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Life as a student in the EDHEC MBA program

EDHEC MBA France student life on campus

Dipti Verma (name changed), had shared her admissions experience earlier – EDHEC MBA with 40% scholarship despite low 650 GMAT score.

She is back with another article to explain what it is to be a student in the EDHEC MBA program in France.
 


Student life in the EDHEC MBA program in France

by Dipti Verma

 
I have been at EDHEC for only 4 months so I can only say about how it has been so far. I have just returned from my study trip to Singapore (Leadership track) and the only thing I can say is if you have to visit this amazing country visit it as a student. I got a new perspective on leadership in this one week spent as a student in Singapore studying leadership and this experience I would not give up for anything.
 

Why I chose the EDHEC MBA program

I chose EDHEC for simple reasons:

  • ROI – The EDHEC MBA course is only a year long and I can return to work soon. Apart from this after my scholarship the costs were similar to any good Indian B-School and I wouldn’t have a problem working in India either. Looking at various elections and world political development I thought it was important to keep that option of open without a baggage of too large a loan to deal with.
  • I wanted to learn a new language and Germany and France seemed like good places. Plus I wanted to start with MBA either September 2016 or Januart 2017 so I focused on those that started in January 2017. So, I had time to prepare my applications.
  • Another important reason was diversity in the class both geographical and industrial. The class diversity in EDHEC was in line with this. I have met some great minds and varied experiences. There are currently 39 nationalities in my class and the group is well diversified in terms of their experiences. Added to this that it has 42% females in the class was an added advantage in terms of their view of different industries.

 

First impressions after arriving in France

The day I landed in Nice (France), I fell in love with the city. School is right next to the airport and you get a beautiful view of the airplanes landing and taking off right next to the coastal airport!

Makes it very difficult to study no doubt but then there are professors who can make sure by the way they teach that you are engrossed in the lectures.

The school is famous for its Masters in Finance and is still rising as a name in the business world for its MBA (74th rank in FT from 84 last year and 24th rank in economist). The courses are in continuous improvement mode and feedback from students is highly valued.

The school has a very good faculty of its own but still sources the best from other schools. The most recent and fun experience would be the course on microeconomics by professor C. Ragan (McGill University and Chair at Canada’s ecofiscal commission).

The classes are non stop and most courses are condensed to be covered in a week. Most classes involve in class and out of class group work and case studies. We get to work with teams of varying sizes and different backgrounds and most of our time is spent interacting with these people so I wouldn’t say you can’t build networks in a one year course.

On the contrary, I believe we have built better networks and have learnt much more due to the need to spend so much of our time with each other. Thus, my goal in coming to EDHEC was learning as much about other countries and their work as possible seems to be going well.

The most important reason for me in coming here was to learn my strengths not in the way I know them but which of my characteristics are considered a strength by others.

Believe me, there is a lot to learn. Somethings might come naturally to you but in the general context of the business world these characteristics are strengths and you have to learn to express them as such.

EDHEC is teaching me a lot in this regard not just by mock interviews or group discussions that we have but also because of the various presentations and team work reviews we have on a regular basis. These teams we work with often point out so many things you may miss as its normal for you but you learn it’s a strength you need to treasure or a weakness you need to address.

Basically the MBA makes you a business person. Your MBA course syllabus cover your technical skills like Finance, Accounting etc well but the course is so designed that you will emerge a new person at the end of this MBA if you come with a serious learning attitude.
 

Placements at EDHEC

For the job scenario – like any other European country you will have to look for a job yourself.

EDHEC is still establishing itself as a B-School brand and although it attracts offers on the finance side its mostly your own skill at networking and your own perseverance that will get you the job.

The school will give you the toolbox have your career coach guide you to better place yourself in the field  of your choice, help you meet people, understand the job markets, interview skills and group discussions. But the end result is dependent on how you look for a job because ultimately you have to send out your CVs and give the interviews.

The advantage with France that comes with this scenario is that France allows Indian students to have an extended stay of 2 years post graduation.

So you can get your visa extended after the graduation to continue your job search from here.
 


Read these success stories of applicants who got into other top European programs:
IE Business School Spain MBA admits an Indian entrepreneur
How Savita got into the IESE Business School MBA in Spain
How Shipra got into HEC Paris admit with Low GMAT score
International student life in France
Best Business Schools in Europe – France, Germany, UK, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, Italy and Denmark
Top Grandes Écoles in France: Ranking, costs, job placements and more

Image for representation only: Credit EDHEC Business School


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Manish Gupta
About Manish Gupta
Chief Consulting Officer at MBA Crystal Ball, ex-McKinsey, IIT & ISB topper. MG can help you get into the top B-schools. Read more about this top MBA admissions consultant. Connect with MG on Email. Or follow on Linkedin, Facebook.

7 thoughts on “Life as a student in the EDHEC MBA program”

  1. Dear sir

    I have >2 years of experience as project manager, completed m. Pharm with 80.03%, b. Pharm with 78% from JNTU Anantapur. Published 5 international books, >70 articles, awards and appreciations>10, reviewer for journals >10 journals, seminars attended and presented 12, memberships >10 etc. Gre, gmat not yet written.
    Is it enough for getting into top business schools?

    Thanks in advance sir/madam

    Reply
  2. Hi MG/Sameer,

    I am a senior software engineer with experience in Banking and finance(4.5 years), Insurance(1 Year),Manufacturing(8 months) retails(1 years).worked 3 company at different domain role and skills.
    As total experience in IT 7 year ,i have come across of many leadership program attended and hosted too . Apart from this i am also Volunteer of NGO,Hyderabad , A NCC cadet with C certificate, Winner programming contest hosted by Infosys campuss connect 2020. This year , i am taking GMAT entrance. Please let me know about the chances ISB call specific to my profile .
    Acadmic details : X:78%,Xii-66.00%, BE(E C)=64.28%.

    Thanks,
    Sumit

    Reply
  3. Hello Samir/Manish,

    I have got an admit EDHEC’s Global MBA program for the upcoming session. However, I am confused about the post-MBA prospects from EDHEC. Can you please throw some light about the job scenario ? I intend to work in operational/supply chain role. Does the Program have good reputation among european firms ?

    Reply
    • Congrats on the admit Pinku. While we don’t have on-ground information, the school seems to be doing ok. However, I would recommend you to get in touch with as many current students/recent alums as you can to get the exact information about career prospects before you head there. Do drop in a comment here with what you find for others in similar situation as yours.

      Reply
  4. I am from India, Btech in ECE from NIT, GMAT 670, trying EDHEC for Jan 19 . Is it worth it, I am getting reviews that EDHEC is second class MBA in France itself. Any suggestions?Planning for Finance

    Reply
    • I’d suggest the same as I mentioned in the previous comment Vijay. It would be best to connect with current students of the program to get the right on-ground understanding. There are definitely better brands out there and if you think you can boost that GMAT score, with your NIT pedigree, you can aim for far higher schools generally speaking.

      Reply

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