Background 

My name is Imane Moumen and I’m 18. I come from Oujda, Morocco and I graduated from Lycee Andre Gide in Oujda after I spent some of my primary and middle school and then went back there for lbac- senior year of high school. My high school was private but it was still following the Moroccan curriculum. I was considered a good student since I was a kid so even though I was really not hard-working I ended up doing science math A and getting mentioned très bien. I will not get through my BAC in detail but let’s just say it was one of the most humbling experiences of my life, as you will need to work hard to get good grades.

Why France

I always wanted to travel as far as possible and I kind of knew that if I didn’t leave after high school I would struggle to leave because it would mean I would have to leave my adult life whereas I felt that leaving now meant leaving the teenage me and becoming more indépendant and knowing myself more. I also come from Oujda where we don’t have that many opportunities so the decision was easy to make.

France was really not my first choice and I mainly went there because of financial reasons, I also applied to US colleges and ended up getting 2 scholarships but it wasn’t enough, so France seemed like a great place to start up my higher education.

Application process 

To apply to France I used Campus France and had to take DALF C1 which is a French fluency test and got a score of 87, I also took the IELTS but that was purely my choice and I ended up getting 7.5.

For France, your school grades are really important so I submitted my transcripts where I got 18 in my regional exam, and 16.63 in my BAC ( the Leaving Exam in Morocco).

Once you submit your documents and tests you'll be called for an interview where they ask you about your motives, and why you applied to each university and major.

Through campus in France, you apply to 7 Universities that offer 5 years programs.

However, if you want to apply to preparatory classes you will need to do that through Parcoursup, where you can apply to 20 preparatory classes across the country. 

For this application, you won't need to take any interviews as your grades are the most important thing for them.

I applied to both universities and preparatory classes. Also, you should know that contrary to Campus France you don't have to pay for applications for preparatory classes, so if you're already applying to France I would advise you to also apply to preparatory classes and decide later once you have your acceptance.

Generally, for all French universities, you won't need any extracurricular activities, you can still do them, but they won't really give you an advantage in the application process.

Scholarships and living expenses

To be eligible for a scholarship in France you need to be living here for at least two years, which I wasn't, so currently I don't have any scholarships but my university is public so I don't have to pay anything except 42€ each year for my school and a 142 for the university double subscription.

However, I do have to cover my own rent and all living expenses, yet France is not a really expensive country especially if you are not living in a big city.

Workload in Preparatory classes

Now I go to Montesquieu in Le Mans where I take PCSI ( Physics - Chemistry - Engineering Sciences) which is a major that allows you to later apply to engineering schools through both written and oral exams 

My schedule is loaded as I have classes every weekday from 8 am to 12 pm and then back from 2 pm to 5 or 6 pm, depending on the day. All classes are mandatory to attend, and every week we have one writing test and two oral tests, and those tests are mandatory as well.

The workload is crazy, but if you keep up with everything you learn and work hard you can make the most out of it and finish your two years with a good ranking allowing you to get into a top engineering school.

But be aware, that all of this studying and all the homework is going to be so time-consuming that you won't find time for activities, and barely any for yourself, but do your best during those two years so you can get a good ranking in the end allowing you to be comfortable in a good engineering school for the next three years.

If you pass all your tests but don't get a good enough ranking by the end to get into an engineering school you are automatically enrolled in the university of your city where you can pursue a physics major directly in the 3rd year.

Adapting to a new setting 

Because I am fluent in French adaptation wasn't an issue for me as I can easily communicate with people, there are some cultural differences but nothing major. I didn't have any problem with people here as they are used to international students, especially from Morocco.

There are a lot of Moroccan students in French Universities, but not as many in preparatory classes, so I would assume that in Universities Moroccan, international students may feel more welcomed and more at ease, just because there are more International students there contrary to preparatory classes where most students are French.

Tips to students

My biggest advice would be to not idolize studying abroad so much because a lot of people think that once they go abroad everything will be better and amazing but that's not the truth.

You may end up being one of the few International students if not the only one in your school and people won't accommodate you so you will have to adapt.

And when applying to any country don't just apply if they give a scholarship or if the application is cheap. Picture yourself living there for 5 years or even the rest of your life.

Finally, when picking your major, be aware that even if this major is really important in the country you're studying in, check if you can work with this degree in your own country and if your country actually recognizes the degree of the country where you studied. Because at the end of the day, studying in a country doesn't guarantee that you will be able to stay and work there, and you may end up having to go back to your country one day, so keep this in mind.