International Selection Process Rules

A. General terms

Join a School in France (SAI) is a department of the Paris Ile-de-France Chamber of commerce and industry. Its goal is to organise the recruitment of international students for a Master’s in Management at the following five Business Schools: Audencia Business School, emlyon business school, ESCP Business School, HEC Paris and Skema Business School.

Four or five recruitment sessions are organised annually for the following academic year starting in September.

Through a single online application, applicants will automatically apply to all five Business Schools.

The Join a School in France team does not provide any feedback on the evaluation process of specific applications. For this type of information, we recommend that the applicant contacts the member Schools directly, as they each have their own assessment methods.

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible an applicant must:

  • Hold a degree awarded by a nationally accredited higher education institution outside of France
  • Have undergone a minimum of 3 years of academic studies at a nationally accredited higher education institution outside of France (Licence, Bachelor’s, Benke)

Applicants in their final year of study may submit an application as long as they provide valid proof of enrollment.

Applicants who hold both a non-French degree (obtained outside France) and a French degree must choose between the admissions process for applicants holding a non-French degree and the admissions process for applicants with a French degree.

Please note that admitted applicants must provide their official diploma (at least 3 years of undergraduate studies like Bachelor, Benke, Licence) to the member School before December 31st of the intake year.

Important: applicants must certify that all information and documents provided are accurate and agree that diplomas and certifications can be subject to verification by HEC Paris, ESCP Business School, emlyon business school, Skema Business School and Audencia Business School or a third-party certifier.

Applying with Join a School in France

Applications are to be completed online and can be found on the Join a School in France website.

The candidate holds responsibility for information provided in their application. No changes regarding the exam centre will be authorised after the application has been submitted.

Candidates can apply each academic year as long as they remain eligible, but can apply to one session per year only.

The recruitment process for school years with a September start date is as follows:

  • The applicant may only submit one online application per year. If the applicant wants to start their application again, he must inform the Join a School in France team by email.
  • The applicant may only apply in one of the four sessions. Transfer of an application from one session to another can be done by email request.
  • The applicant can either apply through Join a School in France or to a member School directly. However, applying through both procedures is not allowed.

Should the applicant defer their admittance to one of the five member Schools, they will not be allowed to create an application with Join a School in France the following year. To reapply, the applicant must first forgo their admittance to the member School.

We recommend the applicant confirms that their registered email address is correct as email is the main method of communication. Consequently, if the applicant does not receive any confirmation email from Join a School in France, they must send an email at joinaschoolinfrance@cci-paris-idf.fr

B. Selection process

Step 1: Online application

An application is considered complete when:

  • It has been filled out and submitted through the Join a School in France website,
  • All required documents have successfully been uploaded before the application deadline,
  • All provided documents are legible and valid,
  • The application fee of 220€ has been paid and proof of the payment has been received by Join a School in France.

Incomplete applications and those received after the deadline will not be considered. The applicant cannot add any document after the deadline.

Application fees cannot be reimbursed. Join a School in France can cancel an application if applicants have not paid their application fee.

The required documents to be uploaded are as follows:

  • Academic transcript (Licence, Bachelor, Benke etc.)
  • Diploma or certificate of school enrollment
  • Management test (GMAT / GRE / TAGE MAGE)
  • English test (TOEIC / IELTS / TOEFL / Cambridge)
  • 2 letters of recommendation (academic or professional)
  • ID / headshot photo
  • Resumé (CV)
  • Copy of passport or ID card
  • A valid proof of payment

It is the applicant’s responsibility to sign up for their chosen Management and English tests through the affiliated organising institutions. It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide a valid test score before the application deadline. All written tests are 5-year valid in the selection process

Step 2: Standardised written tests

Choose your management test:

GMAT

GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) is organised by GMAC. The applicant must sign up directly on the website www.mba.com and select Join a School in France in the dropdown bar.

Since July 15, 2013, the “Analytical Writing” and “Integrated Reasoning” sections are mandatory. We also accept the online GMAT exam.

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their GMAT score has been received by the Join a School in France team before the application deadline. For that, applicants must select Join a School in France in the dropdown bar on www.mba.com and also upload the official score report to the appropriate field of their online application.

Depending on the GMAC test centre, the delivery of score reports can take several days. Therefore, we strongly encourage applicants to take their GMAT test and request that their scores be sent to Join a School in France at least one month before the application deadline. Copies and non-official scores are not accepted by Join a School in France.

GRE

The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is organised by ETS. Therefore, the applicant must sign up directly on the ETS website: www.ets.org/gre.

The applicant must ask for their official GRE score report to be sent to Join a School in France: 1259 before the deadline and upload their Examinee Score Report to the appropriate field of their online application.

TAGE MAGE

The TAGE MAGE is organised by the FNEGE: www.tagemage.fr

In order for applicants to report their results to Join a School in France, they must upload their TAGE MAGE score report to the appropriate field of their online application.

Applicants must take the test and upload their results before the application deadline. It is highly recommended to take the test at least one month before the application deadline.

Please note that the TAGE MAGE test is conducted in French.

Step 3: Interviews

After applications have been reviewed by the member Schools, candidates will be informed whether or not they are invited to move on to the interview stage.

Applicants will receive an email from Join a School in France with links to each School’s website posting admissibility results. Applicants must check each webpage for their admissibility result.

Interview invitation

Applicants that have been eligible for at least one member School will be invited to an interview. Applicants who are eligible for more than one School will be invited to a single interview on behalf of all Schools. Date and time of this interview will be specified on their official invitation sent by email by Join a School in France.

Interview centres

Interviews take place worldwide in one of Join a School in France partner centres or remotely as a last resort. Applicants must designate the location where they would like to have their interview while completing the online application. If it is not possible to open the chosen interview centre, Join a School in France will contact the applicant with alternative options.

Under certain circumstances, Join a School in France may open a new interview centre. Applicants must inform the Join a School in France admissions team via email before the application deadline should they wish to change their interview centre.

To get more information about interview dates and centres, please click here.

Interview process

The interview lasts 20 to 30 minutes and is conducted in English.

There is no standard interview. The interview committee can be composed of member School alumni, representatives from the business community and diplomatic and consular personnel. The committee evaluates the applicant’s motivation and personality. Argumentation skills are also assessed.

During the interview, the applicant must have a valid ID card.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to make themself available for their interview, knowing that the dates will be selected by Join a School in France. Interview times will not be modified.

C. Admission results

After the interviews, the Admissions Committee will finalise a list of admitted applicants. Applicants can be admitted to one, multiple, or none of the Schools.

Decisions drawn by the Committee are definitive. The list of admitted applicants will be published on the website of each School. A few days before the verdict is announced, the Join a School in France team will send out an email with links to the Schools’ websites. Applicants should visit each School’s website to find out about their admission results because Join a School in France does not communicate this information directly.

Join a School in France does not offer scholarships. However, some admitted applicants may be offered an Eiffel scholarship by the member Schools. For more information about the scholarship and tuition fees, the admitted applicant should get in touch with member Schools directly, during and after the selection process.

Due to the sovereignty of the Admissions Committee, only complaints about incorrectly transferred scores will be received. Therefore, any request to reevaluate results will not be accepted by the Join a School in France team.

Selection rules

By applying to a Master’s in Management at the 5 Join a School in France member Schools, the applicant:

  • Must strictly respect all guidelines indicated in the general terms,
  • Give consent for their personal data to be shared with the Join a School in France member Schools

Personal data will be exclusively given to the Join a School in France member Schools. Non-eligible applications will be sent to the five Business Schools in May in order to give these applicants the possibility to join another program.

In accordance with the Data Protection Act of January 6th, 1978, the applicant has a right of access, modification, rectification or deletion of their related data. To exercise this right, please contact the Join a School in France team at the following email address:  joinaschoolinfrance@cci-paris-idf.fr