Education System Angers, France (BB)

The Education System

Education is a very interesting topic to blog about because the systems in place in France and the United States are sim

ilar, yet very different. France and the United States have very similar social-economic situations, and they are both countries that offer public and private options for education. However, the typical university experience for a French student greatly differs from that of an American student.

A photo of my university in Angers, The Catholic University of the West

A typical day for me is to wake up around 8am and get ready for the day. French universities typically do not offer on campus living, with most students living with families or staying in dormitory like apartments or rented rooms in the surrounding town. I personally live with a host family about a twenty minute walk from the university. I try to walk to and from school when the weather is nice, but it has been chilly in the mornings here so I have become dependent on the public bus system to take me to the university. Classes start at 9am for me, and depending on the day, I have between three and five hours of class a day. Lunch is normally about an hour, and there is a small cafe on campus, but it is also common to walk into town to grab a quick bite to eat before returning for my afternoon classes. I get out of class between 3pm and 5pm, and I either go straight home or I spend time exploring the town with other students. The only day that I finish early is Friday, because here at CIDEF we have half days on Friday and end at noon since many students travel or go home to their families on the weekends.

The French Education System versus the U.S. System:

How do people at your host destination view higher education? What opinion do they have of their universities? Is there a concept, or a tradition, of liberal arts education?

Like in the United States, it is very common and nowadays almost expected that young people seek some level of higher education. Unlike in the U.S. where a lot of meaning is put behind what university a young person attends, in France it is much more common for French students to attend university close to home because many of them still live at home with their parents while they are studying. Unless a French student is attending a specialized school, like a medical school, they typically just chose a university in their hometown. Most French universities are larger institutions with specialized schools or “facs” under each larger university. Liberal arts education is not a very common thing if it exists at all here in France because most students pick their specialty before they even leave for university. In French high school, students already have an idea of what they wish to study and they focus on taking classes that correspond with the placement exam for their chosen field of study.

Who attends university? What does it cost?

Most students who can afford to take the time to study in France attend university because it is nearly free to attend public university in France, with students just paying a few hundred euros for fees and books. Private university is a bit more expensive, but still much cheaper than any school in the U.S. When students learn how expensive college is in the United States, most of them seem shocked because in France it is typical for them to pay for school with just part time jobs or a bit of aid for parents instead of exorbitant loans.

A French high school diploma or "le bac"

What are university entrance requirements? Are students placed into different career tracks long before they ever reach university?As we have the SAT in the United States, French students also have an entrance exam to pass before they are admitted to university. The French exam is called “Le Bac”, and it is taken at the end of high school and is much like receiving a French high school diploma. In the final years of French high school, students are already in a focused area of study called a “Terminale” where they prepare to take their specialized version of the bac exam.

Is learning structured at your host institution, or is it more independent? What is expected of students? What is the role of the professor? What kind of feedback is provided?
Learning at my host institution is still very structured as it is in the United States. I attend class for a set period of time each week, 6 hours a week for language and grammar class and 3 hours a week of each one of my elective courses. Students are expected to do the same as they are at Allegheny College; regularly attending class, participating in discussions and answering questions, and completing assignments in a timely fashion. The professor gives exams like I would receive in the U.S., and the grading system is fairly similar. The only large difference I have found is that while we are very private with grades in the U.S., it is common to post grades publicly for all students to see in France. This does not occur in CIDEF, but I believe that is because it is a program specifically for study abroad students.

Now that you’ve experienced a new system, how might your approach to learning shift once you return to Allegheny?Homework here in France is much less intense and generally not assigned at nearly the volume it is in the United States, so I will have to get used to spending hours on assignments again when I return to Allegheny. I will probably be better with my time once I return to Allegheny because I have grown used to having free time to pursue other things here in France, like reading for pleasure and spending more time exploring the town around me. I may make it a goal to get my homework done early when I return home since I have gotten used to having spare time, and I do not want to go back to my previous habit of watching Netflix in between assignments as the only thing I have to do that is not schoolwork.