Four Things to Know Before Coming to School in France
Real talk: Deciding to study in France is a choice that you should weigh very carefully. Enrolling in French graduate school isn’t a simple way to hang out abroad but rather a serious undertaking that comes with obstacles and requires hard work. As two master’s degree students in France, Jalen and I want to debunk the top misconceptions that foreigners interested in studying in France believe. Read on to find out the four things you need to know before coming to school in France.
I’ll work a job to support myself during my studies.
While our student visas allow us to work up to 964 hours per visa year, our class schedules all but prohibited us from working during the school year. Aside from Jalen‘s class times changing on a weekly basis, the sheer amount of hours spent in class (26 to 29 hours of in-class instruction per week), completing assignments, and studying can make working a job highly impractical.
For this reason, we recommend that you plan ahead, budget carefully, and prepare yourself financially for the possibility that you won’t be able to work during the school year and successfully take on a master’s degree in France simultaneously.
University in France is easy since there are so few assignments.
It’s true that, in our experience, there are far fewer assignments to complete per class when compared to our undergraduate degrees in the United States. In fact, only 6 of my 20 classes in French law school this year had more than one grade! The majority of my classes were only evaluated by a single oral exam that counted for 100% of the final grade. While at first glance having less homework might make French school sound easy, it’s really quite the opposite.
If you’re considering enrolling in French university, keep in mind that a lack of assignments doesn’t mean a lack of work! Because the professors don’t give out work to periodically evaluate your understanding, you’ll have to stay on top of your studying and self-imposed prep to pass your final exams at the end of the year.
My French skills are already good enough for any program.
If, like Jalen and I, you’ve been studying French for years, taking classes fully in your second language might seem like a piece of cake. Furthermore, many French master’s degree programs only require applicants to have a B2 on the CEFR scale. This can signal to prospective students that their language skills will be perfectly sufficient for success in French university.
As DALF C2-level French users, we can tell you that your French can (and must) always improve. From attending lectures given by professors with unfamiliar accents, to needing to master new technical vocabulary, to having to produce advanced academic grammar, even the most experienced French speakers will be challenged by studying in their second language!
I’ll get a scholarship to finance my degree.
Scholarships, especially merit scholarships à l’américaine, are relatively few for foreign students in France. Furthermore, students who aren’t EU citizens aren’t eligible for the financial aid that many French students benefit from, known as la bourse. While getting a scholarship isn’t impossible, it’s not necessarily the norm either.
It’s important that you don’t count on financing your degree entirely by scholarships. Luckily, France’s higher education prices and numerous student perks make being a student here quite affordable. If you are interested in pursuing scholarships, we also advise that you get started early, as many scholarship applications are due well before university applications are!
With careful planning, robust research, and perseverance, going to French university can be a wonderful experience. Keeping these realities in mind will help you decide whether pursuing a degree in France is right for you.
What other reality checks have you been faced with on your journey to study in France? Let us know in a comment!
Check out our video about our daily life as students in France!
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