Some business schools offer to join their Grande École Program (PGE) just after the baccalaureate. Thus, the Parcoursup cover letter is a necessary step to be able to integrate these training courses into 5 years of post-baccalaureate studies leading to obtaining a master’s degree. Anne Lefèvre, director of admissions and competitions at EDC Paris, reveals her advice for succeeding in this exercise.
Everything you need to know about the motivated training project (or Parcoursup cover letter)
If, in common parlance, we use the terms Parcoursup cover letter, it is in reality a motivated training project. It allows you to explain to admissions officers why you are pursuing this course.
A motivated training project is essential, especially for selective or highly demanded sectors. It can make the difference and allow you to be called for oral exams or to join courses with a limited number of places. It is always difficult to find inspiration to write your Parcoursup cover letter. To do this, AuFutur offers you 101 models of motivated training projects for the largest sectors available on the orientation platform.
How to write your Parcoursup cover letter?
What are the essential elements to indicate in your Parcoursup cover letter? It is important to create links between your career path and your professional project or, at least, your ambitions in terms of higher education. These links can be created from your professional experience (even small student jobs count), your community commitments, your final year specializations, etc.
With your motivated training project on Parcoursup, the host establishment needs to know how it can help you achieve your objectives. If you want to work in fashion and are involved in an association that gives clothes a second life, don’t hesitate to specify this in your cover letter!
You must also show that you have researched the establishment, the training for which you are applying and the opportunities. You can specify that you attended the establishments’ open days. You can also use the training sheets available on Parcoursup. The more personalized the cover letter, the better!
Standard model of a Parcoursup cover letter for the Grande École Program of a business school
Currently a student in the general final year, I would like to join the Grande École Program of [NOM DE L’ÉTABLISSEMENT] at the next school year.
Thanks to my SES specialty, I developed a great appetite for the business world, but also subjects related to economics and finance. In addition, I would also like to deepen my knowledge on subjects such as statistics, which I was able to cover in the mathematics specialty. In particular, I was able to meet the admissions manager during the open days. This exchange reinforced my idea that specializations such as corporate finance could allow me to work in this sector which particularly interests me.
For two years, I have been involved in an association which gives access to culture to disadvantaged young people. I also worked as a colony monitor. These two experiences allowed me to develop useful skills such as project management, event organization and teamwork. I will also be delighted to use my experience and skills to develop new projects in your humanitarian association.
For all these reasons, I hope that my application will attract your attention and I hope to join your establishment at the start of the next school year.
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Motivated project on Parcoursup: the Do’s and the Don’ts
The Do’s of the Parcoursup cover letter
For Anne Lefèvre, it is important to find certain elements in the Parcoursup cover letter. She first specifies that it is important to personalize it. “ Cover letters are like love letters. You never write the same thing twice. We should not start from the same model for all schools, that will become apparent. You have to let your heart speak. The person reading the cover letter wants to feel that it is a choice of the heart. You have to write with your guts. »
Among Anne Lefèvre’s other recommendations, we find the need to be precise and to mention specific details for each school, such as the name of an association that interests you or the meetings you were able to make during the JPO. It is also important to explain why this business school is able to enable you to achieve your professional goal. The director of admissions and competitive examinationsEDC Paris also indicates that it is crucial to proofread carefully and not make any syntax or spelling errors.
One of the elements that students have difficulty highlighting in the Parcoursup cover letter is the skills resulting from student experiences. “ Students do not trust each other enough. When they worked at McDonald’s, they don’t want to specify it, but it allows them to learn the skills they developed: teamwork, stress management, managing the lunch rush… A girl who babysat for three years proves that he can be trusted; a chess champion translates his experience as a strategist. »
The Don’ts
Anne Lefèvre also reveals the details that should not be mentioned, or even those that can prove prohibitive in a Parcoursup cover letter. His first observation is that some high school students carry out their motivated training projects only a few days before the closure of the post-baccalaureate orientation platform. “ It is important to take time and anticipate Parcoursup cover letters. »
Another element observed by the director of admissions and competitions at EDC Paris: “ the students talk about themselves in the Parcoursup cover letter, it’s not shocking. But, sometimes, they clarify where they stand. We already have information on their academic level with the Parcoursup file and the reports from their teachers. »
Finally, Anne Lefèvre explains how to successfully put forward your professional project when you don’t necessarily have an idea of what you want to do later. “ I often meet parents or candidates who tell me that they don’t know what they want to do when they grow up. That’s a good thing. But I always ask parents to carry out a reflection exercise on the ingredients that lead to a professional project. The candidates have passions: writing, culture, travel, international… This allows us to define a field in which we may want to work and we deduce careers from this. You should not say, in your cover letter: “I love marketing”. »
