My Background

My name is Chaimae, after getting my high school diploma, BAC, I got into the School of Science and Technology in Sale, EST, where I spent two years majoring in management and organization of sports events. After finishing my two years and getting my DUT, I went to FSJES at Tétouan to get my bachelor's degree in Management and organization.

After getting my bachelor's degree I took a gap year before applying to Masters in France.

My gap year

During my gap year, I first got a job as a commercial consultant for 9 months to get some work experience, build my resume, and gain some skills that are needed in the workplace.

After gaining all the insights that I needed, I applied for an internship at some big companies in my desired field to solidify my resume furthermore and finally got an internship as a commercial development assistant at Toyota.

I took the internship, quit my job, and spent the next 4 months interning at Toyota before departing for France in the fall.

Why France?

I was heavily influenced by the overwhelming number of my friends who went to France to get their master's degree and had a very positive experience. And after doing my own research I found that there were many amazing opportunities for students and great support for international students.

As Moroccan, French is my second language so there was no language barrier at all as I studied French for over 15 years and I speak the language fluently, and for this exact reason many other Morocco students decide to pursue their education in France making the Moroccan community here a very big and welcoming one, so I never felt excluded or lonely.

The Application Process

When Campus France opened in October I started my application and submitted my application to the maximum number allowed by Campus France which is 7.

I prepared all the required documents and took the language test, TCF, where I got level B2.

I also did the interview that’s required by Campus France where they ask you about why you applied to each school and why you chose your desired major, your response gets sent to the designated university.

Sadly, when the time came I got 7 rejections. That’s when I started considering some private universities and found ESAM. I loved everything about this university and decided to give it one last shot and thankfully I got in.

Scholarships and living expenses

Alternance in France is a system built for students that enables them to get some work experience while studying.

You will be able to work one week and study the one after and it goes like this, one week work the other study, you also get paid a certain amount for your work.

The purpose of alternance is to practice what you study and get some real experience in the field you’re interested in. Applying for alternance is basically like applying for a job, you need to send your resume everywhere and hope you get some responses.

I was applying through LinkedIn, Hello Work, Welcome to the Jungle, and many more platforms that have announcements that they are accepting alternants. Once they contact you, you get an interview and the process goes exactly like applying for a job, so you have to prepare well and give it your best.

Cultural Integration and Social Life

It was really hard for me at the start to fit in with my classmates especially because there were no other Moroccan students in my class, however, there were other International students from different countries.

I successfully made friendships with my classmates in the end, but I had to really put myself out there. I also started joining some Facebook groups of Moroccan students in France and through those groups, I was able to meet some amazing people from the same background as me, which made the experience way better for me.

Advice for Future Applicants

Firstly, you need to be aware of the fact that you will be considered a stranger in any country you study abroad in and that you will be completely independent and will need to take care of all aspects of your life that you may be unaware of before. And it's gonna be really hard at the start, as you move away from your family, friends, and the people you love and go into an entirely new environment, and in many cases, you will be in a country where you won't even be able to speak your native language with people around you, but be patient and try to adapt with the environment you're now in, and never forget why you're there in the first place.

Secondly, for people who don't get into alternance, my best advice would be to look for student jobs, you can get a really good job that fits your schedule and needs, you just have to take this seriously and apply for as many jobs as possible. This will help you, as you don't want to be an adult studying abroad and still financially dependent on your parents.

Thirdly, academics are challenging and you will need to do a lot of work to be able to get good grades and graduate, so take your education very seriously, also engage in some sports and activities you really enjoy that will help you feel good and make friendships easier, but again keep your education as your number one priority.

And finally, always remember who you are. A lot of the time students who come from different backgrounds tend to drift away from themselves and change, and this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but just keep your goals and your values with you and don't lose yourself.