Hello!

I am looking to pursue an MBA in France for a variety of reasons. I'm from the US and work in finance for Walmart Corporate and have seen growth from an analyst to a manager during my three years. I want to do an MBA internationally because I hope to work in another country in the future. I'm very passionate about this. I want to do France because I speak French and my wife is from there.

While I had excellent grades in my undergrad, lots of international volunteer experience, and a strong resume, my GMAT score hovers right around a 600. This makes HEC and INSEAD difficult. My question is what are some of the other recommended options? I've looked at the MBA at Essec and Grenoble. Most of the rankings I have seen have both of these in the top 5. Those are the two I'm most interested in. How well are these schools looked upon? How big is the gap between the two? Are there other programs I should consider?

[Edited by Matthew13 on Jan 07, 2019]

I'm not aware of any MBA ranking that would include Grenoble in the top five in France. Insead, HEC, ESSEC and ESCP are almost always the top French schools (although ESSEC's MBA offer is newer) with EDHEC and EM Lyon at their heels. Grenoble is more of a provincial school and its international franchise feel risky to me, It's very different from ESSEC, so I can't see why these are the two schools that most appeal to you. Grenoble is most like EM Lyon (and was nearly merged with it) while ESSEC is most like ESCP. If you want to work in Paris, EDHEC and ESCP are the obvious options. To work in Rhône-Alpes, study in Lyon or Grenoble.

[Edited by Duncan on Jan 08, 2019]

Yes, ESSEC and EMLyon would be good choices. EDHEC might be a stretch with your GMAT score, but potentially that's worth applying to as well, depending on what the rest of your profile looks like.