Hahaha true. Thing is I have done research on what Engineering teaches compared to Physics. Engineering is just mostly drills and projects, kinda like a sport in a sense. Physics is research, analysis and some projects. I want something that’s half theoretical and half applied/practical/hands-on, and I can do that by switching up some courses in the physics program and increasing my work/projects with Engineering and CS majors. Plus, it’s much easier to choose any masters I want that’s related to both Physics and Engineering if I study Physics; with Engineering it will be difficult to choose a Physics-based masters. I want to keep that flexibility there, because I still don’t know what exactly I want to major in; all what I know is that I want a lot of research, physics, math and erratic projects.
And yeah I get you on playing games with residency. I’ll be on the safe side but I’ll just poke at it to see if it seems feasible. And of course my parents know about these things better much better than I do, so I’ll just trust their word. Thx!
You need to research more. We have a bunch of engineers in this family, and they say the upper level application courses are very very important, as is the training one receives on the job. It’s not just drills and projects.
You need to look up this
Parcoursup rechercher formations
→
Enter
pcsi
In the research bar
And see what appears.
These are NOT located in universities (because the university programs are purely theoretical) but in public prep school buildings (you don’t actually study/live with the prep school students but you share a campus).
Examples would be C.I.V in Antipolis near Nice, or Chambéry as previously mentioned.
(You can type pcsi Chambery or pcsi civ).
Germany may be a better choice, especially since there’s one program (International Physics) in English and they have StudienKolleg for the rest.
Neither France nor Germany will care about ECs. You already have A*AA so you’ll be admitted somewhere IF you have the basic budget and language skills.
By drills I mean you’re just learning how things work, not how to deduce how things work (this is physics). By expanding your horizons of how things work, you can apply them to different areas and basically do your job as an engineer. I did enough research on the comparison between the two (like 5 10-20 min videos and tons of reddit posts and stuff?), I just over-oversimplified it lol, even here I’m still oversimplifying it. Both courses are more complicated than I can cover in a paragraph or two, but rest assured I have my info from very credible sources.
I would be careful of relying too much on certain sources. Reddit, Discord, and CC can be useful, but are not a substitute for talking to the actual colleges you want to attend, talking to engineers or physicists about their job and the path they took, etc.
I really don’t understand your instructions for the “Parcoursup rechercher formations” since everything is French. What exactly should I be looking for?? Also I really don’t mind learning the language (French or German) so I don’t exactly need to take an English program. Plus I’ll probably be forced to take studienkolleg anyways, since I have been homeschooled for 2+ years and they want to see if I’m capable in a classroom environment so yeah. Thanks!
See thing is I still don’t know exactly where I want to go for my career; I just know it’s physics and math related. In uni I’ll be able to taste a bit of everything for real and then I can decide what I like best and specialize in it. I will, of course, talk to the actual colleges and the alumni there for the more critical intel. Those sources you mentioned are just there as guidelines for the most part. Thanks for the check though
I am reminded of a quote often attributed to Mark Twain: “It Ain’t What You Don’t Know That Gets You Into Trouble. It’s What You Know for Sure That Just Ain’t So”
Not to doubt you, but you’ve given two different statements as to your years of English training. While I am from the US, born and brought up here, I have tons of family, friends, and colleagues who have taken up English as a second or additional language. Your mastery of US English (both formal and idiomatic) is quite amazing, as your formal and informal English is nearly flawless. Given your apparent gift of acquiring languages, this is something you really need to focus on in your education.
Just curious: is it 7 or 9 years? Either way, kudos to your remarkable gift with languages!
Agreed. Just spent a weekend with Austrian friends whose kids have been studying English for about seven years and their English level (although admirable) wasn’t even close to the OP’s. Maybe the OP attended an International school before dropping out?
OP, I asked about your interested area of study because I have a number of engineering acquaintances that work in Dubai. Lots of opportunity. But you’re not interested in Engineering so that bit of info is irrelevant. Physics is a really interesting topic of study. Good luck to you!
I’ve been educated for 7 years in English i.e I’ve attended an English speaking school for 7 years. I have been speaking English for about 9 years (could be 8, but I started learning English before I attended an English-based school, through Youtube, videogames and friends).
Anyways, huge thanks! And I definitely have been missing out and could’ve been learning a language or two all these past years (could’ve learned more ofc, but I’m being realisitc). Oh well, I guess I shouldn’t have lost my ability to learn languages that much if I’ve gotten this great at English past my toddler years. I’m definitely losing the accent a bit though, in the time I’ve been spending in Syria lol. I also need to decide if it’s gonna be Germany or France asap so I can start learning the language. I’m 70% learning towards Germany atm. Just waiting for emails from universities from both countries.
While, IMHO, German is harder to learn than French, I have NO doubt you will pick whatever language you need effortlessly!
Also, I don’t recall if anyone on this thread has mentioned online schools, but please do consider them. Many of the major US universities have them, several of which are degree-granting. Just google something like “online colleges” or the like, and you will see tons pop up. You are young and can make up the physical school later on.
International school with full immersion makes a difference. I went to one. Remarkable how fast kids picked up English. A few kids came in 3rd grade with minimum exposure to English, they attended classes with us (except English) and within 12 months, were fluent (mild accent).
Of course it does. In fact, the best way to learn a language is not any book or online course or whatever, it’s to surround yourself with people who speak the language. Being forced to communicate AND listen to the target language for 8 hours a day is a recipe for quick, accurate and very potent language learning. Now about my writing skills, school does have a 50% share in that; the rest is how natural the language is to me now, and just communicating online, like here for example.
Anyways, ig this is beyond the scope of this thread. Thanks!
Thanks for the thoughtful suggestion! I actually have heard about online colleges, and in fact my father attends one right now. However, I really don’t think it’s anywhere near a good idea for me to attend one. Being in the comfort of my home is a huge disaster for my productivity (and the longer I stay like this, the more damaging it will be for my mental health), and I get to miss out on picking up a ton of experiences that I would have if I attend in-person. I have to go out in the real world and struggle on things outside education, like managing my finances, my social life, relationships with professors, etc. I hope you see where I’m coming from lol.
I think one of the advantages Germany may have over France is that it is easier to research and prepare in English, while you are still learning the language.
But on the flip side it will take me less time to achieve the minimum fluency threshold lol. I really don’t think that language is a huge barrier for me. It certainly will be hard and not an overnight job, but yeah.
Learning the language should be the least of your worries. I think you mentioned earlier that you thought it might be just as hard as enhancing your resume for US applications with competitions and projects - nope, the latter takes initiative and creativity, which you appear to have struggled with, the former is working hard at a set task, which you have excelled at.
Admission and visas is what you need to be concerned with. Start researching now.
