One pecularity of France is the system of “Grandes Ecoles”, which is quite unique.

In most countries, engineering degrees are provided by universities, within the ordinary university system. In France, all the main ministries (industry, transport, telecommunications…) maintain and fund their own specific engineering schools, so-called “Grandes Ecoles”, apart from the ministry of higher education which runs the universities. These engineering schools are meant to form the elite which will later become the higher executives of the ministries, and of public enterprises. There is even the ENA (Ecole Nationale d’Administration) which is meant to form the next generation of higher public servants and politicians (our current president, Emmanuel Macron, is a former ENA student).

The “Grandes Ecoles” receive a much higher funding per student capita that the universities receive. As a consequence, all the brightest students after high school are attracted to these “grandes écoles”, instead of going to the university, which is considered a second choice. Grandes Ecoles are selective, contrarily to universities which are obliged by law to accommodate any high school student who succeeds at the “Baccalauréat” (more than 88% do). Students usually have to take two years of preparatory training before applying to the entrance examination of Grandes Ecoles. Training in Grandes Ecoles is much more demanding than in universities, especially during the two preparatory years, where training, especially in mathematics, is quite intense.

Students who have gone through the preparatory years, and later have integrated universities in the USA or elsewhere.  usually find the teaching level to be much less demanding than what they where trained to.

One pecularity of France is the system of “Grandes Ecoles”, which is quite unique.

In most countries, engineering degrees are provided by universities, within the ordinary university system. In France, all the main ministries (industry, transport, telecommunications…) maintain and fund their own specific engineering schools, so-called “Grandes Ecoles”, apart from the ministry of higher education which runs the universities. These engineering schools are meant to form the elite which will later become the higher executives of the ministries, and of public enterprises. There is even the ENA (Ecole Nationale d’Administration) which is meant to form the next generation of higher public servants and politicians (our current president, Emmanuel Macron, is a former ENA student).

The “Grandes Ecoles” receive a much higher funding per student capita that the universities receive. As a consequence, all the brightest students after high school are attracted to these “grandes écoles”, instead of going to the university, which is considered a second choice. Grandes Ecoles are selective, contrarily to universities which are obliged by law to accommodate any high school student who succeeds at the “Baccalauréat” (more than 88% do). Students usually have to take two years of preparatory training before applying to the entrance examination of Grandes Ecoles. Training in Grandes Ecoles is much more demanding than in universities, especially during the two preparatory years, where training, especially in mathematics, is quite intense.

Students who have gone through the preparatory years, and later have integrated universities in the USA or elsewhere.  usually find the teaching level to be much less demanding than what they where trained to.