As a former participant in the high school programme, Charles is now steadily continuing his studies at an American university. After earning his French high school diploma, specialising in literature, he is now in his third year studying biology and chemistry in Michigan. In this article, he shares how such a drastic change from literature to science was made possible, and what motivated him to pursue his studies in the USA.
You are one of our Go Campus students who also took part in our high school programme. In other words, you previously spent a school year in the USA before enrolling at a university there. Can you briefly tell us about this experience?
Charles – I went on the high school programme just after completing my French high school diploma. I was 17 at the time and was placed with a host family in North Dakota which is where I ultimately ended up living. At the end of the year, seeing as I couldn’t graduate, I took the TOEFL exam, the SAT etc. That’s when my dad talked to me about the idea of jumping straight into a year at an American university. The Go Campus programme was offering student scholarships to study at American universities. I decided to go for it. I completed my application from the US, wrote my CV, gathered my letters of recommendation and so on. From the universities offered to me, I chose a university in Michigan.
Why did you choose to spend another year in America, instead of pursuing a more traditional path in France?
I wouldn’t say that my year spent at an American high school was extraordinary. It wasn’t the best year of my life like others paint it out to be. Still, the year abroad was a good experience since it was a way for me to discover and fully immerse myself in the true American culture, but it certainly wasn’t mind-blowing for me. I wasn’t really enjoying myself, and since I already had my French high school diploma, the American high school system felt as if it was holding me back. I lacked independence and felt somewhat like I had taken a step backward, so I wasn’t very keen on extending my time at high school.
My motivation to study in the USA boiled down to two things: on the one hand my desire for independence, and on the other, my academic background and the options available to me in France.
Let’s start by your academic background.
We need to rewind a bit. During my teenage years, I sort of lost interest in everything…especially school. Since I was quite sociable and liked showing off and being the class clown, I was encouraged to pursue theatre. Being told “You’re a natural — you’ll see, it’s made for you!”, It automatically seemed like the right choice for me and so I chose to do a high school diploma in literature, with a focus on theatre. Although I enjoyed it at first, by the end of the year I realised that it wasn’t right for me and wasn’t something I ultimately wanted to pursue.
With my French high school diploma in hand, I went to the US. That was a pivotal year for me because it was there that I found a new passion for school, especially for sciences (which had previously interested me in my younger years). Although it wasn’t the most academically challenging, I rediscovered biology, chemistry, psychology, criminology while there. I therefore decided I wanted to pursue a more scientific path, but since I had previously specialised in literature, I was at a bit of a dead end in the French education system. However, the American university system still offered endless opportunities. Going to study in the USA was therefore the solution.
And what about independence? You said you felt quite held back during your time in the USA. Why would you want to go back there?
Yeah, I felt kind of limited, but it was mainly because of the constraints of living with a family and the academic side of the programme. At the same time, I got to experience living far away from home which I really liked. I wanted to keep this sort of independence since I realised that this idea of distance was really important. Not going home every weekend or even every month was crucial. From then on, I understood that the distance (the idea of going far away and for a long time) was equally as important as leaving.
This could be understood as “Being far away for a long time — that’s what it truly means to leave”.
Exactly. The real challenge lies within the distance and the duration. That’s how you really learn – you have to figure things out on your own, solve your own problems on the spot without any parental guidance. There’s no easy fallback, you can’t just go back to your comfort zone, and that’s exactly what helps build character.
Your motivation to return to the USA can be summed up in just 2 words: sciences and independence?
Sort of. In terms of lifestyle, I benefited both from being away from France, and no longer being tied down by a host family. I was winning on both fronts, and ultimately was able to become more independent.
Academically speaking, it’s important to know that the American system is designed to give you freedom, in both your first and second years, to find the right course for you. When it comes to choosing what to study, nothing is off the table. By choosing to study in the USA, and unlike my experience in France, I was able to seriously consider pursuing science.
Some might assume it was easy for you to adjust, wouldn’t they?
To be honest, choosing to go to high school was more difficult than deciding to study at university. It was less of the ‘unknown’ the second time around since I already knew the country and had a decent grasp of the language. So, everything kind of went smoothly without many challenges.
Where do you stand today?
I’ve been in Michigan for 2 and a half years, and I love it. At the beginning, I was leaning more towards forensic sciences, but I quickly switched to a major in biology and a minor in chemistry, because I realised that’s what truly interested me. The big advantage of the American system is that you can define your major (main area of study) relatively late. There are real overlaps between the subject areas, and everything you study during first – and even second – year, really supports your studies and allows you to progress towards the areas of study that are really suited to you.
The further you progress in your studies, the more you specialise. In the USA, you refine your studies more and more as you go on. In France, we don’t really have this freedom. If at 15 years old you don’t really know what you want to do, and you make a wrong decision (or worse, you’re misguided by someone else!), you end up completely stuck. That was sort of what happened to me. But it’s the same for a lot of students.
What do you see yourself doing next?
At the start, I only planned on doing an associate’s degree (a diploma that requires only two years of study), but I realised that this wasn’t very valuable for me in France. It was no longer an option for me. I’m therefore staying here for the 4-year programme and will graduate in December 2021 with a bachelor’s degree. I’m then going to do a master’s degree in Montréal, with the aim of going into research.
Why Montréal?
I love Canada, I love the city, and I have some family over there (it is also worth mentioning that my dad studied in Québec!). I would really like to spend some time there.
From participating in the two programmes, you have experienced both the high school and university systems. What would you say is the biggest difference between them?
I’ll start by highlighting a commonality between the two: both systems prioritise what the student wants to pursue over what they have done previously. From my experience, the fact I had previously done theatre didn’t prevent me from pursuing biology.
But to answer your question, I would say that the biggest difference lies in the independence given to the student. In high school, you are heavily guided, and they hold your hand every step of the way (while in French secondary schools you are just left to your own devices). In terms of just academics, university is slightly more similar to French high school since the teaching is broader and more general. However, at American university they focus more on going back to the basics while also learning how to work more independently and in groups than in France.
Another Go Campus participant, who followed a similar journey to you (high school and campus), jokingly said to us that university is a more “democratic” world whereas high school is more “republican”.
That’s not entirely wrong, in the sense that university is a world of greater freedom and counterculture, while high school is more to do with family and traditions. Personally, I am much more fulfilled by my university experience than my high school one. It’s at university that I have found the independence that I was looking for, as well as more flexibility and more openness. I have more control over things now, whereas in high school, I sometimes felt a bit restricted.
Do you now feel a bit American?
No. I’m French through and through. I love my country, my family and my French friends. I get excited every time I go back. In the USA, I am clearly an expat. An American resident, yes, with the international student label — but ultimately still French. And honestly, I am comfortable and happy this way.
