Getting into the Programme Grande École at Montpellier Business School through parallel admission is not decided by test scores and grades alone: the cover letter and the interview let the jury check that your plan is coherent and that you really know the school. Here is how to prepare both.
What the Montpellier BS jury looks for
The exact rules (Tremplin or Passerelle competition depending on your level, exams, orals, calendar) change from one session to the next. They are detailed on the official second-year entry page of Montpellier Business School 🔗: re-read it before writing anything, and complete it with the school's page on Passerelle 🔗 if you sit that competition.
Beyond the formalities, the jury generally assesses:
- the coherence of your plan: why a management programme after your bachelor's, BUT or BTS, and towards which career;
- real knowledge of the school: specialisations, international mobility, student life, campus;
- your ability to argue with examples from your own background rather than generalities;
- sincere motivation, visible in how precise your answers are.
💡 Going further: the letter should extend the thread of your resume without repeating it. Our guide to the parallel-admission resume for Montpellier Business School explains how to build the application file.
Writing a convincing cover letter
One page, no more. A structure that works:
- Hook: a specific experience or fact that explains your application, not praise of the school.
- Background: what your studies have really taught you, with a concrete or quantified example (group project, internship, student-association work).
- Why Montpellier BS: two or three elements specific to the school, checked on its website (targeted specialisation, double degree, international openness, student life). Avoid a list copied from the brochure.
- Career plan: a clear direction, stated honestly. It is allowed to evolve during the programme.
- Conclusion: one sentence of conviction, with no boilerplate.
To go through each paragraph in detail, see our article on the structure of an AST cover letter.
Frequent interview questions
The jury rarely sets traps; it mainly checks that your file holds up in a direct exchange. Near-systematic questions:
- "Present your background in three minutes."
- "Why Montpellier Business School rather than another school?"
- "What is your career plan and how does the programme prepare you for it?"
- "Tell us about a time you had to work with someone very different from you."
- "What is your greatest success, and your greatest failure?"
Part of the exchange may be held in English depending on the admission route: prepare a presentation of your background in that language. To go further, see our articles on AST motivation interview questions and on the business school oral.
A sample argued answer
To the question "Why Montpellier BS?", a weak answer says: "It's a well-known school with a good network." A strong answer starts from a specific need:
"During my management bachelor's I mostly worked on theoretical cases. My internship at an accounting firm made me want to approach corporate finance in a more applied way, in a team and in an international setting. Montpellier BS appeals to me for the room it gives to study abroad and for the projects run with companies, which would let me build a profile that is both technical and open-minded."
It works because it links a personal observation, an element specific to the school and a goal. Adapt it to your own story; do not recite it.
⚠️ Warning: a memorised text is spotted at the first follow-up question. Remember your key ideas, not your sentences.
Mistakes to avoid in the interview
- Reciting the letter: the jury has read it and expects you to develop it.
- Staying vague ("I'm passionate about business") with no example.
- Ignoring the programme: cite a real specialisation or scheme, checked on the official site.
- Disparaging another school, a former employer or a teacher.
- Asking no question at the end: prepare two about support for parallel-admission students or life in the cohort.
- Neglecting dress and punctuality, even for a remote interview.
For your letter as for your resume, let FinanceCV handle the layout: you focus on the substance, the tool produces a clean document compatible with applicant tracking systems (ATS), useful for your later internship and work-study applications too.
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