A strong application file opens the door to the interview, but it is the cover letter and then the oral that decide whether you enter Brest Business School. Here is the method to prepare both without leaving anything to chance.
What the Brest BS jury looks for
The jury is not looking for someone who recites the school brochure. It generally assesses three things at once: the coherence of your career plan, your ability to argue about your background, and your fit with the school's programme and environment. The exact conditions for second-year entry into the Programme Grande École (application file, tests, interview, calendar) are detailed on the official Brest BS Programme Grande École page 🔗: re-read it before preparing your arguments, as the format changes from one session to the next.
What is actually assessed:
- clarity of your project: no rigid career plan, but a coherent direction;
- real knowledge of the school: programme, tracks, student life, Breton and international anchoring;
- concrete examples from your degree, BUT or BTS rather than generalities;
- sincere motivation, visible in the precision of your answers.
💡 Going further: start with the foundation of your file using our guide Resume for Brest Business School direct-entry admission: the letter should extend the thread of the resume, not repeat it.
The standard letter outline
One page, no more. An outline that works:
- Hook: a specific fact or experience that justifies your application (not "the excellence of the school").
- Background: what your studies really taught you, with a figure or concrete example.
- Why Brest BS: two or three elements specific to the school (programme, targeted specialisation, city size, student life), never a list copied from the website.
- Career plan: where you want to go, staying honest that it may evolve during the programme.
- Conclusion: one sentence of conviction, without boilerplate.
To dig into structure, our article on the structure of an AST cover letter details each paragraph.
Questions asked at the oral
The jury rarely asks trick questions. It mostly checks that what you wrote holds up in a direct conversation.
Near-systematic questions:
- "Why Brest Business School rather than another business school?"
- "Present your background in three minutes."
- "Tell us about a time you had to handle a disagreement in a group."
- "What is your career plan, and how does the school prepare you for it?"
- "What did you take away from your last internship or association experience?"
Depending on the session, part of the exchange may take place in English: practise presenting your background in that language.
An argued sample answer
To "Why Brest BS?", a weak answer says: "It's a good, well-ranked school." A strong answer starts from a specific need:
"My management degree gave me solid accounting foundations, but I feel I lack project management practice and international exposure. Brest BS appeals to me for its second-year programme and mobility options, which would let me build a profile that is both technical and international. And living in Brest, a human-sized student city turned towards the sea, matches the way I like to work: in a team, on concrete projects."
This answer works because it links a personal observation, an element specific to the school and a clear goal: exactly the structure the jury wants to hear.
⚠️ Warning: never memorise an answer word for word. The jury spots a recited text as soon as it asks a follow-up question.
Interview mistakes to avoid
- Reciting the cover letter: the jury has read it, it expects elaboration.
- Vague answers ("I'm passionate about business") with no supporting example.
- Ignoring the programme: cite a specialisation or scheme you verified on the school website.
- Disparaging another school, a former employer or a teacher.
- Asking no questions at the end: prepare two about student life or support for students admitted into the second year.
- Neglecting dress and punctuality, even for a remote oral.
For the letter as for the resume, let FinanceCV handle the formatting: you focus on substance, the tool takes care of presentation and produces a document compatible with applicant tracking systems (ATS), which also helps for the internship and work-study applications that follow.
Ready to write your letter? Get started for free in a few minutes.