The Rising Number of French Bi-Nationals at Harvard: Insights from a Student in her 3rd Year

“There are a lot of bi-nationals at Harvard”. Student in 3^thyear, the president of Harvard College French Club knows what she is talking about: she grew up in the United States, and it was from Bethesda, in the suburbs of Washington, that she applied to Harvard. Like dozens of other Frenchies in the American school system.

Solène was born in Madrid, but her whole family is French. After a few years in France, she arrived at the age of 7 in the United States, with her parents and her two sisters. A year at the international school Rochambeau, then the American school. This is what allowed him to best navigate the very particular course of admission into the Holy of Holies American university.

“Last year, there were no French people from France admitted to first year; this year, there are four,” she calculates. Normal. “It’s not that the French don’t see Harvard’s interest, but the financing of studies [environ 200.000 dollars sur quatre ans, NDLR] is very complicated, and there are also great opportunities in France”. The American system prepares students on all fronts for admission to college: school results and tests, of course, but also the sport and volunteering. “In my high school, which was very competitive, we were trained to have a profile that ‘works’. It’s a holistic approach. We sell ourselves, in fact, which is really not easy to do from France, unless you are well accompanied. You really have to want it.”

At Harvard, everyone must find their way

She herself hesitated. “I was a little fed up with the United States. The only college in the Ivy League [l’élite des universités américaines, NDLR] which I applied to was Harvard. But I was convinced that I would not be taken. Nobody thinks it’s possible to be admitted to Harvard!” The decision falls on December 13. Solène believes it so little that she only opens the email the next day, at breakfast. And there. .. The virtual confetti that accompanies the message leaves no room for doubt The miracle has happened.

The first year is not easy. There is the Covid, first, which limits the presence on campus but which also has the effect of welding the promotion of Solène. The real shock is elsewhere: overnight, these top of the class, who used to prance in the lead, find themselves elbow-to-elbow with a multitude of other little geniuses! “We meet people who have created start-ups, participated in the Olympics, mobilized communities to pass laws… We have the impression that we will not be up to it, it’s very intimidating” , admits the Frenchwoman, who only recently obtained American nationality. Everyone must find their way and choose their priorities, the academic world of Harvard, its social world, with countless clubs and groups, or a mixture of both.

Solène really appreciates the way of teaching: “At Harvard, we are less in memorization, the emphasis is more on theoretical skills and the fact of having a good critical approach, of apprehending complexity and using that in several areas at the same time”. Which does not mean that she has given up on another possible academic world: “I would like to return to Europe, perhaps for a master’s degree at Sciences Po”.