I wrote my HEC Paris MiM application essays at the end of 2017 and was admitted a few months later. The essays were short (around 200 words each) but there were eight of them. I’m walking through four here, with the actual text I submitted and my thinking. Reading other people’s accepted essays helped me. I hope this returns the favour. Essays are by design self-promotional. Don’t read what follows as boasting. Read it as a worked example.
Essay one: your three most important interests
The prompt asked me to describe in descending order my three most important interests and justify each. The 1000-character limit means roughly 60 to 70 words per interest.
Here is what I submitted, slightly tightened for clarity:
More than anything, I love traveling. Ever since I was a child, exploring places and cultures has fascinated me. I have visited eight countries outside India, and my goal is to explore every single one, including my own. My curiosity about people, places, and histories translates into a love for travel and understanding the world. Music comes a close second, starting with guitar at age 11. My love for music has translated into a self-released album, several song covers, and a YouTube channel. Music relaxes me better than anything else I know. My third interest is photography and videography. I find it amazing to understand and portray people and places, while telling a story, since at the end of the day all our lives are stories waiting to be told.
The structure was simple: interest, evidence, what I get out of it. I named three interests, gave specific proof for each (eight countries, a self-released album, a YouTube channel), and explained what each one means to me.
The album and YouTube mention also did double duty by signaling some entrepreneurial habit, since I’d built and released a product. Admissions teams read between the lines.
Essay two: personal achievement you’re most proud of
The prompt asked for a personal achievement. I picked turning my videography hobby into impact.
I am most proud of converting my passion for videography into something that benefited my college and helped me become a better professional. Starting in my first year, I used my videography skills to promote college events. My work inspired others to do the same and changed the way student clubs were advertised. I parlayed my hobby into a part-time job at an ad agency, where I learned diligence, professionalism, and project planning under tight deadlines. Beyond specialised skills like running a campaign, I learned to work hard and bring my best, skills that will stand me in good stead wherever life takes me.
The structure here was: achievement, impact on others, impact on me. I deliberately avoided the trap of being proud of making videos. The achievement is the impact, not the activity.
Essay three: a situation where you failed
This is the most important essay in the pack and the one most people get wrong. They pick a failure and stop there. The point of the prompt is to show that you fail, learn, and bounce back stronger.
Shortly before releasing my first album, my friends and I decided to shoot a music video for the title track. We had never done this before, but with a rough idea and without much planning, we jumped right in. Once editing started, the footage didn’t match the song and our poor editing skills meant even a basic video eluded us. Being in over our heads, we gave up. We turned the video shoot into a photo project, which ended up as my album art. I learned that planning matters and paying attention to detail matters. As a leader, you must assess what’s possible before starting. And finally, I learned to improvise when plans change. I have produced nine music videos since, and I learn more every single time.
Structure: failure, learnings, actions afterwards that prove the learning was real. The last sentence is the critical one. Without it, the essay is just a failure story. With it, the essay is a growth story.
Essay seven: anything else you’d like to share
The optional essay can be skipped. I used mine because I had something concrete to add: my HEC Paris summer school experience, which I’ve written about separately.
After attending the HEC Paris Summer School in Luxury Management in June 2016, I became more confident in my desire to join HEC for my master’s. Professors and peers provided the academic challenge I sought, and I felt at home on campus. I found Luxury Management an incredibly stimulating subject. Back home, I pursued a Business Management minor in my college. Within the minor, I found myself drawn to Marketing Management, always engaging in class discussions. I strongly feel that given the opportunity, I will take full advantage of what HEC offers in marketing and luxury, while contributing my experience in Computer Science and visual media. Studying at HEC will truly be a dream come true.
This essay reinforced why HEC, why marketing, and why I was a credible fit. If you have something specific that strengthens your application, use the optional. If you’d just be repeating yourself, skip it.
What they are actually looking for
Two things: clarity of thought, and clarity of growth.
Clarity of thought means well-reasoned answers for why HEC, why the MiM, and why France. Specific answers win.
Clarity of growth means showing how experiences changed you, not just what they were. The admissions team doesn’t care that I made YouTube videos. They care that making them taught me to ship, to handle failure, and to keep going. Self-awareness is what the essays test. The general approach is in my B-school essay tips post, and what HEC looks for more broadly in HEC admission requirements. Everything you write will be tested in the HEC interview. Don’t write anything you can’t defend.