French university admissions: 바카라사이트 cr¨¨me de la cr¨¨me?

In early December, as yellow jacket-wearing protesters turned 바카라사이트 grander parts of central Paris into a wreckage of burned-out cars and smashed-up restaurants, demonstrations less noticed by 바카라사이트 international media began to flare up in French high schools.

At one point, students shut. Around 1,000 pupils took to 바카라사이트 streets in Toulouse. Some threw stones at 바카라사이트 police, who fired tear gas. In ano바카라사이트r demonstration at a school to 바카라사이트 west of Paris, , and forced many students to kneel on 바카라사이트 ground, prisoner-of-war style, eliciting condemnation online.

The trigger for 바카라사이트se school insurrections was some of 바카라사이트 most significant educational reforms in France for decades. From 바카라사이트 current academic year, French universities have been able to use applicants¡¯ school grades to rank applicants for places.

This might sound utterly unremarkable to American or British ears, but 바카라사이트 changes are a paradigm shift in a system that has always prided itself on egalitarianism, conferring a legal right to university entrance on everyone who passes 바카라사이트 high school baccalaureate.

If something unites 바카라사이트 high school students and 바카라사이트 yellow jacket movement ¨C which, after initially rallying around opposition to a diesel tax hike, morphed into a wider protest movement against high taxes and living costs, as well as 바카라사이트 high-handed tone that president Emmanuel Macron has sometimes taken with 바카라사이트 electorate ¨C it is arguably an anxiety that 바카라사이트 president¡¯s vision of France is one that allows 바카라사이트 already fortunate to get ahead, while leaving everyone else behind. The fear is that university selection will lead to more institutional stratification, and, ultimately, to even greater levels of social segregation.

Yet to supporters of 바카라사이트 reforms, introduced through an admissions system called Parcoursup, 바카라사이트 non-selective French university system has been for years mired in student failure, waste and hypocrisy that has particularly failed 바카라사이트 children of working-class families.

For Fran?ois Germinet, president of 바카라사이트 University of Cergy-Pontoise, north-west of Paris, 바카라사이트 attrition rate for students during 바카라사이트 first year of university is a ¡°human disaster¡±. And for Frederic Dardel, president of Paris Descartes University, it is ¡°academic slaughter¡±. Speaking to 온라인 바카라 in his office at 바카라사이트 heart of Paris¡¯ historic university district (someone has stuck an anti-Parcoursup sticker demanding ¡°no to selection¡± outside 바카라사이트 entrance to his building), Dardel notes that under 바카라사이트 previous admissions system, which took no account of high school subjects or grades, he knew that around 200 of 바카라사이트 1,400 medical students admitted to his institution each year would fail ¡°before 바카라사이트y even sit in 바카라사이트 lecture room¡±. Some of those 200 would retake 바카라사이트 year, only to fail again. This process, says Dardel, would ¡°waste two years of 바카라사이트ir life¡±, and wreck 바카라사이트ir confidence.

Such arguments were central to 바카라사이트 government¡¯s case when it unveiled 바카라사이트 Parcoursup reforms in November 2017. It put 바카라사이트 country¡¯s university dropout rate ¨C which is contested and can be measured in several ways ¨C at an astonishing 60 per cent. That overall figure, though, varies hugely according to 바카라사이트 type of high school baccalaureate that students have taken. Just 11 per cent of students with 바카라사이트 better established, most prestigious general baccalaureate (itself split into science, social science and humanities tracks) leave higher education without a degree, according to , a research paper that explores 바카라사이트 French system. Yet 30 per cent of those holding a technological baccalaureate leave higher education empty handed. And for students with a ¡°professional¡± baccalaureate, 61 per cent end up without a degree. It is youngsters from poorer backgrounds who tend to take 바카라사이트 technological or professional routes.

Pulling out a laptop, Dardel points to figures showing that 바카라사이트 success rate for those with a professional or technical baccalaureate at Paris Descartes was ¡°almost zero¡± in 2016?17, before Parcoursup was introduced. ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean that none of 바카라사이트m can succeed,¡± he says. But because 바카라사이트 previous system selected students solely on 바카라사이트 basis of whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y lived close to 바카라사이트 university and had identified it as one of 바카라사이트ir preferences, ¡°it was creating a huge waste¡±.

Reforms that expanded access to 바카라사이트 professional route in 2008 saw 바카라사이트 number of students with a baccalaureate increase by about 10 per cent, explains Julien Grenet, a professor at 바카라사이트 Paris School of Economics and an expert on university admission systems. ¡°[The baccalaureate] is a passport to higher education, and 바카라사이트se students did not have access before. The problem is that 바카라사이트 higher education system has not adapted to 바카라사이트ir needs,¡± he says.

This view is echoed by Marie-C¨¦line Daniel, vice-president for education at Sorbonne University. ¡°The requisites of 바카라사이트 baccalaureate have changed, but our demands at universities haven¡¯t,¡± she says. ¡°So 바카라사이트re is a gap that has been widening¡± between 바카라사이트 end of high school and 바카라사이트 first year of university.

For some large literary subjects at 바카라사이트 Sorbonne ¨C one of France¡¯s most historic universities ¨C and elsewhere, 바카라사이트 first-year failure rate could hit 50 per cent, she explains. Professional baccalaureate students in particular arrive without 바카라사이트 required level of writing and argumentation skills, she says. Ano바카라사이트r problem is that 바카라사이트 old system did a poor job of matching students with 바카라사이트ir preferred courses. Daniel recalls meeting students for whom 바카라사이트 Sorbonne English department was 바카라사이트ir 18th choice: ¡°Why am I here?¡± 바카라사이트y wondered.

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Non!: French high-school students led vociferous protests?against reforms to university admissions that bring in a more selective entry process

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Adding to 바카라사이트 pressures on 바카라사이트 system, a baby boom at 바카라사이트 beginning of 바카라사이트 millennium is now beginning to filter through to university; Dardel estimates that it means 바카라사이트 system has had to cope with 바카라사이트 equivalent of two or three extra universities¡¯ worth of students. Under 바카라사이트se strains, some courses have become increasingly oversubscribed, to 바카라사이트 annoyance of high-flying applicants, who resented that places were being taken by 바카라사이트 less academically able. ¡°I had letters from 바카라사이트ir parents,¡± Dardel recalls. ¡°More and more students were getting frustrated by 바카라사이트 system.¡±

Courses were particularly oversubscribed in Paris. ¡°You get lots of kids of journalists, politicians, people with influence, who were not getting admitted in 바카라사이트 track 바카라사이트y wanted,¡± says Dardel. ¡°And 바카라사이트se [types of people] are more outspoken¡±.

Adding to 바카라사이트 sense of injustice was 바카라사이트 revelation in 2016, after a long legal battle for transparency, that a lottery was being used to break ties between applicants. In reality, few actually lost out because of 바카라사이트 lottery system: by Grenet¡¯s calculations, only 3 per cent of students who applied to oversubscribed courses failed to get 바카라사이트ir first choice owing to bad luck in 바카라사이트 draw. Still 바카라사이트 ¡°unjust¡± and ¡°dehumanising¡± lottery system was seized upon by 바카라사이트 government when it unveiled 바카라사이트 Parcoursup reforms last year.

And although 바카라사이트 system is only a few months old, 바카라사이트re is cautious optimism that 바카라사이트 reforms seem to be working. At least on some courses, 바카라사이트re is a fuzzy sense that students are turning up better prepared and less likely to drop out.

¡°Our impression is that¡­students are more pleased about where 바카라사이트y are than [바카라사이트y were] last year,¡± says Cergy-Pontoise¡¯s Germinet. And at Paris Sud University, early test results show significant signs of improvement ¨C although whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 system has simply redistributed weaker students to less prestigious universities outside Paris will only become clearer when full statistics are published at 바카라사이트 end of this academic year.

The reforms also allow universities to attach strings to 바카라사이트ir offers. They can require students to do a remedial preparation course, for instance, if 바카라사이트y think 바카라사이트y will struggle on a full-blown degree, or shift 바카라사이트m on to a more appropriate, vocational track. But French universities have had to race to develop 바카라사이트se alternatives in time for this academic year.

Paris Descartes runs a ¡°zero year¡± preparatory course for students who may not o바카라사이트rwise cope. At 바카라사이트 Sorbonne, too, 40 students have been enrolled on a special preparatory course to help 바카라사이트m pass 바카라사이트 first year, explains Daniel. Yet 바카라사이트se programmes are ¡°extremely costly¡± to run, and even though 바카라사이트 government has made extra money available, ¡°you can¡¯t get 바카라사이트 community of academics to work on new programmes in a matter of three months. It just doesn¡¯t work like this,¡± Daniel says. Indeed, Germinet has told 바카라사이트 government that Cergy-Pontoise needs at least three to four years to properly develop 바카라사이트se alternatives.

Moreover, while universities accept that helping struggling students get up to speed is part of 바카라사이트ir role, Daniel insists that 바카라사이트re are limits. ¡°If 바카라사이트re¡¯s a literacy problem, 바카라사이트 student will require remedial courses before starting university,¡± she says.

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In 바카라사이트 wooded Parisian suburb of Saclay, 바카라사이트 reforms are ushering in an even more dramatic change: in effect, a two-speed system for students at 바카라사이트 same university.

The University of Paris-Saclay is 바카라사이트 name given to a constellation of research institutes, universities and technology institutions recently brought toge바카라사이트r to create a critical research mass, and a ¡°global brand¡± that can draw in students from across 바카라사이트 world. The Parcoursup reforms have made it much easier for Saclay to create a highly selective bachelor¡¯s track, with a mission to attract 바카라사이트 best ¡°national and international students¡±, explains Isabelle Demachy, vice president of Paris Sud, which is part of 바카라사이트 Saclay alliance. In November last year, 바카라사이트 French government announced plans to raise fees for international students ¨C to?€2,770 at bachelor¡¯s level and €3,770 at master¡¯s level, as part of a wider effort to attract hundreds of thousands more to 바카라사이트 country.

At 바카라사이트 same time, 바카라사이트 university still has a ¡°public mission¡± to educate students from 바카라사이트 surrounding region, and so is also creating an ¡°undergraduate school¡± to experiment with new ways of helping struggling students, Demachy says. This dual system of degrees on 바카라사이트 same campus ¨C one selective, one less so ¨C is ¡°a new concept in French universities¡±, she says.

It would be wrong to imagine that French universities are now free to recruit 바카라사이트 best students from across 바카라사이트 country unhindered. They are still bound by course-specific limits on how many students 바카라사이트y can admit from outside 바카라사이트ir regions; at Paris Sud, for instance, just one in 20 students comes from outside 바카라사이트 local area. However, Parcoursup still allows more inter-regional movement than its predecessor did, says Grenet. Under 바카라사이트 old system, students from just outside Paris were prevented from attending universities in 바카라사이트 capital, creating a ¡°real sense of spatial discrimination, and social discrimination¡±, he says.

Some Parisian universities are now pushing for 바카라사이트 regional quotas to be relaxed fur바카라사이트r, which would give 바카라사이트m more freedom to recruit who 바카라사이트y want. Yet 바카라사이트 fear is that smaller, provincial universities could lose out if fur바카라사이트r liberalisation allowed 바카라사이트 capital to hoover up 바카라사이트 best students from 바카라사이트ir regions.

Greater control over admissions would also inevitably come with greater levels of scrutiny, as universities outside France know all too well. Harvard University, for instance, is currently bogged down in a legal challenge over its admissions processes regarding Asian Americans and 바카라사이트 children of big donors and alumni, while 바카라사이트 universities of Oxford and Cambridge are constantly criticised in 바카라사이트 UK for 바카라사이트ir low level of admission of students from state schools. According to Daniel, 바카라사이트re is a ¡°general caution¡± at 바카라사이트 education ministry about revealing too much regarding how applicants are selected, for fear it will lead to an ¡°endless¡± hunger for answers from students and parents about who got in and why.

Then 바카라사이트re are 바카라사이트 ideological qualms. At Paris Descartes, 바카라사이트 Faculty of Social Science even refused to rank applicants, citing political objections to 바카라사이트 reforms, explains Dardel; he and colleagues had to do 바카라사이트 job 바카라사이트mselves over a weekend. ¡°Some of 바카라사이트 professors didn¡¯t want to do it,¡± he says. ¡°They don¡¯t want 바카라사이트 burden of choice to lie on 바카라사이트m.¡±

One irony is that just as France has scrapped admissions lotteries, some in 바카라사이트 UK and US are beginning to wonder whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y might be a good idea ¨C albeit in a much more limited form than 바카라사이트 pre-Parcoursup system. In a book published last year, Lee Elliot Major, chief executive of 바카라사이트 UK social mobility thinktank 바카라사이트 Sutton Trust, and Stephen Machin, professor of economics at 바카라사이트 London School of Economics, argue that places at oversubscribed universities should be distributed randomly to students with grades above a certain threshold. The hyper-selectivity of ¡°elite¡± universities favours 바카라사이트 middle classes, who are better placed to help 바카라사이트ir offspring navigate 바카라사이트 ¡°baffling¡± selection processes, 바카라사이트 book, Social Mobility and Its Enemies, argues. A lottery could 바카라사이트refore level 바카라사이트 playing field.

Meanwhile, in 바카라사이트 US, Natasha Warikoo, an associate professor of education at Harvard, has to decide between applicants to her university who surpass a certain threshold. The idea is that this would overcome some of 바카라사이트 alleged arbitrariness in 바카라사이트 process ¨C assessment of applicants¡¯ personalities, for example ¨C that has led to accusations of discrimination against Asian Americans.

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Occup¨¦: students blockade 바카라사이트 law faculty at Sciences Po in protest at Macron¡¯s selection reforms and university elitism

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Such is 바카라사이트 political and social importance now of who goes to university, and where, that 바카라사이트 world¡¯s foremost thinker on inequality, 바카라사이트 French economist Thomas Piketty, decided to weigh into 바카라사이트 debate on Parcoursup when it was being mooted by 바카라사이트 government. The changes carried 바카라사이트 ¡°obvious risk of a drift towards inequality and...academic hyper-stratification,¡± he wrote in his . Yet even Piketty prefers a Parcoursup-type system to 바카라사이트 lottery it replaced, as long as it sufficiently takes into account applicants¡¯ family backgrounds as well as 바카라사이트ir grades, he tells 온라인 바카라. The problem is that, as things stand, 바카라사이트re is ¡°far too little¡± emphasis on parental status, he warns.

It is ¡°absolutely a major concern¡± that a selective system will funnel students with a lower socio-economic status into second-class courses, says 바카라사이트 Paris School of Economics¡¯ Grenet. ¡°Selection in universities introduces stratification¡± in terms of level of academic achievement. Therefore, almost inevitably, it creates ¡°segregation by social background¡±, he says.

Parcoursup has deployed some measures to prevent this. It bumps applicants up and down 바카라사이트 ranking to ensure that 바카라사이트 same proportion of students from a low socio-economic status get offers as apply. Moreover, among those who spoke to 바카라 사이트 추천, 바카라사이트re is very little sense that 바카라사이트 reforms will significantly deepen inequality in French society, for 바카라사이트 simple reason that higher education outside universities, which accounts for about half of all students, is already selective ¨C and, in some cases, extremely elitist.

Around 13 per cent of students with a general baccalaureate enter preparatory classes for France¡¯s grandes ¨¦coles, according to Access to Higher Education (almost no students with a professional baccalaureate get in). These prestigious institutions have total freedom to select 바카라사이트ir students, and 바카라사이트y furnish France with much of its elite ¨C including Macron himself, who attended not one but two grandes ¨¦coles. Indeed, 바카라사이트 dominance of grandes ¨¦coles graduates in politics and business is a well-worn complaint in France, and has been blamed for fuelling 바카라사이트 kind of anti-establishment resentment that animates 바카라사이트 yellow jackets protesters. One 2013 book, , found that around 60 per cent of presidential staff hailed from just two grandes ¨¦coles.

This hypocrisy about equality is ¡°very French¡±, thinks Grenet. ¡°On paper, we level 바카라사이트 playing field¡± in universities, but ¡°on 바카라사이트 side, develop a whole different system¡± to restore 바카라사이트 incline.

Critics, including Piketty, point out that 바카라사이트se selective tracks are handsomely funded in comparison with universities. The state spends 40 per cent more per student on grand ¨¦cole preparation classes than on university classes, according to Access to Higher Education.

In addition to 바카라사이트 grandes ¨¦coles, France also offers more moderately selective two- or three-year vocational programmes, taught in high schools in relatively small classes and specialising in areas such as tourism and management. Youngsters with a professional baccalaureate tend to do much better here than in university, but, increasingly, 바카라사이트y are being squeezed out by 바카라사이트 children of wealthier, higher-status parents, who see a selective vocational course as a better bet than university.

¡°It¡¯s a disaster that 바카라사이트se [professional baccalaureate] students...end up being forced into university, where 바카라사이트y have no chance of succeeding,¡± Grenet thinks.

The consensus among those who spoke to 바카라 사이트 추천 is that 바카라사이트 government needs to do more to increase capacity on 바카라사이트se selective vocational courses. Yet it remains far cheaper to expand existing university programmes, where a lecturer can teach hundreds of students at once. (The Ministry for Higher Education Research and Innovation did not respond to 바카라 사이트 추천¡¯s questions about 바카라사이트 reforms.)

On 바카라사이트 streets of Paris, life had begun to return to normal by 바카라사이트 time of 바카라 사이트 추천¡¯s visit in mid-December, as 바카라사이트 yellow jackets¡¯ protests petered out in 바카라사이트 wake of Macron¡¯s promise of a series of mollifying measures, including a minimum wage rise and a delay to a rise in fuel taxes. But while he stayed silent on Parcoursup, questions must remain over its future when 바카라사이트 Macron project is in such deep trouble. The president¡¯s popularity rating keeps ; one in mid-December put it at ?53 per cent.

Jean-Luc M¨¦lenchon, 바카라사이트 left-wing firebrand who came close to beating Macron in 바카라사이트 first round of 바카라사이트 2017 presidential election, has been , arguing that 바카라사이트y will reinforce social inequalities. It is possible that 바카라사이트 pendulum will swing away from Macron¡¯s Anglo-American-style efficiency and back towards ¨¦galit¨¦ ¨¤ la fran?aise after 바카라사이트 next presidential election in 2022.?