Sciences Po entry 2017

Oh wow there's actually a thread for this!

I'm apply for the Menton English-track as well (Le Havre English-track is my second choice); I wish my French was better though since I've heard some horror stories about the Menton administration for non-French speakers.

Original post by KJM08

I have started compiling the application for the Master in International Security but I can't seem to make sense of the online application. It says I have 10 fields to complete but I'm only able to attach files in 5 fields and there is nowhere to submit the personal statement. I feel stupid but am I supposed to click on the "Completing your application" button in order to see the other 5 fields?

I might be a little bit late for this, but at least for the undergraduate international admissions clicking the 'Completing your application' leads to a page where you can put your contact//academic/professional/linguistic/etc. background, not sure if it's the same for graduate admissions but I hope it helps!

Reply 3

Original post by cvaldez98

Wow, that's great. I did not expect there to be another applicant to the English track at Menton on here. Mon francais n'est pas tres bon. I'm going to hopefully apply and get the interview sorted by mid March, so I'll find out pretty early whether I have a place. If I do, I'm going to put a concerted effort into learning French properly.

Also, as a UK student I've also applied through UCAS to five UK universities. For the record, I have applied to History and Politics to Oxford, Edinburgh, SOAS, Sussex and Liverpool. If Sciences Po doesn't work out, inevitably one of those will be my fall back (unless Oxford accept me, in which case I'll aim for there).

Original post by KJM08

snip

What cvaldez98 said should work - it does for the undergraduate application. If not, try emailing them - they will respond within a couple days typically.

Reply 4

Original post by andrewdwilliams

Also, as a UK student I've also applied through UCAS to five UK universities. For the record, I have applied to History and Politics to Oxford, Edinburgh, SOAS, Sussex and Liverpool. If Sciences Po doesn't work out, inevitably one of those will be my fall back (unless Oxford accept me, in which case I'll aim for there).

I was thinking of applying to LSE (I'm from the States), but one of my AP scores didn't fall through so I don't think I will anymore. Regardless, Sciences Po has been my dream school for quite sometime although Stateside I'll be applying to UChicago, Rice, Georgetown, USC, and a couple of safeties in case I don't make the cut.

Reply 5

Hi all,

Also happy to see a Sciences Po forum! I'm going in really blind - nobody from my school has ever applied there :tongue:

I'm applying only for Euro-American Studies at Reims. I was considering Nancy as well, as I speak English fluently and German very well, but I feel as if that may be too much as a bilingual/trilingual programme...
Aussi je ne parle pas francais, so it's gonna be interesting if I get in lol
Also applying for LSE, UCL, KCL (just got an offer from there woot woot), Edinburgh and St Andrews - but would probs go for Sciences Po if I were to get in (which would be a miracle!)
Anyone know anything about interviews bc I'm not sure what even happens at that stage??

Reply 6

Original post by rolaah

Anyone know anything about interviews bc I'm not sure what even happens at that stage??

They have some good information on their website (http://www.sciencespo.fr/admissions/en/content/undergraduate-international-procedure), but it's more of an oral presentation than an interview as you're given an article (typically pertaining to the regional focus of your campus but sometimes just about European/French affairs) and you present your take on it and they can ask questions about the article or your application. Usually it's 20-30 minutes long in total, with 10 minutes of prep, 10 minutes of presenting your commentary, and 10 minutes of questions. I've also heard the questions can be brutal and you can't really prepare for it, although they recommend brushing up on your current events and reading from the Economist or New York Times since that's usually where they find the articles.

From what I can glean from last years thread though, typically if you make it to the interview-stage you've already been accepted and the interview is more of a formality than anything. Although apparently sometimes they're unsure so the interview can be the tipping-point for if you're accepted or not, so it's not something to be taken lightly.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 7

Original post by cvaldez98

They have some good information on their website (http://www.sciencespo.fr/admissions/en/content/undergraduate-international-procedure), but it's more of an oral presentation than an interview as you're given an article (typically pertaining to the regional focus of your campus but sometimes just about European/French affairs) and you present your take on it and they can questions about the article or your application. Usually it's 20-30 minutes long in total, with 10 minutes of prep, 10 minutes of presenting your commentary, and 10 minutes of questions. I've also heard the questions can be brutal and you can't really prepare for it, although they recommend brushing up on your current events and reading from the Economist or New York Times since that's usually where they find the articles.

From what I can gleam from last years thread though, typically if you make it to the interview-stage you've already been accepted and the interview is more of a formality than anything. Although apparently sometimes they're unsure so the interview can be the tipping-point for you're accepted or not, so it's not something to be taken lightly.

Literally a life-saver, thank you so much! Also takes a lot of the stress away! Is Sciences Po your first choice school?

Reply 8

Original post by rolaah

Literally a life-saver, thank you so much! Also takes a lot of the stress away! Is Sciences Po your first choice school?

No problem! But it is my first choice so fingers-crossed I can get an interview!

Reply 9

Original post by cvaldez98

Haha, me neither! I only speak a little French (and even less Arabic) that I got from my parents, but I don't think that should be too much of a problem for the admissions process at least. I might be taking a gap year to study Arabic in Morocco though, so hopefully that'll help with getting an interview—although the interview process freaks me out a little, haha.

I was thinking of applying to LSE (I'm from the States), but one of my AP scores didn't fall through so I don't think I will anymore. Regardless, Sciences Po has been my dream school for quite sometime although Stateside I'll be applying to UChicago, Rice, Georgetown, USC, and a couple of safeties in case I don't make the cut.

Well, they say prior knowledge of French or Arabic is not required, although it is appreciated. You're basically going in with the same prior knowledge that I've got, and I'm confident that if I can express my current knowledge of social sciences and the Middle East/Med, and display my desire to both learn more (inc languages) and study at Sciences Po, I've got a good enough shot of at least getting to the interview.

Quick q., with regards to the personal statement aspect of the application, will you be talking about some of your academic exploration (eg I have read books about medieval Islam as background to Middle East of today) of the topic, as their guidance seems to suggest a lot of focus on why Sciences Po would be good for you, not necessarily why you would be good for it.

One of the other things I appreciate about Sciences Po is that if they like you they offer you a place - what we call in the UK an unconditional offer. There are no required grades to gain entry.

Reply 10

Original post by andrewdwilliams

Quick q., with regards to the personal statement aspect of the application, will you be talking about some of your academic exploration (eg I have read books about medieval Islam as background to Middle East of today) of the topic, as their guidance seems to suggest a lot of focus on why Sciences Po would be good for you, not necessarily why you would be good for it.

Personally, I know that I will since it's what actually led me to discover Sciences Po in the first place. I certainly don't think, however, that talking about academic exploration would be out of place for the personal statement, especially if it concerns the regional-specialty of the campus you're applying to, and I'm sure you could probably mention how Sciences will allow you to further these independent studies (or you could mention some student association you might join to help you do so since that's another part they like to see) or something to that effect. Ultimately, I feel like it just comes down to how you contextualize it within your statement, although obviously you wouldn't want spend the lion's share of it on just that.

Reply 11

grapefruit12

I'm also applying for the Menton English track. For those of you applying, what are your school marks/extracurricular/leadership stats like?

Reply 12

Original post by andrewdwilliams

Well it says on the thing above that you also need to explain how you discovered that you were interested in this field, so I would explain at least a little about what you have done in terms of reading and stuff. 1000 words is way more than you're given on UCAS so you may as well.

Reply 13

Original post by grapefruit12

I'm also applying for the Menton English track. For those of you applying, what are your school marks/extracurricular/leadership stats like?

School marks wise, I've already pointed out in the OP what I'm predicted. If anything, that's my weakest element, I think. Extracurricular-wise, I have done a bunch of stuff related to politics/social sciences, and some to do with the Middle East region. I've been involved with the Green Party in the UK, as well as helping out in a leadership campaign in the party's leadership election this year. I have also been involved in launching a new political party. Also of note is my participation in a national public speaking competition, and the Bank of England 2.0 Challenge. I've written several online articles to do with the region in question, including some in-depth research on the Lebanese railway system that was picked up by the Lebanese NGO Train/Train. I've interviewed a former Tunisian government minister (not exactly the Middle East), and I've also written about the Cyprus dispute. Leadership-wise, I used to captain the B team in Hockey (I'm not exactly a sporty guy), I was an NCO in the school cadet force, and have also been instrumental in organising and taking a leading role in a number of musical theatre performances. I'm sure there's some other stuff but I can't think of it off the top of my head.

Original post by rolaah

Yeah, that's a good point. I just checked and my UCAS personal statement ended up at 639 words, so I should have more than enough space to put in pretty much anything I want for Sciences Po.

Reply 14

Original post by grapefruit12

I'm also applying for the Menton English track. For those of you applying, what are your school marks/extracurricular/leadership stats like?

Well I'm not quite sure how much of this make sense for stats-wise, but I have an unweighted GPA of 3.8 on a 4.0 scale. I have a 32 ACT composite and a 1470 SAT overall, although I'm going to have to retake one of them since Sciences Po requires the writing section and the only time I took the writing was for the ACT diagnostic. In terms of AP tests, I've taken 5 so far: AP Euro (5), APUSH (5), APLang (5), AP Psych (5), AP Bio (4), and I also took AP Calculus AB but I did not feel confident about that test so I wound up dropping it. This year I'll be taking APES, AP Spanish (Language and Culture), AP Gov't, AP Macro, and AP Micro. So far I'm recognized as an AP Scholar with Distinction and I'm aiming for the National AP Scholar award although that'll be well after the Sciences Po deadline.

Extracurricular/leadership-wise, I'm involved in several service clubs at my school. I teach English to predominantly Spanish-speaking immigrants and refugees (I'm Lebanese-Colombian and so speak fluent Spanish) through one of these clubs, I'm also helping set up an after school Spanish program for middle schoolers through my parish this year. I've been recognized by the University of Chicago as a Neubauer Adelante Summer Scholar, sort of a college-prep program for top Latino/Hispanic students. I've done missionary and service work in Brazil and South Africa and I've participated in a cultural exchange in Austria. I'm a Sister-Chapter Coordinator for my school's local People to People Int'll chapter and have coordinated and hosted a school-wide conference over the Rwandan Genocide lead by Father Ubald from the Rwandan Center for the Secret of Peace. I'm a recognized member of the National Honor Society and I'm senior captain of my school's Academic Decathlon team. I'm also a Life Scout working on my Eagle project although I'm not sure if I'll be done with my Eagle Project before the Sciences Po deadline; I also volunteer monthly at my local soup kitchen through the Salvation Army and I play on my school's Junior Varsity soccer team although that's more for dicking around then anything haha.

I think that just about covers it. I'm a little worried though that my extracurriculars might be a little weak since none of them are really connected with the Middle East/North Africa although I am applying for a internship/scholarship through the US State Department to study Arabic abroad in Morocco so hopefully I'll be able to finalize that before the Sciences Po deadline.

Reply 15

Original post by cvaldez98

Oh my god calm down lol. Thank god we're not applying for the same thing or I would be screwed aha. You've literally done so much, I wouldn't worry...

I'll add my grades/extra-curriculars:
GCSE: A*A*A*A*A*A*A*A*A*A*A*
AS: AAAA
A2 Predictions: A*A*A*

Work experience at "magic circle" law firm in London, member of track cycling club, attended cyber-security conference at the University of Cambridge, run politics society, editor of school's political magazine, columnist for school's current affairs magazine, elected senior prefect at school, elected form representative for school council, international relations summer school at the University of London, summer exchange to Germany where I also attended school, speak near-fluent German, Spanish and decent Russian (and obvs English), member of Combined Cadet Force Army Section, winner of regional linguist award, member of Liberal Democrat party and "Britain Stronger in Europe"/volunteered for elections and EU referendum, attended talk at Washington Post about Trump's fiscal policy, UCL lecture on American foreign policy, winning national Spanish debating competitions, individual and delegations awards at biggest Model United Nations in UK, independent research on how long ISIS can last and development of far-right nationalism in Europe...that' all I can think of rn

Reply 16

How are applications going?

I'm almost finished writing the personal statement, and other than that and the teacher's references, I'm pretty much done. Which will be good. I'm aiming for an interview in London in March.

Reply 17