<p>That’s what my take is also on this. I know DD wants to experience France and this is really a nice oppertunity. I just don’t want to be the one making this decision for her.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I checked the program and college recommends at least a French IV with grade B. I’m not sure how she got this without any French.</p>
<p>If the program requirement was French IV then it seems existence without French must be difficult.</p>
<p>Program requirements:
Participating students will be expected to have fulfilled the following requirements:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Two years (minimum) of university-level French language training with a grade B or better (completion of French IV ) or equivalent proficiency. Contact us if you are unsure of your level. </p></li>
<li><p>At least one course that introduces students to important cultural, social, and political aspects of French speaking countries, preferably: </p></li>
<li><p>Standing : You must have a grade-point average of 4.0 or better. </p></li>
<li><p>Participating students will be expected to attend several training sessions and a weekend retreat in the spring that will address topics in French culture and society and practical questions about living in France.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Program seems to cover all the cost:
All expenses are covered, either by the host institution or Program -France (or a combination of both).</p>
<p>^^^: Thanks, She just told that she will ask if there is any possibility in doing this internship in Paris or near Paris. That seems to be the real reason for her to not jump into it. She also told that they made an exception with regard to French requirement for her.</p>
<p>Then knowing the language to do the internship sounds like it is NOT important. Still…it might be nice for her to know some of the basics so she can communicate with others there. There is also a fun book called “The Idiots Guide to French Phrases”. I love it because it gives phrases and sentences for "themes’…e.g. Airport (where is the baggage claim, etc). It also gives the sentence in English and then in French but also gives an English “spelling” of how to SAY it in French. We have it and it’s great.</p>
<p>She can also get a translator Ap for her IPhone.</p>
<p>It seems she is obsessed with Paris and that is why still holding off on this. I won’t say anything as it seems she is hesitating because it’s far from Paris and all of us are fan of urban area. One reason she liked Cambridge over every other place for college.</p>
<p>I am surprised that students at MIT are still sweating over C++ over Java. I would have thought they would be more into more proprietary programming languages, or developing their own. Whether it’s C++ or Java, it’s really just a programming language.</p>
<p>^^^: She’s not sweating per se but it just happen that most of the courses are taught in Python and all of her internships have been in Java. So she hasn’t got a chance to do a real world development work in C/C++. </p>
<p>Even though it’s just another programming language it does make a difference. Not every high level language programmer can be a great C/C++ programmer.</p>
<p>In order to be an efficient programmer you need to effectively use the language. To many it doesn’t make a difference whether the implementation is n, log n or n^2.</p>
<p>Even though you might think of a linear algorithm the implementation can come out to be a non linear.</p>
<p>Linear or non linear, I think the answer to this one lies in your repeated reference to the “Paris obsession.” She’s a city girl! There is no shame in knowing what you want and what can never live up to expectations.</p>
<p>This opportunity may not be the right one for your daughter. Hopefully, the discussion has been instructive.</p>
<p>ClassicRockerDad sure paid your daughter and family a nice compliment. It is a wonderful thing when years-long relationships develop here and prompt such poignant, personalized feedback.</p>
<p>Speaking of which, ClassicRockerDad, these are powerful words: “She needs to know that you trust her judgment.” Thanks for sharing them.</p>
<p>Thanks TXArtemis for the insight. I do trust her judgment but do firmly believe in “Knowledge is power”. If I had better idea about France then I might not have asked this question at all.
Think of it as brain storming where I throw out my thoughts and let them come back from other people perspective. It help me reach conclusion, strengthen my views and I can provide better feedback to DD if asked.</p>
<p>To have experience of working at a foreign company can certainly be a plus when looking for a job at a global company. Most hiring manager would appreciate someone who is willing to step out of his/her comfort zone than someone who has more experience in C++.</p>
<p>^^^: This I do understand. As explained in (#25) my reasoning that she is inclined more towards the US internship because of C++ was not correct. She is not jumping on this opportunity because it’s not in or around Paris.
I can only guess as I don’t want to ask her why is she picking up one internship over the other.</p>
<p>After reading the first post, I thought that this thread was about concerned parents of a young high school student spending a summer in France to get into some Ivy!</p>
<p>Seriously, if your daughter is an MIT undergrad, shouldn’t the conversation be more like: “Hi Mom, I’ve decided to do an internship in France this summer.”</p>
As I mentioned earlier she is only 90 minutes from the center of Paris by high speed train. I am willing to bet some of employees commute daily/weekly from Paris. They have wireless internet in the train and she could even get work done on the trip. If the internship is with Alcatel the company also has a big research center outside Paris and maybe she could spend some time there as well as Lannion.</p>
<p>OK, after scanning the thread - tell her to go for the C++, followed by a quick jaunt to France for an August tour of the vineyards. It’s becoming difficult to find CS grads that understand memory management with all the Java out there. Too many kids scribbling on our heaps.</p>
<p>But if it were me, I’d go to France in a heartbeat!</p>
<p>It certainly is going to be the conversation but I do need to have sufficient details to make sure DW can be convinced before DD have this conversation with her.</p>
<p>Last summer when D1 had few good offers of internship, she chose the one that most people would have considered to be a second tier firm. I also thought she would have gone with ones with more of a name brand. When she informed me, she gave me a full analysis of her decision. I was impressed. She pointed out many things that I never even thought of. As her parent, I thought I would always know better (at least I did up to when I helped her with her college decision), but I knew at that point it was time for me to step back.</p>
<p>POIH - I wouldn’t be surprised if your daughter would have very good reasons for whatever decision she makes. If she is unsure, I am certain she would consult you.</p>
<p>When D1 called me to inform me, she said, “I think this is the right decision, but I am scared, maybe I should sleep on it.” I told her to go for it.</p>