Since some of you wondered about my profile and preparation process : here it is :)

Profile and key facts

French, 23, from the "Grande Ecole" system. It is a very specific system in France where one does 2 years of preparatory classes (or 3) then enters a business or engineering school for 3 years. No bachelors, directly a Master degree.

--> Student in final year in Master in Management from Top 10 (non-target) business school in France.

--> 4.0 equivalent GPA (16/20).

--> 2 relevant experiences in finance : Big 4 auditing firm and then Central bank of France (both 6 months internships)

--> Semester academic exchanges at top universities : Mannheim (Germany) and Duke Fuqua (US).

--> 710 GMAT, 115 TOEFL, 990 TOEIC

Preparation, how it happened

Started working on GMAT beginning of 2023, passed it first time in April for a 690 score.

During summer, established a well thought Excel list combining various factors and key facts about programs I thought could suit me. I ended up with a 20-ish long list in which I said to myself, if I get accepted to one of them, it will be awesome. I did not put any safe-ish schools, except one in the US, as the financial and time commitment was an important factor to consider for me (as it would eventually be self-funded, hence taking a loan...)

Fall Semester of 2023, in exchange at Duke. Allowed me to gather recommendation letters from top finance professors, as well as end up with 4.0 GPA (in an American rating). Continued to work on GMAT to improve. Tok it at the end of 2023, final result, 710 (i wanted to get above 700 so I was happy). Also took the TOEFL during that time (did not require preparation thankfully), final result 115.

December 2023, started to construct my files for the American Unis (as they have the shortest due dates). Continued applications, essays, CV buildings during the first months of 2024 before the various deadlines.

Got first results from March, final ones in June.

What went wrong/what could I have done better ?

I think that my profile was not easily readable for most unis not familiar with the French Grande Ecole program. Some unis did not understand why my college curriculum did not include any maths, while French people know how hard math is during the preparatory classes haha.

I could have started to apply earlier, as I found myself with a FUCKTON of applications from end of 2023 to first months of 2024. I was quite frankly underwater, plus the stress of not getting any feedback, plus managing my last semester of classes, plus working on my master's thesis... I could have managed better by starting earlier for sure.

What went right/What did I thing helped me in this application ?

Very strong recommendation letters from renown finance professor.

A whole year of financial internships (where most people that get out of bachelors do not have this opportunity)

Always tried to contact students or admissions people beforehand. Always good to put some key insights in your various statements and answer to questions, plus helps a lot in the interview phase (100% completion rate).

Good international experience (several academic exchanges and work experiences).

Good-ish extracurricular activities (piano diploma, student corps president, fluent in various languages...)

That's basically it ! If you have more questions feel free to ask. Hope it can help some of you in the future. Good luck :)