Was IÈSEG my First Choice?

When I applied to IÈSEG, I didn’t know that I would be the first Trinbagonian in my program. I received my acceptance letter 12 days into the new year of 2018. I remember that morning perfectly. I had just woken up and decided to check my email and there it was, ‘Congratulations you’ve been accepted…🎉’ I screamed with emotions ranging from excitement to anxiety as reality set in. I was moving to France, a thought, a dream, I had years ago. Let’s look at the journey of how it all started.

When I first visited France in 2017 to do some ‘business school shopping,’ IÈSEG was not on the list. In fact, it wasn’t even a thought. I was hell-bent on attending Kedge Business School and when I visited the Bordeaux campus, Kedge really had me at hello. It was the perfect campus but not in the perfect location. I wanted a school easily accessible to London as it’s where most of my family reside. With a 2-hour train to Paris and another 3.5-hours to Bordeaux, the thought of moving with this much travel gave me anxiety.

I left Kedge disappointed but knew that somehow, the perfect school would find me. After I returned to Trinidad, I spent the next few months toggling back and forth between other business schools. Three things were important to me when I chose my school: location, courses and French classes.

None of these schools really caught my eye and one random day I decided to google ‘Business schools in France near UK,’ and there it was, IÈSEG School of Management.

Location: 1.5-hour direct train from London ☑️

Courses: ☑️

French classes: oui oui! ☑️

Forgive me for not seeing it earlier on the French business schools ranking. I think I was too focused on Kedge 🙈. After 2 months of perfecting application essays, an interview and a year deferral, I was on my way to IÈSEG.

Fast forward, August 2019 and after trying on at least 5 different outfits, I still wasn’t ready for my first day of school. It was a bit nerve-wracking especially when you realise your classmates just might be your lifelong friends. First impressions count right?

Things turned out pretty great actually. During my orientation week, I formed friendships with some buddies who just might be lifelong friends after all!