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Being the pioneering continent for MiM, Europe offers 85% of all the worldwide Master in Management Programs. Europe has become the #1 study destination for the program because it hosts some of the most prestigious business schools guaranteeing the best education to all its students. With many B-Schools spread across the continent, France leads the chart having established some prestigious and renowned B-Schools over the years, such as HEC Paris, ESCP Business School, SKEMA Business School, etc.
The fact that these B-Schools in France are renowned and unique makes their application processes equally rigorous and challenging. Not only do most of them have different criteria, and weightage to various factors, but even the essays that have to be submitted to these schools are quite different from one another. As a result, it makes applying individually to each of these B-Schools quite arduous and time-consuming.
However, there's a way out, about which not a lot of applicants are aware of!
Join a School in France, formerly SAI (Service des Admissions Internationales), is a consortium selection process by which students can apply to the Grande Ecole Master in Management program offered by five universities with only one application. The Business Schools accepting the Join A School in France application are as follows.
This is a wonderful option for those who are unsure of their dream B-School and those who are targetting all the French institutions mentioned above. By applying through the SAI application, they have to take care of only one deadline instead of focusing on five, and it also serves lighter on their pockets (190€) instead of going with five individual applications, the total application fees of which might be relatively higher.
To be eligible for applying to the Master's in Management program through this process, you need to hold a non-French undergraduate degree that must be:
- Awarded by a nationally accredited higher education institution
- Awarded after at least three years of higher education outside France (Licence, Bachelor, Benke)
In case you're eligible for this, you can go ahead and create an online application that can be saved and edited multiple times before the final submission. Apart from this, you're also supposed to submit the following documents as a part of your application process :
You can also consider that under the direct application process for these schools, one has to write several essays, the number for which could be as high as 8, whereas, for the SAI application process, one has to write only 5, which is considered by all the 5 schools. Here, another catch is that when applying to the schools mentioned above individually, the essays that have to be submitted to them are relatively long as compared to the SAI application, where the answers are typically short.
The five questions that have to be answered while applying to the SAI Grande Ecole MiM program are :
1. Describe your proudest accomplishments.
2. Describe a situation where you faced failure, what lessons did you learn from it.
3. How does your application benefit the 5 member schools?
4. Did you take part in any extra-curricular activity these past years? (hobby, non-profit, sport, etc.)
5. How will you finance your studies?
These questions are very subjective and, consequently, play a pivotal role as far as your candidature is concerned. Therefore, we would soon be posting another blog where we will discuss the guidelines that you should follow while framing the answers to the above questions.
Having said that, it's always advisable to get these answers reviewed from your teachers, seniors, or proof-readers. In case you need any professional second-opinion on these answers of yours, you can check out our Application Pack, where we help you curate your essays effectively by conducting brainstorming sessions.
Once you submit your SAI application, your application will be evaluated. You will consequently be called for a Personal Interview (that usually lasts for around 30 minutes) in your selected city. Based on your application and interview, the Admission Committee will decide which schools you have been admitted for the MiM program (if any).
Join a School in France is an economical and hassle-free option for those who are vying for all the top 5 B-Schools in France. However, if you're somebody who is just targeting the crème de la crème schools like HEC Paris and ESCP Business School, you should rather go with the direct application process because you might have a higher chance of getting accepted. This is because you'll spend your entire time, energy, and focus framing the essays as per the requirement of that particular school instead of writing generalized answers for all the schools together.
In this blog, we have tried compiling all the information regarding the SAI application process or the Join a School in France as we call it now, which you need to know if you're targeting the B-schools in France. As we quoted it earlier, this is a very complex application that many candidates have not heard of before and, therefore, might have a lot of qualms pertaining to the same. We, at Rubeus Consultancy, strive to bridge gaps like these as much as possible by making you prepared for such programs. If you want to know more about us or the Join a School in France application, you can reach out to us at rubeusconsutlancy@gmail.com and schedule your free counseling call today!