At EM Normandie, your file gets you shortlisted, but the motivation letter and then the interview make the difference. The panel wants to understand who you are, why you are changing track and why this school. Here is a method to prepare the letter and the oral for the Passerelle competition.
What the EM Normandie panel expects
Parallel admission to EM Normandie goes through the Passerelle competition 🔗: Passerelle 1 🔗 for Bac+2 candidates, Passerelle 2 🔗 for Bac+3/4. Selection combines a file review, an English test and a motivation interview. The school also publishes an FAQ on admission orals 🔗, worth reading before you prepare your answers.
At the interview, the panel does not redo your file. It assesses three things: the coherence between your path and your project, the sincerity of your motivation for EM Normandie, and your ability to express yourself clearly and react.
💡 File first, letter second: if your resume is not ready yet, start with our guide to the parallel admission resume for EM Normandie.
Building your letter step by step
One page, four movements.
- A concrete hook. Avoid "Passionate about business since forever". Open on a fact: an internship that made you love management, an association project, a conversation with an alumnus.
- Your path explained. Why this BTS, BUT or licence, and what it truly gave you: field experience, rigour, autonomy. Parallel admission then looks like the logical next step.
- The choice of EM Normandie. Cite something specific: a campus (Caen, Le Havre, Paris), a specialisation, the international dimension, a student's testimony. The panel already knows the rankings.
- The career project. A sector, a function, a first step. Even if provisional, it must be credible and grounded in experience.
Keep a direct tone, short sentences and at least one figure or verifiable fact per paragraph.
Frequent interview questions
- On your path: "Introduce yourself in three minutes." "Why this orientation?" "What was your biggest difficulty?"
- On the school: "Why EM Normandie rather than another school?" "Which campus, and why?"
- On your project: "What job do you picture after graduating?" "Which specialisation?"
- On your personality: "Tell me about a failure." "What would your classmates say about you?"
Prepare two or three reusable anecdotes (a group project, an unexpected setback, a moment of doubt): each answers several questions at once.
A structured sample answer
"Why EM Normandie?"
"I am aiming for a project management role in the food industry, a sector with a strong presence in Normandy. I attended an open day in Caen and spoke with a third-year student who described the projects run with companies from the first year of the programme. After my BUT in business administration, this learning by doing is what I need to move from execution to decision-making."
This answer combines a programme feature, a lived experience and a link to the project: that is the pattern to remember.
"Why leave your current track?" Never speak of failure or regret. Say what your track gave you and what you want to build on top of it.
Mistakes that cost candidates
- Reciting the letter instead of expanding on it.
- A vague project ("working in management") with no example.
- A recycled letter from another school, with a forgotten name or an overly general motivation.
- Ignoring practical information: campuses, course length, options.
- A careless form: typos, shaky layout, a resume and letter that contradict each other.
Form is the easiest point to neutralise. FinanceCV handles the layout, with a clean result readable by screening software (ATS), so you can spend your time preparing your arguments.
Ready to write your letter? Get started for free.