3 sets of exams
-First semester exams usually start the end of January.
-Second semester exams start end of May.
-Third set of exams are "rattrapages" (aka retakes) for first and second semester exams, usually starting the first week of September.
Exams are in oral or written format. This is a big decision to make, and must be made for both semesters at the very beginning of the year. I believe that you have a small window where you can change the format of the exams, possibly the first week of classes, but I'm not entirely sure. Whatever class you have a TD in, you must take that exam in written form.
Oral vs. Written
Oral exams are shorter, usually lasting 15 minutes. Certain professors are very foreign-student friendly and therefore, taking it oral is a great thing. Others don't care and are awful and will make you cry (not just me folks, many WCLers have cried after an oral exam). Oral exams usually consist of one or two very specific questions. Sometimes you have 10 minutes or so to outline an answer, sometimes you don't. Also, if you aren't the first person that day, you will be preparing while someone else is giving their exam in front of the professor. It can be difficult to concentrate, especially if the person before you is extremely good or extremely bad.
Written exams are usually 3 hours long. One must chose to answer 1 of two possible questions, which are usually extremely broad, touching on many different parts of the course material. Also, you can write "Etudiant(e) Etranger(e)" in BIG letters, so you don't necessarily miss out on the foreign-student pity. You have the right to use an English-French dictionary. Written exams are much better for classes which you understand better in breadth than in depth.
Taking Exams Early
If you are planning on taking BarBri to prepare for the bar exam, you need to take exams early. This has not been a problem in the past, but can be a big hassle. You should talk to your profs relatively early in the semester to warn them, and then remind them more than once as it comes closer to the end of the semester.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Grading System
Grades are numbers out of 20. A flat-out passing grade for a single class is 10/20 or above. If you get this grade, you'll never have to see that class again.
Also, there is the magic of the "moyen." When you pick your electives, keep this in mind! Classes that are blocked together (such as required classes) will be averaged. If the average is 10/20 or above, you won't have to retake an exam even if you did not technically pass that particular course.
EXAMPLE: Droit Intl Public, Droit Intl Privé, and Droit Européen are required classes for the M1 droit intl et européen. Let's say one gets the following grades : 10/20, 12/20, and 8/20 respectively. Although 8/20 is not a passing grade for Droit Européen, one does NOT need to retake the exam during the rattrapages because the average is 10 between that block of classes.
NOTE: Although it was not well clarified in the past, my understanding is that WCL does NOT give credit when grades are under 10/20, even if UPX considers them passed because of the average.
Unlike in the US, failing exams (under 10/20, see Grading System entry) is quite common in France. My guess is around 30-40% of students have to retake at least one exam.
When you retake an exam, the new grade completely takes the place of the old grade, for better or for worse.
Also, there is the magic of the "moyen." When you pick your electives, keep this in mind! Classes that are blocked together (such as required classes) will be averaged. If the average is 10/20 or above, you won't have to retake an exam even if you did not technically pass that particular course.
EXAMPLE: Droit Intl Public, Droit Intl Privé, and Droit Européen are required classes for the M1 droit intl et européen. Let's say one gets the following grades : 10/20, 12/20, and 8/20 respectively. Although 8/20 is not a passing grade for Droit Européen, one does NOT need to retake the exam during the rattrapages because the average is 10 between that block of classes.
NOTE: Although it was not well clarified in the past, my understanding is that WCL does NOT give credit when grades are under 10/20, even if UPX considers them passed because of the average.
Unlike in the US, failing exams (under 10/20, see Grading System entry) is quite common in France. My guess is around 30-40% of students have to retake at least one exam.
When you retake an exam, the new grade completely takes the place of the old grade, for better or for worse.
Registration at Nanterre
There are two types of registration. "Inscription Administrative" and "Inscription Pédagogique." Inscription Administrative is for the university in general and Inscription Pédagogique is where you choose your classes, etc. within the law school.
Apparently there is a new online registration system for the administrative part. I'm not sure if the system is just for returning students, or also for new students. Either way, here is the info:
1/ inscriptions administratives :
La connexion sur internet est obligatoire.
Si vous passez au niveau supérieur dès la session de juin, vous devez vous inscrire, sur APOWEB ou sur http://sesame.u-paris10.fr pour obtenir un rendez-vous de réinscription.
Si vous devez passer la session de septembre**, vous devez attendre l’affichage des résultats (début octobre) avant de prendre votre rendez-vous de réinscription, sur APOWEB ou sur http://sesame.u-paris10.fr
**Students who do not pass all their classes by June can retake the necessary exams and graduate in September. Process is called "rattrapages." more on that another time.
My first stop in this process was talking with the international students office in batiment A, 1ere etage (2nd floor US). For 2008-2009, the contact for WCL students is Emilie Lepeuve (emilie.lepeuve@u-paris10.fr).
VERY IMPORTANT: for the inscription pédagogique, you should already know what Master 1, which "parcours" you want, what electives, what classes you want to do a TD in, and whether you will be taking oral or written exams for BOTH SEMESTERS.
That means you will be making a lot of decisions about the year right at the beginning.
First thing you should do, if you haven't already, is read carefully through the M1 booklet (link on the UFR SJAP website) and pick your master 1.
A lot of us have done the Droit International & Européen. After interviewing at many law firms in Paris, I think Droit des Affaires would have been better for me in finding a firm job, but I took more interesting classes in the Droit Intl & Européen. I don't regret it, but its something to think about.
The parcours are different combinations of required and elective classes within the same M1. Some don't have different parcours, the M1 Droit International et Européen has 2.
IMPORTANT: The blocks of classes for each semester represent the grades that will be averaged together. Example: required classes are grouped together in one block. Electives can be in one or more blocks, depending on the M1 and/or the parcours.
Apparently there is a new online registration system for the administrative part. I'm not sure if the system is just for returning students, or also for new students. Either way, here is the info:
1/ inscriptions administratives :
La connexion sur internet est obligatoire.
Si vous passez au niveau supérieur dès la session de juin, vous devez vous inscrire, sur APOWEB ou sur http://sesame.u-paris10.fr pour obtenir un rendez-vous de réinscription.
Si vous devez passer la session de septembre**, vous devez attendre l’affichage des résultats (début octobre) avant de prendre votre rendez-vous de réinscription, sur APOWEB ou sur http://sesame.u-paris10.fr
**Students who do not pass all their classes by June can retake the necessary exams and graduate in September. Process is called "rattrapages." more on that another time.
My first stop in this process was talking with the international students office in batiment A, 1ere etage (2nd floor US). For 2008-2009, the contact for WCL students is Emilie Lepeuve (emilie.lepeuve@u-paris10.fr).
VERY IMPORTANT: for the inscription pédagogique, you should already know what Master 1, which "parcours" you want, what electives, what classes you want to do a TD in, and whether you will be taking oral or written exams for BOTH SEMESTERS.
That means you will be making a lot of decisions about the year right at the beginning.
First thing you should do, if you haven't already, is read carefully through the M1 booklet (link on the UFR SJAP website) and pick your master 1.
A lot of us have done the Droit International & Européen. After interviewing at many law firms in Paris, I think Droit des Affaires would have been better for me in finding a firm job, but I took more interesting classes in the Droit Intl & Européen. I don't regret it, but its something to think about.
The parcours are different combinations of required and elective classes within the same M1. Some don't have different parcours, the M1 Droit International et Européen has 2.
IMPORTANT: The blocks of classes for each semester represent the grades that will be averaged together. Example: required classes are grouped together in one block. Electives can be in one or more blocks, depending on the M1 and/or the parcours.
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