When they enter a business school, students have already passed through numerous stages: from primary school to secondary school, secondary school to sixth-form, then enrolment in preparatory courses. Why then does this next step seem to be even more of a reach? What is really at play? Here are the four major explanations according to Julien Manteau, Associate Dean at NEOMA.

1. It’s the moment to make choices

It is widely known that “to choose is to forsake”. But a student who chose the preparatory class often did so precisely to sidestep this rule: It’s the logic of the best route. That means a logic that makes it possible (or gives the impression) to forsake nothing at all or nearly nothing.

However, this way of facing the problem of choice cannot longer be applied in business school. Unless you remain a professional student, it is not possible, for example, to pursue several Master-level dual diplomas, no more than it is possible to start a career both in Europe and Asia at the same time or even work for an NGO and at an investment bank.

Do these examples seem trivial> In practice, they mirror difficult dilemmas: Is it better/preferable/more worthwhile to do an exchange in this place rather than another place, to do an internship in this sector rather than that sector, a dual diploma in this field rather than another, etc. Invariably, the answer to these questions is that students must choose based on what will enable them to expand and grow better, and not by dropping what would not be their preferences. They then are caught up in feelings of bewilderment and anxiety. Business schools in fact offer hundreds of curriculum options, which in real terms means there are hundreds of choices to make. This can sometimes be dizzying or even terrifying for some people. It’s for that reason why the question of assistance in business school is so important.

2. It’s not the time to give up

For some students, entrance exams create an illusion that if difficult to overcome. They sometimes give the impression to those who pass them that it’s all over and they have proven themselves. That’s both true and false: They have been deemed suitable to enrol in such and such a school, and they are expected to make new efforts to acquire many different skills and accrue a great deal of knowledge in a wide variety of fields.

This requirement is not at all clear when students believe that they have gone through the hardest part. A belief that it is crucial to overcome these challenges as quickly as possible, humbly accepting that there is still a lot more to learn and discover.

3. It’s the moment to take a road without knowing the destination 

In preparatory class, students tackle an easily identifiable goal (while it may not be easily achievable) and that is to pass the exams to enrol in such and such a school. Once enrolled in a business school, the goal becomes not as clear: finding one’s path or even just finding a path.

It is a goal that is never reached, that you continue to strive for, one you change or even reinvent at the age of thirty, fifty or even eighty years old. It’s a goal for which you don’t receive good marks on a mock exam or encouragement for your teachers to let you know that you’re on the right path. This is simply because those same teachers don’t have least idea. Only the student is capable of knowing what’s best, and sometimes only after a long time.

In short, it is a goal that is not a destination such as an entrance exam or acceptance to a school, but a path itself, one with wonderful encounters, successes, failures, mistakes and lovely moments. It is a path is winding and uncertain, different for each student, a path that at NEOMA we try to make as fulfilling and satisfying as possible. For us, it has a clear objective: giving students the confidence in their ability to create future that they deserve, for them and for society.

4. It’s the time to become independent

Finally, there is an obvious reason. At the age of twenty, young people leave their family and home, and often times their town. They become independent adults. It is not always simple. This break coincides more or less with the period of integration into business school and involve a difficult time of adaptation for certain students. It is the responsibility of teachers to never forget this and to give them the leniency that they deserve.