Je veux assister une université française. Where do I begin?

**VoltaicBlueAppleTree** · 05-03-2007, 03:21 AM

After next year, my senior year of high school, I will have been taking french for 6 years. (I kind of wish I'd been taking Spanish all this time, because it's so darn useful in the American education world, but that ship has sailed.) I'm not fluent yet, but I could get around okay with francophones if I had to, and with enough concentration and patience I can navigate French websites.

I keep thinking what a waste it would be to put French in the backseat once I graduate high school. I want to study linguistics, and I want to use it in practical ways. I DON'T want to major in French.

I want to go to a French university. I would be forced to maintain and perfect my French for daily use while having the chance to study linguistics and other foreign languages at school. Not to mention, all those other countries (and their languages!) are relatively close by; so if I'm looking for serious language exposure, I'm thinking that Europe's the place to go.

I know they have the baccalaureate in France (around 70% pass rate, I think), and I know that most of their universities don't have all the trappings that ours do. That's about all I know.

I'm going to talk to my French teachers at school, but I figured I might as well check and see if anyone on here has ANY idea what would be involved in enrolling in a French school - or at least an idea of how to find out.

Thanks. I mean, um, merci

**Bananas** · 05-03-2007, 03:59 PM

I took four years of Spanish in high school. Senor Monahan only allowed us to speak Spanish in class. Nothing was spoken in English. We had three weeks of instruction of the Italian language and the French language during our Junior and Senior years. He taught us in Spanish.

The purpose was twofold. The first was to show us how much Spanish we did know. The second was to show us the similarities among the languages for comparison.

If you do wish you had taken Spanish, you might speak with a knowledgeable Spanish instructor and see if there are recommendations in taking classes and a time-line in achievement, depending on the level of proficiency you wish to gain. This is not to say that you abandon your present thoughts. If there is a university you wish to attend in France, perhaps you can immerse yourself in the Spanish language over some weekends spent in that country. Of course, that takes some money.

Just a few thoughts from this crabby person.

**JohnBoy** · 05-03-2007, 10:22 PM

Just a thought- even if you don't go to a French university, French is still useful. A lot of disciplines require a foreign language at the baccalaureate level, and even at the master's level and beyond. For example, I would have to pick up a foreign language if I wished to pursue a phD (one of the reasons for not doing so, I might add) as I had none required with my BS degree. So there are valid reasons for foreign language beyond having an interesting minor. As far as getting into a foreign school, I'm a bit clueless there...

**JustJim** · 05-04-2007, 04:46 AM

First, have you ever visited France? That would probably be a good first step . . . I've met several students who started out studying abroad and discovered their country of choice really wasn't someplace they cared to be.

You might find the information at [url="http://www.edufrance.fr/en/"]http://www.edufrance.fr/en/[/url] useful in beginning to find answers to your question. You could also contact the appropriate office at the French Embassy here in the US:
Studies Office - Embassy of France
4101 Reservoir Road N.W.
Washington D.C. 20007
(202) 944 6000

Good luck in your search!

**David Chin** · 05-04-2007, 01:05 PM

Here is a website you might find useful:

[url]http://www.campusfrance.org/en/a-etudier/faq.htm[/url]

Best wishes!

David

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