For 8 months, I spent my third year of college at a French university. Below are some of the main differences that I noticed while studying in a foreign university.
Grading scale
The academic grading scale in America is based on a scale of (0-100), with the 5 letter grades being A, B, C, D, and F being short for failed. A 60% to a 69% is a ‘D’ , which in high school is a passing grade. However in most colleges in America, a ‘C’ or 73% is required to pass the course.
In France there is a drastic difference, they have a 20 point grading scale from (0-20). A passing grade is 10 points or higher. So, whether you receive a 20, which is rare or a 10 you are still going pass and it will not make a difference in your grades. When I first heard that that was the grading scale, I was in shock that essentially a 50% is passing. Needless to say the French are much more generous with their grading scale and it is rare to see someone fail a course unless a student plagiarizes.
Class Selection
Entering college in the United States is the moment of freedom when you can decide what you want to study. You choose your major or field of study and then that determines some requirements that you have to take, but then there are general education courses that you have to fill. Gen eds can be anything from a Harry Potter class to a weather class, even if you are a business major.
In France you are able to choose your major, but not individual courses. If you are a finance major, you are placed into the finance program and given a predetermined set of courses that must be completed for graduation.
Lunch
Lunch at university in the US can be seen in various forms, bringing food to class and making obnoxious noises eating during lecture, rushing to eat something during that 15 min break in between your two back-to-back classes, having a coffee and counting that as a nutritious meal or just completely forgetting to eat until your stomach starts to make noises in class. Don’t get me wrong American college students love to eat, but during the school week lunch can be rushed. However, if you do have time to eat, options usually range from an all you can eat dining hall that has sub-par food, a variety of fast food options and university owned eateries and cafes. Most of which can be purchased with your overpriced meal plan. #Starbucks meals
In France, food and dining is taken seriously and should be enjoyed and not rushed. University is not an exception for this rule. Everyday there is a 2 hour lunch break between 1200 and 1400 (2pm). There were rare times when a class would surpass 1200. During that lunch break there are no classes and staff is rarely available, as they are also having lunch. At my school in France, they opened a dining hall that was not all you can eat but offered several affordable options. If you didn’t want was offered in the dining hall, going to the nearest boulangerie, bakery, local restaurant or the supermarket as a last resort. #panini poulet4life
Schedule of Classes
Registering for classes in the US, can be a stressful time trying to make sure your schedule is halfway decent. Schedules can be created anyway that you want with the available and eligible courses that are offered. You could have one class each day of the week, all your classes on Tuesday and Thursday, all your classes in the morning or any other combo. So that means you have the potential to have a longer weekend and to be able to work while you go to school. Classes are on average 1 hour 15 mins and you have the class twice a week. Normally you have 5 courses each semester (max 6), with the same weekly schedule.
In France your schedule is predetermined by your program that you chose to study. The schedule is known at the beginning of the semester. However, it is not the consistent 5 same classes a week. At my university in France, there was approximately 15 courses each semester and you had each class six times. You may have a digital marketing class the 1st week of class and then not have that same class for a month. Or there were other times when a whole course would be completed in one week. And there were times when there were 4 classes in a week or there were 10 classes in a week. Which also makes it difficult to have a job.
Homework
The amount of homework in college definitely decreases from the amount given in high school. But there still is occasional homework given, whether it is assigned reading or a quick worksheet, or even just implied homework like if you do not read this you are not going to understand anything in the next class. Overall not much homework, but it does exist.
Homework is not a common occurrence in French universities. Grades are mainly based on participation and final exams. For one there is not any books that you have to buy, so required reading is limited. I did have one course that gave homework out each class, but that professor just so happened to be American so that explains that. Homework is studying for your finals and finishing a final group project.
Projects/Group Work
In American colleges I would say that 45% of projects are in groups and the others are individual. Groups also usually consist of 2 - 5 people.
90% of projects in a French university are group based. And the groups usually consist of 4 to 10 people. And remember there are 15 courses not 5, so it was difficult to keep track of who was in each group and what was required for each project. I can recall doing three individual projects out of the whole year I was there.
Cost
This part is so painful to write. College tuition is outrageous in the USA. According to the College Board the following is the average price for US higher education:" $34,740 at private colleges, $9,970 for state residents at public colleges, and $25,620 for out-of-state residents attending public universities." In the US college students joke about a car hitting them, so that then that person will help pay for their tuition.
France offers free college tuition for any public university and private universities cost may range between 1600 and 8000 euros. There is also a program in Europe that pays students to study in another European country other than their own. That price does not usually include housing, however the French government helps pay for housing, even for international students.
Social life is way different abroad than in the US , I will share a separate post about that, as it deserves its own.
***Disclaimer***
All of the information other than the US college tuition data, is purely based on my experiences and the experiences shared with me by other students.
Comment below what the biggest difference was between your home university and your abroad university.