<p>I already posted this at another AUP post, but luckily I found this one.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the information I am even more convinced that I want to attend this school. I am very interested in the International Relations program, also looking a European/Mediterranean studies. I want to know what are my chances to getting in.</p>
<p>I am currently a student at an accredited community college in the US, I am majoring in Political Science. I am fluent in French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and of course English. I am also taking German classes at my current college. I have a 4.0 GPA so far, my plans were originally to transfer to USC, but have been thinking at AUP for awhile now. Is there anyway that I can transfer into AUP from my community college? Have other students done this?</p>
<p>It doesn’t hurt to send in an application… you never know until you try. I have one friend at AUP who did that to save money before going to a big university.</p>
<p>Another thing I want to know how is college life there, the social, educational and everything?</p>
<p>Also, I am interested in the Philosophy, Politics and Economics course that they do with Oxford. Since you are in that program in your opinion would it be better if I did get in to go into that program, with my major previously being Political Science? Or could I integrate into any major I choose?</p>
<p>Sorry to overwhelm you will all of this, I am grateful for any of the information you can supply me with.</p>
<p>Social - about 1000 students, 100 nationalities. You find your friends somehow in that mix. Usually people still stick largely with their culture/language group but you can still fit in anywhere. Everyone is really open-minded and accepting. It’s very largely girl-populated, though.</p>
<p>Educational- solid liberal arts education. I thought I was a good writer before I came in, but I wasn’t good enough for them. I had to take English for awhile. I’ve gotten a lot better. I placed out of math and science though, so the rest of my classes have been just out of my interest and for my major. Overall, I feel my teachers are good. I’m pretty sure nearly all of the ones I’ve had so far hold doctorates in their fields; many have attended Ivy league schools in the States or the equivalent abroad (there’s quite a few profs from Cambridge for some reason…) Occasionally, there will be some that are arrogant but at least they’re knowledgable. They’re always willing to talk and help you out, too. Profs from my freshman year still say hi to me when I see them randomly in the 7th arrondissement. Also, class sizes are small. I’ve had some with as few as 8 students, and the maximum I had was about 25 because it was an intro class for politics.</p>
<p>As for the major…I think you should major in whatever YOU want to major in, not something you “should” do or what someone else wants you to do. Technically you could combine the PPE program with any major though if you’re interested in it. Just look at the majors and minors that are offered on the website. Look at what classes you’d have to take, and do the major that truly interests you.</p>
<p>can you please tell about what internships can an AUP grad do and what is more important, does the school help to find the internship and if yes, what kind of help it is???</p>
<p>and the second question: what about the student life? are there any AUP parties, do you have an active club life or something like that???</p>
<p>oh, yeah… and is it really so girl crowded??? )) what is the average proportion???</p>
<p>You mentioned that the European educational system and overall college life is much different from in the U.S. Can you elaborate on that? (I’m not planning on going to Europe for my entire undergrad experience but I’ll probably study abroad)</p>
<p>Yeah, there’s a career office that helps you get internships/jobs while you’re in undergrad or afterwards. You meet with one of the counselors and they’ll help you do your CV, letter of motivation,etc. They have contacts, too, so they can try to help you out in whatever you’re looking for. I know kids that have gotten internships (unpaid though usually or very badly paid) at UNESCO and the International Herald Tribune.</p>
<p>The SGA schedules AUP parties a few times throughout the year. There’s also a lot of student clubs you can get involved in. You should check out the AUP Facebook for future students because I think a lot of the pics of stuff we do are up there. There’s also a discussion board where other students can answer questions.</p>
<p>As for the population… I think it’s probably a 7:3 girl to boy ratio.</p>
<p>Teenage cliche-
I can’t tell you about college in Europe as a whole. I’ve only gone to college in France. French university in the public sector is like 300 euros a year but it’s in big lecture halls and you have barely any contact with your profs. There are some private schools but even those are only like 5000 euros per year. They’re usually considered for the not-so-smart rich kids, or so I’ve heard. I can’t really tell you all that much because most of my university has been done with AUP. I only had one course at the Sorbonne and classes at a French high school back when I did a high school exchange. There’s forums that talk about this, though, I’m sure. Just try googling it.</p>
<p>Hello there,I read that you are currently attending this school. My situation is somewhat unique. By hte end of my first semester of high school senior year I will be finished with all my credits so I thought about studying abroad the 2nd semester. I studied french for 2 years. I will study for my first semester of senior year at my school. Will you recommend me to attend this university if my primary goal is to learn the language but only knowing about 15%French and not being able to communicate effectively; I could only say basic stuff but from that nothing more. I will only attend the university for the 2nd semester of high school. I will come back to attend my freshmen year at stanford or caltech. What do you recommend me to do. </p>
<p>I am a junior in high school and from what I have seen AUP is truly a unique place to be and I would be honored if I could attend. So far I have a 3.7 GPA I have take courses like German 1&2, Greek 1&2, Latin 1&2, A.P. English, and other standard courses. Also, I have lived abroad for a month in Poland, I traveled around saw auschwitz, warsaw, etc. I am interested in taking a double major of comparative politics and philosophy with a minor in art history. I have read the website throughly but they really dont say exactly what thier looking for. So may I ask you what they want in a student and what kind of people would get rejected? Also, do they have any courses in architecture? AUP is my top choice by far, so I will gladly take any advice! Thank you very much!</p>
<p>Ferniesoccer1-
Sorry for taking awhile to respond. I’ve had family visiting this last week.</p>
<p>Of course I think you can learn French by attending AUP (afterall, it’s in France). However, for your situation, I think it would be better to do an exchange program like Rotary or AFS. You’d live with a host family and go to the local school. It’s culturally tough at first but it’s the surest way to be completely immersed. I think if you came to AUP as a high school student to only take French classes… I don’t know, I think it might be hard for you to fit in with college students who will be focusing on other studies and whose main priorities are usually not to learn French. However, if you were to do an exchange program, you’d be meeting other high school-aged students who would be in a similar situation as yours. That’s not to say that there aren’t AUP students who come out fluent after spending time here, but they were all in college here. That’s just my 2 cents.</p>
<p>I think the reason they don’t post what they’re looking for in a student is because the students at AUP are so varied. I mean, I think it’s only like 30% of the students are American, so that might be why they don’t post GPA and SAT scores, because most of the students have never had a GPA or taken the SATs. As a whole, the entering class hasn’t gone through the same system in high school. </p>
<p>In any case, I think as long as you show in your essays WHY you want to attend, it will reflect well on you. What you’re telling me makes me think that you’d probably get in because you’ve researched the school, are looking at certain departments, and are interested in learning about other cultures. Having that interest is a definite must. You should also show maturity in your essays. Remember, they want to accept students that they think are going to be able to handle living independently in a large, foreign city (no dorms, not the usual American college amenities, etc – you have to be able to grow up quick). </p>
<p>The people that get rejected are the people that didn’t really try in high school. I’m not in admissions so I can’t tell you specifics. Of the people that I’ve heard who’ve been rejected, it’s usually because they had bad grades.</p>
<p>As for courses in architecture, yeah, they do have them. I took one last semester on the history of Paris through its architecture with Prof. Chevalier. It was absolutely amazing; she’s a total encycopledia on the subject and could go on and on about every site we visited. I just took it for fun so I don’t know about other architecture courses. I’d check the site. Try looking in the art history department. The classes should be listed.</p>
<p>Hope that helps! Feel free to ask any other questions you might have or ask for clarification.</p>
<p>I read on the website that AUP only fulfills 50% of financial aid by grants. That still leaves about $19,000 plus living expenses, etc./year for the student to pay themselves. Does this sound about right?</p>
<p>Sorry it took me awhile to get back to you. I have family visiting.</p>
<p>Anyway, for your question… Yeah, I think it’s probably around $18,000 a year. For comfortable living expenses, I would factor in about 800-1000 euros per month (for all that is rent, electricity, food, fun, etc). Rent might be a little cheaper if you can get the CAF, which is French housing aid for students. For all things financial aid, I’m not really the person to talk to, though. You should get into contact with the financial aid office. I know that it surely is an expensive school but it IS possible to attend even if your parents aren’t rolling in the dough. I have a friend who has no parental financial support at all… she has maximum AUP grants, scholarship money she won in the States, some loans, and she works a little bit at the university. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>De rien! She’s not on here but I know that she got scholarships from random organizations (I know for one that she had been an exchange student with Rotary, and she applied to one for there and got some money). She also takes out student loans for sure. Other than that, I know based on financial need that AUP can grant maximum aid which is 50% off tuition. If your high school grades are good, they also can grant an academic scholarship which takes off 3000 euros per school year.</p>
<p>In any case, you should contact the financial aid office. I’m putting the contact link here. You should email the guy at the bottom. I know from personal experience that he’s really helpful. Bon courage!</p>
<p>Thank you, it was really helpful! I’m curious, though, (in your opinion) what are the best things about the University and what are worst? Also, is it possible for me to get a job in the city itself, to pay off some of my expenses?</p>
<p>BEST - no one will be able to understand your unique college experience except fellow classmates/alums; grow up quickly (no dorms, no cafeteria card, usually no mom and dad within an 8 hour plane ride); very international (100+ nationalities; many kids have lived in 2+ countries and are at least bilingual); no racism, everyone is very tolerant of different cultures, religions; small school (1000 students) and classes so get to know students/profs easily; hear probably 10+ different languages on campus per day; friends live all over city (each arrondissement has its own flavor); profs educated at Ivies/Oxbridge and from all over the world; seminars by Jane Goodall, Calvin Klein, Reza (National Geographic photographer), diplomats; possibility to go to “name” schools for graduate degree; internships with UNESCO, International Herald Tribune, IMF; study trips with profs usually to other countries in Europe or N. Africa; getting to live in one of, if not THE, most beautiful city in the world with a “campus” integrated into Parisian lifestyle; learn French (exchange programs with the Sorbonne, French Studies major, many francophone students); practice another language with your friend who’s a native speaker; nearly all students have interesting reason why they’re studying there</p>
<p>WORST - no one will be able to understand your unique college experience except fellow classmates/alums (Basically, the school is in a league of its own.); vapid rich kids who come ONLY because it’s in Paris (don’t worry, you can still wade through them and find friends); maximum scholarship money at 50% (I think we should have full tuition scholarships… it’s not possible, though. the school never really had any big donors like the big U.S. universities, unfortunately); small library; too many exchange students from NYU, GWU, etc.; having to pay everything in Euros (bad for Americans but the exchange rate has been getting better as of late); not good if you get homesick easily and don’t have family in Europe (although, it does teach you good independence skills); small school also means that there are limited majors (not really anything in the sciences, for example)</p>
<p>As for jobs…It’s theoretically possible to get a job in Paris but can be tricky if you don’t have EU citizenship. If you don’t, it’s better to look in anglophone businesses because they’re more likely to hire under the table. You can also work for the university but it’s paid only 5 euros/hr (however, the work is usually really easy and you’ll probably have free time to study on the job). Students often do English lessons for French people and/or babysitting, as well.</p>
<p>I know that’s a bit messy but hope it helps!</p>
<p>Awesome discription! Understandable…I do however have another question (I hope you can forgive me). During the mid-90’s switerzland was losing population fast so they opened up there citizenship to anyone with a full-blooded swiss grandparent or a half-blooded swiss parent. My mother told me that I am a swiss citizen because of this. Since switerzland is in the EU, I assume I am a EU citizen. However, I dont know how to check to see if I am truly a swiss citizen…is there anyway you can tell how to find out…(I would ask my mother but she died a few years ago)…</p>
<p>As an American who only holds that citizenship, I’m really not that knowledgable on this issue. I would try looking at the Swiss Embassy website and/ or calling up the one closest to where you live.</p>
<p>I’m going to be doing volunteer work in Latin America this summer and will have limited access to internet. I’ll get back to your questions when I get back. Good luck to you all!</p>
I wonder if I could be in the same boat as your friend. I would love to speak with them.</p>