alphapunk2 wrote:Hello,
I am a 16 year old singaporean male looking for information as to studying and living in France. I have a few questions which i am burning to ask.
1. How much would it cost for me to study (university level) in France? Including accomodation, transport, school fees etc, basically everything
2. Is it strictly required of me to be able to speak fluent french? (Currently i am learning basic french language)
3.What are the chances of me changing my citizenship from singaporean to french? (During or after completing university)
4. Is there anyway of me getting any sort of benefits whatsoever such as reduced costs of accommodation, everyday expenses while studying there? (Changing my citizenship while still in university)
5. Do all universities there teach only in french?
Alphapunk2,
There are many different types of higher education institutions in France. The public universities in general cost almost nothing (e.g. Paris I's fees for 2008/9 are less than 200 euros), the semi-public like Sciences Po will be between 530 and 5300 euros (depending on your household income) and the Écoles de commerce, écoles d'ingénieurs etc will be very costly.
But since you will leave after NS, do not speak French and assuming that you will not be going on scholarship, you will probably not qualify for anything but the Premier Cycle (Bac + 1 & 2). Most Universities have their own board for the équivalences, you present your Singapore Paper qualifications etc and they decide if they will take you in. Everything at this level will be in French, though if you do courses like LEA (e.g. Paris III) or Langues Orientales (INALCO), you'll be able to gain a little respite as you can do another language like English, Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese etc at the same time. Or do Maths - less language to deal with.
Student accommodation is expensive and rare in Paris, though it may be easier and cheaper in the provinces. There are student hostels both public (CROUS) and private, but you usually get priority when you are doing the higher cycles e.g. Bac + 3 onwards. You can try to rent a room chez l'habitant or find another student with whom you can rent a small flat. To have an idea of prices, you can check out
www.pap.fr or even the English magazine FUSAC.
If you manage to get them to accept that you have little or no income, you may qualify for housing aid from the CAF. But your papers must be in order, you must be admitted to a school, your room has to be of a min size etc and if you are renting your landlord has to be willing to declare his rental income to the tax office.
Transportation-wise students under 26 get good discounts so that shouldn't be a problem and increasingly you can rent bikes etc in most cities.
If you're lucky you may find small jobs babysitting or translating, foodwise, if you stick to the discounters like Leader Price, ED you'll survive. Before I became the Cordon Bleu cook that I am today, I used to survive on grilled sausages and white rice. If in Paris, register with the SSAF Singapore's Student association and you'll get a free meal or 2 every year. A hamburger in McDonald's go for a euro nowadays.
Internships in general do not pay, but you may need to do them in the course of your studies. Times are bad, even normal grads may have to go on internships and CDDs to be employed, I wouldn't count on them as a 1er cycle student.
Citizenship. Goodness, the grass is not that green on the other side, not that it's any of my business. I left for Paris 13 years ago and though I've not regretted it, I do not see why people think it's so wonderful here. In any case, it will not be easy to get French citizenship certainly not when you're here just for your studies. People who have worked 5 years continuously may qualify for residency, but citizenship? Maybe after you've 1st qualified for residency and after a few years holding on to it.
If you have children born in France (and both parents are not French), they will qualify for citizenship and you may not be expulsed. But you will not obtain citizenship for that. If you marry an EU citizen, after 2 years of marriage, you may qualify for citizenship though. Hope though that you'll find your love when you're there and not have to contract a mariage blanc.
French is easy if you have a good ear and do not stick to the Chinese or English-speaking communities. I was fluent in less than a year though I had DELF before I left, my Bachelor's degree included some French and I was in France for Postgrad studies in Political Science which required alot of reading, presentations etc.
Hope this helps.
Je pense donc je suis. Le reste du temps, je ne suis qu'une fleur.
That will guarantee you the same rights to work as any citizen of EU.