Once a student...
"Immersed" in the Triolet campus, high school students are holding their breath. An investigation into days designed to familiarize them with another world that may be theirs tomorrow.
Photographer David Richard
February 15, Triolet campus: around a hundred high school students set off to explore the university. A fascinating world to discover, about which they know almost nothing...
9:30 a.m.: gathering in the lobby of the university science library. Several dozen young people wait to set off and discover a new world, one in which they may find themselves next year. To an outside observer, there is little to distinguish these high school seniors from first-year university students. Three high schools in the region are being welcomed today: Lycée Jules Guesde in Montpellier, Lycée Pompidou in Castelnau-le-Lez, and Lycée Gide in Uzès.
"Immersion Day"
"There are still three missing,"worries one of the accompanying professors. The latecomers arrive as Sophie Khachni puts her guests at ease: "During class, the professor may say some complicated things, and you won't understand everything. Don't worry, that's not why you're here! The goal today is to get a first glimpse of the university and soak up the atmosphere."
The high school students are here foran"immersion day": that's the term used by the SCUIO-IP where Sophie works. First item on the agenda: attend a lecture. The group of high school seniors from Castelnau sets off for Lecture Hall 5 for a general chemistry class. The students cross a small part of the 20-hectare Triolet campus, which is already enough to make them dream... The atmosphere? The high school students are a little lost, but serene...
– There's even an ATM!
– It's bigger than high school, I'm telling you!
– Can you believe it! You have to take an Uber to get from one lecture hall to another! (laughs)
– You'll see, we won't understand a thing in class this morning.
A prophecy that seems to come true when the group finally takes their seats in lecture hall 5, where enigmatic questions echo: "What is the influence of the 10s electron cloud on the behavior of the 1s electron?" On the benches of the huge amphitheater with 250 seats, a deep silence reigns.
Uncertainties four months before graduation
Outside, another group surrounds Thomas Bessède,a "student ambassador."Along with other volunteers from the University of Montpellier, he is there to guide these visitors for the day. "You're going to meet the Professors they're knowledgeable. But sometimes they're not easy to follow! Sometimes you think you're not going to make it. But with hard work, it can be done." A few years ago, as a high school student, Thomas was in the same position as his audience. "I felt lost the day I visited the university. It looked tough," he recalls.
In front of an audience hanging on his every word, he paints a quick picture of life at university. With four months to go before their high school graduation exams, his listeners seem rather uncertain about their immediate future. What will they do next? It's still hard to say... Only two high school girls have made a clear choice: one is going to a technical college, the other to medical school. The rest of the group doesn't really know what the future holds for them next year...
Operation "High School Students at University"
At the University of Montpellier, the "high school students at university" program helps students envision their future. The idea is to welcome them at certain times of the year to give them a taste of university life, either for a full day or half a day. This gives them time to discover this new world and start to familiarize themselves with it.
Virginie Baudelot, an occupational psychologist, is in charge of this initiative. She believes that high school students see the post-baccalaureate period as a real leap into the unknown. "University? High school students have no idea what it entails! It covers many different fields and courses. What they sometimes know are certain components of the UM: an engineering school such as Polytech, the faculty of science or medicine, or even the IUT."
Discover the campus
Classes come with their teachers: more and more of them are signing up for this program, which was launched in 2006 with the Montpellier Board of Education and high schools in the region. The program includes lectures, but also discussions with student volunteers who come to talk about their experiences: a particularly popular part of the program.
"We talk mainly about the first year, emphasizing the new things they will encounter. We provide practical information: student jobs, scholarships, housing."Above all, it is a question of detailing the courses and types of training available, to help each student find the path that suits them best. But it's also about dispelling certain preconceptions: "We're not here to sell a dream, but to set the record straight: is university easy because there's no selection process? False! Are the employment rates good? True!"
In total, nearly 600 high school students participated this year, registered by their teachers. The first major discovery was "the need to be independent and organized, to define your own path, to take initiative yourself"within a campus perceived as "a small town within the city, with its own cultural, social, community, and sporting life. "
According to a study conducted in 2016-2017, almost all of the high school students said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their participation, particularly because it gave them a glimpse of the demands of higher education and led them to reflect on or rethink their career choices. Teachers, for their part, said they were very satisfied with the organization and the welcome they received.
Nicolas Maillet, who accompanies students from the Lycée Pompidou in Castelnau-le-Lez, is a laboratory technician.Having himself "attended the Faculty of Science at Montpellier University from 1998 to 2004," he is aware of the importance of "immersion days" in facilitating the transition from high school to university.
"High school students discover a new reality: university is an open place where you are fully in control of your own path. It's nothing like high school, where students are still very much guided. The shock can sometimes be significant... Here, for example, the teacher doesn't dictate: it's up to each student to take notes."
What is the main benefit of these days? "To light the way: we help them form a more realistic idea of what pursuing higher education entails. So we have to show them the reality as it is: the path isn't necessarily easy, and you don't necessarily end up in the future you had imagined."
Any advice for future students? "Start thinking about your future early on. University is very diverse and offers many possibilities. You need to have a clear vision of your path from the outset, otherwise you risk getting lost. It doesn't happen overnight. But it can help!"