Parcoursup: why (very) good high school students find themselves on the floor

"I was told that a good academic record opens all doors, ultimately it does not happen like that." Sorenza, a student in terminal L in "the best public high school" in Reims, has hardly cashed the results of Parcoursup admissions received Tuesday, May 19. The young woman, who indicates receiving congratulations each quarter "since the sixth", was denied in each of her favorite wishes. Like her, many future students with leading academic records are sometimes shut in the door by Parcoursup software. Several student and high school associations have criticized the platform since its opening, in particular because of its opaque functioning, where sovereignty is left to the juries.

"The poor orientation of high school students is the heart of the problem," insists Caroll Le Fur, an orientation coach for six years. For the accompaniment professional, the teachers are not able to correctly guide the high school students towards a path likely to accept them. "Teachers are not there for that, they have no knowledge of the professional world, they have never worked in a company", judge Caroll.

An analysis supported by the National Lycée Union (UNL), which regrets that the main teachers are required to take on, in addition to their responsibilities, the role of guidance counselors: Explains Mathieu Devlaminck, vice-president of the UNL.

DUT clogged

And this lack of support sometimes pushes students with a solid file to apply where they should not, taking the place of another. The orientation coach regrets receiving frequent calls from students who have been advised to register everywhere, the famous choice of the king. "Matthis called me in a panic, he asked for everything, from engineering to commercial sectors, he wanted to base his choice on the most elitist sector, without knowing what to do with it," says Caroll Le Fur. She notes that today, simply taking the results into account is no longer enough, and that teachers cannot guide without taking into account the aspirations of high school students, at the risk of blocking the system.

The 950,000 candidates registered on Parcoursup (including 658,000 graduates) are sorted according to their results and assessments, in order to leave the choice to the streams. They are then completely free to select the "best" future students. This classification system would trigger a perverse effect, disadvantageous for good students in technological and professional fields. Yassir dreamed of applying for a DUT Marketing techniques, but "no IUT accepted it", despite an average of 14 and "good reviews".

For several years, professional diplomas such as the University Diploma in Technology (DUT) or the Brevets de technicien supérieure (BTS) have been on the rise. "We tell young people that by targeting a DUT, they will have the certainty of having a real professional integration while denigrating the supervision of the university," schematizes Orlane François, president of the Federation of General Student Associations (Fage).

A plebiscite which, according to the president of the union, pushes “the bins general mentions very well” to ask in mass these already valued fields, thus taking the place of high school students in technological field. To fight against elitism in these sectors, quotas have been put in place, but they do not completely contain the phenomenon, always leaving the juries to choose at leisure excellent cases in general sector outside the quotas.

"We need more visibility on the juries"

What challenges high school students and unions is the opacity of juries when it comes to selective courses, such as for preparatory classes or DUT. For student unions, it is essential that the juries disclose the selection conditions, which are often kept secret. "We need greater visibility on the juries, their criteria must be known," asks the Fage union.

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A request from the National Union of Students of France (Unef) was filed before the Constitutional Council so that "local algorithms (Editor's note: training) are revealed". A remedy which has borne fruit since the Constitutional Council decreed in April 2020 that "each higher education establishment" is required to "give an account of the criteria according to which the candidacies were examined within the framework of Parcoursup" . Some courses already made their criteria public, like the Sciences and techniques of physical and sports activities (STAPS) which had already communicated its scale.

If certain crucial points of the selection are not known, others are, like the priority for high school students in the sector, to the chagrin of provincial high school students. Sorenza, who resides in Reims, regrets that the sector of origin is taken into account: “I have the impression that Parisian universities have trouble recruiting elsewhere than in Île-de-France. "

"It is not normal for a young person to be without a university education"

According to the Ministry of Higher Education, "almost seven out of ten candidates made a wish outside their academy of residence". The rate of students in or outside sectors is determined each year by the rectors, according to the specificities of each zone. An exception exists, since 2019, the academies of Créteil, Versailles and Paris are grouped in the same academy. Ile-de-France residents can therefore apply for all Ile-de-France licenses, without restriction.

The various student and high school unions are very critical of this measure, which they deem "harmful to the mobility of students". For its part, the UNEF advocates above all an improvement of education throughout the territory, which would allow each student to have "quality training, even nearby" insists Mélanie Luce, president of the union.

But why is there so much tension? Why is there sometimes an impression that students take the place of one or the other? The low budget allocated to higher education is often mentioned, a ministry endowed with 25.49 billion euros (bn €), against 54.49 bn € for the Ministry of the Armed Forces. Orlane François regrets that so many students find themselves on the sidelines: “It is not normal for a young person to be without a university education, which was already a problem before Parcoursup. "

What if you are left with nothing?

For the finalists who only asked for selective routes and who find themselves empty-handed, a new fight began on May 19. Since that day, "if you have only received negative responses from selective training", you can contact your school or an orientation service to "review your project and prepare for the additional phase" describes the Parcoursup platform. For their part, five unions joined forces to create the SOS registration initiation, to come to the aid of students who were unable to access the studies of their choice. "We take their files, and we support them directly with the universities," explains Mélanie Luce.