Hi! I’m an american junior in high school looking for universities in Italy/ France. I’m interested in biology and foreign languages, so I would like a university with degrees in biology. I’m a good student, with a 4.2 GPA, at the 10% of my class, and I have taken pretty rigorous classes (with the exception of AP Calc). I took a few years of French, but while I do understand some of it, I definitely would’t call myself fluent. I also plan on studying Italian next year, but again, I’m not fluent, so programs in English are a must.
Costs aren’t a problem, as long as it isn’t excessive. Lastly, I’d like a university that has a nice campus/ surrounding area with nice architecture, preferably near a medium to large city (in the mountains would be a major plus). I know it’s a lot to ask, but does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!
Bocconi has programs in English but i dont know if it offers biology. Otis in a big city near mountains.
Sciences po reims would be nice, in a city, in English, but doesn’t have biology nor is near mountains.
Insa lyon has programs partially in English and is among the strongest in France for biology but you’d need AP calculus, AP bio, AP chemistry or AP physics or both, and AP French or equivalent at a cc. It’s close to tuition free, is one hour from the Alps for skiing, is located in France’s third largest city, and has a decent campus for France.(few French universities have a campus).
I’d suggest getting more fluent in French rather than ditching it at a low-ish level if you plan on studying in France. Even then you’d have to take a summer language course before you can attend classes in French (I’d suggest going for bts or iut programs for better learning conditions; in bts, if you attend only a year, you don’t jeopardize freshman status; you can alsobdo a prep year as a TS, also tuition-free - pm for details.)
There are very very few programs entirely in English.
Most universities in France and Italy are diploma mills, kind of like massive state schools that give mostly multiple choice exams with little contact with professors. They are genuinely mediocre, biology at them would be bad. There are some very fancy elite schools in France (Grandes Ecoles) but they require entrance exams that people prepare for for years and only in French. You might be able to get into an exchange program for a year form an American uni.
But you sound like you have done absolutely no research yet. Do some before asking people to do it for you.
@MYOS1634 okay, thank you so so much! I really appreciate it. I will definitely try looking into some of programs you recommended and I’ll try signing up for some more French lessons.
@alcibiade okay thanks! I understand that many of the colleges are exam oriented, but I was hoping some of that was being over exaggerated. Although, this is the first time I’ve heard them being referred to as “mediocre”, so it’s really nice to hear another opinion. Also, I have been doing lots of research, but I figured I would start from the beginning and get some fresh opinions and options, since I have not made a huge amount of progress. I apologize if sounded like I was coming off unappreciative or like I hadn’t done any research. However, I haven’t been forcing people to do any research at all, only asking for recommendations.
Again, thank you both for the help.
I confirm the “mediocre” for public universities known as “la fac”. Professors are qualified as researchers, but learning conditions are really bad. It’s like community colleges in unsafe historical buildings or dismal modern buildings, plus a few here and there that pass muster for safety regulations and appearance. (It’s not a rare occurence for wire to dangle from the ceilings, toilets to be broken, parts of the ceiling to fall off, not to mention peeling paint chipping away.)
The programs I mentioned are all good though - this doesn’t occur at INSA, SciencesPo, BTS, or IUT’s. PM for details.
We only want to help, I was just hoping you were doing your part. Good luck.