Study Abroad in France
France is the most expansive country in the European Union and benefits from a wide variety of landscapes. Located on Europe’s western side, the metropolitan territory has over 3,400 miles (5 500 km) of coastline stretching from the North Sea and along the Channel to the Atlantic Ocean in the west and along the Mediterranean in the south. Several islands line the coasts, the largest of which is Corsica located in the Mediterranean.
The large mountain ranges are distributed in the east and the south while 4 great river basins cross the country; the Seine in the north, the Loire and the Garonne in the west, and the Rhône between Switzerland and the Mediterranean.
France shares its borders with Belgium and Luxembourg in the north, Germany, Switzerland and Italy in the east and with Spain in the south.
*Video courtesy of France.fr
Program Details
- Age Requirements:
Must be between the ages of 14 and 17 - Fully Vetted French Families:
Our host families live all over France and are looking forward to welcoming you into their home and showing you their everyday life. We match you with a carefully selected host family and high school in your chosen country. You can be placed in a bustling big city, charming coastal town, or on the countryside close to the nature. - By staying with a French host family, you will gain a close insight to the everyday life in the country. Living with natives is truly the best way of getting to know France from the inside out. You will get to experience French culture beyond its typical stereotypes and get to know a kind and caring family somewhere in the country. Our families come in all shapes and sizes and are looking forward to welcoming you into their home.
Dates
- Academic Year: Sept– June
- Fall Semester: Sept– Jan
Soft Landing Camp: Not available due to the pandemic - Spring Semester: Jan– June
- 3 month Fall program: Sept –Dec
Soft Landing Camp: Not available due to the pandemic - 3 month Spring program: Jan– April
- 2 month Fall program: Sept – Nov
Soft Landing Camp: Not available due to the pandemic - 2 month Spring program: Jan – March
- NEW INTEGRATION PROGRAM:
- 1 month program: arrive anytime during the academic year
- 2 month program: arrive anytime during the academic year
- Deadline is 2 months prior to departure
- Fall Application Deadline: April 1st
- Spring Application Deadline: October 1st
Program Costs
- Academic Year – $7,500
- Semester – $7,300
- 3 months – $4,500
- 2 months – $3,620
- 1 month– $3,300
Required International Health/Liability Insurance:
- Academic Year – $890
- Semester – $560
- 3 months – $335
- 2 months – $225
$1700 deposit due with application
Optional additions:
– Soft Landing Camp in Paris – $560
**Prices are subject to change**
Program Includes
Public high school acceptance
Volunteer host family placement
Visa support documents
Pre-departure orientation
Airport pick-up
Arrival orientation in Paris
Domestic travel to host family
Monitoring and supervision by local partner while in France
24-hour emergency support
Program Does Not Include
International airfare
Domestic travel within France ($390 for airport transfer)
School textbooks and lunches
Extracurricular expenses for clubs, sports, etc.
Passport/visa/resident card fees
Personal spending money
High School System
Education is compulsory in France from the ages of 6 to 16 but a large majority of children start school well before the minimum age, often as young as two years old. Over 50% of 18-21 year olds in France are still in full-time education. The rest are following a vocational training course. Some 64% of all school students in France complete their secondary education and take the high-school leaving certificate examinations, known as the baccalauréat or the baccalauréat professionnel. The official target – estimated as necessary for the needs of the nation – is 80%.
High school is France is known as lycée. The traditional French lycée covers the last three years of secondary education.
There are two main types of traditional lycée, the lycée général or lycée classique, and the lycée technique. In big towns and cities, there will be a mix of both types; in smaller towns, there may not be a lycée technique. The main function of the lycée is to prepare pupils to sit the baccalauréat (or bac) exam, the equivalent of British A levels. Classes in a traditional lycée cover the same range as in collège, with the addition of philosophy (for all) in the final year. The three classes (grades 10 to 12) are known as seconde, première and terminale.
Pupils in a lycée technique may begin to specialize in a fairly narrow technical field, in addition to their general secondary studies. There are technical lycées specializing in fields such as microtechnologies or aeronautics. Technical lycées that provide training in very specialized fields are usually boarding schools, since they recruit pupils from a large area and even on occasions from all over France.