Advice on French Schools

Applying to College
1

Hello,

I am an American high school student seriously considering attending a CPGE in France. If one accepts me, of course. I had a couple of questions that I hope could be answered.

  1. Will CPGE’s seriously consider an American candidate? I understand that some French people are anti-American.

  2. From what I gathered, the French do not care about the SAT at all, and I do not have to take the Bacc as a foreign applicant. However, I’ve read some places that I should focus on the AP subject tests because the French will value these. Does anyone have more insight into this?

**3) I am attending a language-immersion summer program next year. Since this program is located in Paris, surrounded by many CPGE programs, I was thinking about dropping by some offices and asking a couple of questions and making my intentions clear. Would this be wise, or will I look stupid?

  1. If I choose this as my chosen path for higher education, should I drop some of my extracurriculars? I am currently involved in a bunch of clubs and activities, but from what I’ve gathered, the French only care about grades.

  2. Is this impossible? I have no connections to France. Some schools that I’ve looked into have chinese students, but they are chinese students directly from a related school in China. I’ve also read places that the CPGE programs are very elitist.

  3. Does anybody know any reputable summer programs for Americans in France that would be a resume booster to the CPGE admission offices? I can’t seem to find any.

  4. Do CPGE programs have entrance exams?

  5. When does the application process for CPGE programs start roughly?

  6. Any advice is appreciated, but please refrain from telling me that I should just give up. I am truly interested in attending a CPGE, but nothing is final. I am just exploring my options.

Thanks!