The Class Structure in France
Never in my life did I think I would be able to sit still for 4 hours. The shock of the French system of classes is hard to take in when it varies so significantly from the American system. I had been used to taking a few classes a day for periods from an hour to two for the three years of my education. However, in France, the material is much more concentrated. We take one or two courses all day for 2 blocks of 3-4 hours. My easy days begin at 9am where I work till 12pm. Then, we have lunch for two hours, and class resumes from 2-5pm. We are usually lucky to get a 10minute break in this period, in which everyone runs to the coffee machine. The classes are mostly lecture based or group project based. There are a lot of group presentations throughout the class, and we are asked to evaluate one another on the spot. Our homework is generally reading chapters and cases, and I have yet to have any mathematical work. Additionally, my school, Audencia Ecole de Management, has a very special structure. For the first two weeks, we only take elective classes (1 or 2) and this tends to leave your schedule more open. However, afterwards the core or major classes begin. I am currently enrolled in the Consulting Major program which is one of the more rigorous and project oriented. The program is incredibly interesting, and I feel that I was able to learn a lot about the industry which I have never had much exposure to in Fisher. It is nice to apply the analytical skills we acquire throughout our classes at Fisher to the problems we are faced with. My class is composed of 2/3 international students and 1/3 French which also leads to a lot of interesting inputs and learnings. All in all, the Audencia classes have proved challenging but very valuable! We are presenting to a large consulting firm, Capgemini in just a few short weeks! I cannot wait for such an awesome opportunity.
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