My latest reads

In the last couple of months, I've read many books and thought it worthwhile to write brief reviews of some of the books I liked and would recommend reading:

Wolf Totem - A story, set in the late 1960s, about some Chinese students who spent some months in the Mongolian grasslands as part of their academic project. It is an interesting book that sheds light into the relationship between man and wolf, Chinese and Mongols, nature and civilisation, nomads and settled farmers...

AK47 - A very interesting book, which examines the genesis and impact of the most widespread assault rifle the world has seen. Of particular interest are the stories of how this weapon came to be used in all the major conflicts in last 60 yrs and how it has now become a cultural icon - both as a symbol of resistence and of terror.

The African Dream - This book has been written by using excerpts from the recovered diaries of Che Guevara. It describes the events surrounding his attempt to support the struggle in Africa (mainly Congo) against the "Imperialistic powers". It makes an interesting read if you want to understand the history and political aspects of the conflicts in the African continent.

Emperor: The Field of swords - A part of a series of books on Julius Caeser, this book details the period when Caeser returned from Spain to Rome, won the election as a Counsel and then left Rome to conquer the world; It vividly describes the battles he fought in conquering the Gaulish region. The book ends with Caeser's return to Rome setting into motion a bloody power struggle which eventually led to a civil war and downfall of Roman Republic.

The God Delusion - One of the most thought-provoking books I've read, it talks about the conflict between science and faith (or superstition). Dawkins raises questions about the existence of God and then uses scientific arguments to challenge the theories commonly used to support God's existence. He also raises important questions about religion and its impact on our lives.

A Year in the Merde - One of the most hilarious books I've read, it is about a Briton who moves to Paris to work and about the merde (shit) he finds himself in. Having lived in Paris for almost 2 yrs now, I could relate with most of the book :). A must read book for anyone who has spent some time in Paris.

HEC and Exchange programs

Here's a question I received in response to my last post:

"In every interview or article regarding HEC i see that it partners with 50 schools around the world for Exchange programmes. I get that you did not do the exchange program. Any reasons? How is the procedure of selection? or does every one get to do the exchange prgm."

I am glad that someone asked this question because this is a topic which I had missed covering in my posts and this is quite an important question.

So this is how exchange program works:

Procedure of selection

HEC has exchange program partnerships with close to 50 schools across the world. The way it works is pretty simple. HEC announces the opening of applications for exchange programs with its partner schools - the announcement basically informs students about three things -

1. Names of the partner schools

2. No. of seats with each school

3. Deadline of application

Once the announcement is made, every MBA participant is free to submit his/her application for target schools. The application contains some short questions asking applicants about their motivation for that school etc.

After the deadline, all applications are collected and reviewed by a committee at HEC. In case of multiple applications for a school, the participants are invited for interview and then a final decision is made. The decision is made solely by the committee at HEC and the partner school is not involved in this decision.

Why did I not go for an exchange program

As with your b-school application, there are several factors that you should consider while applying for an exchange program. Why do you want to go for an exchange program? The main reasons are:

1. A different experience - HEC gives you a European experience. You could go to a US b-school to get a different experience and enhance your professional network

2. Brand Name - Getting a better recognized b-school name on your resume

3. Career - You have specific career objectives that you could achieve by going to a particular b-school

For me, there were two main reasons why I did not go for an exchange program:

1. Career - I figured that going for an exchange program will not improve my career prospects. Most of the schools I was interested in were based in US. Going to a US school as an exchange student did not appeal to me because of the economic uncertainties and work-visa related problems faced by international students. Also, by staying at HEC, I had better chances of leveraging its brand in France and continental Europe to get a job

2. Funds - Going to any school for an exchange program will have required me to spend around 5K $ which I was not keen on spending

Does every student get to go for an exchage program?

The answer is No (generally). I think there are around 50 seats for exchange and there are 130 odd students in Sep intake. So it's not possible for everyone to go on exchange. However, there are only 50-60 students in Jan intake. So most of the students in Jan intake can go for exchange program.

HEC MBA - differences between Sep and Jan intakes

In some of previous posts, I have addressed the common queries about HEC that people have asked me over the past couple of years. In this post, I am addressing another such important query - the difference between Sep and Jan intakes

The biggest difference is the program structure. Click here to look at the program structure for the two intakes

The 16 month HEC MBA program is divided into two halves - Core Phase and Personalized Phase; Core Phase is the backbone of the MBA and has common, mandatory courses for everyone. Personalized Phase allows one to customize the program and provides options for electives, internship and exchange program.

As can be seen from the table, the program structure for Sep and Jan intakes is very different. Personalized phase for Sep intake allows for a lot of options - one can attend classes at HEC for the entire 16 months, for 8 months (do the core phase at HEC, take up a long term internship and then go on exchange program) or 12 months (core phase, internship and electives/exchange).

For Jan Intake, things are completely different. They must take classes at HEC for 1 year (Core Phase and PP1) and in the last 4 months, they must either do an internship or go for exchange. Thus, even if they want, they cannot attend classes at HEC during the last 4 months.

Apart from the program structure, the main differences are:
1. Class Size - Sep intake has around 130 people and Jan intake has 60-70 people. So Sep intake allows you to interact with more people
2. Choice of electives - This comes directly from the difference in program structures. During summers, HEC attracts some great visiting professors from other universities; Sep intake is at an advantage here and I've had some of my best courses with visiting proffs.

3. Internships - In Jan intake, you can finish classes in 12 months and then start working (even full time without technically finishing your MBA). It also becomes easier to find a long internship if you are in Jan intake. So if you want to spend less time studying, Jan intake is better.

HEC - top b-school outside US for marketing

In a survey of over 19,000 students conducted by The Princeton Review, HEC has been voted as the top b-school outside USA for teaching of marketing. You can read a press article here

HEC v/s other European schools

Here's a post to address another frequently raised question - How does HEC compare with other European b-schools.
Disclaimer: The views given below (in Italics) are NOT mine, but of an INSEAD 2003 alum who shared his views on this forum in response to a question on HEC v/s IE

Now here's the scene. I am going to give u a non-biased opinion on both the schools. Having said this, please understand both are superior business schools and I have not done my MBA at either school, so I can only tell you from what I have heard and understood.

Let me dissect your question.

1. Lets keep RSM aside when you have already made it to IE.

2. IESE - It's a two year program and very expensive. So when you have IE, lets even keep IESE aside.

3. ESADE - What is your career goal? is it in marketing? Then Esade is a very good school. But for other specializations like finance and strategy, ESADE is just about mediocre. But, I would definitely put ESADE on the league of IE Spain though there is a huge difference in their rankings.

Now we come to HEC v/s IE Spain. I need to know your career interests to give u a more detailed answer on this. If i were you, I would have taken HEC - Paris and I'll let you know the reasons.

(i) Curriculum - The way HEC has planned its 16 months curriculum is fantastic with projects, internships and its a shortened 2 year program. So you enjoy the process of management.

(ii) Diversity - After INSEAD, HEC is second when it comes to class diversity. With IE you will have 75% Spanish speaking people. If you know Spanish well, its great (you will anyway have to learn either French or Spanish) but you might just feel left out because the Asian influence on this school is very low.

Whereas HEC is 30%+ Asian, along with applicants from other parts of the world. The school is completely in English. I have also visited HEC long time back and the campus is beautiful. You will definitely need to learn French but during the 16 months, French is not a mandate, you pick it up along the way. and that's beautiful because by the time u r out, you know an extra language which takes u so many notches higher.

(iii) INSEAD does not give HEC a competition, for one that HEC has a class size of 150 and its easier to place these students. INSEAD is in a different league altogether. INSEADians wont find it tough to get a job.

(iv) Placements wise IE and HEC will have the same placements, though HEC being in France, closer to LUX, BEL, SWI and UK will give u better opportunities.

(v) It scores over IE in marketing, strategy and finance. IE scores over in entrepreneurship.

100 blogs for MBA students/aspirants

I received an email today with a link to 100 blogs for MBA students. I believe that most people reading my blog are interested in MBA and could benefit from this list. You can access the list here

H1-B issue - BofA withdraws job offers from MBA students

In my last post I had talked about the possibility that MBA students could face problems because of the restrictions imposed on companies receiving TARP funds. Well, the problems have begun. BofA becomes the first company to withdraw job offers from MBA students because of these restrictions.

Is this a stand-alone incidence or just the tip of the iceberg? I hope it is an isolated instance otherwise it will have a huge negative impact on USA's reputation as an attractor of world's brightest minds for higher studies!