Master in Management - GEM vs. HEC Lausanne

2 4

Posted Jan 15, 2022 18:55

Dear all,

I am a bachelor's student at Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM), a top-ranked French business school (Top 10 France, Top 30 Europe, Top 50 World (FT rankings, 2019)).

I already have a conditional admission offer for the Master in Management - Programme Grande Ecole of my school. However, I am quite hesitant on applying to HEC Lausanne's Master in Management.

I tried to search a lot of information to compare those 2 schools, without much success.

The program of GEM seems to fit better for me as their Finance specialization matches with my current Finance major. In addition, their program offers great and diversified tracks, concentrations and internship opportunities for students, unlike HEC Lausanne. Still, HEC Lausanne seems to have a higher reputation, as they are a national top 3 while GEM is not.

Nevertheless, the alumni network is not comparable. According to LinkedIn, GEM has +98,000 alumnis while HEC Lausanne has +17,000 and the University of Lausanne (HEC Lausanne is part of it) has +35,000. Concerning the location of these alumnis, I hardly found any relevant information for HEC Lausanne. I do know that for my school, they are mostly in Europe, North Africa and China/Singapore. As a French, I do know that choosing a French school is more secure, although I truly intend to work and get my next diploma in the US.

Regarding HEC Lausanne, I did hear of some students from 10 years ago that failure of exams was extremely high (example of 30% only passing the first semester in the Master in Finance). I do not know if it is still true today, and I do know that studying enough will surely make one pass, but it still a risk to consider. If any student knows of this, please let me know.

I would be very grateful to have your advice and your thoughts.

Thank you for your help!

[Edited by Lrasp on Jan 15, 2022]

Dear all, 
 
I am a bachelor's student at Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM), a top-ranked French business school (Top 10 France, Top 30 Europe, Top 50 World (FT rankings, 2019)). 
I already have a conditional admission offer for the Master in Management - Programme Grande Ecole of my school. However, I am quite hesitant on applying to HEC Lausanne's Master in Management. 
 
I tried to search a lot of information to compare those 2 schools, without much success. 
The program of GEM seems to fit better for me as their Finance specialization matches with my current Finance major. In addition, their program offers great and diversified tracks, concentrations and internship opportunities for students, unlike HEC Lausanne. Still, HEC Lausanne seems to have a higher reputation, as they are a national top 3 while GEM is not. 
 
Nevertheless, the alumni network is not comparable. According to LinkedIn, GEM has +98,000 alumnis while HEC Lausanne has +17,000 and the University of Lausanne (HEC Lausanne is part of it) has +35,000. Concerning the location of these alumnis, I hardly found any relevant information for HEC Lausanne. I do know that for my school, they are mostly in Europe, North Africa and China/Singapore. As a French, I do know that choosing a French school is more secure, although I truly intend to work and get my next diploma in the US. 
 
Regarding HEC Lausanne, I did hear of some students from 10 years ago that failure of exams was extremely high (example of 30% only passing the first semester in the Master in Finance). I do not know if it is still true today, and I do know that studying enough will surely make one pass, but it still a risk to consider. If any student knows of this, please let me know. 
 
I would be very grateful to have your advice and your thoughts. 
Thank you for your help!

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Duncan

13.776 15.332

Posted Jan 15, 2022 19:43

What are your goals? Why did you apply to these schools? Doesn't the HEC degree duplicate what you have learned with GEM?

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Lrasp

2 4

Posted Jan 15, 2022 19:57

What are your goals? Why did you apply to these schools? Doesn't the HEC degree duplicate what you have learned with GEM?

Hello Mr. Duncan, thank you for replying to my post. May I ask what you mean by HEC degree duplicating with what I have learned at GEM? Do you refer to the school of HEC Lausanne that I mentioned in my post, or to a Master in Management?In France, the most elitist programs in business schools are the Masters in Management, which is why I chose to continue with this degree, even though my bachelor's itself had similar course content. In this sense, my bachelor's may indeed slightly duplicate with the masters.

[quote]What are your goals? Why did you apply to these schools? Doesn't the HEC degree duplicate what you have learned with GEM?  [/quote] Hello Mr. Duncan, thank you for replying to my post. May I ask what you mean by HEC degree duplicating with what I have learned at GEM? Do you refer to the school of HEC Lausanne that I mentioned in my post, or to a Master in Management?<div>In France, the most elitist programs in business schools are the Masters in Management, which is why I chose to continue with this degree, even though my bachelor's itself had similar course content. In this sense, my bachelor's may indeed slightly duplicate with the masters. </div>

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Duncan

13.776 15.332

Posted Jan 16, 2022 15:34

Yes, I mean the content will be similar.

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Andy776

243 115

Posted Jan 16, 2022 16:16

I would clearly opt for Lausanne. GEM is not even a top 6 in France. Switzerland offer amazing salaries much better than you will ever get in France (and please don't use the FT ranking as comparaison). Good luck :)

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Lrasp

2 4

Posted Jan 16, 2022 16:26

I would clearly opt for Lausanne. GEM is not even a top 6 in France. Switzerland offer amazing salaries much better than you will ever get in France (and please don't use the FT ranking as comparaison). Good luck :)

Thank you for sharing your opinion!

[quote]I would clearly opt for Lausanne. GEM is not even a top 6 in France. Switzerland offer amazing salaries much better than you will ever get in France (and please don't use the FT ranking as comparaison). Good luck :) [/quote] Thank you for sharing your opinion!

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Lrasp

2 4

Posted Jan 16, 2022 16:29

Yes, I mean the content will be similar.

Yes, the content of the program will be quite similar, but I cannot opt for any other master such as the MSc programs as in French business schools, these are mostly not delivering a real master degree recognized by the French government. Therefore, if I wish to continue my studies after, I will have no foreign equivalent.

[quote]Yes, I mean the content will be similar.  [/quote] Yes, the content of the program will be quite similar, but I cannot opt for any other master such as the MSc programs as in French business schools, these are mostly not delivering a real master degree recognized by the French government. Therefore, if I wish to continue my studies after, I will have no foreign equivalent. 

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Duncan

13.776 15.332

Posted Jan 16, 2022 17:07

Focus on your goals.

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