More Information
Accommodation
Students arrange their own accommodation, using contacts if they can. Some assistants are given a room in their school and pay very little for their accommodation, depending on where they are, and some may not pay anything at all, but this is rare.
Whether or not you study as an Erasmus exchange student, you will be able to apply for accommodation before you go. Once your application has been accepted by the host university, you will be sent a form or given a website where you make an online request for accommodation. You can find out more from CNOUS (Centre national des oeuvres universitaires et scolaires) www.cnous.fr/.
If you are working you will probably have to find your own accommodation, which the employer might be able to help with. In all cases it is advisable to go a few days early and stay somewhere cheap until you find something. Membership of the YHA would enable you to use hostels abroad and benefit from hostels run by the Fédération unie des auberges des jeunesse, www.fuaj.org.
Integrating into French Life
Feedback from returned students affirms that it pays to make every effort to integrate and to avoid other English-speaking people. At first it might seem difficult to make French friends but those who persist have a much better experience. Never refuse an invitation from French colleagues or students is a piece of advice we hear over and over again!
Useful Websites
General
www.education.fr (education in France)
www.education.gouv.fr (Ministry for Education)
www.cidj.asso.fr (Centre d'Information de Documentation Jeunesse)
www.information-jeunesse.tm.fr (Ministry for Youth and Sports)
www.cndp.fr (Centre de Documentation Pédagogique)
www.fle.fr (French courses for foreigners)
Higher education
www.onisep.fr (Office National d'Information sur les Enseignements et les Professions)
www.orientation.fr (scholastic orientation)
www.letudiant.fr (students)
www.phosphore.com (Phosphere)
www.lemonde.fr (Le Monde)
Daily life
www.egide.asso.fr
www.pratique.fr (life in France)
www.diplomatie.gouv.fr (useful for students)
www.ambafrance-uk.org
Student life
www.cnous.fr (student services)
search for ‘crous' and the town or city you are interested in (accommodation)
www.adele.org (accommodation at universities)
www.aljt.fr (accommodation in Paris)
www.cljt.com (young worker hostels in Paris)