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I am dubious about the criteria. Grandes ¨¦coles are not universities and lack the research ethic that makes a university. They teach the 'right' way of thinking. Paris takes the cash that the rest of France does not get, but does that make them good. They lost the excellence finding for research because, well they were just not excellent. And would you really want to breathe the air of paris for a year? It is better to look at courses and not universities, that is where the innovation in research and teaching lies. There is a real France beyond the myth, and a student will probably be better there.

I am dubious about the criteria. Grandes ¨¦coles are not universities and lack the research ethic that makes a university. They teach the 'right' way of thinking. Paris takes the cash that the rest of France does not get, but does that make them good. They lost the excellence finding for research because, well they were just not excellent. And would you really want to breathe the air of paris for a year? It is better to look at courses and not universities, that is where the innovation in research and teaching lies. There is a real France beyond the myth, and a student will probably be better there.

None of the rankings (ARWU, THE, etc.) fit the French system and therefore it is utterly pointless to seek out a hierarchy of French establishments on any of these platforms. The French higher education system (and French social and political structures as a general rule) follows the Humboldt model and does not seek to make profit, but to educate its citizens (this starkly contrasts, for instance, with the Anglo-American model). French universities also publish in French (though more and more do so in English as well today), which gives them less visibility when faced with universities that will do their utmost to meet the criteria laid out in the above-mentioned rankings, especially as far as research and publishing is concerned. German universities face the same problem (also based on the Humboldt model), but no one would consider either France or Germany to be anything but leaders in many fields. By contrast, I have met and taught to far too many students from top British and American universities, and sadly the average student had a much lower academic level and general knowledge than the average French student and - most importantly - had not been taught the value of critical thinking, an approach which is the building block of French education. SYSTEM There are two main types of higher education institutions in France: universities and grandes ¨¦coles. Both offer the highest level of academic teaching and obtaining a Master's degree in either can only suggest you are both highly resilient and disciplined. After all, the French education system is famed for being harsh and unforgiving (not entirely true today), and with education being almost free, teachers feel no pressure to "help" you succeed as you did not pay ?$€40,000 to study. It's basically all down to your personal commitment and investment and you succeed only if you are actually competent. 1) Grandes ¨¦coles are built on a normative approach to their fields of study and are highly selective at the entry-level (i.e. you should already fully adhere to... normative thinking since high school). It's a matter of choice, even though many French students and their parents fantasize about getting into one as they traditionally more prestigious in the subconscious mind and offer more professional opportunities (also less and less true today). There is essentially no real difference between studies in grandes ¨¦coles and universities today (professors often teach the same classes in both institutions), and that line is increasingly thinner - though much of political life in France is overshadowed by a clannish tendency to favor those from the same schools. This is also increasingly less true. If you do not have plans to stay in France or are not interested in having your best chances of becoming a civil servant, then there really is no sense in trying to get into a grande ¨¦cole - initially, they were made to uphold the French model, full stop. --> Universities are more liberal and there is no entry-level selection, though students get sifted out massively during the first year of most Bachelor degrees (the student body is typically halved), either because they realize the level is higher than they had expected, or because they switch to other courses. That is perhaps what pushes many students to favor grandes ¨¦coles (or private schools) as the thought of overcrowded classrooms can be deterring (understandably so). It essentially does not matter which university you pick in France, so pick your school based on other criteria such as location or specialization (some programmes are better in certain universities, and there is a silent ranking of universities with "reputable" ones being essentially a couple in and around Paris (Sorbonne, Diderot, Paris-Saclay...), or in larger French cities: the University of Strasbourg, University of Aix-Marseille, University of Grenoble, University of Toulouse...). Good luck!

I agree..