Could you tell us something about yourself?
My name is Louise I am a senior year student in Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the London School of Economics. I am French but have followed a UK academic path since the age of 15. Since I studied at the Lycee International de Saint-Germaine enLaye where I was in the British section after which I applied to LSE where I have been successfully accepted.
I am fond of studying religion, philosophy, politics and economics. Apart from that, I am very interested in environmental issues and I was also the captain of the Rowing team at LSE.
What prompted you to apply for a Master in Data Science and Business Analytics after a BSc in Politics Philosophy and Economics?
I agree with you that the Masters that I want to study at ESSEC is completely different from what I have done so far. How did I come to do this? One of the primary reasons why I chose this path was because of my brother. I decided to follow the path that my brother took: he also holds a Masters in Philosophy and had decided to make a complete switch by following a Masters in Data Science at London Business School.
Being a student of LSE I had the opportunity to visit LBS on several occasions where I noticed that the MIM, even though it is a very interesting program, would bring me far more than a Masters in Data Science would give me, as the Masters in Data Science will be a completely new program for me and I will need to begin with the basics.
However, I believe that this new experience will be helpful for me in the long run and will complement my first training.
Secondly, what appealed to me was the challenge. I am a student of social science with a very limited scientific background. I want to understand the world around me including computer science, programming, machine learning etc, and I realized that this degree will be exactly the type of thing that can teach me all that I want to know.
Finally, I also believe that in the current scenario there are very few people with this type of degree and it is something that is also really appreciated by companies.
Why ESSEC Business School and CentraleSupelec over LBS as your brother did?
There are multiple reasons for my choice.
First of all, I do not believe that a nine-month program like the one my brother followed at LBS will bring me what I need. I have a social science background and no training in computer science. The nine months program like the one offered by LBS is far from enough for me to make my transition. The ESSEC Business School and Centrale Supelec program format will be much helpful for me as the two-year program will give me ample amount of time to familiarize myself with the course and the study materials.
Secondly, I am not sure that business schools are the best place to learn about data science and business analytics. I am much more convinced by the program run by an engineering school: two-third of the program is offered at Centrale Supelec which is an engineering school.
Finally, I believe that it would be very interesting for me to sort of master three backgrounds: social science with LSE, engineering and computer science with Centrale Supelec and business with ESSEC (as the program I have chosen is a joint program between an engineering school and a business school.
What was the main difficulty you faced during the application process?
Having a social science background, the math section of the GMAT was very difficult for me. Even though I was in the top five per cent in the verbal section of the test but quite far in the maths section. The problems I faced with the GMAT played a crucial role in convincing me that I should opt for a two-year program over the one-year program.
The GMAT was definitely the most difficult part as the second part of the process which consists of essays and interviews were fairly up my alley as I believe that I am a fairly decent writer with decent ideas and observations.
What would you recommend for future aspirants to this program?
First of all, do not underestimate the GMAT. I should point out that certain schools accept both GMAT and GRE and I suggest that people with a social science background like me could opt for GRE which has a relatively easier maths section than that of the GMAT.
Prepare in advance so that the GMAT does not loom as a threat to your chances of getting into a good program.
Another important point is, do not follow the crowd. Identify market trends and follow them. I am very happy with my choice to study a Masters in Data Science and Business Analytics because I know that I will have cutting edge knowledge in a sector where there is a big shortage in well-trained professionals.
Finally, I am very thankful to Réussir le GMAT and Dr Hubert Silly and his team at the MBA Center who helped me to prepare well for the GMAT as well as the application process. I would be remiss if I did not recommend their services to future applicants to the Master's programs.