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author
Lea Anton
Lea
Anton
faculty
Fakulta sociálních věd
academic year of the stay
2021/2022
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author
Lea
faculty
Fakulta sociálních věd
academic year of the stay
2021/2022
Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po)
traineeship
study stay
short-term mobility
other
How does Lea rate their stay?
university
city
accommodation
financial demands
about university
What made your university special? What were the facilities where you studied and the university equipment like?
Sciences Po is a very renowned university, especially with regards to politics and diplomatic studies. And spending a semester there comes with all the perks imaginable, a campus at the very posh but very beautiful rive gauche in Saint Germaine de Près.
The campus is just a short walk from the Louvre and the Musee d' Orsay, perfect for a visit after a lecture. The campus is close to the so popular café de flore were coco chanel and Pablo Picasso used to sit.
Despite the impressive buildings, and great location it is the people that make Sciences Po. The students as well as the professors. The students are dedicated and oriented, while enjoying the privileges that a university like Sciences Po provides. The university offers many student clubs, and more student events than you can imagine, a lot conferences, talks and career fairs, - be quick to sign up. The professors at that university are truly experts in their field. The university has many notable alumni and i believe that the majority of the french political elite goes through this university and at least the last three french Presidents. However, it is private french elite university.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about your "adoptive" university? What made it special? What were the premises where you studied and the university facilities like?
I choose to due my erasmus semester during the last semester of my masters, even though spring in Paris is just perfect, looking back the university was not necessary prepared for that. What i did not realize at first, is that I had a very limited course offer from the common curriculum, since Master students at Sciences Po do not write a thesis, but rather have an internship in their last semester.
Besides that, signing up for courses is a fight. Which means, Erasmus students do not usually get the courses they want. However, the Sciences po administrator know that, and will not sign a learning agreement before the course signup. Erasmus students have only have a day to sign up for courses, however, they are in the bottom of the food chain and therefore, fight over the couple place that are left in the courses.
Generally, I had rather large classes in comparison to the normally quite small seminars. However, even in the larger cours settings, i got to know some of my fellow students in group work settings or just during the breaks. I also took a french course (not the one i tried to get in too but it turned out ok) with many other erasmus and international students.
The courses are little designed for discussion and debate but rather in a traditional manner with the professor lecturing the students for 2 hours. Yes, that might also be essential, a lecture is longer, the academic quarter is not subtracted, before and after, thus, lecture is usually 2 hours. Thus, a double lecture 4, this might not sound like a large difference, however, in the beginning this was quite irritating to me.
The larger courses are usually managed by a phd student, while they are held by a professor. And depending on the lecture format, every word is essential. In the french system, repeating the professors exact word seems to count more, and everyone in the course. take notes exactly like that. During my stay in Paris, when talking to my friends I accidentally kept referring to my professors as my teachers, like back in school, and I think this transports the feeling of the university system quite good. Voting for a course representative in every course only emphasized this feeling. Regarding the examination, it is to say that mid-term grades are not published individually but rather later in the year with everything else.
The administration is as chaotic as in every other university. The system is not without flaw. However, when in need, the help services is very helpful a quick answer is almost guaranteed.
What is student life like at university?
Erasmus life at the university begins with a welcome week, this week is essential. Make sure to be there. Sciences po has many Student associations and sport clubs, however, you have to sign up early to participate, as the student body is very active. And in most cases also speak some french. The university also offers language courses on different levels for exchange students, however, they are gradet quite harsh.
However, Paris has many of Erasmus organisations. I found my best friends during this time at a language cafe organized by ESN.
Did you study in English or in the language of the host country? What language requirements does the university have?
During my stay i mostly communicated in french. However, my university environment was mostly english. The language requirement for the courses I took were also english. However, that is depends on the specialization. Generally, in Paris and France in general, starting a conversion of in french always leaves a better impression, even if you have to switch to english at one point.
about the city
What was your impression of the city? How would you describe it? What is interesting to see here?
Paris is an incredible city to live in. It is an experience i would not want to miss. The city breathes culture and style and just goes by its own beat. It is cosmopolitan and a metropolis. So student live happens between world famous tourists attractions and just day to day life. It is busy, but with that joie de vivre, so with apperiv and picnic at the Seine.
So what is interesting about Paris? I think it's rather, what is not interesting about Paris. The great thing about an Erasmus in Paris is that you really get to experience the city beyond the sights you see in a couple of days. And that is really a must. The life in but also beyond the tourist attraction is what makes Paris so unique. I don't think I have been to I place I truly dislike. Discovering each arrondissement and its hidden gems was very special to me. However, I still always returned to my favorite places. I lived just a couple minutes from the Plais Royal, so i really enjoyed sitting there with a book or my laptop and writing on my thesis. The same for the Jardin Tuileries. In spring and summer, the quai between Pont Marie and Pont de Sully is just Vibrant in the evenings and the perfect place for a picnic or a glass of wine by the Seine. An alternative for that is the quite touristy, but very beautiful view from the steps in Sacre Coer. Generally I tried to walk as much as I possibly could and try to get to know the city like this. It think it worked a little bit. As I stated before, really all arrondissements in the inner ring are worth getting to know. i don't think i can list all my favorite places here, as i loved so much about this city, but here are a couple things that maybe are not written in every tourist guide book on the first page: the area around Place de la Contrescarpe for an aperive or coffee, here is often some live music or the quartier Canal St Martin.
On another note, my favorite place to study was the library of institut francais, friends of mine prefered the Sorbonne library next to Pantheon, both very impressive, very old libraries.
about finances
In your experience, how far does the scholarship go? What percentage of your expenses did it cover? What is your opinion on prices in the country in general?
Paris is expensive!!! The scholarship is not enough. It did not even cover my rent. One of my friends was very lucky and found a cheap apartment, however even in her case the rent was 650€ for a chambre de bonne in my case it was 850€ for a barly 20 sqm studio apartment and that is a quite regular price. However, dorm rooms and similar chambre de bonne would not have been much cheaper (often around 700-900). Another factor are the standards of living in many chambre de bonne, with one shared toilet for the floor, sometimes leaking windows, often not real possibility to cook and a shower that can flood the whole room. So finding a place to live is an adventure.
Please advise your classmates on how to save money—Where to shop? What services can be used to save money?
Living in the city center comes with many other expenses, one example is that close to my apartment there were only express supermarkets and expensive supermarkets, it took me a while to figure out that it could use to good to go for grocery shopping. Generally Paris is expensive, if you can manage the rent, than there are ways to manage the rest, for me that meant to good to go, a lot of walking and a lot of fun picnic as well as happy hours with my friends.
I personally realized that in would not need monthly metro ticket and that it would be cheaper for me to buy a rechargeable 10ticket card. I think that, my to good to go, happy hours, as well as signing up for events (just check event calendars, even Facebook if they might have an free earlier entry) in advanced really safed me the most money.
Additionally, there are many things that are free or reduced in Paris if you are under 26, e.g. most of the Museums. Besides this, there are great discounts you can get with e.g. the ESN card or even the ISIC card.
Nonetheless, it is not a city you will leave with more money in your bank account than you came with
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about accommodation
What type of accommodation did you choose? Would you recommend it to others? If not, what type of accommodation do you think is best based on your experience (dormitory, private apartment, private dormitory, shared room, etc.)?
I personally booked an apartment through an agency and really regretted it.The fees just keep piling up and i ended up paying losing my on deposit without real reason. Generally, in Paris are chambre de bonne or studio apartments the most common student living situation and that's also what i would recommend. There are large international private dormitories (Cité) a little outside of the city, which of course provide a great community but are a little outside and a hassle to get back too. I really appreciated living in the city center, as I would walk everywhere, e.g. to university.
about experiences
Did you use Erasmus stay to travel around your country/Europe? What are your best travel experiences? What would you not recommend?
I did rather use the time to explore Paris and its close surroundings, but even for that the time flew... however, when I wanted to travel in the end covid caught up with me.... so i had to postpone my plans. So i guess, next summer I have to put my French to good use.
Language and culture: what cultural differences did you notice? How did you cope with the national language? Was it also the language of your studies? Do you feel that your language skills improved during your stay?
During my stay i have improved my language skills significantly. I have revived them. Even though i continuously spoke french throughout the years on vacation, my french was far from the niveau where it used to be. Thus I was very excited for the opportunity to improve it and build upon the language foundations that I still had. The course I took really helped me with that, as it set a strong focused on grammar and building up vocabulary. Even though my other university courses were in in English, my day to day interactions were in French which helped me improve the language faster.
The largest cultural difference is I believe the tradition of living the live outside and the openness to other people. Sitting in a cafe and just talking to the people on the next table, just because the table is so close, it feels like one anyway. Another cultural difference is the pace, the generally fast pace with specific breaks that are taken. Besides this the largest difference is the overall way to carry oneself and the Parisian sense for culture and style.
final rating
Why here? What makes this location special? Why would you send your friends to your country/city?
I would everyone recommend to study a semester in. Paris, for me it was a dream come true. Spring in Paris is really the most beautiful time to spend there and experience the Parisian culture. Having every weekend more tourists in the city and the city slowly waking up under the winter mist is magical. The city is full of culture and history and is vibrant and colorful in every way. The university is very renowned and private university, through an erasmus + I had the opportunity to experience and study a semester at Sciences Po, something that would have been far out of my reach otherwise. The university, its professors, and Alumi are remarkable, I learned a lot during this semester and if asked today I would go again.
live-saving tips
If I went again, I would definitely remember to pack...
different coats, it stays cool quite long
Before leaving, I would like to know that...
Have a printed out version of your confirmation the first time you want to go to Sciences po, you don't have a card yet, they will check for that. (And later the card, and from time to time they will even check your back)
*in general there is a lot of security everywhere in Paris
What surprised me most was that...
That they also have many different online systems for everything
The hardest thing for me was...
Realizing that the University was not that what I idolized it to be
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