Study Abroad: Student account of college selection & application process to France

Education and work background

I completed my bachelors in BBA from Symbiosis International University in Pune, and thereafter I joined the field of automotive journalism. I have worked with a couple of auto magazines and websites, and I have been in this field for a little more than four years.

Reason to pursue MBA abroad

There are two main reason why I decided to study abroad; A. because I love to travel and I want to stay in a different country for an extended period of time and B. because I want to get back into the job pool, see what different opportunities are there and maybe even change fields and try out something completely new.

Choosing the country

The way I arrived at the decision to study in France is by the theory of reductions. I knew that I did not want to go to the very popular countries where most Indian students head to so that cancelled out Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. US and Canada were never an option as the universities there require you to have a four year UG degree, and I had a three-year degree. So I researched more on the European nations. I stumbled upon an article on the French government easing the visa process and post-study work permit. Upon further research, I discovered the French government will let you extend your student visa for another year to give you the time to look for a job.

Colleges applied to

I had applied to three B-schools in France which were HEC Paris, ESSEC Business School in Paris, and Grenoble Graduate School in Grenoble.

The process of application

Once I had GMAT and IELTS scores, I started making a long list of documents needed to submit with the application file. This list of required documents is not very different from one school to another, but the process of application might be different. Some colleges have the online application process while some schools prefer receiving hard copies.

Most difficult stages

The most frustrating part of the process is 1. Studying for GMAT because if you are working full time, like me, it gets difficult to find time to study 2. Writing those really long college essays, as in the beginning it doesn’t seem like they will take up a lot of time. But it’s a completely different story once you sit down in front of the laptop. 3. To follow up on the recommendation letters. It is important to be your referees enough time so they can complete the task well before the deadline.