I survived my 42h concours-exams to get into the French Grandes Écoles.
Basically, during 7 days we do 6-hour exams every day, where they test us on different subjects. The topics are literally shorter than a sentence, and we have to write an essay during those 6 hours.. which leads to essays anywhere between 14 to 20 pages. And yes, your hand is dead by the end of it.
For example, the philosophy topic was "La valeur de la nature", which would mean "The value of nature", in history we had "Vivre en dictature dans le monde de 1919 à 1990" which would be "Living in a dictature in the world from 1919 to 1990". Yes, our history program is modern history.. of the world (although i will not comment on the fact that it is basically Western european and northern american history, that is another rant).
At any rate, i have been too busy with my schoolwork to really be on any social media, so tumblr got deleted. But now, i have basically finished what will be my most mentally challenging years.
Indeed, life has been tough, i was under so much pressure at school.. and still am. I was at school every day from 8 to 9:30 pm, everyday, monday through friday, with 6h exams every saturday. And on sunday i would work at least 12h..
It really does sounds nuts when i write it down 😭😭😭
The pressure was basically me not wanting to fail (i did a lot), and me wanting to do just enough to be able to get into these Grandes Écoles.. but now it is over and i am rejoyced
Now don't get me wrong, i don't regret doing a prépa, especially not because i have met some of the most amazing people, have learnt so much and so many useful skills. I love and i am loved. And i definitely did not hate it while living through the experience. But i am happy it is over.
These past few days not touching a single course-work related anything have been a total bliss. I have read so much, seen so many movies, been a lot on social media, that i cannot stand the idea of doing this again. I am so happy it is finally over.
Anyways, if somebody want to know more about the absurd french system, don't hesitate in sending me a message :)
So, for the time being (my 5-day holiday), i'm back...