HEC Paris

Jouy-en-Josas, France · Private · 16-month full-time (January and September intakes)

Average GMAT Focus: 635
Class size: 268 (Class of 2026)
Program tuition: €115,943 (full program)

Deadlines

Deadline 1 (Sep 2027 intake): Aug. 16, 2026
Deadline 2 (Sep 2027 intake): Sept. 20, 2026
Deadline 3 (Sep 2027 intake): Oct. 18, 2026
Deadline 4 (Sep 2027 intake): Nov. 15, 2026
Deadline 5 (Sep 2027 intake): Jan. 11, 2027
Deadline 6 (Sep 2027 intake): Feb. 15, 2027
Deadline 7 (Sep 2027 intake): March 15, 2027
Deadline 8 (Sep 2027 intake): April 12, 2027
Deadline 9 (Sep 2027 intake): May 17, 2027
Deadline 10 (Sep 2027 intake): June 14, 2027
Rolling admission (Sep 2027 intake): July 30, 2027

Essays

Essay 1 (3,500 characters)

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?

Essay 2 (2,000 characters)

What do you consider your most significant life achievement?

Essay 3 (2,000 characters)

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.

Essay 4 (2,000 characters)

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

Essay 5 (choose one) (2,000 characters)

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).

Optional essay (6,300 characters)

If there is anything else you would like to share with us that has not already been shared elsewhere in your file, please feel free to use this space.

Editor's notes

Ten monthly deadlines and a five-week turnaround make HEC look forgiving. It isn't, in one way: if you're refused, you can't reapply for a year. So the right deadline is the first one your file is truly ready for, not the next one on the calendar. If you need campus housing or a visa, HEC says earlier is better.
Prepare the interviews as two short talks. Each alumni interview opens with a 10-minute presentation on a topic you choose, and both interviews count equally. Pick a topic that shows how you think, rehearse it to nine minutes, and expect questions on everything in your file.
The last essay is also your scholarship case. HEC reserves it for anything else you want the committee to know, and Diversity Scholarship candidates use it to show what their profile adds to the class. Excellence and Diversity awards of up to 50% of tuition come from the same file and your interviews, with no separate form. Write it as if money depends on it. Some does.
France supplied 6% of the Class of 2026, and the class spans 60 nationalities. Saying you like international teams won't stand out in that room. One specific story about working across cultures will.