Spanish universities in which French students choose to enroll choose to enroll and not universities for French students in Spain
Expressed like this, you may not think that the opposition between the two expressions is fundamental.
However, it is, and we will try to explain to you, simply and clearly, how they are different.
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A university in Spain for French students would be an institution of higher learning that has been designed and organized specifically for them.
It would meet their expectations perfectly. It would be adapted to their culture. It would take into account their specific needs and demands.
If this is what you are looking for in Spain, forget about your study in Spain project right away because this is not offered in any institution...anyone who tells you otherwise would be lying to you.
We see more and more students and parents who are looking for free studies in French in Spain...but the free studies in French are in France (maybe also in Belgium). So if this is what you are looking for, you should stay in France.
Most courses at universities in Spain will be in Spanish as in France most studies are offered in French.
In order to gain access, you will be subject to the same timetable as the Spanish. For example, if a Spanish applicant has to apply to a public university in Spain between June 8 and June 28, a French applicant who has his or her baccalaureate result on July 6 will be out of time and will not be able to apply the year of his or her baccalaureate.
In order to be admitted, you will have to meet the same requirements. For example, if a Spanish candidate in veterinary medicine must have an excellent academic record, a French candidate will not be admitted with a record lower than the minimum of the last admitted candidate in relation to the number of places offered.
You will be treated the same as a Spanish student, evaluated in Spanish as a Spaniard. It is up to you and you alone to make sure that you have the necessary level to study in Spain.
You will be treated in the same way as a Spanish student. For example, in medicine you must take the MIR exam at the end of your 6 years of study and obtain it, even if you want to return to France to do a specialty. You will have to pass and obtain a diploma rank from the MIR without which you have not completed your second cycle of medical studies.
If you have understood and accepted all of this, then you are ready for your future studies in Spain and everything will go smoothly. There are wonderful courses in almost every sector and field.
In some cases, it may even be in your best interest to enroll in courses offered in Spain. This is the case, for example, for training in the health sciences (audioprosthesis, physiotherapy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, etc.) where you will have to pass exams and not take a competitive examination.
At the end of your studies you will obtain an official Spanish diploma (not European as some people sometimes tell you for commercial reasons...) which will allow you to practice in France under the conditions foreseen between France and Spain within the framework of European agreements.
After completing certain health science training programs, there are many job offers.
However, the universities and schools you are considering are Spanish institutions, so this is important on many levels and in many ways.
1. If you wish to enroll in a public university
- All the information you will find will be in Spanish.
- Administrative processes and calendars are designed for Spanish students. They will often not be adapted to you and sometimes not at all compatible with your own exam dates (baccalauréat, PACES,...).
- The staff of these universities will communicate with you (by e-mail, telephone or on site) in Spanish.
- You will be subject to the same selective requirements as Spanish students (nota de corte: lowest average accepted). The French 20-point grading system is a disadvantage compared to the Spanish 10-point grading system. French teachers mainly take mistakes into account and give harsh grades. Spanish teachers are more focused on positive responses and therefore less severe in their grading.
- You will find little collaboration from the staff. The arrival of foreign students (whose studies are then financed by the taxes paid by the Spanish) is not always seen in a very positive light in Spain. These same foreigners who ask a lot of questions and don't understand anything they are told can also sometimes be badly perceived and badly received.
- You won't find any support offered for your exchanges with public universities in Spain, apart from the one set up 2 years ago by FEEDUC.
2. If you wish to enroll in a private university
- These are commercial ventures and, as a French student (or family of a French student), you are not prepared for them.
We know this in France for business schools, but for health sciences courses, for example, the steps and processes can be surprising.
What consequences will this have? You will be in contact with salespeople who are commissioned on the sales they make: their only objective is to sell! You are the target of marketing products designed to make a company profitable and prosperous, especially on courses that are not in Spanish: in English this is the case and in French it is the only motivation of the university that offers them!
If your interest matches their offer you can commit but be aware of what you are buying and know how to keep your distance from professional sales people with well-honed speeches.
Be prepared for their approach (reminders, sending numerous emails, multiple phone calls...) which is quite aggressive for those who are not expecting it.
Many will not hesitate to use strong and not always accurate arguments: for example, they may urge you to apply in January, telling you that there are few or no places left, whereas every year we see that solutions exist, even in these universities, much later in the school year.
You should always try to keep your cool (and believe us, it's not always easy with the levels of pressure you'll be facing) and stay on top of your project given the financial and personal consequences it involves.
The advice: Never commit yourself without having really thought about the consequences, weighed the pros and cons. You could expose yourself to surprises and disillusionment if you make a decision in haste.
These private universities are Spanish companies, sometimes owned by pension funds from English-speaking countries, and the culture in these companies is not the same as the one you are used to in France in the field of university studies.
You expect to receive confirmation of the steps taken? You will often get none!
In Spain, in most cases, you will only be contacted if your file has not reached its destination or if it turns out that essential documents are missing.
This will inevitably stress you, more or less strongly, especially and even more when you have paid money.
You will try to take steps, multiply the contacts (emails, phone...) but you will not get what you expect (a written, dated and signed document) because this is not the way it works. Most of the documents you will need can only be obtained through an autonomous process that will be done online from your personal interface on the university website once your payments are made.
Sometimes you will receive an email that will give you information (login and password for example) that proves that your file has been registered or processed, but not always.
You can also receive an email if your file has not reached the recipient or if essential documents are missing.
On the other hand, you will certainly never receive mail or phone calls (except for commercial ones that you will not always understand and that will add to your stress). If you are going through the process of admission and enrollment in a private university in Spain, make it a habit to read your emails every day (and check your SPAMS). This way you won't lose any information or essential reminders that may have caused some students to lose their place in the past.
Checking email should really become a daily reflex.
These are Spanish universities and the rigor that you would expect to encounter is often not there:
- We will announce an answer for the end of March .... and it will come mid-April...
- You will be notified that a registration package will be sent by mail in mid-June... and you will receive a registration package by email in mid-July...
- They will announce non-selective tests in French in January... and when you take them in May they will be in Spanish and some students will be turned away.
- You will be asked to register in January ... and the rates will still not be available in June.
- You will be quoted one price in February and pay another in July.
- You will be required to have a specific level of Spanish in March... and you will be enrolled without that level in June if there is still room and you can prove that you have made efforts and progress.
- You will be told that the program is full and/or that the waiting list is full in February ... and you will receive an email in September offering you a place which will be used by the university to fill a hole caused by a cancellation.
- You will want a school certificate "as in France" and it will be "as in Spain", if you want a specific document in French or "as in France", you will not be able to get it or it will be paid like many specific requests.
You are aware of all this and you still want to study in Spain?
So, we are here to: inform you, help you, accompany you, advise you, prevent you, decode you, support you, warn you.
Our website is rich and you will find all this information if you take the time to really look into your project.
FOR ALL THOSE WHO HAVE A PLAN TO STUDY IN SPAIN NEXT YEAR, WHAT TO DO?
Contact us as soon as possible and let's start working together on your project!
The sooner you have access to information, the longer you will have to prepare yourself and the better prepared you will be to succeed in your studies in Spain !
It is never too early to have time to prepare for admission, especially by doing a gap year.
It's also in the preparation that FEEDUC brings you its real added value.
What about September? Later will be too late.... Register as soon as possible on the FEEDUC website to start receiving support and access to the best individual advice for your study project in Spain.
It's our presence in the field that makes FEEDUC: we know what we're talking about, and we only talk about what we know.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT THE FEEDUC TEAM:
We hope you've found it useful, and please feel free to share it if you think it might be of use to others?
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Opportunities and preparation for your studies in Spain? FEEDUC of course!
ARTICLE FROM JANUARY 2018 UPDATED IN SEPTEMBER 2022
