University study in France, or is DSis talking rubbish??

[BikeRunSki]

DSis lives in France. She has form for “s-mothering” her children (she recognises this).
Her eldest child has recently graduated from the university in their city and lived in the family home throughout.
Her next child will be applying to the university in the next city, even though it doesn’t offer the degree she actually wants to do, and also plans to stay at home.

DSis says that in France you have to go to university in your Department. Is this right?

The kids’ French grandparents are extremely wealthy and have offered to fund them to study elsewhere, but DSis is insistent that this is impossible. Really?

One child was considering studying in the UK, and I can understand that Brexit had made this difficult (they have a British passport), but is it really not possible to study elsewhere in France? So, anyone who goes to the Sorbonne had grown up in Paris?

I think she’s a control freak and is talking boswollox

My son is at uni in a different department. She is talking rubbish.

It is common to stay local if they offer the course which interests you but lots of student study in a different department or region from home.

I agree. Lots/most kids go to the local uni and live at home, but it's not compulsory and there are many reasons why they wouldn't.

The U.K. is unusual in that it's the "thing" to go to a university away from home for "the experience", although I think it's less common in Scotland, NI and Wales.

You don't have to stay within your department, but you get priority for your places if you stay within your academy (basically the region which is made up of several departments). You can go to another academy but if the corse is over subscribed then students within the acedemy will get the places.

It is certainly not unusual for students to live at home, but it is more normal for them to have accommodation in their university city and go home at weekends.

There are no student loans in France and the full grant (which only very low incomes get) would not be enough to cover living expenses. We are currently shelling out over 800€/month for our student. Many families can't afford that so the obvious solution is to live at home.

There are also no fees to pay for the public universities so a student living at home gets to graduate debt free.

I live in France. You can go to uni where you wish. Undergrads whose families live in France tend to live at home. Difficult, expensive and even precarious to find accommodation in Paris (and other grandes villes), particularly if you want somewhere big and quiet enough to study. But totally possible.

Since the introduction of Parcoursup, priority is given to students from the "secteur géographique" (which is not indentical to the académie, but similar) where the university they are applying to is located. Spaces are reserved for students outwith that secteur.

It's really only applicable for courses that are deemed to be "sous tension" (sports science, psychology, preparation for medicine, etc.) because they are massively in demand.

It doesn't apply at all for selective HE (prépas, grandes écoles, IUT, etc.)

The system is less flexible than it was before Parcoursup for courses that are oversubscribed, but other students can still study where they want.

I had 18 months out in France and lived with 4 French students - obviously they weren't local to the city we lived in. Its completely different to England - nobody really socialises, even within the flat, just polite conversation if you used the kitchen at the same time and everyone (but me!) went home at weekends.

Its normal, but not universal, in many European countries to remain at home and attend your local university, with the same cohort you went to school with

Puzzled at the view that Welsh students don't usually study outside of their local area. I have taught hundreds of A Level students and very few stayed local to home. Some did stay in Wales - but in a uni hours away from home. Most went to uni in England, some went to Scotland, some even further afield.

Just to add some other information...
Post Brexit, UK citizens living in the EU can still get home fees and student loans for the next 7 years in England and Wales (and Scotland too really, although am not sure this is official yet). So the child could go to uni in the UK if they wanted, with a little maintenance help. They wouldn't graduate debt free though, obviously, so can see why that might not appeal...
But also then there are many universities offering courses in English, or even French, across the EU, which cost very little for EU passport holders. Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium etc are all worth looking at if the grandparents are willing to fund living expenses.

I did a 6 month placement in France and was working but lived in halls of residence. It was awful as they all went home every weekend so I was pretty much alone all weekend. So yes they all lived reasonably local to the uni & it was the norm to go home on a weekend. This was 1993 so things might be different now. It may also be regional - I was in Eastern France.

This was before internet & there was only one phone for the whole block. So it was pretty lonely to start with.

I ended up making British friends as they were the only ones left to hang out with.

Things have changed a little over the last 25 years, although it is still very common for students to live at home or to travel back at weekends.

They tend to move a bit more for PG study, and more of them carry on to PG study now since the Licence doesn't get you very far now, following the reforms aligning duration of study for degree levels Europewide and, for those wanting to take the CAPES to become a teacher, since the reforms to those competitive exams.

However, what OP's sister is perhaps referring to is very recent, dating back to the introduction of Parcoursup in 2018. If her DC wants to enter PACES (to get into medicine), STAPS (sports science), psychology or another very oversubscribed degree course, then they may well have little choice but to stay in their area.

I live 600km away from Paris, which is where my children are students. Your DSis is talking nonsense.

She is indeed talking about the Parcoursup changes. AuldAlliance is right.

@iamtopazmortmain

Puzzled at the view that Welsh students don't usually study outside of their local area. I have taught hundreds of A Level students and very few stayed local to home. Some did stay in Wales - but in a uni hours away from home. Most went to uni in England, some went to Scotland, some even further afield.

Yep I’m Welsh and this is not true. But it is in Scotland I think.

Its true in Glasgow but not so much elsewhere but then most people in Scotland and most of the unis are in the central belt so most students are not too far from home (but not always actually living at home). Not many go to uni in England as a first choice because of not wanting to play fees.