Everything You Need to Know About the BCE Exams
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The BCE exam (Banque Commune d'Épreuves ) is the primary entrance examination for France's top business schools. Organized annually, it pools written and oral exams for over twenty schools, including emlyon business school. Designed for students from preparatory classes in economics and business (ECG, ECT pathways, or literary tracks for certain schools), it allows candidates to apply simultaneously to multiple institutions with a single set of exams. The BCE exam takes place in two stages: common written exams (mathematics, modern languages, general culture, economics, history-geography, essays depending on the track) followed by, for eligible candidates, oral exams specific to each school (personality interviews, languages, specialized tests). Each institution sets its own grading scale and selects admitted students based on results. With over 20,000 candidates each year, the BCE constitutes the major access route to France's top management schools, recognized for their academic excellence and international career opportunities.

Which Schools Are BCE Exam Members?
The Common Examination Bank includes 18 member French business schools, plus 3 associated schools.
 

BCE 2026 Exam: Important Dates to Remember
Below are the important BCE exam dates to remember, from registration through SIGEM, for entering emlyon via preparatory classes:

  • Online applications: Monday, December 8, 2025 at 9am to Monday, January 12, 2026 at 5pm on the Common Examination Bank website
  • Written exams: Wednesday, April 22 to Wednesday, April 29, 2026 (excluding Saturday and Sunday)
  • Eligibility results: Tuesday, June 9, 2026 at 2pm
  • Oral exam registration dates: Wednesday, June 10 at 5pm to Friday, June 12, 2026 at 5pm
  • Oral exams: Monday, June 15 to Monday, July 6, 2026 inclusive (no Saturdays) on the Lyon campus
  • Admission results: Thursday, July 9, 2026 at 2pm
  • SIGEM preference entry: Monday, July 13 at 9am to Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 5pm
  • SIGEM assignment results: Friday, July 17, 2026 from 2pm

Learn more about the registration steps for the emlyon exam after preparatory class

The BCE 2026 exam will take place from Wednesday, April 22 to Wednesday, April 29, 2026 (excluding Saturday and Sunday), with an average of two written exams per day.


Registration Fees and Available Places at emlyon for the BCE 2026 Exam
emlyon's registration fees for the BCE 2026 exam are €180 for non-scholarship candidates; scholarship recipients are exempt. This year, emlyon is opening 525 places for candidates from the economic and business preparatory class track (ECG and ECT), as well as 40 dedicated places for literary preparatory class candidates (B/L and A/L).

BCE 2026 Exam: Coefficients by Specialization and Prep Class Type
Among our tips for succeeding on the BCE exam, it's important to review the coefficients according to your track (literary, ECT, or ECG) or your ECG option (ESH or HGG, advanced mathematics or applied mathematics). To excel on the BCE exam via the B/L track and hope to enter emlyon, you'll need to be excellent in all subjects. Indeed, there aren't very significant gaps between subject coefficients.

We can see that mathematics plus the option (ESH or HGG) represent half of the coefficients for admission to emlyon's Master in Management Program via the BCE exam. Therefore, candidates must have excellent results in mathematics and their option to access emlyon's oral exams and thus hope to join the Lyon management school on its Lyon campus for the 2026 academic year.

To excel on the BCE exam via the B/L track and hope to enter emlyon, you'll need to be excellent in all subjects. Indeed, there aren't very significant gaps between subject coefficients.

Master in Management Program Brochure via Prep Class

What Are the BCE Written Exams to Take to Enter emlyon?
If you're targeting a particular business school, it's essential to research the specific written exams to take. Below are the BCE written exams to take to enter emlyon.
 

Written Exams for ECG Prep Classes

  • Text Study and Synthesis
  • LVA ELVi
  • LVB ELVi
  • General Culture Essay
  • Depending on the chosen option:
    • Applied Mathematics OR Advanced Mathematics
    • Applied Mathematics 2 OR Advanced Mathematics 2
    • Economics, Sociology and History OR History, Geography and Geopolitics

Master in Management Program Brochure via Prep Class


What Are the Written Exams for ECT Prep Classes?
Students in ECT prep classes must take the exams below to apply to emlyon for the 2026 academic year:

  • Text Study and Synthesis
  • LVA ELVi
  • LVB ELVi
  • General Culture Essay
  • Mathematics T
  • Economics-Law
  • Management and Management Sciences

Written Exams for Literary Prep Classes
To enter emlyon after B/L prep class, students must take the following exams:

  • LVA ELVi
  • LVB ELVi
  • B/L Mathematics
  • Social Sciences
  • Literary Essay
  • Philosophy Essay
  • History

To enter emlyon business school, A/L prep class students must take the ENS exams (an average is calculated with a coefficient of 10) as well as 5 specific exams:

  • LVA ELVi
  • LVB ELVi
  • Text Study and Synthesis
  • Philosophy Essay OR Literary Essay: the choice is made at exam time
  • History OR Geography

Master in Management Program Brochure via Prep Class

How to Succeed on the BCE Written Exams?

GBBA exchange students - emlyon

Preparation for the BCE exam follows a specific methodology and involves various techniques and strategies. Discover them according to your track below:
 

Specific Preparation Required for Certain Literary Prep Exams
For literary prep classes, the BCE exam most often comes in addition to the BEL exam (Literary Examination Bank). Thus, students must prepare to write in 4 hours (ENS exams last 6 hours) by asking professors for adapted subjects, for example, and carefully respecting the page count for the exam: generally between 10 and 15. It's also important to keep in mind that BCE subjects often focus on more specific concepts than BEL, so specialized and technical knowledge is expected.

Additionally, the format of language written exams is also very different. On the BCE side, the exam lasts 4 hours and is based on text comprehension, personal expression, and translation from English to French (theme), while on the BEL track side, the exam relies on text commentary and translation of part or all of this text. Finally, note also the Text Study and Synthesis exam, which is not in the literary prep program and for which specific preparation is required to excel on the BCE exam.

Master in Management Program Brochure via Prep Class

How to Prepare for BCE Written Exams for ECG and ECT Prep Classes?

The first step is to choose the target school(s) to develop a review and preparation plan for the BCE exam. Thus, you must know everything about the exams and their procedures to focus your efforts effectively and efficiently. In this regard, reviewing exam coefficients is essential, as is establishing work and rest habits: scheduling rest periods is essential in prep class. Additionally, task prioritization is also an element to consider based on your level, progression goals, and target schools.

Generally speaking, regardless of the exam, the essential tasks to do are as follows:

  • Read jury reports
  • Analyze students' good papers
  • Redo exercises from BCE past exams
  • Know the method for each exam inside and out

For example, for emlyon, mathematics and the option exam are very important for eligibility. However, other exams should not be neglected.

Apolline's Advice, First Admitted to emlyon in 2021

How to Prepare and Succeed on the BCE 2026 Oral Exams?

After taking the written exams, the common exams aren't over. Indeed, there's still the oral examination deadline. The period between the end of written exams and the start of BCE oral exams is long: approximately 1.5 months. Thus, it's essential to organize accordingly to prepare for the following exams:

The motivation interview: The candidate faces a panel that asks the prep class student questions about their personality and motivations for joining the school. Each personality interview is specific to each school with a different format. Moreover, some schools have specific tests such as HEC Paris with its triptych or ESSEC with its psychometric tests, for example. At emlyon, this oral exam takes the form of a personality interview.

LVA and LVB oral exams: These are two exams of 40 to 50 minutes generally depending on schools, consisting of 20 to 25 minutes of preparation, 10 minutes of presentation, and 10 to 15 minutes of exchange with a panel of foreign language professors.

To succeed on these exams, diligent training throughout the year is required, whether during mock motivation interviews, "khôlles" (oral interrogations in preparatory class), or your personal preparation.

During this period between written and oral exams, it's necessary to intensify your reviews and training by preparing more specifically for the schools you wish to join in 2026, and thus the unique characteristics of each school.

What Are the Oral Exams to Enter emlyon?

Candidates eligible for emlyon must reserve a one-day time slot during the set dates and must present three exams:

  • emlyon-specific motivation interview (coefficient 9)
  • English oral exam (coefficient 3)
  • Second chosen language oral exam (coefficient 3)

The total coefficient for emlyon oral exams is therefore 15.

Master in Management Program Brochure via Prep Class

Focus on the emlyon-Specific Motivation Interview

The emlyon interview lasts 25 minutes divided into different segments: to begin, the panel will introduce itself during the first two minutes, then you must introduce yourself for 1 minute. Next, for 2 minutes, four cards will be drawn. These are on different themes:

  • Experience
  • Personality
  • Creativity
  • Project

Then, the candidate must choose one of the cards to begin their first response and answer the three other questions for 15 minutes, without prior preparation time. The objective is to test spontaneity as well as the candidate's adaptability. You're free to organize your response as you see fit. During these 15 minutes, the panel may ask for elaboration: it's an exchange between the candidate and the panel.

During the second part of the cards, the student will be judged on 5 values dear to emlyon:

  • Excellence: Seeking to exceed expectations
  • Responsibility: Being aware of the impact of one's actions
  • Integrity: Acting ethically
  • Diversity: Welcoming difference
  • Solidarity: Being generous toward others

The last part of the interview, which lasts 5 minutes, is devoted to exchange with the panel. It allows discussion of experiences not previously addressed.

To prepare for this particular exam, here is our advice:

  • Familiarize yourself with the format: The emlyon interview has a unique format, so it's essential to master the stakes of this format.
  • Prepare in advance: An interview cannot be improvised. You must always prepare a "framework" to have arguments to present on the day.
  • Practice responding: Candidate spontaneity is highlighted at emlyon. You must therefore prepare to respond in all types of situations.

Getting 20/20 on Orals? Advice from Marie, Student at emlyon

emlyon Language Orals: An Exchange Moment in a Foreign Language
emlyon language orals last approximately 45 minutes. After 25 minutes of preparing a text chosen by a professor on various current affairs topics, the student must read the beginning of the text, summarize and comment on it, in 10 to 15 minutes. The second part of the oral consists of an exchange with the panel to detect spontaneous communication abilities in a foreign language but also the student's willingness to join the school.

SIGEM: A Crucial Step for Entering a Business School
After completing the orals, comes the admission results stage on July 9, 2026, followed a few days later by SIGEM (Integration System for Management Schools) from Monday, July 13 to Wednesday, July 15, 2026. Here are the steps to remember for a stress-free SIGEM:

SIGEM Step #1: This is the moment for registration and deposit payment. The day before the platform opens, you'll receive your credentials by email, followed by an SMS alert to register on the SIGEM website and pay the €800 deposit. This deposit, from which scholarship recipients are exempt, will be deducted from your tuition fees at the school where you're enrolled.

SIGEM Step #2: You can enter your preferences on the platform, which must be ranked from 1 to n. Students must also choose the campus they wish to join if the school offers multiple campuses.

SIGEM Step #3: On Friday, July 17, 2026, assignment results will be available on the SIGEM website and the school will send you the necessary information to compile your application file.

After all these steps, you can enjoy the many opportunities offered by emlyon's Master in Management Program, including international experience, rich associative life, and renowned dual degrees.