<p>Well I found out today and am needless to say pretty excited....however</p>
<p>here is my dilemma:</p>
<p>Pros:
PARIS
Would be 100% bilingual (am currently fluent due to a year abroad in France but would love to be annoyingly verbose) :)
College is 3 years in Europe
Worldwide name recognition
No GEs
The degree is called "Langues Etrang</p>
<p>sorbonne has an incredible worldwide reputation (maybe thanks to Jackie O) if you think you can handle it (i get the vibe that you can) it will definitly be an amazing experience for you.</p>
<p>taking risks is much easier now than it will be with graduate school
congrats though (i'll contain my jealously at french fluency)</p>
<p>frankly france is really going downhill with all those riots. That's a serious problem and i'm not sure if u would like protester/rioters blockign ur entry to schools(which they r doing right now) for like months.</p>
<p>Imiracle, the French have been rioting since the late 18th century! LOL Don't worry dude, France is the heart of Europe and will remain so for the foreseeable future. France's riots do not weaken that country. France has always had to deal with revolution and even then, it has managed to remain one of the World's 4 or 5 most important nations for over half a milenium. </p>
<p>Demographers were saying that France's population (like most Western European countries) would be a problem because of a decline in French birth and a surge in imigrant births. That overall, France's population would decline from 58 million in 1995 to 54 million in 2050 and that over 30% of people living in France would be immigrants. Well, the demographers were shocked when last year, the 10-year census revealed the complete opposite. France's population isn't declining, it is surging. France's population grew from 58 million in 1995 to 62 (second to only Germany) million in 2005 and fewer than 10% of people living in France are imigrants. Most of the growth was due to French births, not imigrant births. It is now estimated that France will have the largest population in Europe by 2050, exceeding 75 million. </p>
<p>France's economy needs some serious reform to be sure, but it is still a very wealthy country with a very innovative population. Its companies are among the most profitable and its workers among the most productive.</p>
<p>Lecorbeau, the opportunity to study in Paris is unique...and more so if it is at La Sorbonne. One thing you need to remember is that French universities, including la Sorbonne, aren't well funded, so you won't have the same beautifully maintained facilities and tiny classes that you would have at a school like Bwodoin. Furthermore, campus life in European universities is not nearly as cohesive and well-defined as it is in the US. But otherwise, you cannot beat the opportunity of studying at La Sorbonne.</p>
<p>Alexandre---did you know the Sorbonne opened up a satellite campus in Dubai? An advertisement for it was included in the letter...</p>
<p>La Sorbonne and INSEAD. </p>
<p>Two of Europe's best institutions - and both have incredible worldwide reputations.</p>
<p>The main thing you need to ask yourself is simply this:</p>
<p>"Do I plan on living, working and staying in the US for the rest of my life?"</p>
<p>If you're pretty certain the answer to that is "yes", then the marginal benefits of going to France will be small (in fact could possibly be slightly negative in the short run to be honest).</p>
<p>But, if you plan on spending at least some time living or working abroad, having La Sorbonne on your resume will serve you well - bear in mind that globalization / internationalization will become even more important in the future than it is now.</p>
<p>Lastly, spending time in Europe can be an incredible opportunity if you make the most of it.</p>
<p>Coming from a french school I can tell you that la Sorbonne is not particularly impressive (prestigious). French Universities accept anyone who passes the french baccalaureate exam and I think the national passing rate last year was 79.7%. The way it works typically is that most (sometimes nearly 90%) people don't finish their intended program either because they chose a different one, or they fail which is most often the case (over 50% fail their 1st year).</p>
<p>I can tell you first hand the french education system is great and if you work hard at a UNI you can do very well, but I think UCSD is a better option.</p>
<p>I don't think it will cost you $400-500. The University tuition is free but you still have to live there (food/house) and the cost of living in Paris is amazingly high.</p>
<p>Also I don't think you will have opportunities to intern, which is really what prospective MBAs need. France is not an ideal place to get a job and recruiters usually go for students in the more selective preparatory system.</p>
<p>I would suggest you go to UCSD and maybe spend a semester abroad at Sorbonne. Of course it's up to you if you like it then go for it, the experience will be very different from an American uni.</p>
<p>Actually, within my desired program there is a mandatory 3 month internship obligatorily in a foreign country (other than France)</p>
<p>
[quote]
I can tell you that la Sorbonne is not particularly impressive (prestigious)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>How can you say that?</p>
<p>La Sorbonne is probably THE most famous university in France not to mention one of Europe's most well regarded:</p>
<p>
[quote]
The University of Paris remains one of the most famous and prestigious of universities in the world, having produced Nobel Prize winners from its faculty and student body, as well as a number of the greatest intellectuals, political theorists, scientists, physicians, theologians, and artists of the Western tradition and canon.
[/quote]
</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Sorbonne%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Sorbonne</a></p>
<p>Ivy_Grad</p>
<p>Have you every hear of Ecole polytechnique? Thats something that has always amazed me NO one has heard of this school, the French consider it to be their Harvard. How does a place like Sorbonne get more of a reputation? It's only because of the size.</p>
<p>Sorbonne IS a great school but its not hard to get into. I don't like the attention it gets, people overrate it because it's the only school they've heard of in France.</p>
<p>As mentioned before, I do indeed plan on spending significant time overseas...</p>
<p>Sebma- mais toi t'as d</p>
<p>
[quote]
Have you every hear of Ecole polytechnique?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yes I have. My understanding is that it was originally established as France's military academy (though no longer so) and that it has a formidable program in the sciences.</p>
<p>
[quote]
How does a place like Sorbonne get more of a reputation? It's only because of the size.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Perhaps its due to the fact that it's one of the oldest, most well regarded universities of the world, not to mention the fact that it has produced some pretty impressive people:</p>
<pre><code>* St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Roman Catholic theolgian
* Joaqu
</code></pre>
<p>do you mean sciences-po? I thought that was primarily a poli sci GRADUATE school...?</p>
<p>By "impressive" I mean impressive on a job resume. Of course they've graduate all these people it's a huge school. Research in France is conducted mostly in the universities, the preparatory school get no money, all of it goes to the universities. France is one of the top 6-7 world powers so they do a lot of research but its not like in the US were it happens all over the country. In France its concentrated in Paris and particularly in la Sorbonne.</p>
<p>Also it's been around forever so things add up.</p>
<p>Science-Po is not only graduate. After the 'Bac' students have to take an exam to enter. It's highly selective and MUCH more highly regarded than Sorbonne</p>
<p>
[quote]
In France its concentrated in Paris and particularly in la Sorbonne.</p>
<p>Also it's been around forever so things add up.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Well, there you go.</p>
<p>You have partially answered your own question.</p>
<p>There is absolutely NO DENYING that La Sorbonne IS THE MOST FAMOUS French university with THE MOST WORLDWIDE PRESTIGE. </p>
<p>Period.</p>
<p>Whether "deserved" or not - this is not the question at hand. </p>
<p>Whether the "Average Jacques" in France considers it or not - this is not relevant either in the context of "WHICH FRENCH U. HAS THE MOST WORLDWIDE PRESTIGE"</p>
<p>I'm sorry you seem to be bitter about this. But those are the facts.</p>
<p>So in terms of what's "impressive"? Yeah, I'd say that attending La Sorbonne is impressive. To try and argue that attending La Sorbonne is somehow "unimpressive" whether in France or elsewhere simply does not square with reality.</p>
<p>lecorbeau</p>
<p>Bien sur je suis pas 100% au courant de ta situation, moi meme j'ai considere la fac mais c'etais pas une ambiance qui me plaisait trop. Je te dit pas non plus que la Sorbonne est une mauvaise universite, au contraire.
Si vraiment tu veu y aller vas-y, simplement je te suggere UCSD...</p>
<p>People have heard of if of course but its not the best school in France at ALL. American diplomas in general are more highly regarded than French universities (not always preparatory schools.</p>
<p>I don't know exactly what your definition of prestige is but the fact is getting into/having a diploma from la Sorbonne is no major feat.</p>
<p>For what lecorbeau want to do I think UCSD is better. And I think la Sorbonne is overrated on this Forum.</p>
<p>Sebma, you do not understand the French education system. First of all, only 50% of French student are good enough to even take the French Bac. The remaining 50% go to a trade school and never take the French Bac. And of those top50% who do take the French Bac, 75% pass it. So to pass the French Bac, you must already be one of the top 35% of France's students. But Sorbonne does not accept anybody who merely passes the Bac. One must have a Mention Bien to get into La Sorbonne. Only the top 10% of the students who take the Bac get a Mention Bien. In short, to get into La Sorbonne, one tends to be among the top 5% of France's students. That's pretty impressive. </p>
<p>As for L'Ecole Polytechnique, everybody in the Engineering World knows it. It is one of the top 3 Engineering schools in Europe and most of my friends at Michigan knew it. My own uncle, a professor of Civil Engineering at Michigan, completed his undergraduate studies at Ecole Polytechnique. So did Carlos Ghosn, CEO extraordinaire of Renault/Nissan. And SciencePo is very famous too.</p>
<p>And I do not see how American universities are more highly regarded. H,M,P,S and Y probably are, but the rest aren't.</p>