College in France?

MYOS1634
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 09:46:38 +0000

There are three types of programs an American student could qualify for. Most are free tuition.

IUT : after the “bacc” (where all students take gen eds like foreign language, philosophy, history, and then intro classes for their future majors - you’d need several APs+ AP French), students have two general years. Most courses involve Business or Engineering/CS. You have 2/3 classes related to your major, 1/3 involving English and Communication/composition. After the two years, depending on ranking, you can prepare for a Grande Ecole or get a BS from a university. There are dozens in all fields.

Ecole post bacc: Those are special tracks in the Grandes Ecoles. They are NOT free tuition (12-15K). You apply your senior year with AP English, (AP French), plus relevant AP’s. You will likely have a Skype interview. For business ESSEC international BBA, for Engineering INSA, for Math/engineering Polytechnique (< this one require you to have calc BC and physics C at application), Sciences Po for Economics and social sciences. These are very well known in Europe and will be well recognized for grad schools. Hard to get into.

BTS : free and found in most towns. Specialized, with common classes (all business programs have some business law and economics classes, all industry programs have Math) and specific classes. Less theoretical than the previous ones, lots of applied/workshop hours. After the 2 years completing all classes for your major, you continue to a specialized professional ‘licence’.

If you’re a French citizen, doing a Terminal e or BTS first year wouldn’t jeopardize your freshman status and give you time to decide where to apply in the US.

Part time jobs aren’t common. Some of these programs have 30+ hours of class a week so they’re also not easy to hold.