<p>Child 3 of 3 is graduating from high school in 2013 -- she's a high school sophomore this year -- this beloved daughter is interested in studying in France</p>
<p>I don't have clue #1 about French universities -- can anyone enlighten me about studying in France?</p>
<p>How about American/Canadian universities that offer study abroad for freshman year?</p>
<p>Can anybody relate a French summer experience for high school students?</p>
<p>I don’t know much about it - but look up American University in Paris. They have summer study programs or you could also go there for an undergraduate degree. Have heard good things about the program.</p>
<p>Her French is really good! She did a French immersion program at Universite Ste Anne this past summer in Nova Scotia and it just clicked for her. After the program she took a French placement test at high school and skipped one year, placing into French 4 honors…
Am I proud? You betcha!
(Thanks for asking! :))</p>
<p>French 4 honors is great for a typical American hs student–especially a sophomore–but it really means a low-intermediate level of practical fluency. In other words, your D is not close yet to the level of facility she’d need to be successful in a French university, where she would be learning difficult subjects and doing a lot of writing in the new language, while being expected to meet the same standards as native speakers. She should do AP French if her high school offers it, and then try to get additional experience with French if she possibly can. If you are close to a university, she might be able to enroll in more advanced French classes during her senior year of high school. You might also look into other French programs offered for hs students during the summers, for instance at Middlebury College. Your D might qualify for exchange programs to France, too, where she’d live with a family and attend a French high school–that would really improve her fluency and cultural competence. The Rotary Club offers such a program and I believe there are others as well. Or she might look into spending a gap year working in a francophone country as an au pair or the like.</p>
<p>The less daunting route would be to go to an American or Canadian university with a strong French department, declare French as a major, and take advantage of study-abroad opportunities. Most schools offer these, and often it’s possible for students to attend another university’s study-abroad program and then transfer the credits into their regular university.</p>
<p>One of D2’s friends did a study abroad semester at the Sorbonne this fall. She had done a summer program in France in high school and was already pretty fluent. She struggled a bit in the beginning with the different expectations but ultimately had a good semester.</p>
<p>AFS or YFU high school exchange programs offer summer and year programs in France. Rotary is great and much less expensive but you can not specify a country so you are not guaranteed going to France. Most colleges offer opportunities to study abroad in France. Concordia Language Villages or Middlebury College offer summer French immersion study in the U.S. Congratulations to your daughter! My kids love languages, too, but they’ve focused on Spanish up to this point. DD2012 spent a Rotary year in Ecuador and is now studying Chinese. DS2014 is a freshman in AP/IB Spanish 4 after testing out of a year after a month with Concordia Language villages. He’s hoping to begin studying Arabic this summer through NSLI-Y, another summer language opportunity that your daughter might wish to explore. See NSLI for youth. Good Luck!</p>
<p>If she can’t get into a proper French university (which is unlikely if she can’t speak French to a near native standard) then she should avoid studying there full time. The University of London does have an institute in Paris which is very good, but they only offer one degree programme - French. The American University in Paris, like all American universities abroad, is total pants and subpar to local universities.</p>
<p>As for studying abroad for a term, personally I wouldn’t recommend it if all she were to do was live with American students, take American organised classes taught by American professors and treat the whole thing as some kind of ‘cultural journey’. If she can, she should definitely study abroad at a proper French university and live with French students.</p>
<p>Several semesters ago, my niece spent a semester in France. It turned out to be one of those times when there were numerous strikes, including strikes at the universities. There were no real classes on her campus for almost the entire semester. She did end up working out some sort of agreement to do independent study and received credit, but the experience wasn’t what she hoped. I would factor in the frequency of strikes in France in making a decision about studying there–short or long term. If language fluency is the goal, perhaps studying in Montreal could be an option.</p>
<p>if you have any questions about studying abroad at The American University of Paris, feel free to give me a shout. I work in AUP Admissions and was also a student, so I know the University from both the student and the administrative perspective.</p>
<p>Best,
Sebastian
AUP Admissions</p>
<p>P.S. AUP is a private, non-profit institution so we don’t go on strike a la francaise!</p>
<p>My son is currently a HS junior who plans to study psychology. He is very interested in AUP and we (his family) will be living in Scandinavia as of this summer. </p>
<p>Some questions:</p>
<p>When would be a good time to visit AUP? Ideally we will come in the fall but would a summer visit be possible? </p>
<p>When do you begin accepting applications for Fall 2012?</p>
<p>How many students are in the psychology department?</p>
<p>Happy2bmom, I remember reading your inquiries on universities in Europe a while ago, how’s that progressed? Personally I think it would be a mistake to attend somewhere like the AUP. If your son has the opportunity to go to college in Europe he’d do much better at an actual European university IMHO.</p>
<p>Colby Sawyer seems to have programs in France for Freshman and Tulane has a program for 2nd semester Freshman.</p>
<p>AUP/Sebastian – Please contact the College Confidential moderators and get yourself listed as an official admisssions rep for AUP…it validates your credibility and also can be very good marketing for your school!</p>
<p>Congratulations on moving to Europe, I am sure it’s going to be a fantastic experience for your family. To answer your questions, a summer visit would definitely be possible. The university as well as the admissions office are open during that time and we would be delighted to welcome you to the university.</p>
<p>As for your son’s application, I would recommend that he apply following your visit this summer. It would give us an opportunity to discuss his application in person and for you to discover the school, his future classmates as well as meet professors and experience the classroom setting.</p>
<p>If you have any additional questions please don’t hesitate to send them to me via PM/email (see PM).</p>
<p>You might look into the Southern France Youth Institute, [SFYI</a> International School - Study Abroad - Gap Year- PG Program in Southern France](<a href=“http://www.sfyi.org%5DSFYI”>http://www.sfyi.org). I’ve heard that the French university style of education is generally more rigid than US students are used to. My daughter is currently on a study-abroad semester in Aix-en-Provence at the Institute for American Universities and she really likes her classes (3 taught in French and 2 in English).</p>
<p>All of the above are great responses to your call for help! </p>
<p>I was an exchange student to France through Rotary after high school and had an amazing time. The country you go to depends on how well you do in your district interview, and if your home district is taking in students from that country. (1 inbound = 1 outbound). Programs like AFS and YFU are open to most everyone, but are signifigantly more expensive. </p>
<p>I also spent a Quarter abroad in Paris with my community college - taking Art History in the Louvre was amazing! There are typically many opportunities at every school - it just pays to look around and know what you’re looking for. Most Community Colleges outsource their program to a SA company, choose carefully and do your research on whatever organization is sponsoring the trip through the school! (Can you tell my experience wasn’t great?!)</p>
<p>Here in California, almost all of the CSUs and UCs offer a year long study abroad program, requiring at least 2 years of language as a prerequisite. Talk to the SA coordinators at the schools she is applying to and see what they tell you - every school is a bit different. </p>
<p>As far as summer programs go, there are many out there. I work with ECI, Edu-Culture International, based in the SF Bay area. We offer Summer Study Abroad programs to high school language students (15-18) in France and Spain. As someone who has traveled multiple times in a scholarly setting, I feel I have found a great niche here with ECI - our goals and missions align with everything I believe Study Abroad should be. OK, Enough marketing mumbo-jumbo. </p>
<p>Take it from me, if she is this excited about study abroad now, she should go for it! I guarantee it will change her life for the better! </p>