Thanks so much for that very detailed description. I am assuming you are an alum or did your son/daughter go there? I was not aware of the military angle and think that would be a problem for my son. When we lived in Paris, he insisted on dressing the same way he does in California – shorts, t-shirts and crocs (yes…even in winter) – and the idea of him wearing a military suit of any sort would probably not fly.
I’d appreciate any other info you can share about the Grande Ecoles. I only mentioned Polytechnique because of his strong interest in technology. He’s taking AP Computer Science this year and is very into tech/robotics/coding, so I thought that would be a good fit. I think (based on my limited knowledge) a place like the Sorbonne wouldn’t be a good fit. Not sure about SciencesPo. We have another two years to think about this but because this is such a different path than the US model, I am trying to get as much info as possible to see if it is even an option worth exploring. Thanks!