Three Reasons to Skip Studying Abroad in Paris
Many Americans who dream of studying abroad don’t say, “I want to study in France!” but “I want to study in Paris!” The internet is teeming with videos, articles, and testimonies about studying and living in the city of lights. Even during our time with the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF), many assistants went to great lengths to try to work in Paris. Is living in Paris really what it seems? Here at The Francofile, we’re not dying to become Parisian. Read on to find out why.
Objectives
When Jalen and I set out to search for programs, we were most interested in finding degrees that really suited our goals – Jalen was looking for a logistics program while I wanted to study law. While die-hard Paris lovers may choose their program with their dream location in mind, our only criteria were that the universities we applied to had attractive programs for both of us and that we could afford to live in the area. For us, getting our master’s degrees is about gaining knowledge in our goal career fields, nurturing our French-language skills, and starting our journey to stay in France long-term. For the most part, Paris wasn’t the place for us to best accomplish these objectives.
Cost of Living
The cost of living in Paris is high, and living on a student budget would be difficult. Breaking the bank to live in Paris doesn’t get us any closer to our goals! We’ve worked hard to save money, even while working our notoriously low-paid teaching assistant jobs, so applying to school in the most expensive city in the country just didn’t make sense. After all, one of the reasons that we decided to apply to school in France in the first place is the low cost of education! Though Paris is charming, we prefer to live a comfortable student lifestyle elsewhere in France.
Types of Programs
Paris is home to some truly iconic universities, but many Americans who study in Paris aren’t actually getting French degrees there. Programs taught entirely in English, short-term exchange programs, and intensive French-improvement programs abound at Parisian universities because Paris is such a popular destination for international students. While these can be great opportunities, Jalen and I wanted to directly enroll in French-language programs that weren’t made for foreigners. Of course excellent programs like this exist in Paris, but between the highly selective grandes écoles, the expensive private schools, and the cost of living discussed previously, those weren’t feasible for us either.
For all of these reasons, Jalen and I didn’t apply to any programs in Paris and ended up studying at the Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne. While we enjoy reading articles and watching videos from people who live in Paris as much as anyone, we want to show our audience that France is so much more than just Paris, and that Parisian living isn’t right for everyone! Interested in studying in France? Where would you choose to study? Let us know in a comment!
Check out our video about why you should study in France!
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