Compiling a file in Parcoursup is almost an ordeal in itself, as the higher education registration platform crystallizes the anxieties of high school students and their parents about their student and professional future. The stress is all the stronger when the school results are insufficient or supposedly not up to the targeted training. But don’t give up: even with a meager notebook, you have cards to play to try to get a place in higher education via Parcoursup. Obviously the strategy will differ depending on whether you are in second, first or terminal.
Parcoursup: what grades are taken into account?
If you are in second, there is still time to raise your average, because the marks taken into account for the application files in Parcoursup are those of the first and the first two terms of terminale. Find out more via the Parcoursup website; each course has its own sheet on which the prerequisites are indicated, ie the expectations of those in charge of the course, particularly in terms of academic results, in the disciplines that interest them. To find out about it, once you have found the training(s) that interest you, click on “See the file” then “General criteria for examining wishes”.
If you are in first, there again, it is possible to whip to have a good report for the last term of this year, and the first two of your senior year. Even if your first two terms are average or even bad, a real rise in grades will be welcomed by your teachers in the report cards: a “Camille made real progress at the end of the year” can have an effect. Likewise, if you are in second or first, do not neglect your behavior in class: the examiners of the files are much more attentive than you think to the problems of discipline, absence, or delays, that it is easy to “guess” by reading the comments of the teachers of your high school – transmitted via the Avenir sheet. Similarly, some training courses have configured their ranking algorithm to highlight certain keywords such as “indiscipline” or “absences”, or even “insufficient work”… Being irreproachable on these 3 points is the way to, perhaps , pass in front of another candidate who will have a slightly higher average but serious behavior problems, or sudden delays.
If you are in terminal, on the other hand, “the game is over” for the notes. Your first and first two terms of high school are behind you, it’s too late to have any regrets. But all is not lost ! Here are our tips for seducing admissions juries who will examine your file.
Parcoursup file: work your cover letter thoroughly (motivated training project)
As you can imagine, all the training managers who select the files of their future students do not read all the motivated training projects. It is physically impossible for a certain number of them – difficult to read 14,000 motivated projects to 4 or 5 teachers in 15 days… On the most requested training courses, it is an algorithm calibrated according to the expectations of each training course which will carry out an initial classification according to precise criteria – overweighting of certain disciplines, underweighting in others. But sometimes, it can happen that your motivated project, or your cover letter, is read (and even more so in literary and human sciences sectors). And since you don’t know if it will be or not, you might as well treat it. Don’t make the mistake of copying and pasting a ready-made letter found on the Internet – your interlocutors have surely already had it hundreds of times! Show in this letter that you have understood the main objectives or the main fields of study of the training you are aiming for, and explain simply but in detail why it interests you. So don’t say “I want to do an LEA license because I like English”, but “later I would like to work in international trade and English is the most spoken language in the world of trade”. Or any other personal formula!
Parcoursup file: highlight your extracurricular assets
Don’t forget to fill in the “Commitments, activities and areas of interest” section of your Parcoursup file. According to the exchanges that we had with professors in charge of reading the files of the candidates, many of them do not fill this part. It is a mistake. Granted, not everyone has had the chance to take trips abroad, or take piano lessons since kindergarten – but everyone has activities, hobbies or passions outside of high school. Did you do a 3rd year internship that fascinated you and made you want to choose this or that course? Say it! Do you give tutoring lessons to your little neighbours? Tell it. Do you play in a band with friends, are you passionate about baking or astronomy, are you unbeatable on the history of BTS or an absolute fan of Manchester United? These are all areas of interest that may be of interest if they have even a tenuous link with the training you are aiming for. If baking is your hobby, you know the importance of following instructions to the letter – a useful skill if you’re aiming for a science education. Your passion for rap has undoubtedly allowed you to see English differently and to enrich your vocabulary, even if it is not very academic, etc. All the elements that allow the person who will read your prose to better guess what personality is behind your file are good to present.
Have realistic plans B
Even if you are the most motivated candidate, your academic record may not allow you to land the orientation of your dreams. Don’t give up, however: on Parcoursup you can make up to 10 different wishes and 20 sub-wishes, use them. Indicate the wishes that you prefer, but do not forget the plans B, or even the plans C, so as not to find yourself without any proposal. Example, if you are aiming for a hyper-selective MPSI preparatory class: keep it in your wishes, but also think about the less selective local prepas who may be happy to make room for you, and don’t forget to ask for plan B university degrees in physics or math. Especially since by June and the beginning of the answers to your wishes it is quite possible that you have changed your mind and that you finally want to go to college rather than prep. In other words: be both ambitious and ambitious, do not censor yourself, but be just as realistic, so as not to find yourself without an admission offer at the end of the Parcoursup procedure.
The Parcoursup 2022 step-by-step guide
Registration phase and entry of wishes: January 20 to March 29