HEC consistently ranks among the top five schools for future Fortune Global 500 CEOs. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that its high-ranking MBA program is one of the most sought-after European programs among our clients.
As you prepare your application, you can keep an eye on the deadlines here.
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.)
This is a classic admissions prompt that asks you to link your future goals with your current need for an MBA. Before you start writing, it’s important to do a good deal of research into HEC and its program, as well as to connect with its educators, representatives and alumni through events and networking opportunities. Understanding what this powerful program has to offer is an absolute must for building a convincing essay.
Once you’ve completed your research, you’ll need to figure out how your professional status and your future objectives coalesce to make it the ideal time to pursue HEC’s MBA. Start by identifying what your professional objective is. Try to be as specific as possible. Don’t worry if that means beginning a new career or transitioning into a new geography; HEC is well known for helping individuals reorient their professions.
With a career goal in hand, link your previous experiences to it without being repetitive in relation to the other parts of your app. You have to show that your past, HEC’s MBA and your future objective fall into a logical pattern. Naturally, a part of that logical pattern is chronology, which should make it apparent to the admissions committee that now is the best time for you to apply.
Finally, you should explain how your future professional goal connects to this program. Your post-MBA objective will likely require you to develop or improve upon a host of skills, so try to tie your needs to specific parts of HEC’s program. It’s vital that you don’t just show the breadth of the research you’ve done but also the depth (meaning, what really sets HEC apart for your goal).
Essay 2. What do you consider your most significant life achievement? (250 words max.)
For this essay, it’s important for you to focus on achievements that created a significant impact. Having said that, it’s up to you whether to choose a personal or professional example. Moreover, it could be beneficial to illustrate some of your leadership and/or teamwork skills here.
Even though this essay only allows for 250 words, do try your best to bring your achievement to life. The admissions committee should clearly understand what hurdles you surmounted and what was so important about this particular outcome.
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.)
A lot of applicants feel uneasy about sharing ethically negative occurrences, because they assume, incorrectly, that just mentioning such circumstances would make them seem guilty. However, in the business world, ethical dilemmas are all too common. While we often read sensational stories about theft and fraud, most ethical problems occur on a much smaller scale. What kind of information should you share with a client? How far do you go to close a deal? Do you honor a verbal agreement with an employee? All these questions have clear ethical considerations.
When talking about issues you have been involved in, don’t neglect the psychological aspect. How you processed the situation and then acted is central to the answer. Additionally, HEC wants to know how you evolved from this experience. That evolution could have been a change in thinking, in workflow or in how you handle particular relationships.
Essay 4. Imagine a life entirely different from the one you now lead, what would it be? (250 words max.)
Did your career take some sort of unexpected turn? Do you have a passion that consumes the majority of your time off? This essay is the perfect place to expose another part of your personality to HEC.
As you construct your response, imagine how different your life might have been. It should be safe to assume that your core qualities would have made you just as driven; but, the important question to answer is where your qualities would have driven you.
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 analyze it.
c) What figure do you most admire and why? You may choose from any field (arts, literature, politics, business, etc.)
Whether you choose to write about your hometown, an overrated novel, or an individual you deeply admire, be sure that your answer is a very personal one. A good starting point might be to create a list of potential responses for all of these questions. Afterwards, eliminate any choices that might be overused or that you aren’t passionate about.
Once you’ve made a choice, focus in on the idea that HEC wants to be able to visualize your character from this essay. So, when writing about your topic, expose your opinion in an engaging fashion. Market yourself through your style.
Essay 6. Optional: Is there any additional information you would like to share with us? (900 words max.)
This space can be used either to add beneficial information to your app or to explain away an issue with your candidacy. However, if you feel that you have truly shared everything relevantly positive and there is nothing negative that needs to be discussed, don’t feel the need to include anything here: knowing when to be silent is important in the admissions process.
If you’ve done a further review of your application and some important trait of your character (e.g., a particular extracurricular passion or an important project) is left unmentioned, you can elaborate on it here in a concise fashion.
On the other hand, if you have some particular problem, such as not including a recommendation from a supervisor, poor performance during your university studies or an employment gap, you need to explain it in this essay. If you won’t do so, the admissions committee will assume the worst reason possible for the red flag.
When clarifying a touchy subject, it’s best to show that you have taken concrete steps to permanently rectify it. For example, if you had low scores in quant courses during your undergraduate career, it would help you to show that you pursued and excelled in other quantitatively heavy coursework at a later period.
If you’re looking to maximize your entry chances for HEC, reach out to our Admissions Experts. Otherwise, logistical information on the application can be found directly on the school’s website.
