Details

• France
• MACEMS-17
• Graduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months

1. Preparation

As a CEMS student, the application process was done by the WU CEMS Office, so there is no additional input needed. In June, I received an email from the HEC CEMS Office with all the relevant information regarding the upcoming semester including the housing options. A general tip would be to look for an accommodation as soon as possible as student housing at HEC (or other dormitories) is quite limited and flats in Paris get only more expensive the longer you wait. Other than that the process is pretty straightforward and you just have to follow the instructions by WU and HEC. Other than that, of course you should buy a travel health insurance for the time as HEC requires all students to submit proof of health insurance.

2. Accommodation

First, it is not possible to live on campus during the Autumn semester as the accommodations are reserved for the M1 students. Usually, HEC offers students an alternative. In my case this was ECLA in Massy-Palaiseau. ECLA from what I heard is quite good for what it is. You are relatively fast at Campus and also don't take too long to get to Paris. The dorm is modern and around half the exchange students usually book this option which leads to having a close community there. Besides the HEC option, there are also other dorms. There is one in Jouy-en-Josas called TwentyCampus but I have not heard good things about it. It is quite expensive and one go the students there had issues with insulation and heating which is quite inconvenient in winter. There are also the other ECLA locations (two if I remember correctly) that are a bit closer to Paris but further away from HEC. Personally, I would recommend living in Paris if financially viable. HEC partners with a platform called Studapart, where you can find flats from certified landlords. Only caveat is that you have to be fast and it is a bit more expensive as you pay a premium for not getting scammed. I myself found my shared flat through a similar website from Erasmus. There you usually have either privately or agency held flats. Private ones are usually a bit cheaper but also a bit riskier when it comes to getting scammed. In general, for a shared flat you can expect between 700 and 1.500€ and a single flat or studio around 1.200 to 2.500€. But it all depends on the location. Speaking of location, I would recommend the 3., 4., 5., 6., 7., 8., 9., 10., 15. or 16. Arrondissements. I lived in the 16. and was really happy. While it is one of the more expensive Arrondissements it is also really safe and quite beautiful. It also has the advantage that many of the French HEC students live there so it is relatively easy to find a carpool to HEC which safes you a lot of time and sleep, especially as most classes start around 8 or 9 am. To be honest, Paris is a lot safer than its reputation. Sure it is not Vienna but if you stay away from the northern Arrondissements and the edges of the city you will be fine. I also would not recommend the inner Arrondissements 1. and 2. as they are quite touristy (3. and 4. as well but they are a bit better). My personal tip is to pick the location based on proximity to the SAVAC shuttle to the RER C line. Even for me it took around one hour to get to HEC by public transport. A basic rule is the closer you live to the centre the longer it will take you. I know people who took up to 2h to get to HEC so choose the location carefully.

3. Academic life at host university

Starting with campus infrastructure I was really disappointed. Coming from our beautiful modern WU campus to HEC I thought I travelled back in time to the 70s or 80s. The campus is really old and besides the main hall and the MBA building not that nice. The classrooms are run down and in a lot of them you don't even have enough sockets to plug your laptop in. But, the campus is quite large and has a lot of places for students to sit or spend their free time at. There are also many different sports facilities including a football and rugby field, tennis courts, a basketball court, a gym and many more. The cafeteria and in general the food is also quite good and also cheaper than at WU. The academic culture is surprisingly chill among the CEMS students as CEMS at HEC is not really as prestigious as it is at other schools. So a lot of the French students don't really care about grades and the profs usually are somewhat chill about grading. That being said, it can be frustrating for students from WU as you always have to motivate the home students to do their stuff in groups works because for them a D is enough. Also the grading is usually curved (so not everyone is allowed an A) and the grading is really intransparent. You usually don't get a list of how much point you got for each grading component which means its always a bit go a guess on what you'll receive in the end. The teaching style is not that different to WU. Usually courses consist of group work, quizzes, individual papers or exams. I would say the workload at WU is way higher and in general HEC is a lot easier than its reputation makes it out to be. Usually most deadlines are at the end of the semester so no midterms or in between tasks. The professors, for the most part, are really good and often worked in their field before joining HEC. Courses as I said are easier than at WU but also a bit more interesting. Especially, if you're interested in finance, HEC offers several interesting courses regarding Investment Banking, M&A, PE or restructuring. Usually, you have class once a week depending on the course either in the morning or afternoon. Courses in general are quite short, so it can be that a course is done within 2-3 weeks. This means that you have some time in the semester where you don't have any courses.

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transport in Paris is really good but a lot more expensive than in Vienna. If you're under 26 you can get a cheaper student ticket but the normal monthly IDF pass costs 90€. The IDF pass is valid for the whole metropolitan region of Paris so you can travel quite far with it and use all the trains including the RER. The SAVAC shuttle to HEC is for free and has a stop at Pont de Sevrès in Boulogne south of the 16. Arrondissement. If you want to travel outside of Paris you can take the TGV which is really convenient and fast. A tip here is to buy the SNCF yearly pass which costs 48€ and gives you discounts on all the TGV routes. The safety situation is good. As I said before, Paris has a worse reputation compared to how it is in real life. Sure, it is a lot less safe than Vienna but as long as you stay away from the problem areas you're fine. And when it comes to dangerous it is mostly pickpocketing or drugs. Albeit, especially if you're a woman I would not walk some parts of the city alone or at night. What can happen are general strikes. Compared to Austria or Germany, France has a much larger labour movement with active labour action. And a strike in Paris means that no subways or anything run. I would also recommend to stay away from any strikes or protests as they usually aways tuen violent in France. Regarding social and leisure you can do everything in Paris. If you like culture you have the choice between many different Museums (a lot of them are free if you're under 26), opera/ballet and many events. If you like nightlife you have many bars, restaurants and nightclubs. Especially if you like techno you have many options (here I recommend downloading Shotgun for DJ sets in and around Paris). You also can do whichever sports you like in Paris. It's hard to list everything here as Paris has so much to offer. My personal favourites were all the museums but thats just my preference.

6. Testimonial

Overall, I loved my exchange in Paris. The city has so much to offer and it never gets boring. What made it special for me were the people I met from my CEMS cohort. I made a lot of good friends and in general we did a lot of stuff together as a cohort. HEC, despite its shortcoming with the campus, was great and helped to complement the rather consulting heavy courses at WU with more diverse topics such as finance or politics. So, all in all I highly recommend the CEMS exchange at HEC