Few students have weeks as busy as Mohamed's.
Originally from Vitry-sur-Seine, he wanted to go to business school.
“For me, it meant achieving a certain social status.
In addition, I was curious to discover all these new materials,” explains the young man.
He joined ESC Clermont Business School last September.
Previously, he found accommodation to rent through his uncle, who lives in Clermont-Ferrand and works in real estate.
At the start of the school year, he also applied for a scholarship at the school which was granted to him.
Is this enough to pay for tuition fees of 7,900 euros per year and extracurricular life?
Mohamed laughs: “No, we’re far from it!
But it helps me a lot, in addition to my job,” assures the young first-year man.
Also read: Order picker, receptionist, cashier... How to find a (good) student job
Because beyond classes, Mohamed works.
A lot: between 20 and 30 hours per week, as an employee in a kebab restaurant.
“I can arrange for the schedules to fit in well with my school schedule,” he explains.
The student does not consider this hourly volume to be insurmountable.
A good dose of courage
“Nothing is impossible, it’s the will that does everything!”
I come from Vitry-sur-Seine, I have seven brothers and sisters and, yes: I am here,” says Mohamed.
With these tuition fees, ESC Clermont Business School is one of the least expensive schools.
Its bachelor's degree is, for example, half as expensive as that of ESCP Business School (15,600 euros per year) and is below other schools such as Iéseg (11,390 euros) or even Montpellier Business School ( 9,700 euros).
However, the amount to be paid de facto excludes a large number of young people.
To make the note more digestible, various means exist.
Let us first mention the Crous scholarships (Regional Centers for University and School Work), awarded on social criteria.
Depending on the financial situation of the student's household, they are classified into eight levels, ranging from 0 bis (the minimum) to 7. For the year 2023-2024, the amounts allocated range from 1,454 to 6,335 euros.
These can further increase (up to 7,602 euros) under certain conditions, if the grant is received during the summer holidays.
Read also: Crous scholarship and accommodation: applications open for the 2024 school year
Crous aid is calculated according to a set of criteria, ranging from the composition of the student's household to the distance which separates their training from the family home.
To find out precisely how much you will receive, the Crous website offers a simulation: https:/simulateur.lescrous.fr/.
Warning: now is the time to take care of it!
Application files for the year 2024-2025 must be submitted between March 1 and May 31.
Other forms of scholarships are possible, delivered by the schools themselves or through their foundation.
To these can be added measures such as APL (Personalized Housing Assistance), which will relieve you of part of your rent.
Or more specific aid: merit aid (for those who obtained “Very good” in the baccalaureate), mobility (if you change geographical sector), one-off aid to deal with financial difficulties, etc.
The range of solutions is quite wide.
“We want tuition fees to not be a barrier for any student who wants to join us”
Depending on the school, the issue of tuition fees is not addressed in the same way.
At the IMT (Institut Mines Télécom) Business School, in Évry for example, scholarship students, regardless of their level, pay no tuition fees.
This represents more than one in two students.
For non-investors, it remains one of the cheapest on the market (around 7,000 euros per year).
“We want tuition fees to not be an obstacle for any student who wants to join us,” explains Herbert Castéran, director of IMT BS.
This is made possible by the rather special status of the establishment: it is public.
As is another major management school, EM Strasbourg, integrated into the university.
Some private groups are trying to move the lines.
For several years, Essca Business School has implemented a modulation of its tuition fees based on family income.
The prices are now divided into thirteen tranches, the last of which corresponds to a total exemption.
This system applies to the first two years, the third being an apprenticeship.
The learning solution
But this is probably the simplest way to pay no tuition fees, even at the most expensive schools.
While she was eligible for Crous scholarships, Manon gave it up and opted for this system - apprenticeship and scholarships based on social criteria cannot be combined.
But few bachelors offer it from the first year.
Istec Business School, in Paris, does it.
“In addition, the school sent me a document at the start of the school year with lots of useful information on the aid to which I could qualify, in terms of housing, computer equipment, etc.
», lists Manon.
“This financial balance suits me very well”
Manon, at ISTEC and work-study
While she lived 1.5 hours from Paris, the young woman had to move, which is not easy, with an apprentice's income.
But Manon found a solution that she recommends: intergenerational housing.
“I live with a lovely 75-year-old lady, who was all alone in her apartment,” explains the Istec student.
For her room in the middle of the 5th arrondissement, she pays rent of 587 euros per month, from which she subtracts a little more than 200 euros of APL.
“This financial balance suits me very well.
And beyond this aspect, I advise everyone to do work-study training, it’s great,” says Manon.
On the Clermont-Ferrand side, Mohamed also plans to apprentice.
But he will only be able to do it in the third year.
In the meantime, you have to work, continue to juggle classes, projects due and the sandwich shop.
If the young man appreciates his new city as much as his school, he admits: “When I go home in the evening, I go straight to sleep.
» We have no trouble believing it.
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