HEC Paris admission guide

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HEC Paris Admission Guide


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The Classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles (French pronunciation: [klas pʁepaʁatwaʁ o ɡʁɑ̃dz‿ekɔl], Higher school preparatory classes, abbr. CPGE), commonly called classes prépas or prépas, are part of the French post-secondary education system. They consist of two years of study (extendable to three or exceptionally four years) which act as an intensive preparatory course (or cram school) with the main goal of training students for enrolment in one of the grandes écoles. Whereas enrollment in public universities in France is open to any school leaver with an adequate baccalauréat, enrollment in the grandes écoles is restricted to the highest-ranked students in a separate national competitive examination. Preparation for this examination entails one of the highest student workloads in Europe (29 to 45 contact hours a week, with up to 10 hours of guided tutorials and oral exam sessions). The grandes écoles are higher education establishments (graduate schools) delivering master's degrees and rarely doctorates. They include science and engineering schools, business schools, the four veterinary colleges, the four écoles normales supérieures and the École Nationale des Chartes but do not include medical or law schools, nor architecture schools. Because of the competitive entrance exams, having attended one of the grandes écoles is often regarded as a status symbol, as they have traditionally produced most of France's scientists, executives and intellectuals. Each grande école uses one of three different examinations, each with its own prépas: scientific, economic, and literary. Some preparatory classes are widely considered "elite", being extremely selective, and recruiting only the best students from each high school, if not the best student from each high school. These schools practically guarantee their students a place in one of the top grandes écoles. Among them are the Lycée Louis-Le-Grand, the Lycée Henri-IV, the Lycée Saint-Louis (these three are known as les trois lycées de la montagne), the Lycée Hoche, the Lycée Stanislas and the Lycée privé Sainte-Geneviève.

Article title : Classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles
"which are focused on economics (which prepare the admission to Top French business schools such as HEC Paris, ESSEC, ESCP, EMLYON, EDHEC Business School, Audencia..."
Article title : Postgraduate education
"original (PDF) on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016. "HEC Montréal – Admission – Ph.D." hec.ca. Archived from the original on 2010-07-16. "Thesis Preparation..."
Article title : 16th arrondissement of Paris
"Retrieved September 7, 2020. 56 rue de Passy 75016 Paris France Prépa Intégrale. "Intégrale Prepa- Prepa HEC" (in French). Archived from the original on April..."
Article title : CentraleSupélec
"engineering schools in France and Europe, with an admission rate of 8% in 2019. It is a key founding member of the Paris-Saclay University, the TIME (Top Industrial..."
Article title : Master of Business Administration
"original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013. "Our History". HEC Paris. Retrieved 21 August 2024. "Our history and heritage". AMBA-BGA. Retrieved..."
Article title : Private university
"administration are usually part of the chambers of commerce. For example, HEC is part of the Paris Chamber of Commerce and is therefore semi-private.[citation needed]..."
Article title : Arts et Métiers ParisTech
"doctoral school 471 is a partnership between Arts et Métiers ParisTech, HEC Paris and IAE Paris. In 2007, 127 students were enrolled in its PhD programmes..."
Article title : Centre de formation des journalistes
"business schools and Grande École HEC Paris, EM Lyon Business School and EDHEC Business School and the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne. The CFJ is..."
Article title : Lancaster University
"collectively known as Professional Services, and include Facilities, Admissions, and the Library. The university is governed by two main statutory bodies:..."
Article title : Aston University
"Guide 2026". The Complete University Guide. 10 June 2025. "Guardian University Guide 2026". The Guardian. 13 September 2025. "Good University Guide 2026"..."

HEC Paris (French: École des hautes études commerciales de Paris) is an international business school established in 1881 and located in Jouy-en-Josas, France. Among the most selective French grandes écoles, HEC Paris offers its flagship Master in Management, MBA and EMBA programs, specialized MSc programs, a PhD program, and executive education offerings.

HEC Paris has constantly been ranked the best business school in France, and among the top in the world. HEC alumni include 12 current CEOs of F500 companies - more than any other business school in the world and third institution only to Harvard and Stanford -, several heads of states and governments, heads of international organizations, and other prominent figures in politics, business, and the arts. In 2017, HEC Alumni has been ranked by The MBA Guidebook as the 2nd most powerful business school alumni network in the world.

HEC Paris is the founding member of CEMS - Global Alliance in Management Education and holds the triple accreditation (AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS). With ESSEC and ESCP, it forms the informal group commonly referred as the 3 Parisiennes ("the three Parisians").


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