Elin

My name is Elin and I am an Investment Banking Analyst with Morgan Stanley. I moved from Congo to Belgium for my studies and completed my first masters there. I got two internships in the meantime with BNP Paribas and ING Belgium. I also completed various certifications such as the FCA and the CFA Levels I and II.

My dream has always been to work in investment banking in London. However, the type of degree that I had and my experiences till then were not enough to help me get into investment banks in London which is the Mecca of investment banking. So I knew that further education at a top business school was required. I chose MIF at HEC because it is the most reputable business school in International Finance and they are number one in the Financial Times ranking for a reason. The teachers are the best in their field and since the school is so highly reputed, all the top investment banks come to recruit there. What I also liked about the program is that they allow you to do an internship right after your Masters in order to facilitate the transition to work. After my Masters I spent four months with Morgan Stanley in London, working as an Investment Banking Summer Analyst.

The main difficulty I faced during my application process was the GMAT. Even though I am pretty good at Maths, my English wasn’t very fluent at that time. It was difficult for me to get a top score making the application process difficult. Fortunately, I received the support of Dr. Hubert Silly and the MBA Center, who spent long hours working with me on my GMAT and helping me to finally get the 700 needed to reach my goal of getting into HEC.

Life at HEC was a great mix of life in France and London. (As part of the compulsory internship I spent 2 months in London.) The program was one of the most intense ones I’ve attended. The teachers at HEC are the best in the field and with world-class facilities and support, college life went by in a blur. The workload is quite taxing but well suited to people who intend to join the field of investment banking. Overall it is a tough, yet highly enlightening program.

The first thing I would like to tell prospective applicants is never underestimating the GMAT. It is designed to be difficult. And without a good score in your GMAT, you will not be able to get into the top school of your choice. I prepared for the GMAT on my own for six months and got only 620, a long way off from the 700 I needed. Don’t hesitate to look for help. Most students I was with at HEC, including me, took help to prepare for the GMAT and there is nothing wrong or unethical about it. Personally, I would advise people to work with the MBA Center who will help them through the entire application process.