Admit to HEC Paris - Masters in International Finance (MIF)

@ crossroads

Namaskar. Congratulations on getting in. I'm on the HEC MIF program at present so can give you a bit of info on course content, grading, job opportunities etc.

Course content: You will be able to take modules from professors who come over from Ecole Polytechnique - so you can probably access more knowledge on material like pricing models used for certain exotic options (Asians, lookbacks, Bermudans, best-of/worst-of, capital guarantees, capped/floored floaters, swaptions etc.) which may not be so accessible at LSE. Regardless of whether you want to work in corporate finance or in secondary markets you will have compulsory modules incorporating the other discipline. Your contact hours are greater than the equivalent at UK universities.

Grading: Compared to Anglo-Saxon universities the grading system in France is harsher. The grades are normally distributed (so the average is a C). When London-based recruiters consider applications from French students they pay more attention to the university (HEC, ESSEC, ESCP, EDHEC, Polytechnique, Centrale, etc.) rather than the university grade (though of course, the Prepa grade is critical in getting admission for French students). You will find that if you have many interviews outside Paris (e.g. in London, or in Frankfurt) it can be difficult to balance securing offers and getting good grades. In general French recruiters don't care about your grades at all when you are at HEC. The brand name is sufficient to impress them.

Job Opportunities: Almost everyone will secure an internship at least - but I assume that ideally you want a full-time job after your masters. And that tends to be where students are differentiated on the basis of their experience. I was very fortunate to secure a full-time job as a trader this year, but this involved many applications, 13 journeys to London and 2 to Amsterdam prior to receiving a full-time offer. One thing that I notice that non-EU candidates are sometimes lax about is the approach to applications - you have to be very early with your application/tests (i.e. have them done by the end of September), whilst sometimes in US & NA / APAC first-interviews are done on-campus - this doesn't apply in Europe.

In general, if you want a full-time job in Europe (particularly in IBD or in Markets) you need to have prior internship experience in the same function. The requirement is not so strong in consulting (one industry where there are quite a few full-time offers this year). Getting a full-time position in France (or Italy or Spain for that matter) is nearly impossible, particularly in any markets function. Higher probability of doing so in Germany - however fluency in Deutsch is mandatory unless you are joining a French bank there or are working for a high-frequency trading shop. The labour market is far more inflexible than in the UK, for example, so most companies prefer to hire on long-term internship contracts. This is also a source of cheap labour for the companies since interns are paid at a different rate to full-time hires all across continental Europe (in London intern pay and full-time analyst pay is basically the same, by contrast). Anyone non-French in search of a full-time position tended to apply to London or their home market. Most larger companies will sponsor non-EU nationals at the full-time and intern level, but if you don't manage to secure one of those positions it becomes pretty difficult to be hired by a smaller company in the UK or Continental Europe (outside France) given the visa sponsorship issue.

To an extent I was hedged here since I am a dual Indian / European citizen so have access to 2 major labour markets. Being hired for me probably did not relate that much to HEC's brand name but to the fact that I had relevant contract-based and intern experience in trading in the Netherlands and London respectively. Without either of these two things on my CV I probably wouldn't have secured a full-time job despite having HEC on there too, so bear that in mind.

Campus Lifestyle: It's really quite far from the centre of Paris (75 mins with public transport). There's one supermarket and 2 restaurants next to campus, and that's basically it. Don't expect to be frequenting nice bars/nightclubs. But you will save alot here when compared to studying in the UK - basically all of the top 5 UK programs (except Cambridge) will set you back over GBP 26,000 in fees. If you're at the LSE/Imperial then your living expenses are likely to be at least GBP 800/month, whilst rent at HEC can be just EUR 400/month including bills.