Very few go to study in Paris because the Sorbonne and Nanterre are located there. Most of our students simply want to live in this wonderful city, enjoy the atmosphere of Paul Mauriat - the famous French composer, taste all the delights of student life a la Paris. However, you are unlikely to "have a blast" and stay in the city of your dreams – up to 50% of students studying in France are weeded out even in the early years. Therefore, it is better to prefer cramming and working in the library over going to restaurants.
An important feature: all Parisian universities have their own specialization (though sometimes not strongly pronounced). After the 1968 riots, the faculties of the University of Paris were transformed into independent institutions: Paris I, Paris II, Paris III, etc., many of which remained true to their "traditional" fields of study. Thus, Paris IV is known primarily as a center of French philology and linguistics, and Paris I (Panthéon Sorbonne) for teaching economics, law and management.
Admission to Paris I, II, III…
There is no unified admission mechanism for universities in France; each university sets its own requirements. In any case, you will be required to provide the results of the DELF/DALF test (more details can be obtained at the French Cultural Center) or take the TCF-U test (also known as Evaluation lingustique) at the university itself.
Note that our high school diploma is not recognized by French universities: to enter French universities, you need to study for at least one or two years at any domestic state higher education institution (preferably in the specialty you would like to apply for in France). After completing the first or second year, you must obtain from your dean's office a certificate of academic performance and completed courses (indicating the number of hours), and then have it notarized and translated.
Even those who for some reason cannot study at a domestic university but have work experience in the field in which they plan to receive education have a chance to become a student of a French university. To do this, you must go through the procedure of "validation of professional skills" (validation d'aquis professionels), the results of which determine admission to the appropriate level of study. The conditions and requirements for such applicants are set by each specific university.
All foreign applicants to French state universities write motivation letters in which they indicate why they want to study at this university and in this specialty, where they then plan to work (or continue their studies), and what they expect from the studies.
Study Etudes
Study durations in Parisian universities vary: currently the French education system is being reformed, some universities operate according to the classic French model, others according to the pan-European model. But all are moving towards a unified system called LMD (Licence – Master – Doctorate). The entire study should take no more than seven years: three years to complete the first level, two years each for the second and third.
Currently, the BI-DEUG system is very popular among students: you can study two related specialties in depth simultaneously, for example, IT and English or international law and Russian, etc. The only "but": the administration of each university develops its own BI-DEUG, so not all students can find suitable programs within the university. By the way, in the first two years, a student has the right to leave such bi-training and focus on one thing.
The academic year at Parisian universities lasts from October to June. The first three months are really busy, then come Christmas pre-exam holidays, then two-week post-exam holidays, and closer to spring there is an endless series of state and religious holidays. Moreover, there are no lectures on Saturdays. However, you won't be able to relax during classes: the entire French education system is designed to make the student cram. Teachers don't care how many students attend their lectures, the main thing is that they cope with numerous tests.
About Cheating and Exams
French students do not allow cheating, they do not use cheat sheets. In France, such offenses lead to immediate expulsion from the university and a ban on holding public office for the next five years. By the way, there are rumors among students that driver's licenses are also not issued after that.
In the junior years at Parisian universities, there are no oral exams; instead, there is a system of annual papers and re-checks. The rectors of French universities proudly emphasize that the system of assessing student knowledge is absolutely objective. Indeed, when checking written works, teachers do not know who wrote them – the author's surname is covered. But in oral exams, of course, the teacher's sympathies can play a role (for example, if you attended and actively worked in all his seminars).
The grading system in Parisian universities is very confusing. At the Sorbonne (Paris I, Paris III, Paris IV) and in Nanterre (Paris X), knowledge in each subject is assessed on a 20-point scale. Related disciplines, for example, law, economics and finance, are grouped into units. To move to the next semester or year, the average score for each group must be at least 10 points. In this case, it does not matter how many points you get for an individual subject, i.e., you can get six points for law, 14 for economics, 10 for finance and successfully move to another course.
Under the Sky of Paris
Life in Paris is very expensive, so the French themselves prefer to study somewhere in the provinces. On average, a Parisian student spends up to ?1,500 per month (in the provinces €600-800). The state can reimburse from €180 to €500 (in the form of a scholarship or social assistance). Compensating the rest by working part-time (17.5 hours per week, but only after the first year of study) is unlikely to succeed – on average, students earn up to €1,000, often illegally. Therefore, most of them turn to their parents for help.
Problems may also arise with housing: the number of students in the Île-de-France region is constantly growing, and university campuses are not expanding fast enough. If you are lucky, you will get a standard room of 9 sq. m for €150 per month with a wardrobe, bed, small table, and chair. Showers and toilets are on the floor. You can try to find student apartments of hotel type T1 and T1bis: these are small apartments of 19-35 sq. m with a combined bathroom, minimal furniture, and a cost of up to €350 per month. According to the rules, a student can also apply for social housing: a three-room apartment where a married couple or two students of the same sex can live. Price – up to ?750 per month. Many are forced to rent rooms (from €350 per month) or apartments (from €700 per month).
Education in France is free. Each year, the student pays only a registration fee (on average – €400). However, in Parisian universities, student expenses increase to €1,000. The reason is that universities spend huge amounts of money on developing and maintaining “student” infrastructure – dormitories, canteens, libraries. Part of the costs are paid by students.