Are you thinking about studying abroad in France? I have been studying in France for about 4 years. In this post, I will share with you what I have learned.
My experience studying in France
My name is Moni and almost 4 years ago I had the opportunity to study abroad. I remember the day I was at the airport waiting for my flight to come to France as if it were yesterday. A new chapter of my life was starting, I had just turned 18 and was about to leave my mainland. All to pursue my dream, in France, in Strasbourg. I was certainly nervous but also extremely happy and grateful to be able to live this experience.
After 12 hours of traveling, I finally arrived in Strasbourg. It felt like a movie. I could not believe it. It was a dream come true. Seeing the city, my first impression of the city was, “Wow! What a beautiful place to live in.”
The registration process
At first, I needed to complete my registration process. I basically made an appointment. Then went to my faculty building and handed them the documents they previously asked me for.
I was a little bit nervous because I had no idea how administration processes worked in France. Also, it was my first time doing everything completely on my own and in another language.
Integration week
Before starting classes, I had an integration week. We played different games, had a tour of the campus, ate “tarte flambée” and more. To me, this was a great opportunity to make friends. Being a foreign student, making new friends was my priority. I met a lot of people from which 4 became my closest friends.
If you are going to College next year or you just started, I recommend you to go to as many student events as you can. It is then that you can make friends plus create great memories.
The first week
My first week was exhausting. I had classes every day, but they were all distributed in an unbalanced way. In high school, I used to have the same amount of classes every day. However, in college, there were days in which I had six classes of two hours each and others in which I only had one class of two hours.
Another completely different thing was that my teachers gave a two-hour class without any break. I felt like my brain was about to explode! Imagine listening to a teacher talk for two hours straight about biology or cognitive science. It was pretty interesting, do not get me wrong. Nonetheless, I could not pay attention for two hours straight. At some point, I started falling asleep or looking at my phone trying to stay awake. Let me tell you it is not possible to retain that much information at once.
After classes, I was so tired that as soon as I arrived home, I slept. Some days I could directly start studying, but others I just could not stay awake. It was a very exhausting period of my life. Although there were certain topics I had already learned in high school, I had to translate a lot of concepts from my mother tongue to French. If you are also studying abroad, just know that it does take a lot of energy to do that, but once it is done it is a very rewarding experience.
My first exams
My first college exams were a disaster. I had no idea how the French system worked so what I did to study was to answer previous exams. They were multiple choice and I only had three of them. It was crazy! My levels of stress were extremely high for a week after I could breathe.
I had all of my exams in huge amphitheaters with a lot of students. We were around 600 students, all distributed in about three to four different amphitheaters. Surprisingly they gave us an extra colored sheet to use as a draft. On the other hand, we had two hours to answer them. I had never had that many classmates XD
My thoughts
Certainly, college is nothing like high school. You are given way more freedom than before and everything depends on the decisions you make. I personally enjoy having the freedom to choose whether if I go to class or not, what studying method to use, where to study, etc. It is not easy to take that many decisions, it is a learning process. Once you get the hang of it, everything is easier.
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Share your college experience with us on the comment section!
