Beyond Parcoursup: Why I Traded the Standard French Uni Route for 3 Cities in 3 Years
If you’re finishing high school in France right now, you must be going through “Parcoursup” (the registration platform for higher education in France). The stress, the rankings, the “vœux,” and the feeling that your entire future is being decided by an algorithm.
I was right there a couple of years ago. I knew I wanted to study abroad, but when I looked at the standard French universities and business schools, the “international” part felt quite limited. The best of them offered an Erasmus semester or maybe six months abroad in your third year.
I didn’t want a “trip” abroad, I wanted a life abroad. I wanted academic excellence that wasn’t just a French diploma, and I wanted to actually live in the heart of Europe. That’s when I found Forward College, and it totally broke the Parcoursup mold.
The Flipped Classrooms
Coming from the French system, I was used to the idea of Amphithéâtres, sitting in a hall with 300 other students, typing while a professor talks to you.
Forward is the quite the opposite. We have much smaller classes of about 15 students. It’s personal, the professors actually know my name. We use a “flipped classroom” model, which basically means we prep the material beforehand and use class time to actually debate and share perspectives. We then have one-to-one conversations with our fellows, not to test us like in prepa but to go over our questions if we have some. Since the fellows know us they know our interest, motivations, goals and can give tailored tips instead of general impersonal recommendations.
The Degree: LSE & King’s Weight, Europe’s Lifestyle
One of my biggest concerns about leaving the French system was that I wanted to have a recognised diploma. At Forward, you’re actually studying a curriculum designed by LSE (London School of Economics) or King’s College London. You get a University of London degree. In the end choosing forward meant having real academic weight getting students into Sciences Po, HEC Paris, or even the UN and Amazon. I then realised trading french courses for LSE diploma’s would not change the prestige i could gain but even make it better. This parcour would stand out as a french student.
The “3-City Journey”
Most of my friends who stayed in France are waiting until Year 3 to maybe go on Erasmus. By then, I’ll have already lived in three of capitals in Europe.
Year 1: Lisbon. It’s sunny, the startup scene is huge, and the energy is incredibly welcoming.
Year 2: Paris. Coming back to France, but staying at the Cité Internationale Universitaire feels like living in a global village. You’re surrounded by students from every continent.
Year 3: Berlin. The ultimate spot for culture and tech.
I would be living internationally with a cohort of students from 40+ countries. We created friendships and all traveled together from lisbon then paris and finally berlin.
If you’re currently staring at your Parcoursup list and feeling like something is missing, ask yourself: Do I want to spend three years in one city, or do I want to build a global network before I’m 21?
