapidly, but I hope that they’re adapting every couple of years. So I guess it will be important to know how do schools adapt their curriculum? How might that impact you? How can you kind of anticipate what might be different in a couple of years? So those are some questions that could be interesting to ask. But otherwise, I would say just enjoy the ride, the joy, and all of the time you have to study, to plan. But don’t under or overestimate the amount of time and kind of ignore little things. Just use that time wisely so that you have, I guess, a pleasant journey where you can plan everything and you’re not rushed at the last moment.

What would you have liked me to ask you? [33:57]

Maybe why or how is an MBA still relevant? Is it still relevant? Why is this the degree to follow maybe in today’s day and age? I think that’s something that people are kind of questioning.

Since the moment that I worked at Rotman, I have, and even before, real admiration for the MBA degree because I think it’s so versatile, and having had the pleasure of working careers, I have seen miraculous career jumps, changes, and not just career, but also personal. So if I look at a student who would come for coaching in year one versus two, the way that they’re challenged, the way that they’re trained to feel comfortable in the uncomfortable, the way that MBA programs teach a core but also teach you to anticipate trends, the way that you can holistically see marketing or finance or all of these buckets and how they work together, I think it’s incredible. For me, it’s still the most transformational, versatile degree. It opens doors that would most likely be closed or take you a lot longer to achieve. So I think that that’s probably the thing that you should know first. Why are you passionate about an MBA? And then for me, I truly believe in this degree before I did it, but since I did it, and with everything I’ve seen from careers to admissions and more.

I got my MBA a long time ago, and I did not pursue a traditional MBA path, and I don’t think I fully realized the benefit of the degree until maybe 15 years after I got it. But it still benefited me when I started Accepted. It has long-term value. [35:35]

Yeah, that’s extremely important. You’re not just investing in something that’s for a couple of years, you’re investing in something for life. And I’m sure that there will be moments at two years, five years, 10 years, 20 beyond where you’ll be like, “Oh yeah, I remember that.” Or, “Oh, I can read that balance sheet.” Even though you haven’t used it.

Where can listeners and potential applicants learn more about HEC Paris’ MBA programs? [36:42]

The first stop is probably the most obvious. So go on the HEC Paris MBA website. From there, there are two of buttons that you can click that might be a good place to start outside of the curriculum, et cetera. 

One would be to connect with us . So I mentioned our marketing recruitment managers, they’re the loveliest people. They want to get to know you, and they’re really genuinely there to help you, get to know you. When I visit their offices, they know where someone they met two years ago is in the class or in which job, so it’s genuine.

Or we have a button that talks about our news stories or blogs , and it inspires me all the time. I also really like Instagram , but I won’t go too crazy because I like to dream about what’s next beyond just kind of the technical things in the brochure, and our stories allow you to dream about, I don’t know, a family that moved here together or at Christmas, there was all the Christmas lights of Paris and what you can enjoy, or a student story about where they did their internships. So I would say start by dreaming and connecting with us and then go deeper into the details.

Relevant Links:

• Are you ready? MBA Admissions Quiz

Relevant shows:

• Applying to Wharton Lauder? Do Your Research!, podcast Episode 465
• Get Accepted to UW’s Foster School of Business , podcast Episode 461
• How to Get Accepted to Oxford Said Business School, podcast Episode 457

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2023-2024 HEC Paris MBA Essay Analysis

Admit expert.

• August 3, 2023

As one of the world’s leading business schools, HEC Paris attracts ambitious individuals seeking to accelerate their careers and make a profound impact on the global business landscape. Crafting compelling essays is an integral part of the application process, allowing candidates to showcase their unique attributes, aspirations, and suitability for the prestigious program.

In this blog post, we delve into a meticulous analysis of the HEC Paris MBA essay prompts for the upcoming 2024 intake. We will dissect each question, providing valuable insights and strategic tips to help you craft essays that resonate with the admissions committee. Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, a seasoned professional, or someone transitioning to a new industry, we aim to equip you with the tools and knowledge to present your best self on paper and maximize your chances of acceptance.

Discover how to highlight your strengths, demonstrate your potential, and articulate your vision within the limited word count while aligning your responses with the core values and mission of HEC Paris. Join us on this transformative journey as we unlock the secrets to create powerful essays that will set you apart in the competitive applicant pool.

HEC Paris MBA Essays 2023-2024

HEC Paris MBA Essay Prompts

Essay 1:  Why are you applying to the HEC MBA Program now? What is the professional objective that will guide your career choice after your MBA, and how will the HEC MBA contribute to the achievement of this objective? (500 words maximum)

Essay 2:  What do you consider your most significant life achievement? (250 words)

Essay 3:  Leadership and ethics are inevitably intertwined in the business world. Describe a situation in which you have dealt with these issues and how they have influenced you. (250 words)

Essay 4:  Imagine a life entirely different from the one you now lead, what would it be? (250 words)

Essay 5:  What figure do you most admire and why? You may choose from any field (arts, literature, politics, business, etc).

Why are you applying to the HEC MBA Program now? What is the professional objective that will guide your career choice after your MBA, and how will the HEC MBA contribute to the achievement of this objective?

In crafting your response to the prompt, it is important to merge both your career goals and personal aspirations into a cohesive essay. Begin with a concise summary of your career journey, highlighting the reasons driving your decision to pursue the HEC MBA program. Emphasize the factors that motivated your departure from your current position, and eloquently articulate the specific goals you aim to achieve both during your time at HEC and in your post-MBA career. Be precise and avoid vague statements, using concrete examples of companies or consultancies you aspire to work with.

While explaining your motivation to join HEC, conduct thorough research to highlight the program’s unique features that align with your interests and ambitions. Clearly outline the key program details that personally attract you, demonstrating your genuine interest and understanding of HEC’s offerings. Whether it’s the faculty’s expertise, industry connections, or specialized clubs, connect these opportunities to your career objectives and the impact you aspire to create.

In the conclusion, bring together both aspects of your essay by showcasing how the specific opportunities at HEC will propel you towards achieving your career goals. Elaborate on how participating in projects or internships with esteemed firms through HEC will nurture your skills and prepare you to become a leader in your chosen field. Demonstrate your enthusiasm to contribute to the HEC community and collaborate with diverse peers to gain a comprehensive global perspective. Make this section of your essay the most substantial, emphasizing how the HEC MBA will serve as a transformative stepping stone towards your professional aspirations.

Essay 1 Analysis

To write this essay effectively:

A useful exercise is to write down your personal goals, career goals, why HEC, and how the HEC MBA will connect to your career objectives. Categorizing each heading will provide clarity, which MBA admissions committees seek.

The next crucial step is to thoroughly research the HEC Paris program. Dive into the website, explore brochures, and actively participate in events organized by the admissions committee. This thorough research will equip you with knowledge, ensuring you can confidently address any questions they may pose later. Additionally, successful applicants often connect with current students or alumni to gather valuable insights and make their application impactful. Familiarizing yourself with the program’s nuances allows you to incorporate keywords and phrases that align with the adcom’s preferences. This research also helps clarify your priorities, enabling you to highlight essential information that aligns with your goals. Some of the qualities they seek in candidates are:

• Team players
• Well-rounded
• Strong desire and ability to succeed
• Work experience with known brands
• Involvement in extra-curricular activities
• Volunteering and leadership experience
• Certifications in related field
• Overall excellence
• At least two years of professional experience
• Career progression
• International exposure
• Strong leadership potential
• Fit for diverse and global program

Essay Framework

• Briefly summarize your career path, focusing on your recent achievements that are relevant to your MBA application.
• Use the next paragraphs to outline your reasons for choosing the MBA path, whether they are personal or professional. Be clear and concise about your goals, such as seeking new opportunities for growth or aspiring to leadership roles in exciting avenues.
• Transition into explaining why HEC Paris is the ideal place for you to develop your abilities. Highlight specific aspects of the program that appeal to you, demonstrating your engagement with the available information.
• Discuss how the HEC Paris MBA will be a valuable addition to your portfolio after graduation. Elaborate on the skills and experiences you aim to gain, making this section the longest in your essay response.

What do you consider your most significant life achievement?

This broad question can be overwhelming for applicants, as it allows for various approaches. Choose a personal story that extends beyond the workplace, such as an initiative you undertook or a challenge you faced and overcame. Ensure that your chosen instance aligns with your career path or led you to pursue an MBA. Striking the right balance is the real challenge here, given the question’s scope. Be honest, show vulnerability, and highlight your resilience and strengths in the face of difficulty. Use this opportunity to reveal your authentic self beyond the surface.

Essay 2 Analysis

To answer this question effectively:

To answer this question effectively, start by reflecting on your strengths, weaknesses, and challenging experiences from both your personal and work life. This self-analysis will help you identify qualities that align with what HEC Paris is looking for in candidates. Look for instances where you have demonstrated resilience, leadership, teamwork, innovation, a global mindset, or social responsibility. Once you’ve identified these overlapping qualities, select a specific life achievement or experience that reflects them and aligns with HEC Paris’ values.

Craft a narrative around this chosen achievement, providing a brief description of the event or experience, and emphasize the challenges you faced and how you responded to them. Be authentic and humble as you share your emotions and thoughts during those challenging times, showcasing your self-awareness and willingness to learn. Explain the impact of this achievement on your personal growth and how it has shaped your career aspirations.

Tie your life achievement back to HEC Paris and its MBA program, explaining how this experience has prepared you for the challenges and opportunities you seek at HEC. Showcase your enthusiasm for contributing to the diverse and collaborative community at HEC, and demonstrate your genuine interest in the program.

By following this framework, you can create a compelling and well-rounded response that effectively showcases your strengths, growth, and alignment with HEC Paris’ values and aspirations. Remember to be clear, concise, and sincere in your answers, providing insight into the person you are beyond the achievements you present.

Ensure conciseness

It is crucial to maintain brevity while offering substantial insights into your achievements and personal growth journey. Instead of excessively elaborating on the achievement itself, focus on the ‘what next’ aspect to showcase its impact on your long-term success and character development.

Describe how the chosen achievement contributed to your personal and professional growth, outlining the lessons you learned and how they shaped your values and decision-making. Emphasize the qualitative aspects of the achievement, delving into the emotions, challenges, and transformative experiences that occurred along the way.

Highlight the significance of the achievement beyond its grandeur, demonstrating your self-awareness and ability to extract valuable lessons from your experiences. Showcasing your growth and development as a person will reveal more about you to the admissions committee, making your response authentic and compelling.

Through a concise yet insightful narrative, connect the dots between your past achievements and your aspirations for the future. Explain how this achievement has propelled you towards pursuing an MBA and how it aligns with your long-term career goals.

Essay 2 Framework

• Begin by outlining the specific achievement or challenge you faced. Provide relevant details and settings to set the context for the reader.
• Explain why this particular challenge was significant and why you consider it an achievement. Describe the obstacles you encountered and the steps you took to overcome them. Showcase your problem-solving skills and determination.
• Highlight the valuable lessons you learned from this experience and the qualities you developed as a result. Discuss how this achievement has shaped your character and influenced your decision-making process. Emphasize the personal growth you experienced through this journey.
• Connect the dots between this achievement and your MBA journey or larger career goals. Explain how the lessons and qualities from this episode align with your aspirations and why they are relevant to your application.
• In the concluding paragraph, reiterate the significance of this episode in your life and how it has impacted your career goals. Showcase your self-awareness and demonstrate why discussing this achievement is essential in presenting your overall profile to the admissions committee.

Leadership and ethics are inevitably intertwined in the business world. Describe a situation in which you have dealt with these issues and how they have influenced you.

Be sure to reflect on the typical ethical challenges you faced during your professional career, whether they involved colleagues, office culture, or clients. Describe their expectations, the conflict of interest that arose, and why the course of action was not suitable for you.

Including quantifiable long-term impacts of such unethical practices briefly can help the admissions committee understand the gravity of the challenge.

Demonstrating the broader consequences of such challenges will help the admissions committee grasp the significance of the ethical dilemmas you faced and the decisions you made.

Opt for a situation where you were responsible for a team to showcase your leadership qualities in the solution. Emphasize the importance of negotiation and firm decision-making, along with other qualities expected of a good leader.

As you sketch out your response, keep in mind the importance of emphasizing negotiation skills and the ability to make firm decisions, attributes that align with those expected of a good leader.

Discuss how you navigated complex ethical considerations while maintaining transparency, integrity, and a commitment to doing what was right. Identify and list the long-term successes resulting from your actions.

Discuss the valuable lessons you learned from the experience and how you continue to apply them in your daily life.  Showcase your growth, self-awareness, and commitment to upholding ethical standards, underscoring how these lessons have become an integral part of your ethical compass.

Essay 3 Analysis

Remain solution-oriented.

Reflect on the roles of individual team members and how the team operates, particularly on a project, and the level of intervention as a manager or team member. Examine how key players faced challenges in responding ideally to the situation before discussing how you resolved it. Extensively outline your process, from planning and reasoning to execution and the outcome. Illuminate the admissions committee about your solution and why you believed it was the best course of action. Emphasize the importance of strategizing and execution in effective leadership. Highlight the humane and considerate manner in which you dealt with the situation, valuing employees as individuals working on themselves beyond their roles.

Ethics play a pivotal role within ambition, drive, and passion as they ensure integrity, trust, and sustainable business practices. In discussing the importance of ethics, it is essential to highlight the steps you’ve taken in your current role and how you envision applying ethical principles in your future endeavors to foster progress. Analyze the university’s courses on business and ethics to understand why this is a chief concern for them and align your response accordingly. Consider what kind of business leader HEC aims to create and show that your commitment to ethics is not a one-off incident but a consistent foundation for facing future challenges with preparedness.

Essay 3 Framework

• Start by presenting a clear and concise example of the ethical dilemma you faced. Explain the potential repercussions on both personal and professional levels, and how effectively managing the situation was crucial to prevent it from becoming a recurring problem or unfortunate reality.
• Describe your thought process in developing a solution to the ethical dilemma. Explain the strategies you considered and their cause-and-effect implications. Show how you evaluated each option and arrived at the most ethical and effective course of action.
• Discuss the execution of your chosen solution and its impact on all parties involved. Highlight the results achieved and how they contributed to resolving the ethical dilemma. Additionally, outline the long-term changes this experience has brought about in your personal and professional growth.
• Conclude by reflecting on how this ethical challenge has influenced your subsequent endeavors. Explain how the lessons learned from this experience have shaped your decision-making and problem-solving approach in your future endeavors, emphasizing your commitment to ethical practices.

Imagine a life entirely different from the one you now lead, what would it be?

This question presents a broad scope, which can be challenging to tackle initially. However, some key guiding lines to include are showcasing your adventurous nature, willingness to learn new things, and adaptability to face newer and more challenging situations.

Highlight your openness to exploring unconventional paths and discovering new avenues beyond the traditional corporate landscape.

You may also consider discussing scenarios where you venture into new industries, such as social work in challenging situations, or create an alternative career pathway based on different career advice you received in the past.

The key is to remain imaginative and not be limited by conventional choices. Instead, focus on presenting the attributes you wish to inculcate through a narrative that explores the dreams you could have pursued in an alternative universe or with abundant time and resources.

The aim is to demonstrate your growth mindset and ability to embrace diverse possibilities without being restricted by the usual norms.

Essay 4 Analysis

To answer this question effectively, start by reflecting on aspects of your life that you would like to change. Explain why you desire this change and how you envision bringing it about.

As you consider a different life or lifestyle, focus on the incident or factors that make it dramatically different from your current situation, and emphasize these differences.

It’s crucial to highlight why these differences appeal to you and how they hold value in your eyes. Whether they offer more or less responsibility, contribute to society, or enable you to become a catalyst for change, explore why these differences resonate with you.

Briefly discuss how these unique aspects shape individuals and lead them down different paths. Finally, envision how you would be a different person in this context, showcasing how the new life/lifestyle aligns with your aspirations and personal growth.

Create engagement

To effectively engage the reader, ensure your answers are concise and focused, avoiding peripheral information.

Break down your responses into smaller segments or questions that allow for clear and precise explanations. Consider why you believe you would thrive in a different scenario, reflecting on the unique qualities and skills you possess that would enable your success in diverse environments.

Ponder whether exposure to unfamiliar perspectives would lead to personal growth and increased empathy, allowing you to understand and connect with people from various backgrounds.

Furthermore, contemplate the benefits of experiencing different cultures, as it can broaden your horizons and enhance your ability to work in multi-cultural contexts.

Access to new knowledge bases and resources may provide you with the tools necessary to lead society towards a better and more sustainable future. Keep your ideal life goals at the center of your narrative, showcasing how the values and insights you gain from alternative contexts drive your aspirations.

By focusing on personal development and societal impact, you can create a compelling and engaging vision of the person you aim to become and the contributions you wish to make.

Essay 4 Framework

• Begin by crafting a vivid narrative of an alternate life, distinct from your current reality. Utilize descriptive language and visual elements to fully represent this hypothetical existence, allowing the reader to immerse themselves in the possibilities.
• Compare and contrast the two scenarios, highlighting the key differences that make this alternate life unique. Is it the level of responsibilities, the resources at your disposal, or the freedom to pursue new opportunities that set it apart? Emphasize what makes this alternate life appealing and different from your current path.
• Explore the possibilities and opportunities this alternative life offers you. Delve into how these new experiences and circumstances could shape your personal growth and development. Consider the values you aspire to embody and how this different path aligns with your aspirations.
• Conclude your response by connecting the insights from the alternate life to actionable changes in your current reality. Discuss how you can incorporate the lessons and values from this narrative into your present life, leading you closer to your ideal world. Show that you are open to growth, and highlight your willingness to adapt and make positive changes to achieve your goals.

Please choose from one of the following essays:

 a) What monument or site would you advise a first-time visitor to your country or city to discover, and why?

 b) Certain books, movies or plays have had an international success that you believe to be undeserved. Choose an example and analyse it.

 c) What figure do you most admire and why? You may choose from any field (arts, literature, politics, business, etc).

Your choice among the three options and your further selection of a monument, person, or figure as the ‘focus’ of your response can reveal a lot about your personality and interests. While there may be numerous options available, the true challenge lies in finding a focus that allows you to express your thoughts constructively and coherently, without veering off into tangents. Your search should lead you to a focus that you can intuitively connect with and support with research to augment your existing knowledge. Familiarity with the chosen focus is crucial, as it helps uncover your convictions and what drives you. Can you passionately advocate for your beliefs? How do you articulate and present your arguments? These hidden aspects of your response provide valuable insights into your character and thought processes.

What places, works of art, or figures hold a special place in your heart? Create a database that captures what draws you to them, highlighting their unique and lesser-known aspects. Show why others should engage with your chosen focus and what they might be missing out on. Imagine presenting this portfolio to an important client, starting with a brief summary or background, followed by commonly known facts. Then, delve into an extensive description of the focus’s unique factors or lesser-known interesting tidbits. Share your own convictions, add personal anecdotes or emotional moments associated with the focus, and describe its power to evoke emotions in people. Conclude by explaining how this engagement would enrich the onlooker’s life.

Review For this essay, it is crucial to carefully edit and refine your composition to maintain a clear and focused argument. Create a streamlined and engaging paragraph that paints a vivid picture of your chosen focus. A successful pitch should be concise yet descriptive enough to captivate the reader’s interest. To achieve this, thorough research on the creators or figures behind the focus is essential. This will allow you to incorporate compelling anecdotes from their lives or explore continental influences that shaped their work, providing valuable insights into the creation process.

Begin your essay with a brief summary or background of your chosen focus to set the context for the reader. Then, transition into commonly known facts about it to provide a foundation for your discussion. As you delve into the heart of your pitch, dive into an extensive description of the unique factors or lesser-known interesting tidbits related to your focus. Clearly articulate what others might be missing out on and why they should engage with this topic. To strengthen your arguments, share your own convictions and personal connection to the focus. Add a heartfelt anecdote or describe a moment of emotion that you associate with it. Explain how this focus has the power to evoke similar emotions in others and why it resonates deeply with you.

Conclude your essay by reinforcing the reasons why engaging with this focus would enrich the onlooker’s life. Leave a lasting impression by highlighting the impact it can have on broadening perspectives, sparking curiosity, or inspiring meaningful change. In essence, your essay should be a captivating portrayal of your chosen focus, informed by thorough research and driven by your personal connection and passion for the subject matter.

Framework :

• Begin with a concise backdrop and description of your chosen focus. Provide essential details, such as its location, creation date, and how these elements contribute to its significance.
• Present factual information about the focus, highlighting its historical, cultural, or artistic importance. This establishes a solid foundation for the reader to understand the relevance of the focus.
• Introduce lesser-known but intriguing aspects of your focus. Delve into the unique characteristics, anecdotes from the lives of creators or figures behind it, and any continental influences that have shaped its development. Explain why these details are crucial in creating a captivating image or visual representation of the focus.
• Share your personal convictions and reasons for being drawn to this focus. Discuss what aspects resonate deeply with you and how your passion for it translates into a compelling argument for others to engage with it as well.
• Argue persuasively about how your passion and enthusiasm for this focus will ignite the same level of interest in others. Emphasize the potential emotional and intellectual impact it can have on those who explore it.
• Conclude by discussing how discovering more about this focus can enrich the lives of those who engage with it. Highlight the potential for broadening perspectives, igniting curiosity, or inspiring meaningful change through this engagement.

Is there any additional information you would like to share with us?

Address any employment gaps or academic concerns honestly, providing a clear and concise explanation of the challenges you faced and how you have overcome them. This will demonstrate your determination and resilience as a candidate.

Focus on highlighting your strengths and unique qualities that set you apart. Discuss your engagement in extracurricular activities, such as local philanthropic drives, sports, or hobbies, and explain how these experiences have shaped you as a person and contributed to your work ethic.

Ensure that your narrative centers around your suitability as a candidate and adds value to the discussion of your candidacy for the program. Avoid irrelevant information and stay focused on showcasing your potential to thrive in the MBA program.

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HEC Paris essays focus on your ethics and values. A fantastic location in Paris and a robust leadership education distinguish the HEC MBA. HEC Paris boasts a high number of CEOs in its alumni community. Another distinction is an entrepreneurial spirit. HEC Paris consistently ranks as one of the top MBA programs in the world.

If your life and career are based in Europe, HEC is worth a closer look. And, even if you are primarily United States-based, consider adding a European MBA program to your list.

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HEC Paris Essays

Essay 1: why are you applying to the hec mba program now what is the professional objective that will guide your career choice after your mba, and how will the hec mba contribute to the achievement of this objective (500 words max.).

Describing your career goals is the first task in this HEC Paris essay. Also, why now is the right time for an MBA, and why HEC Paris is your choice. Also, you will want to explain past experiences, but avoid reciting your resume. In addition, think about the critical moments in your career that can highlight your skills.

Focus on some mini-stories to tell. Then, you can explain your career choice with specifics. Within which industry do you want to work? What will be your function (marketing or finance, for example)? Do you have any desires for location and aspirations to impact the global economy?

HEC Paris has successfully assisted its students with career changes and entrepreneurial dreams. If you are looking for a new career after your MBA, HEC may be the perfect place. Thorough school research will help you make the case to the admissions committee. Also, you should explain the classes, professors, and student activities that will help you achieve your goals.

Essay 2: What do you consider your most significant life achievement? (250 words max.)

HEC Paris is looking for leaders. In the second of the HEC Paris essays, describe an experience demonstrating leadership. Consider that there is no time limit to this essay. For instance, you could explore something formative that happened to you as a teenager or an achievement from last week. Also, consider an accomplishment that demonstrates who you are when selecting an example. It should showcase a moment that changed the course of your life.

For example, perhaps you were given an assignment at work that was beyond your capabilities. That experience may have taught you how to leverage the expertise of a team. Or, it may have forced you to research and learn on your own. Think about the achievements that stretched your abilities and taught you the most. A leadership example can also show how you helped a team achieve its best work.

Essay 3: Leadership and ethics are inevitably intertwined in the business world. Describe a situation in which you have dealt with these issues and how they have influenced you. (250 words max.)

Because ethics are so important, the third in this set of HEC Paris essays focuses on this issue. As a future leader, ethics can determine how well your company performs. When you look at the devastating results of the 2008 financial crisis, or recent security breaches at major tech companies, it is clear that ethics can influence business.

You have likely encountered colleagues or leaders who did not adhere to ethical behavior during your career. When you have come across a moral dilemma, how did you handle it? Explain the situation, how you felt, what you did, and the outcome. Ideally, you have learned a lesson as a result of the experience. Finally, consider your overall approach to leadership and ethics.

Essay 4: Imagine a life entirely different from the one you now lead. What would it be? (250 words max.)

This HEC Paris essay is a creative way to explore your character and core personality. When you think about the opposite of who you are today, it shows how you view yourself. Where would a person leading an entirely different life live? What career would they pursue? What would be their family responsibilities? Ask your friends and family what they think as a thought starter.

Describe this alternative life with as many specifics as possible, and use the exercise to clarify your core values.

Essay 5: Please choose from one of the following essays, 250 words max.:

A) what monument or site would you advise a first-time visitor to your country or city to discover, and why, b) certain books, movies, or plays have had an international success that you believe undeserved. choose an example and analyze it ., c) what figure do you most admire and why you may choose from any field (arts, literature, politics, business, etc.).

Of all the HEC Paris essays, this one provides options to share your strong opinions and personality with the admissions committee. For instance, you can choose to describe your country or city, discuss an art piece, or a leader you admire. Honestly, any of the choices can showcase an aspect of your personality. Overall, the goal is to differentiate yourself.

Consider the best option for your unique background. For example, if you live in a small country or city rarely visited by tourists, describe a monument or site. In this way, using the essay to describe your city or country can further explain your background.

On the other hand, if you choose a public figure you admire, you could explore your leadership ideas. Or, perhaps you admire persistence, overcoming obstacles, or helping others. Use those ideas to explore your core values. Finally, whichever option you choose, get personal!

Essay 6 (Optional): Is there any additional information you would like to share with us? (900 words max.)

This HEC Paris essay gives you space to describe any additional information you would like to provide to the admissions committee. Generally, optional essays are for any confusing or concerning information in your application. In this case, you may also use this essay to provide positive details.

You may have a story about leadership or another achievement you would like to highlight. If so, this is a place to tell that story. If you have described your core values in any of the above, you may be able to reinforce that story with this essay.

This is the essay to use if you need to explain an academic issue, low GMAT, recommender issue, or gap in work experience. It is far better to clarify any problems in your application than to leave the admissions committee to guess what happened. Briefly explain your issue and focus most of the essay on the correction employed.

For example, if you had a low grade in a quantitative course in college, spend most of the essay describing how you have shown academic promise since then, rather than focusing on the negative. Avoid blaming anyone else for your issue. Instead, explain why this one incident is in your past and will stay there.

You may skip this essay if you do not have another story to tell or an incident in the past to explain. Remember that it is optional.

For more details on the HEC Paris essays and application requirements, please visit the HEC Paris website .

Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your MBA application needs, from our  All-In Partnership  to test prep to hourly help with targeted tasks. Contact us today for a  free 15-minute advising session  to talk strategy with a Principal SBC consultant.  Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on  our SBC team .

With deadlines around the corner, you may be interested in the world-famous SBC Flight Test . Once a full set of application materials for your initial school have been drafted, but not finalized, the application will be sent to a former admissions committee member for a one-time review, adcomm style. You’ll have the benefit of a true admissions committee review while still having the ability to tinker and change.  You will receive written feedback within two business days after submitting.

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Mastering the HEC Paris MBA Essays: A Strategic Guide for Applicants

Are you ready to embark on an academic journey that will not only transform your career but also your life? The HEC Paris MBA program is renowned for its excellence in management education and its ability to nurture future business leaders. But before you can join this prestigious institution, you’ll need to conquer one crucial hurdle: the MBA application essays.

Crafting a compelling MBA application can be a daunting task, especially when you’re vying for a spot at one of the world’s top business schools. However, fear not, as we’re here to guide you through the intricacies of the HEC Paris MBA essays. In this blog, we’ll conduct a thorough analysis of the essay prompts, provide you with invaluable tips, and share insights on what the admissions committee is looking for. So, let’s dive in and explore how to make your HEC Paris MBA application truly shine!

The HEC Paris MBA application process requires prospective candidates to thoroughly reflect on their motivations, experiences, values, and aspirations. Through a series of well-crafted essays, applicants are given an opportunity to present their unique profile to the admissions committee. This blog delves into a detailed analysis of each essay prompt, providing insights and tips on how to craft compelling essays to stand out in the application process.

THESE ARE THE ESSAY TOPICS FOR HEC PARIS MBA 2023-2024

Essay 1 –  Why are you applying to the HEC MBA Program now? What is the professional objective that will guide your career choice after your MBA, and how will the HEC MBA contribute to the achievement of this objective? (500 words max.)

Essay 2  – What do you consider your most significant life achievement? (250 words max.)

Essay 3 –   Leadership and ethics are inevitably intertwined in the business world. Describe a situation in which you have dealt with these issues and how they have influenced you. (250 words max.)

Essay 4 –   Imagine a life entirely different from the one you now lead, what would it be? (250 words max.)

Essay 5 –  Please choose from one of the following essays, 250 words max:

a) What monument or site would you advise a first-time visitor to your country or city to discover, and why?

b) Certain books, movies or plays have had an international success that you believe to be undeserved. Choose an example and analyse it .

c) What figure do you most admire and why? You may choose from any field (arts, literature, politics, business, etc)

Essay 6 –   Optional: Is there any additional information you would like to share with us? (900 words max.)

ESSAY ANALYSIS

Let us embark on a comprehensive analysis of HEC Paris MBA’s essay prompts, unraveling their intricacies, and offering valuable insights into crafting captivating narratives. As we explore each essay, we unveil strategies to stand out in a competitive field and present a compelling case for admission into this prestigious program.

Essay 1 – Why are you applying to the HEC MBA Program now? What is the professional objective that will guide your career choice after your MBA, and how will the HEC MBA contribute to the achievement of this objective? (500 words max.)

The first essay prompt for the HEC Paris MBA application demands a reflective and articulate response. It delves into the applicant’s motivations for choosing the HEC MBA program, their career objectives post-MBA, and how HEC MBA aligns with and aids in achieving these objectives. Let’s break down this essay prompt and discuss how one can craft a compelling response.

• Career Objectives Post-MBA: The essay asks candidates to clearly outline their professional objectives following completion of the MBA program.
• Alignment with HEC MBA: Lastly, the prompt calls for an explanation of how the HEC MBA program precisely fits into and supports the applicant’s career goals.
• Introduction: Begin with a brief introduction highlighting your enthusiasm for pursuing an MBA at HEC Paris. Mention what draws you to this program.
• Motivations for Applying to HEC Paris MBA: In this section, delve into the reasons for choosing HEC Paris at this point in your career. This could encompass the reputation of the program, its global network, specific faculty, or unique features.
• Professional Objectives Post-MBA: Clearly articulate your professional goals after completing the MBA program. Be specific about the industry, role, and impact you aspire to make.
• Linking HEC MBA to Career Objectives: Showcase how the HEC MBA program uniquely aligns with your goals. Discuss specific offerings, resources, or experiences at HEC that would contribute to your success in achieving the stated objectives.
• Conclusion: Summarize your motivation for applying, your career goals, and how HEC Paris will be instrumental in realizing those goals.

Essay 2 – What do you consider your most significant life achievement? (250 words max.)

Essay 2 of the HEC Paris MBA application invites candidates to delve into their personal histories and reflect on what they perceive as their most significant life achievement. By doing so, this essay prompt offers a unique opportunity for candidates to reveal aspects of their character, values, and experiences that have played a crucial role in shaping their lives. Let’s break down this essay prompt and analyze the key elements that candidates should consider while responding.

• Choosing the Achievement:

The very first step in responding to this essay is selecting an achievement that holds personal and substantial significance. It could range from personal accomplishments like overcoming a fear or a major life event, to professional achievements such as successfully leading a team through a challenging project. The key here is to choose an accomplishment that offers a glimpse into the candidate’s character and showcases their resilience, determination, and adaptability.

• Depth and Detail:

Once the achievement is chosen, the candidate should provide a detailed account of the situation, the obstacles encountered, and the actions taken to overcome them. Providing context is crucial to help the admissions committee understand the magnitude and complexity of the achievement. A deep, introspective analysis should be interwoven into the narrative, explaining how this achievement has significantly impacted the candidate’s life.

• Reflecting on Impact:

The candidate should reflect on how this achievement has influenced their personal growth, skills development, and overall outlook on life. Whether it shifted their perspective, enhanced their leadership abilities, or reinforced their values, detailing the impact of the achievement is essential. Moreover, discussing how it has influenced their subsequent decisions and actions further enriches the narrative.

• Relating to HEC Paris MBA:

Ideally, the candidate should connect this achievement to their motivation for pursuing an MBA at HEC Paris. How has this significant achievement propelled them towards pursuing higher education, specifically an MBA? Articulating how this accomplishment aligns with their future goals and how the HEC MBA would further build on this achievement is vital to demonstrate a strong rationale for their application to the program.

• Writing Style and Tone:

The essay should be written in a clear, concise, and engaging manner. The candidate should strive for authenticity and sincerity, allowing their genuine voice to come through in the narrative. A well-structured essay with a compelling introduction, a detailed account of the achievement, a reflective analysis, and a meaningful conclusion is essential for a cohesive and impactful response.

• Word Limit Adherence:

Given the 250-word maximum limit for this essay, candidates must craft a succinct yet comprehensive response. Every word should contribute to the narrative, ensuring that the essay is concise while still providing ample detail and depth.

Essay 3 –  Leadership and ethics are inevitably intertwined in the business world. Describe a situation in which you have dealt with these issues and how they have influenced you. (250 words max.)

The third essay prompt for the HEC Paris MBA application asks applicants to recount a specific situation in which they encountered the intersection of leadership and ethics within the realm of business. In a concise 250 words, candidates are expected to provide a vivid and insightful narrative that not only describes the scenario but also delves into the influence of this experience on their personal and professional growth.

• Understanding the Prompt:

       The essay is designed to assess a candidate’s ability to grapple with the ethical challenges inherent in leadership roles. It aims to uncover their decision-making process in situations where ethical considerations are paramount and how these situations have shaped their understanding of leadership and ethics.

• Choosing the Right Experience:

       Candidates should select an experience that effectively highlights their leadership qualities and ethical decision-making abilities. This could be a workplace scenario, a team project, or a volunteer activity. The chosen situation should be impactful, allowing for a robust narrative within the given word limit.

• Crafting the Narrative:

       The essay should follow a clear structure:

a. Introduction to the Situation: Briefly introduce the context, setting, and the ethical dilemma encountered.

b. Description of Actions: Describe the actions taken and decisions made, emphasizing the ethical considerations and the leadership approach employed.

c. Outcome and Reflection: Detail the outcomes of the decisions made and reflect on the influence of this experience on personal growth, values, and understanding of the relationship between leadership and ethics.

• Demonstrating Personal Growth and Insights:

       The essay should go beyond mere description and reflection, providing insights into how the experience has influenced the applicant. Did it reinforce the importance of ethical decision-making? Did it change their perception of effective leadership? Did it shape their future approach to similar situations?

• Link to HEC Paris MBA:

       Ideally, the essay should culminate by linking the applicant’s experience and growth to how it prepares them for the HEC Paris MBA. This can be achieved by expressing how the HEC MBA will further enhance their ability to navigate such ethical challenges in leadership roles.

Essay 4 –  Imagine a life entirely different from the one you now lead, what would it be? (250 words max.)

The fourth essay prompt for the HEC Paris MBA application invites candidates to engage in an exercise of creative imagination, encouraging them to envision an alternative life vastly different from their current reality. This intriguing task offers a glimpse into the candidate’s creativity, aspirations, and capacity to think beyond their present circumstances.

The objective of this prompt is multifold. Firstly, it allows the admissions committee to understand the candidate’s ambitions and long-term goals. Secondly, it provides insight into how well the applicant can articulate these aspirations and connect them to the broader context of their life and career. To effectively address this essay prompt, the candidate needs to employ a structured and insightful approach. Here’s a breakdown of how a compelling response could be crafted:

• Selecting the Alternate Life:

The first step is to carefully choose an alternative life that contrasts with the candidate’s current path. This could involve a different profession, lifestyle, geographic location, or any aspect that significantly diverges from their present reality. It’s essential to choose something that genuinely resonates with the candidate and aligns with their aspirations.

• Providing a Vivid Description:

       Once the alternate life is selected, the candidate should describe it vividly, creating a clear image for the reader. This description should encompass various aspects, including the nature of work, daily routines, environment, interactions, and any other significant elements that define this imagined life.

• Elaborating on Motivations:

       After presenting the envisioned life, it’s important to explain the motivations driving this choice. What aspects of this alternate life are appealing? Why is it attractive or fulfilling for the candidate? This is an opportunity to reveal the candidate’s values, aspirations, and what they prioritize in their professional and personal life.

• Linking to Career Goals and HEC MBA:

       To make the essay relevant to the MBA application, the candidate should articulate how this alternate life connects to their long-term career objectives. How does this imaginative exercise align with their goals, and what skills or experiences from the HEC MBA program would contribute to achieving this alternate life?

• Reflecting on Personal Growth:

       The essay should conclude with a reflection on how this imaginative exercise impacts the candidate’s perception of their current path and growth potential. It’s an opportunity to showcase self-awareness and an understanding of one’s desires and motivations.

In summary, Essay 4 pushes candidates to think beyond the confines of their current reality and envision a life that aligns with their deepest aspirations. This essay offers a glimpse into the candidate’s vision and the alignment between their dreams and the opportunities the HEC MBA program can offer.

Essay 5 – Please choose from one of the following essays, 250 words max:

b) Certain books, movies or plays have had an international success that you believe to be undeserved. Choose an example and analyse it.

The fifth essay prompt of the HEC Paris MBA application provides candidates with three intriguing options, each revealing different aspects of their personality, values, and critical thinking abilities. Let’s delve into the analysis of each option:

This prompt serves a dual purpose: evaluating the candidate’s pride in their cultural heritage and their ability to advocate for it effectively. The candidate needs to choose a monument or site and elucidate its cultural, historical, or personal significance. The analysis should emphasize not only why the chosen place is a must-visit but also how it reflects the richness and uniqueness of the candidate’s country or city.

b) Certain books, movies or plays have had international success that you believe to be undeserved. Choose an example and analyze it.

This option gauges the candidate’s critical thinking, cultural awareness, and analytical skills. Candidates are encouraged to select a piece of art that gained global acclaim but which they perceive as overrated. The analysis should delve into the reasons behind the international success, offering a well-structured argument to support the candidate’s opinion. It’s a chance to showcase their ability to critique and think independently.

This option enables the candidate to showcase their values, principles, and the qualities they appreciate in a person. The chosen figure could be from any field, and the analysis should explain why this figure is admired and how their qualities resonate with the candidate. It’s an opportunity to provide insights into the candidate’s character and the kind of leadership or impact they find inspiring.

In conclusion, Essay 5 offers flexibility to candidates, allowing them to choose an option that aligns with their interests and enables them to present a unique perspective. The responses should be well-structured, engaging, and offer meaningful insights into the candidate’s cultural appreciation, critical thinking, or values, depending on the chosen option. Each option provides a glimpse into different aspects of the candidate’s personality, contributing to a holistic understanding of their motivations and aspirations.

Essay 6 –  Optional: Is there any additional information you would like to share with us? (900 words max.)

The optional essay in the HEC Paris MBA application, titled “Is there any additional information you would like to share with us?” offers candidates an open-ended opportunity to present additional insights or information that might not have been covered in the preceding essays. While the prompt is optional, applicants should seriously consider utilizing this space to enhance their application and provide a more comprehensive view of their candidacy to the admissions committee.

• Demonstrating Self-Awareness and Reflection:

The optional essay provides a platform for candidates to exhibit self-awareness and introspection. Applicants can utilize this space to reflect on their own experiences, career trajectory, personal growth, and academic journey. It allows them to explain any unusual circumstances, interruptions in education or employment, or changes in career path, helping the admissions committee understand the context and motivations behind these situations.

• Addressing Weaknesses or Gaps in the Application:

If there are aspects of the application that may be perceived as weaknesses, gaps, or areas of improvement, this essay presents an opportunity to address them proactively. Whether it’s a low GPA, gaps in employment, or a less-than-ideal GMAT score, candidates can offer explanations, provide context, and highlight subsequent efforts to overcome these challenges.

• Sharing Achievements and Extracurricular Activities:

Candidates can utilize this essay to share additional accomplishments, awards, or extracurricular activities that showcase their leadership, teamwork, and dedication. This can include community service, entrepreneurial ventures, publications, or any other notable achievements that align with their application and demonstrate their well-rounded personality.

• Aligning with HEC Paris Values and Culture:

Applicants should also consider using this space to reiterate their enthusiasm and alignment with HEC Paris’s values, culture, and academic offerings. Sharing why HEC Paris is the ideal fit for their aspirations, and how they intend to contribute to the HEC community, further reinforces their genuine interest in the program.

• Providing Contextual Information:

Sometimes, the standard application doesn’t allow for a complete picture of a candidate’s background, especially for those with unique circumstances. The optional essay can be used to provide a more detailed context, allowing the admissions committee to better understand the applicant’s story, experiences, and motivations.

• Demonstrating Clarity and Brevity:

While it’s essential to use this space effectively, candidates should be mindful of being concise and clear in their communication. Admissions committees often appreciate clarity and relevance. Every piece of information shared should add value to the application and help present a stronger case for the candidate.

Crafting compelling essays for the HEC Paris MBA application demands strategic thinking, introspection, and effective communication. Each essay prompt offers a unique opportunity to reveal facets of your personality, experiences, and aspirations to the admissions committee. Through meticulous analysis and insightful responses, applicants can significantly enhance their chances of securing a spot in this esteemed program.

In essence, every essay contributes to constructing a well-rounded image of the applicant. Through careful consideration of each prompt and an eloquent presentation of thoughts, candidates can stand out and resonate with the admissions committee. HEC Paris seeks individuals who not only possess academic prowess but also demonstrate the qualities of leadership, ethics, creativity, and determination—the same qualities that are essential in the business world.

In conclusion, the HEC Paris MBA essays are your canvas to paint a vivid and convincing picture of who you are, what you aspire to achieve, and how the program aligns with your goals. They provide the admissions committee with a window into your character, experiences, and potential contributions to the HEC Paris community.

As you embark on this exciting journey, remember that authenticity, clarity, and strategic storytelling are your best allies. Take the time to reflect on your experiences, aspirations, and values. Craft your essays with care, ensuring that each word serves a purpose and contributes to your overall narrative.

The HEC Paris MBA is not just a program; it’s a transformative experience that can open doors to a world of opportunities. Through your essays, you have the power to convince the admissions committee that you are not only a strong candidate but also a future leader who will make a meaningful impact on the business world.

So, embrace the challenge, put your best foot forward, and submit an application that reflects your true potential. We wish you the best of luck in your HEC Paris MBA journey!

1. What are the HEC Paris MBA essay prompts?

The essay prompts for HEC Paris MBA may vary from year to year. It’s essential to check the official HEC Paris MBA website or application portal for the most current essay prompts.

2. How important are the HEC Paris MBA essays in the application process?

The essays are a crucial part of your application. They provide the admissions committee with insights into your personality, motivations, and fit with the program. A well-crafted essay can significantly enhance your chances of admission.

3. Can I get help with my HEC Paris MBA essays, such as hiring a consultant or seeking feedback from others?

While seeking feedback from mentors, colleagues, or professionals is encouraged, it’s essential to maintain the authenticity of your essays. Hiring a consultant is acceptable, but ensure that your voice and experiences remain genuine.

4. How long should my HEC Paris MBA essays be?

The word limits for HEC Paris MBA essays may change, so refer to the current application guidelines. Typically, essays range from 300 to 800 words, depending on the question.

5. What qualities is the HEC Paris MBA admissions committee looking for in applicants?

The committee seeks candidates who demonstrate strong leadership potential, diverse experiences, academic excellence, and a clear motivation for pursuing an MBA at HEC Paris. They also value candidates who can contribute to the program’s diverse and collaborative community.

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How To Tackle The HEC Paris Essays

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Unlike most top US schools, which have trended toward fewer essays, HEC Paris maintains an impressive five required questions, from the practical ‘why HEC Paris’/why now’ to the provocative, ‘Imagine a life entirely different from the one you now lead, what would it be?’ Thankfully, most are short answer questions (250-word max), and taken together, they offer valuable storytelling opportunities.

I’ve captured what HEC is looking for in your MBA essays, along with tips for tackling the first, longer-form essay question. In what’s predicted to be the most competitive season ever, your essay is the critical element that can convey your uniqueness and distinguish your profile in a sea of excellence.

HOW TO TACKLE THE HEC ESSAYS

As an HEC alum and MBA admissions coach, I can affirm that the key to standing out to the Admissions Committee is to be creative, authentic, and to show you have a clear plan for your future career. HEC asks unique questions in its essays, and it’s important to make sure you answer all parts of the question. Think about what each question is really trying to learn about you, and how your answer might distinguish you from your high achieving peers. You’ll want to articulate your uniqueness strongly across your application, along with how a global vision for your future will both benefit from and contribute to the alumni network of HEC.

Essay One: Why are you applying to the HEC MBA Program now? What is the professional objective that will guide your career choice after your MBA, and how will the HEC MBA contribute to the achievement of this objective? (500 words max)

HEC wants to see ambitious career aspirations and backgrounds. You’ll want to focus on how HEC’s international scope, deep academic rigor, program structure, and access to a worldwide network connects with your goals and aspirations. You are selling your future vision as much as your current skills, GMAT scores, and accomplishments, so it’s essential to know how your career goals intersect with the school’s values and link them across your narrative about your reasons for pursuing the MBA.

To start, reflect on why this is the exact time that you need to earn an MBA in your career trajectory and explain the rationale and how you came to that decision. What will an MBA at this point enable you to do, and why is HEC the program that makes the most sense for you? Make sure you articulate how the HEC program is different, and how that difference fits specifically with your own career plans and goals.

Think about how your life and career will look if everything goes the way you plan, and how that will also be of value to the school. Do you plan on starting your own company one day? Do you want to lead change in the way we source energy? Do you have a passion for using technology to solve a previously intractable problem? All of these are great stories about your future, and they become even better when you tie them to the specific characteristics of the school and how the program will help you get to that goal. You will also want to think about how you will achieve your career in steps: the MBA, the few years after the MBA, 10 years out, and more. Be realistic about the kind of role and company/organization you intend to join just after the MBA, and do your research about what those employers want in a candidate. The more you can show you have aligned your career vision with practical, realistic steps to get there, including the HEC MBA, the better your essays will read.

Tips for writing:

• Start out with a story or example to hook the attention of your reader
• Start with what you are passionate about (that links to career goals)
• Describe your career goals post MBA and why now is the right time to get an MBA
• Conclude with research on why HEC – courses, connections/partnerships, professors, treks, clubs etc. related to your goals
• It’s okay to also touch on long term aspirations in terms of how the MBA and short term goals will be your stepping stones to your long term goal

For more insights and advice, view my related blog for tips on how to tackle all six HEC essays & prepare for the HEC video presentation .

You can view our most recent August 19 strategy session on HEC Paris, London Business School & INSEAD as part of Fortuna’s MBA Admissions Masterclasses , a series featuring essay strategies from 14 former gatekeepers on 14 of the world’s top b-schools.

Brendan Kramp   is an expert coach at MBA admissions coaching firm  Fortuna Admissions , who earned an MBA from HEC and previously served as the UK Director of Development for INSEAD. For a candid assessment of your chances of admission success at a top MBA program, sign up for  a free consultation .

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.

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HEC Paris MBA Application Essay Questions and Tips

Jatin bhandari.

• October 6, 2021
• MBA Consulting

Ranking in the top 10 MBA programs in the world gives HEC Paris an edge when it comes to having its pick of the MBA applicants. The school also allows MBA applicants with 5+ years of work experience or athletes waivers for the minimum requirement of an undergraduate degree making an MBA more accessible to applicants with diverse educational backgrounds.

However, the MBA essay section of HEC Paris’ MBA application looks a lot like top European business schools.

With 6 essays prompts, 5 mandatory, and one optional, HEC allows the MBA applicant ample space to share their story. while the first essay prompt has a 500 word-limit, the other 4 mandatory essays have been limited to 250 words.

The short essays make the seemingly tedious application process for HEC much easier on the applicants while allowing them to share important aspects of their story with the admissions committee. Unlike many top schools, HEC’s optional essay (additional information) provides MBA applicants with a 900 word-limit giving them ample space to address any shortcomings in their MBA profile.

In addition to the MBA essays, HEC also has a presentation that the MBA applicant needs to share during their interview. We will be discussing tips to ace the interview presentation as well.

HEC Paris MBA Application Essays

Essay question 1: why are you applying to the hec mba program now what is the professional objective that will guide your career choice after your mba, and how will the hec mba contribute to the achievement of this objective (500 words max.).

If you have applied to any other schools in addition to HEC, you would have already answered at least one Career Goals essay. The HEC essay however is phrased differently and should be answered in the order it’s phrased.

The first part of the question asks you to share recent events that made you realize the need for an MBA for your current progression. What happened in the past year that introduced you to your post-MBA goal and the gap of skill sets that you wish to fill with an MBA.

The second part of this essay question moves into more details about your post-MBA career goals and the significance of the HEC experience.

The HEC experience includes the MBA classroom as well as the HEC campus and social events. Networking with the HEC community will give you a clearer look into the community and faculty at the school. it will also help you identify which events, clubs, professors, and classes can help you fill the gap between your current skill sets and post-MBA career goals.

Essay Question 2: What do you consider your most significant life achievement? (250 words max.)

Although not explicitly mentioned here, this is a two-part question.

Yes, the HEC Paris admissions committee wants to know what you consider your most significant life achievement.

But they also want to understand why you consider this achievement significant. What impact did this achievement create in your life? It helps the admissions committee in understanding what drives you and motivates you.

Spend more time explaining why this achievement is significant to you rather than simply detailing what the accomplishment was.

Essay Question 3: Leadership and ethics are inevitably intertwined in the business world. Describe a situation in which you have dealt with these issues and how they have influenced you. (250 words max.)

This question asks you about a situation where you faced a moral dilemma at your workplace or in a corporate setting. Don’t look at this as the opportunity to snitch on your boss, or spill the beans about that one colleague of yours you don’t agree with.

Share a real dilemma where the choices you had were actually difficult to take. Where there were serious cons to both the options you had available to you. Also, explain why you made the choice you made and how it affected every decision that you made going forward.

Essay Question 4: Imagine a life entirely different from the one you now lead, what would it be? (250 words max.)

What if things hadn’t fallen in place for you the way they did? What would your life be like had you made some other choices? Had you pursued a hobby more as a passion? Or choose a different industry?

This question is for the applicant to explore an alternate reality that they could have pursued. However, don’t make this an escapists story. If this essay changes your core personality and values completely from the rest of your profile, it will raise serious red flags for the HEC Paris admissions committee.

Essay Question 5: Please choose from one of the following essays, 250 words max.: a) What monument or site would you advise a first-time visitor to your country or city to discover, and why? b) Certain books, movies or plays have had an international success that you believe to be undeserved. Choose an example and analyse it. c) What figure do you most admire and why? You may choose from any field (arts, literature, politics, business, etc)

Before you blindly decide which one of these prompts you will be answering, answer them all.

Rather than writing a 250-word answer to a single prompt and then realizing that another prompt would have been more impactful to answer, answer all these questions in a few words.

Once you have small versions of your answers to all these prompts, figure out which answer adds the most value to your MBA profile. Do any of your answers back up any claims your MBA profile makes? Does any answer show traits or values that the school resonates with?

Once you have your prompt selected, don’t just share the answer to “What?” for all these questions. Also, answer the “Why?”. Why are you fond of a certain memory? Why does something make you the most afraid?

Essay Question 6: Optional: Is there any additional information you would like to share with us? (900 words max.)

The HEC admissions committee is interested in getting to know prospective students. Sometimes, they meet applicants who have amazing stories and are a great fit for HEC’s community but lack in certain areas in their MBA profile. This is the space for such applicants.

If your MBA profile has any clear liabilities, like a low GMAT/GRE, below-average GPA as per HEC, low work experience, use this space to address them. While addressing the shortcomings in your MBA profile, keep in mind that the HEC admissions committee does not expect you to be a perfect candidate. They will be willing to look over a below-average GMAT score if you have other coursework that makes up for it.

As you address the liability in your MBA profile, keep it simple. Layout the facts of the situation, share the reason behind the liability without playing the victim or transferring blame and end on a high note by pointing out other factors from your profile that dampen the significance of the liability.

In addition to this, if there is a significant accomplishment that couldn’t be mentioned in any other space throughout your HEC MBA application, use this space to mention it. Make sure you also explain why that accomplishment is significant enough for you to share it with the HEC admissions committee.

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For over 15+ years as an Entrepreneur, and India’s Top Educationist, Jatin has led a range of initiatives in the Education Industry. In this role, he has created many successful educational services and products geared towards generating success for professionals aspiring to join IVY League and global Top Tier Universities for MBA Programs, Masters Programs, and undergraduate courses. He is the Founder and CEO of PythaGURUS Education, and has been recognized as a thought leader in the Higher education sector. Economic Times, Hindustan Times, Times of India, India Today, Business Today, Tribune, and many other national newspapers have recognized his work, and have given him numerous opportunities to be a regular columnist. He has also served as a panelist for NDTV, and other national news channels.

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