The acceptance rate nobody publishes

The short answer

What is officially published

All of it sits on HEC's own pages, and all of it was read there on the date at the bottom of this page.

Admission rounds

There are five rounds in total. Some are exclusive to current HEC and École Polytechnique students; the others are for external applicants.

Eligibility

A Bachelor's of at least four years worth 240 ECTS, or a Master's. A minimum B2 in both English and French, because the program runs in both languages.

The application file

Degree certificates, official transcripts with GPA, a CV, an English test score, motivation essays, one recommendation form and a non-refundable 150 EUR application fee. Professional experience is not required and may count as an asset.

Outcomes

75% of students launch their own start-up, 97% employed within seven months, 67,000 EUR average starting salary, 98% graduation rate, 500 or more companies founded.

The admission rounds

There are five rounds in total, but they are not all open to the same applicants. The public calendar below covers the rounds for external applicants. The remaining rounds are exclusive to current HEC and École Polytechnique students. Dates move every year, so check the official page before planning around them.

What is not published

None of the following has ever appeared on an official page. Any figure you find for them was produced by somebody guessing:

• How many applications arrive, per round or per year.
• How many offers go out, and therefore any acceptance rate at all.
• How many candidates reach the interview, which is the stage that decides.
• How long the waiting list is and how far down it moves.

What the cohort looks like

Two useful reference points for understanding the makeup of a typical cohort:

The exact composition can move slightly from one cohort to the next.

The waiting list

There is one general waiting list for the program.

If you are on it, you still have a chance of being admitted until shortly before the program starts in September.

What actually does the selecting

Since there is no rate to reverse-engineer, the useful question is what the process weighs. The file is a filter. The interview is the decision. This part is insider, from dozens of mock interviews run from the other side of the table:

1. 1The file makes you admissible and nothing more. Everyone who reaches the interview is impressive on paper, which is exactly why paper stops separating people at that point.
2. 2The interview is not a second reading of your CV. It asks whether you are a person worth investing a year of attention in.
3. 3Honesty about why you are there survives contact with a jury. A rehearsed reason does not, and they have heard yours before.
4. 4Fit with the cohort counts, because this program is built out of the people in it far more than out of its syllabus.

Read next

• FAQFees, dates, housing and the cohort, one question at a time
• Interview PreparationHow the interview runs, and what happens on the day
• Interview GuideThe interview guide, written after dozens of mock interviews
• ProgramWhat the program actually is, phase by phase