Rennes School of Business:
For the oral interview: it is very short: 20 min including 5 min of presentation on a general culture subject (which requires a 20 min preparation beforehand, with two proposed subjects), and 15 min of interview based on a CV (CV given by Rennes). As it is very short, it can seem as if you have said nothing. You have to talk about few subjects but in detail (which I didn't do because I thought I had more time). And even if the jury introduces itself, there are little signs that remind you of their job and their name.
For the general culture topics, there can be current events but personally, I had the choice of Making the Revolution or Does Any Question Deserve an Answer?
For the atmosphere of the school: I was surprised by Rennes. There are many different atmospheres. The admistors, people from the school who take care of you, had programmed shows, games while waiting for the orals, evenings at the bar, escapes games... In short, there are lots of things to relax you and they are very nice, especially to answer questions or simply to come and talk to you. Moreover, they can pick you up wherever you are when you arrive and the same when you leave. And you get a school t-shirt and tot-bags.
For the languages (Elvi): it's the same as usual, 20 min of preparation and 20 min of passage divided into 5 min of summary of the text, 5 min of commentary, 5 min of questions on the text and 5 min of questions on you and your professional project. However, for the summary of the text, you absolutely need a TITLE. And no draft, you must write on the sheet of paper between the lines and for the commentary in a small space after the text. So you have to write small. And normally the jury keeps the sheet at the end of the oral.
What happens on the day of the orals?
In the morning, everyone is summoned at 7:00 am for breakfast at the school after having put your bags in a room provided for this purpose. After breakfast, you will be given a label and your convocation. Then, there is a presentation of the school in the amphitheater. Then, either you go to your orals or you wait and do some activities with the admistors. Then come the orals. Admistors will pick you up and bring you to the designated location. Then you prepare for 20 minutes with other candidates in large rooms for either the interview or the languages. If it is for the languages, the jury (composed of one person for the languages and two for the interview) will come and get you in the room. If it's for the interviews, you have to go to the front of the room. And when it's over, you are free to do what you want, but there are often activities planned throughout the day.
EM Normandie - Paris Campus:
Oral interview: there is no convocation to pick up (I was supposed to receive an email with my convocation but I never got it). To know the time of the interview, you have to ask the admistors after the small conference about the school that takes place in the amphitheater. If not, don't worry, the admistors will pick you up 10 minutes before your visit to take you to your room. Don't forget to bring your identity card, your motivation file and a CV. Personally, I thought that the admissible ones only needed the motivation file, so I was a little surprised. Otherwise the jury is composed of two people, who are generally very nice and don't trick you.
Atmosphere: the admistors are very nice and offer games (UNO, babyfoot, ping pong, blind test) as well as massages and a hot air balloon ride (it's a balloon that goes up high without flying over Paris, to see a view of the city). And you get gifts: an EM Normandie t-shirt, a notebook and a pencil, as well as candy displayed all over the hall, and a 5€ lunch with a sandwich and a cookie. As the main campus is in Le Havre, the one in Paris is quite small but it is in Paris, so it makes up for it.
What happens on the day of the orals?
Since I had an interview in the afternoon, I was called in at 11:45. Then, I ate with the admistors and the eligible students, whom I got to know and played games with. Then around 1pm, there was a lecture about the school. At 2pm, the interviews begin and while you are waiting for your turn, activities are offered. And when your oral is over, you are free to stay for other activities or to leave.
EM Strasbourg :
Oral Interview: it consists of two parts. The first part is about your object (and therefore your passion) which you have to talk about for 5-10 min on your own (basically, it's a monologue that has to last 10 min, and in the 10 min, I count the moment you introduce yourself to the jury). Then, the second part comes right after, it follows the first one. It's a 10-15 min exchange with the jury (composed of two people) based on the questionnaire you filled in beforehand. Most of the time, the jury is nice and puts you at ease, putting you in front of a real nice conversation. I heard that there was only one jury that tried to destabilize the admissible but in the end, there were still people who succeeded in their interview.
Atmosphere: the admistors welcome you and bring you to the school by tram, for those who come by train. Then, depending on the time of day, they take you to eat a meal (personally, it was burgers) that you will enjoy on the terrace, arranged for you with fake grass and ping pong, or in small restaurants like a pasta bar. In the evening, a night out at the bar, club or karaoke is organized for those who want, otherwise the others leave to go sleep at the hotel (some nights you can choose to sleep alone or with several people, and even with whom you want to sleep; and other nights, you are assigned rooms and roommates), and during the day, there is a tour of the city by bike or by boat or by Segway. For example, on my bike tour, I saw a church, the European Parliament, and the Orangery Park with its little zoo (where I saw a white kangaroo), and of course, the city, which I find beautiful. And you are entitled to your share of gifts: a glass, a pen, a key ring, an anti-stress foam, glasses and a tot-bag.
What happens on the day of the orals?
The convocation for the afternoon was at 12pm, which allows you to have lunch with the admistors and the eligible students and go get your convocations. Then at 1pm, there is a conference about the school with a little surprise from the admistors. Then the orals begin. The admistors come to pick you up in the Zen room (you have to ask if you don't know where it is), 10 min before your exam to take you to your room. And after the orals, as usual, you can choose to stay for activities or leave.
Montpellier business School :
Oral Interview: interviews at Montpellier are very different from those at other schools. The jury (composed of 2 to 3 people) is not interested in your interest in the school nor in your professional project, but seeks to know you through stories of past experiences dating back less than 3 years. To do this, they give you a tablet with bits of sentences to complete such as "your biggest risk is", "you persevered in a project", "you betrayed a secret", "successful group work"... It lasts 25 minutes so you can do several bits of sentences.
Atmosphere: the admistors are nice, they propose you games like the virtual reality Xtrematic (I tested the ski) which is quite incredible or the ping-pong or many others, or the visit of the school and the city, which is very beautiful. On the other hand, no gifts from the people of Montpellier.
Languages (BCE): it is an audio for both languages. And as for the tests, you have 20 min of preparation for a summary and a commentary, and then 20 min of passage with 5 min for the summary, 5 min for the commentary, and 10 min of questions either on the text, or on you, or questions on the country or countries of the language.
What happens on the day of the orals?
You will pick up your invitation as soon as you arrive at the school. If you are called in the afternoon, you will have lunch with the admistors and admissible before your orals. Afterwards, you will have the right to attempt to a lecture in the amphitheater, to present you, as in other schools, the MBS program, and then the life of a student. Then, before each test, the admistors will come to pick you up in the foyer or in the hall to accompany you to your room. And when you are done, you are free to do whatever you want, like visiting the city if you didn't have the opportunity to do so before.
Kedge Business School (campus of Marseille) :
Oral Interview: based on a questionnaire, it lasts 30 minutes to find out why you want to go to Kedge. So, a little advice: find out about the school, because the jury (normally composed of two people) will ask you questions about your motivation for the school, or what master's degree you want to do at Kedge. Otherwise, as for the other schools, talk about your passions, your personal and professional activities, if you have any of course, basically talk about the subjects you are comfortable with.
Atmosphere: the kedgers are very close, at least from my point of view. They will blow you away during the lecture. Otherwise, in the evening, they eat with you (personally, it was in a restaurant with an all-you-can-eat buffet for 15€ on the edge of the old port) and take you back to your accommodation by metro. Same thing if you come and go by train. And during the day, they organize afternoons in the creeks or at the beach, so a little advice: take your orals in the morning to be able to enjoy these short trips. For those who spend the afternoon, there are games and a visit of the school. At noon, you have the possibility to eat either in a food truck or in the cafeteria through the self-service restaurant. And as a gift, you will get a tot-bag, a t-shirt, and a copy of Citadingue (the city guide made by an association of the school).
Languages (Ecricome): as for the BCE, there are audios. You will pick a number for each language in order to have the soundtrack of your audio, then you will prepare a summary and commentary in 20 minutes. And for the passage, it is exactly the same as for the BCE (see Montpellier).
What happens on the day of the orals?
Before the orals, you will have a presentation of the school in the amphitheater, then you will go to the reception to get your convocation. Be careful, you must keep this sheet until the end, because you must have it signed by your jury for each test (LV1 and LV2 if you take them at Kedge, and interview), then return it to the reception desk. If you do not return this sheet, it is as if you had not come. And at the end of your orals, if you finish late, the admissions staff will take you back to the station or to your landlord.
ESC Pau Business School :
Oral Interview: the interview is very original in Pau. In the morning, you will have the right to do two workshops: find my way and Think Tomorrower which do not count in the scoring.
Find my way is a workshop that consists in trying to know yourself through small exercises.
Think Tomorrower is a group work (4 or 5 per team) where you have to draw two cards (one of business, one of disruption for example the environment) and create a project from scratch with a problem and three axes of reflection, all during one hour.
Then, in the afternoon, there are the interviews which last 25-30 minutes, where the jury (normally two people) will ask you questions about what you did in the morning, and what it brought you, then the questions drift on you and it becomes a normal interview.
Atmosphere: Admistors are very open-minded in Pau. They pick you up and take you back to the station in a van. They offer refreshments whenever you want, games too (on PlayStation 4 or Switch). In the evening, there is a meal with them (either in the school with a barbecue for example, or in the restaurant with specialities of the region) but especially, they stay with you and come to see you. And if you sleep at a student's house, they take you there and lend you real cloth sheets. And you really have to do parties with them, because they are great.
What happens on the day of the orals?
You are called to the school at 9am but you are picked up by the admistors beforehand who come and pick you up in a van where you are staying. Then, there is a breakfast with croissants, pains au chocolat or breads with butter, nutella, and jam, and fruit juice, all at will. Then, the workshops take place, which last two hours in all. At the end, the director of the school comes to talk to you for 15 minutes to tell you the principles of the school. Then comes lunch (which is a bit like a self-service restaurant) and in the afternoon, the admistors take you to a room where you have your oral(s) and hand out your convocation. Of course, while you are waiting, you can do activities, and even when the oral(s) are over.
Conclusion: apart from train problems, it was a great experience. You will be able to see cities that you had never seen before and above all you will meet lovely people (whether they are eligible or admistors) with whom you will laugh during the meals or evenings proposed.
Attention: in Paris, take the full rate for the metro, even if it is not marked, the reduced rate is not for students but only for the disabled and large families. Otherwise it's a 35€ fine!
Photo Credits : Amélie Marmonier
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