@PurpleTitan , you are correct about the name recognition Sorbonne v. King’s in the US. I also agree that it isn’t merited.
Does anybody know how it got that reputation? It’s probably the most undeserved I can think of.
@MYOS1634, well, it’s an ancient and famous name and in the capital city.
And many people assume that one of the oldest unis in a country would be one of the best institutions of higher learning in that country.
That’s true of Oxbridge, Trinity College Dublin, Harvard, and Yale, for instance. And I’ve seen W&M exalted on TSR, for instance (someone there said that St. Andrews couldn’t possibly measure up to W&M).
Also, it was featured in a Pet Shop Boys song. 
It’s always interesting to me which unis have a greater (undeserved) reputation abroad than at home as usually it is the other way around with many great institutions of learning underappreciated abroad. In the US, I can think of BU and NYU (seen NYU referred to as an Ivy-equivalent on a mostly foreign forum, and several of it’s schools/departments like Law, Stern, Courant, and Tisch are truly elite, but almost no American would consider the bulk of NYU outside those specific schools to be an Ivy-equivalent). Oh, possibly UCLA as well, though at least UCLA truly is a world-class research powerhouse.
But yes, it’s harder to think of an example of greater disconnect between reputation and reality than the Sorbonne.
Thanks.
@suzyQ7
Decided on the Sorbonne not entirely due to it’s name brand reputation, but because of it’s strong academic Musicology and Modern Languages departments.
I plan to either work in diplomacy or academia for musicology. Every professional performer and academic that I have worked with in the field are beyond estatic that I have chosen to study at one of the oldest, leading music departments in the world. It will surely give me an edge up as a pentalingual, French educated musicologist or diplomat when I apply to graduate school in Germany, England, or back home in the US.
For any future americans of this thread who may be considering the Sorbonne (for a study abroad program or full study as in my case), or even any French University; perhaps nobody more than I have conducted as much thorough research on la Sorbonne as I have in the last few months.
La Sorbonne is surely not the world’s leading institution as it used to be, but its history of educating aristocrats, monarchs, Popes that have shaped the modern world could not have been overlooked by me. I’m hopeful that France will meet the faltering reputation of la Sorbonne with the funding it desperately deserves. Alongside, with the merging of Université Marie-Curie and Université Paris Sorbonne next year brings a lot of promise with the combined resources of two France’s leading institutions in the humanities and the sciences. A lot of people including me are seeing this as the start of a series of mergers that may revitalise the former spirit and structure of la Sorbonne.
I encourage the people on this forum who have responded in such elitist condescending tones to look beyond the anglo-biased rankings that they so dearly covet.
Anyone with questions about la Sorbonne can message me privately, as I will officially be a Sorbonne Scholar through 2019.
It’s not elitist to point out that anyone with a bac - roughly like having 5 AP 's - can register and that funding hasn’t followed through. Anyone who’s had to take notes standing up on the stairs due to overcrowding, with electric wire dangling from the ceiling above their head, knows that funding issues are a huge problem.
I hope you’ll post back - whether to report that classrooms, bathrooms, and labs have been fixed, or on the way things are going.
In case this comes in handy : Some universities won’t consider you a transfer if you have fewer than 15 or even 30 us credits (respectively 30 and 60ects).
Yes I’ve read the reports and explored the galleries in depth of many French Universities, but during my last visit and attendance of lectures at la Sorbonne, I found that the facilities were in top shape and the quality of instruction was of top quality.
It’s not like la Sorbonne is a community college system. Passing the bac is an arduous process, and submitting your candidacy is still contingent on the capacity of the university to host a limited number of students. And for any future students who may be looking at the UFR de Musicologie, admission into the program is competitive and holding a BAC definitely does NOT guarantee admission. There are live auditions, interviews, oral exams, and written exams making for a 15% admission rate.
@SirVinnie Music may be an exception to open admissions with a BAC, but @MYOS1634 knows what s/he is talking about. You seem to prefer the Sorbonne and that is your choice, but you would do well to heed our warnings and at least lower your expectations if you go there.
SirVinnie, no one here was putting you down or hating on French universities for the sheer heck of it, just trying to help manage your expectations to make sure you can be happy and successful in France. I’m sure everyone here would love to hear more about your experiences during the next few years, the good and the bad and the surprising. Nothing as valuable as a first hand account!