These are two strong schools; both among the top two or three schools in their country. A few thoughts...

ESSEC is a big, national brand
ESSEC is the safer choice
French is the easier language to learn.
but...
ESSEC is really French institution
the average age on the campus feels rather young because of the huge Grande Ecole programme
The MBA is rather marginal to ESSEC
There's a higher background level of racism in France

HHL is a niche product. I think it provides a better education, and the cohort quality will be better. HHL is a very entrepreneurial school, partly because of the nature of the region around Leipzig.

What would happen if you were to choose between the countries and languages rather than between the schools? Which language do you feel the most affinity for? I am A2 in French and German, and I feel that Germans are more forgiving of my German.

Thanks Duncan for the reply .It's quite insightful . Based on the two countries I will choose Germany - since I started studying the language it's quite easier for me than french .Also I have visited the two countries - france more often but getting to germany -dusseldorf,dortmun ans moenchengladbach for the first time in 2011 i was fascinated by the quality of infrastructure and standard . I also think accomodation might be a bit cheaper in germany than france!
I think I love HHL they 've been quite friendly and supportive all along and with the entrepreneurship platform ,i am tending towards HHL,germany . I still have possibility of getting more scholarship during my studies .
any opinion again ?

In addition Duncan if i may ask - why is ESSEC the safer choice and why is HHL a niche product ?

ESSEC is a H_U_G_E school. HHL is tiny.

To expand on that...
ESSEC is the clear number two school in France when it comes to the grande ecoles de gestion. Its reputation is France is very high, quite on a par with HEC. HEC, ESSEC and ESCP are schools which have been large, and nationally famous for a century. France has developed an economy which depends on graduates of elite schools. Germany has not.

There's no German institution like that, and nothing in Germany like the grande ecole system. HSG in St Gallen has that elite position, and it's the only comparable institution.

The German business schools' English-language offer is very young. The MBA started in Germany in the Fachhochschule, which are less prestigious. 20 years ago, I think there were no English-language MBAs elsewhere, which is why German MBA candidates went abroad to RSM but also to Insead, LBS and HEC.

So the Germany MBAs are rather inorganic. WHU, HHL, ESMT and GISMA are not ancient, institutions like the grande ecoles: they are modern projects of the business community and of policy makers. The Mannheim MBA is a little different, as a private business hanging off a public university. It's a good school, but there's no real hierarchy in the state universities in Germany or France so they don't have the prestige or the powerful alumni networks.

thanks Duncan for the post . My fear about france/ESSE is its jobs prospects and the support for entrepreneurship compared to germany -hhl .

Well, ESSEC is a big school so I guess it has good support for everything. It has an advanced masters in entrepreneurship http://www.essec.edu/programs/advanced-masters-programs/advanced-masters-degree-in-entrepreneurship-in-partnership-with-ecole-centrale-paris.html and structured support via ESSEC Ventures: http://www.essec.edu/discover-essec/essec-ventures/

HHL has entrepreneurship at its heart (http://www.hhl-students.de/accelerate/) and I think it is a better preparation for entrepreneurship but it's a smaller school. ESSEC probably has more alumni who are entrepreneurs, and more alumni overall -- who could be partners, clients and investors.

PS Just image: HHL has 380 students, and has been around for 20 years in its current form, while ESSEC has 5,200 and more than a century of history.

Hi Duncan ,thanks again . I just went through the ESSEC ventures .I have never seen this before .It's quite huge like you said and quite organized and bigger than HHL's accelerate . Pls do you have an idea about ESSEC's career services and placement .

rgds

Ask them...

thanks Duncan ,I will check with them and maybe visit the two schools before I decide finally.

If you can, fix up in advance to meet some of the students for dinner the evening before/after. Leipzig is an easy students city but, to be honest, I have no idea where ESSEC students live. Cergy is not a great place.