Moroccan Student Tops HEC Paris Entrance Exam, Shares Path to Success

Ismail Ben Otmane arrived in France after spending three years at the Al Jabr high school in Casablanca, Morocco and obtaining his STMG baccalaureate. Once in the hexagon, he did an ECT preparatory class at the Notre-Dame du Grandchamp high school in Versailles. Why did he choose to go to the ECT prep? "I decided to go to prep from 1st grade. First, I really liked the subjects taught in STMG, but I didn’t really know what career I wanted to pursue later, prep would allow me to keep all the doors open while giving me a chance to integrate very prestigious schools," he said in an interview with Major-Prépa. He added that he made this choice to surpass himself and be in an intellectually stimulating environment.

With effective work methods, Ismail shines during these two years of prep. "During my two years of prep, I had good grades in most subjects, but I continued to work. I also had an honorable rank in the white exams organized by Grandchamp. Of course, like everyone else, I had accidents in certain subjects, which allowed me to improve my work methods over time and take a step back." He confides to have worked about 4 hours on weekday evenings and 6 hours on Saturdays. "I almost never worked on Sunday mornings to rest, because I often slept late during the week."

These work methods allowed him to "gain in productivity and approach the exams serenely". "I focused my efforts mainly on the ’reliable’ subjects like math, law and languages and I always started with the subjects I liked to motivate myself," he specified. He continues: "In math, no secret, I rigorously learned my lessons and did and redid past exams. In languages, I mainly did grammar and vocabulary, because the accuracy of the language is the main evaluation criterion. Subjects like management and economics-law require, in addition to learning the lesson, regular applications to gain in speed and precision".

This hard work was crowned with success. Ismail finished 1st at HEC Paris at the end of the written exams of the competition. A relief and a surprise for the young Moroccan. "I was very stressed as the results approached but my eligibility for ESSEC reassured me. When I saw my rank at HEC, I couldn’t believe it. I was convinced it was a bug on the website at first. Beyond the joy I felt, I had the feeling that the efforts made during these two years had finally paid off. I immediately called my family and friends to announce the news. We don’t expect such a rank at all, especially when we are convinced of having failed some tests."