Study Abroad Report

Jessica Wrobel

HEC – MBA Program

Spring 2007

Academic experiences at the partner school

1.  General academic structure:

There are two options available to students when enrolling at HEC – either the MBA track or the Specialized Masters program. Even though I am a MA-HRIR student, I chose the MBA track, considering I had some work experience before returning to school to work on my MA. The Specialized Masters may be more appropriate for those students who go to grad school directly from undergrad programs. That being said, I highly recommend enrolling in the MBA program. The level of course work and the experiences of other students in the MBA program make for a far superior learning experience. The students in the MBA program are a highly diverse and international group that have much more work experience than the students that are in the Specialized Masters program, and can therefore contribute much more to class discussions. From what I could tell the Specialized Masters program is more equivalent to an undergraduate degree by US standards.

When enrolled in the MBA program you have a choice of elective courses that vary by semester. These courses are optional for the full-time MBA participants (they can choose to do an internship instead), so most of your classmates will be other exchange students. Most courses meet 1-2 times per week for 1-3 hours each. The class schedule is not consistent throughout the semester like it is at Carlson. Some weeks I had classes everyday, and other weeks I had no classes at all. Pay close attention to the schedule if you are planning to travel throughout the semester or after the semester ends. Because of the varying schedule I was able to travel a great deal during the week. Also, depending on what courses you take, it is possible to finish the semester much earlier than the time you would finish at Carlson. For example, I could have completed the required number of credits (14) for the semester by the end of February, even though the Carlson semester didn’t finish until May. Although I didn’t do this, other students in the program did, and spent the remainder of their semester traveling Europe!

2.  Classes taken/ how they compare to courses here:

I took 8 courses:

·  Indispensable Asia – Interesting course on the development of Asia in today’s business world. 100% lecture with a paper due at the end.

·  Geopolitics – Course that attempts to cover world politics in 6 class sessions. Taught by a former Indian ambassador. 100% lecture with two large writing assignments due at the end.

·  MBA Coaching Experience – A fluff class about how to be a successful leader in business. Taught by a Life Coach. Interesting and simple, yet not at all intellectually stimulating. 100% lecture and graded only on class participation.

·  Business Ethics – A fantastic course that gave a broad overview of business ethics. I would highly recommend this course. Some (great) lecture, a group project, and two small individual writing assignments.

·  Strategic Pay and Executive Compensation – A very challenging and valuable course. Taught by the best professor I had at HEC, Eli Matta. Used models to evaluate different compensation plans (including stock options) which showed the best financial choice for employers/employees. Totally case based – graded on 2-3 case memos that were completed as a group.

·  Swim with the Press – Interesting course on how to best deal with the press when speaking as a company representative. Valuable, although not necessarily applicable to all professions. Lecture and group work – graded on participation.

·  Strategy in Emerging Markets – Case-based course focusing on some of the major emerging markets (China, Eastern Europe). Great prof. Grading based on a group project or a mini-case write up.

·  Asset Pricing – Do not take this course unless you have a significant background in finance. The prof assumes students have a very high level of finance knowledge, and will stop to explain nothing. Grading based on one very difficult four question final exam.

·  I also took the optional French course, which is free, but you get no Carlson credit for it. I loved my French course and found it to be a great addition to my other courses at HEC. Classes are small and ability appropriate. My professor, Mme. Deyzac, was fantastic, and I would highly recommend taking French.

3.  Advising: There was little/no advising at HEC. You will register online before getting to HEC and will have to choose your courses by a small synopsis/syllabus in the online course catalog. It is possible to talk to the registrar about course issues once at HEC, but I found that once you were enrolled in something, it was nearly impossible to switch. Be prepared to be very persistent if you need to change your schedule. Some professors are friendly and will give general advising, but it was pretty limited for exchange students.

4.  Surprises/comparison with academic environment in the U.S: For students, the academic environment was pretty similar to that of Carlson. Students are slightly less respectful of the classroom setting, so don’t be surprised to see students talking, reading, surfing the net throughout class. Also, be prepared for professors to make comments that would never be acceptable in a US classroom (regarding race, sex, etc.) Grading is a bit more difficult at HEC, but it isn’t impossible to get As. Many of the full-time students are very competitive when it comes to grades they receive, so you may find varying degrees of personal workload depending on what type of students you work with.

Logistics at the partner school:

1.  Orientation/Arrival: It is possible to get to HEC by train from CDG, but unless you have one small suitcase or less, I wouldn’t recommend taking the train. It takes over an hour and you have to transfer at least once and then walk 15 minutes up a huge hill with all of your stuff. Even though it is expensive, I would recommend taking a cab (80 euros for non-rush hour) for your initial trip to campus. I arrived a day before most of the other students were scheduled to arrive, which I do not recommend. Although the date was listed as an arrival/move-in day, I was one of only 2-3 students on the whole campus, and the school was not prepared for me to be there. I found a few other exchange students by accident, and we were able to find a place to eat together because the cafeteria was still shut down. Plan to arrive the day closest to the first day of school, and do not expect any planned orientation activities. You will be on your own to figure things out. Also, be prepared to be very patient. Things in France do not operate like the US, HEC included. In general, things are less organized and take double the time. Keep an open mind and be prepared for things to be a little rocky at the beginning. Patience is key when in any situation in France! After a few days you will figure everything out and forget that you ever had a problem.

2.  Housing: The housing at HEC is somewhat difficult. There is a management company that is separate from HEC that runs all of the residences. So, often there is a disconnect between working with the school and the housing office. If you are an MBA student you will be placed in Residence Expansiel, which is a nice building where each student has their own room and bathroom. There is also laundry, a game room and a piano bar. That being said - I was an MBA student, and I was placed in an undergraduate dorm room (small room, shared shower, co-ed bathroom down the hall). I would recommend confirming your specific housing before leaving the US – but still don’t be surprised if you end up with something else once you get there. Some of the best advice I can give about housing: live on campus for one month, and then move to Paris for the remaining time you are there. I cannot stress this enough. You will miss out on so much of Parisian living if you live at HEC. It is best to live there for a short time to get to know people, and then find an apartment in Paris and commute back and forth. It is expensive to live in Paris, and worth every penny!

3.  Meals: The on campus cafeteria (it is called the Restaurant) is fine/average. It is your basic cafeteria food. The best part is that it is very inexpensive (it is subsidized by the government). Most meals cost 2-4 euro. Breakfast (bread and coffee) is also included when you live on campus. There is another café on campus that has paninis, pizza, salads, etc. that is pretty good. There is a small grocery store in town and a very limited number of restaurants. If you want to enjoy French food while studying abroad, campus is not the place to live and eat.

4.  Transportation: The public transportation system in France is fantastic. There are trains that run from HEC to Paris approx. every 15 minutes, and it takes about 1.5 hours to make the trip (a great time to read/study). The trains do not run all night, so it makes it difficult to stay out late if you want to make the train home (last one at 11pm). You can buy single ride passes (about 3 euro for one way) or buy a monthly card (90 euro). The trip by car is much quicker (30 min) and carpooling is common. It is also possible to rent a car for the time you are there. Hertz has reduced rates for HEC students.

5.  Student activity groups: There are many student groups on campus and there are tons of opportunities to join. I did not become a member of any of the groups, but participated in different activities that they often sponsored (wine tasting, international dinners, guest speakers, music/dance events). One of the best things about HEC is the diverse student body, and there seemed to be a student activity group for anyone and anything!

Host Country Culture

1.  What were some surprises or insights you had into the culture of your host country/school? The French are a very proud people, and almost everything in France reflects that. I found that Americans often interpreted this pride as arrogance or unfriendliness, which isn’t the case. In general, be prepared for the French to be more private, although I did not perceive the French students in the MBA program to be that way. Also, having HEC on your transcript means a lot in Europe (it is like the Ivy League of Europe), so recognize that people will treat you as such, both in good ways (we had French people clap for us after saying we went to HEC) and bad ways (some will automatically think you are rich, spoiled, and act entitled).

2.  What are your recommendations for ways that other exchange students can learn about and become immersed in the culture? My best recommendations are to #1) move to Paris and #2) become friends with the French students, not just other exchange students. Also, don’t be afraid to change your normal lifestyle. You will get a lot more out of your experience if you try to live like the French do.

3.  Did you have the chance to learn a second language? Why or why not? I had an intermediate level of French before leaving, and my skills got only slightly better. English is the common language at HEC – when at school I only spoke French in French class. My French improved a bit when I moved to Paris and did some traveling around France and Northern Africa. Do not expect to greatly improve your French skills by going on this exchange program.

Social life:

1.  How would you rate your integration with other students from the host university? It was easy to integrate with the students from the host university, even though many of my classes were composed mostly of exchange students. There are many opportunities to get to know all of the students through activities, parties, residences and just seeing them around the small MBA building. I got to know most of the full-time students through on campus activities, and there are always off campus activities that all students participated in.

2.  How would you rate your integration with other international students? I was closest with the other exchange students that were at HEC for the semester. Our group (of about 20) got along really well and stuck closely together for the entire semester. Because the class schedule is not very intensive, it gives you tons of time to hang out and get to know the other exchange students that are there. There was rarely a night that I wasn’t with the group of fellow exchange students.

3.  What were some of the best ways you found to make friends and meet people at the host university? The best way to meet the full-time students was to go to the Piano Bar at the MBA residence. Often there were people hanging out there after class, and it was a great environment to see and meet most of the MBA students. Also, be sure to go on any of the activities/trips that students put together. At the beginning of the semester there were many dinners, shopping trips, and a ski trip. I went to all of these activities and met a ton of people as a result.

4.  What kinds of after-hours and weekend activities would you recommend for other students? It’s Paris – you have to try hard to not find things to do! I traveled often and did many weekend trips to different parts of France. The best thing to do is ask the other full-time students for suggestions. It doesn’t hurt to bring one good guidebook (Lonely Plant or Let’s Go) for reference as well.

Other:

1.  Budgeting: how much would you recommend students take with them? How much would you say would be the monthly living expenses in the city you lived in including rent/food/misc. expenses? Overall, I would recommend that you make a budget, and then be prepared to spend double your budget. There are so many fantastic opportunities that you won’t want to have to pass up because of limited funds. That being said, room and board at HEC is about 500 euros/month. I paid over double that to live in the center of Paris in a tiny apartment. It is MUCH more expensive to live in Paris, but you can find a range of housing types and costs, and it is entirely worth it. Many of the exchange students lived at Cite Universitaire, which is affordable student housing in Paris. More info at: http://www.ciup.fr/. Expect to pay about 30 euros for an average meal with wine at a restaurant in Paris. Drinks at clubs ran about 10 euros each. You can eat much more cheaply by grocery shopping or by sticking to sandwiches/street food. I spent a lot of money on traveling, even though traveling by train and plane around Europe is often quite cheap.