Envisioning life after high school
What will become of me after graduation? "It's not after graduation that you should start thinking about your future,"warns Virginie Baudelot. Especially since young people are faced with another unknown when making their decision: the world of work.
“What should I base my decision on? How can I know which path will really suit me?”
New horizons
Virginie is an occupational psychologist and works asa liaison between secondary and higher educationat the University of Montpellier. She says that high school students see the period after graduation as a real leap into the unknown."University? High school students have no idea what that means! It covers many different fields and courses. What they do know are certain components of the UM: an engineering school like Polytech, the faculty of science or medicine, or even the IUT."
Discover the campus
Throughout the year, the university also offers many useful events. The "High School Students at University"program allows students to get a glimpse of their future. The idea is to welcome high school students to campus for a day or half-day to give them a taste of the university experience. It gives them time to discover this new world and overcome their fear of the unknown...
Classes come with their teachers: more and more of them are signing up for this program, which was launched in 2006 with the Montpellier Regional Education Authority and high schools in the region. The program includes lectures and tutorials, as well as discussions with student volunteers who come to talk about their experiences: a particularly popular part of the program.
"We mainly talk about the first year, emphasizing the new things they will encounter. We provide practical information: student jobs, scholarships, housing." Above all, the aim is to provide detailed information about the different courses and types of training available, to help each student find the path that suits them best. Butitis also about dispelling certain preconceived ideas: "We're not here to sell a dream, but to set the record straight: is university easy because there is no selection process? False! Are the employment rates good? True!"
Active participant in his training
In the first semester, 750 students from the academy were able to discover the Triolet campus and immerse themselves in a daily life they could never have imagined. In the second semester, 1,500 students are expected to attend. The first major discovery is "the need to be independent and organized, to define one's own path, to take initiative,"within a campus perceived as "a small town within a town, with its own cultural, social, community, and sporting life."
In these sessions designed to help them become fully involved in their educational project, high school students discover a flexible world where it is possible (and sometimes advisable) to change direction along the way."Changing direction can be a good idea. An internship, a job, a gap year in France or abroad? Why not! In higher education, you build your own path, even if it means taking detours, and you even capitalize on your experience for selection into a master's program or for your future professional integration."
> Questions about your studies? The Joint University Information, Guidance, and Professional Integration Service (SCUIO-IP) guides you through your studies from high school to your first job.