Studying in France: the honest guide for students and parents

France has some of the cheapest public university tuition in the developed world, free student health coverage, one-euro meals and a real post-study permit. It also has an admissions process run through the embassy rather than the university, a rental market that demands a French guarantor, and a system where the best-known institutions are not the universities. Here is the full picture, in euros, as it stands in August 2026.

10 min read - Grades 11-12 - Updated August 2026

In short

Indian applicants must use the Etudes en France procedure, which includes an interview at a Campus France office in India.
For the first year of a public licence, the DAP window for 2026-27 was 1 October to 15 December 2025, the earliest deadline in the process.
Non-EU public tuition is EUR 2,902 a year for a licence, and you may work up to 964 hours a year.

How education works there

French higher education is split in a way that no ranking table explains. Public universities are open-access, research-led and cheap: they teach the licence (three years), the master (two years) and the doctorat, on the European LMD structure. Alongside them sit the grandes ecoles: selective, smaller, professionally oriented schools of engineering, business and public administration, historically entered after two years of post-Bac preparatory classes and increasingly through direct international admission. A third group is private institutions: business, design and private engineering schools, with fees to match and accreditation you must check.

For an Indian student straight from Grade 12, the realistic entry points are the first year of a licence at a public university (mostly French-taught), a bachelor's at a business or engineering school (often in English), or a French-language foundation year.

Language is the biggest filter. Campus France's catalogue of English-taught programmes is mostly master's and school bachelor's; English-taught public licences are a small minority. A public university licence needs French, typically B2 evidenced by DELF or TCF; English-taught mostly means private and grande-ecole bachelor's at private fees.

Grading is out of 20: 10 passes, 12 to 14 is respectable, 16 and above is rare. Public universities are lecture-heavy with real first-year attrition; the grandes ecoles are small and structured. A 14/20 is not a C.

How admissions actually work

Indian applicants do not apply to French institutions the way they apply to the UK or the US. Campus France's application page states that residents of 72 countries and territories, India included, must use the Etudes en France procedure, a mandatory online process 'conducted online, from the enrollment request to obtaining a visa'. You build a file on the platform, choose programmes, upload transcripts and language certificates, pay the fee, interview at a Campus France office in India, and the same file feeds the visa once you are accepted.

For the first year of a licence at a public university or a school of architecture, there is an extra layer: the DAP (demande d'admission prealable). Campus France's page dates the 2026-27 DAP window to 1 October to 15 December 2025, with decisions by 30 April 2026. That is the earliest deadline here, in the autumn of Grade 12.

Parcoursup, the national platform you will read about, is per Campus France for European students and for non-Europeans who studied at French lycees abroad. An Indian board or IB student in India almost certainly does not use Parcoursup.

Master's applicants use the national Mon Master platform (2 February to 16 March 2026 for 2026-27, per Campus France) alongside Etudes en France. Business and engineering schools run their own bachelor's admissions, usually rolling from autumn to late spring.

One intake, in September. Timeline in months: decide French or English and shortlist by August of Grade 12; language test by October; DAP and Etudes en France file by mid-December for public licences; school applications November to March; Campus France interview January to April; acceptances March to June; visa June or July; housing from May; arrive late August.

What internationals submit: Grade 10 to 12 marksheets or predictions, a language certificate, a passport, usually a CV and motivation letter, and for some schools a test or video interview. The Campus France interview is real: why this programme, why France, how you will fund it.

What it costs

Public university tuition depends on passport. Campus France's tuition page lists, for 2026-27, EUR 178 a year for a licence and EUR 255 for a master's for EU students, and the differentiated rate for non-EU students of EUR 2,902 a year for a licence and EUR 3,950 for a master's. Doctorate fees are EUR 397 to 398 for everyone. Some public universities waive or reduce the differentiated rate; ask. Public engineering schools charge EUR 630 a year (EUR 2,620 at the Ecoles Centrales and Mines Nancy), per the same page.

Private institutions are a different world. Campus France gives EUR 6,000 to 18,000 a year 'or more' for private institutions, and English-taught bachelor's at the well-known business schools typically sit at the top of that range or above it. For an English-taught bachelor's, budget as for the Netherlands, not for a French public university.

Every student also pays the annual CVEC campus-life contribution; Campus France's pages do not give the current figure, so check cvec.etudiant.gouv.fr.

Living costs: Campus France's housing page puts CROUS university-residence rent at EUR 450 a month in Paris and around EUR 350 elsewhere, and a private studio at a minimum of EUR 800 in Paris and roughly half that in other cities. Its budget page puts food at around EUR 300 a month, a subsidised university restaurant meal at EUR 1, the annual Paris student transit pass at EUR 374.40 and regional passes at EUR 250 to 300. All-in, budget typically EUR 1,200 to 1,600 a month in Paris and EUR 800 to 1,100 in the regions, before tuition.

What families forget: the housing guarantor (below), which is the single most common reason internationals lose an apartment; a deposit that Campus France notes is by law no more than one month's rent for an unfurnished flat; the France-Visas fee and the Etudes en France fee; the proof-of-funds statement, for which France-Visas sets a monthly figure you should read on france-visas.gouv.fr; a complementary health insurance (mutuelle) on top of the free state coverage.

Scholarships and aid, honestly

The headline scholarship is France Excellence Eiffel. Campus France's page states that it is for master's and doctoral candidates only, that 'only applications submitted by French higher education institutions are accepted', that the age ceilings are 29 for master's and 35 for PhD, and that the 2026 campaign ran from 1 October 2025 to 8 January 2026 with results from 30 March 2026. It does not exist at bachelor's level and you cannot apply yourself.

Beyond Eiffel, Campus France's bursaries page lists embassy scholarships (via the French Institute in India), institution and regional awards, and Erasmus Mundus joint master's. It also notes that ministry awards 'based on social criteria' require two years of residence and paying French taxes, which is to say the CROUS need-based bourse is not open to a newly arrived non-EU undergraduate.

The honest framing: at a public university the fee is low enough that living costs are the real question. At a private school, waivers of 10 to 50 percent are the realistic upside; full rides are rare.

The student visa and working while you study

The route is the long-stay visa valid as a residence permit, the VLS-TS 'etudiant'. Campus France's visa page states that it allows you to remain in France for one year without applying separately for a residence permit, that it covers bachelor's and master's study, and that the application is made through France-Visas (https://france-visas.gouv.fr) with the Etudes en France file. You validate it online after arrival and renew through the ANEF portal from year two. We could not load France-Visas' student page while writing, so read the fee, resources figure and document list there directly.

Working: Campus France's working-student page states that foreign students may work up to 964 hours a year, '60% of the maximum working hours permitted', and that a separate provisional work permit is no longer required within that limit (Algerian students are the exception under a 1968 agreement). The same page gives the gross minimum wage as EUR 11.65 an hour as of January 2024 (revised each January) and says internships over two months must be paid at least EUR 650 a month and do not count toward the 964.

That is roughly 20 hours a week across the year, generous by European standards, but student jobs usually require French; treat work as a supplement, not a tuition plan.

What life is like

Housing is the first real test. CROUS residences are the cheapest (the figures above) and are allocated on social criteria; internationals get rooms mainly through their institution's quota, so ask the international office early. Private flats and colocations (shared flats) are the bulk of the market and come with the guarantor problem: Campus France's housing page states that nearly all rental applications require a guarantor and that the guarantor must be French. The state answer is Visale, a free rental guarantee that, per the same page, eligible students can obtain before arriving; apply the moment you are accepted. Once housed, apply for the CAF housing allowance (APL or ALS), which materially cuts rent for many.

Cities: Paris is expensive and unmatched for internships; Lyon, Toulouse, Grenoble, Lille, Bordeaux, Nantes and Montpellier are the big regional university cities, with rents roughly half of Paris.

Transport: every city has a student transit pass, trains are fast, the SNCF youth discount card is EUR 50 a year per Campus France, and bikes are cheap.

Food is a strength: CROUS restaurants serve a full meal for EUR 1 to eligible students and a few euros to everyone else, and supermarkets are reasonable. Vegetarian eating is manageable and Indian groceries are easy in Paris and the larger cities. Weather runs from wet in the north and west to hot summers in the south; Paris and Lyon have cold, grey winters.

Healthcare is a genuine advantage. Campus France's social security page states that international students register with French social security free of charge at etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr as soon as possible after enrolling, and that basic coverage reimburses 60 percent of medical costs; complementary insurance (a mutuelle) is 'not mandatory but strongly recommended' to cover the rest, and typically costs a few hundred euros a year. Register in the first month.

Safety is broadly high, with the usual big-city cautions in Paris. Community: Indian student associations exist at most large institutions and there are established Indian communities in Paris and Toulouse. Language in daily life is French. Offices, landlords, doctors and shops expect it, even on an English-taught programme; students who arrive with A2 French and take the university language classes have a far better year.

After you graduate

The post-study route is the APS, the autorisation provisoire de sejour, now issued as a 'recherche d'emploi ou creation d'entreprise' residence permit. Campus France's find-work page states that non-European graduates holding a professional bachelor's or a master's-level qualification, or starting a business, can obtain it, that it is 'valid for twelve months and non-renewable', and that graduates with a job offer paying at least one and a half times the minimum wage can instead move directly to a work permit. The same page lists India among countries whose bilateral agreements give 'particular conditions' for this permit; the India-France agreement is widely reported to extend the job-search period for Indian master's graduates, but we could not verify the current duration from an official page, so confirm it with Campus France India before relying on it.

Note the level: a standard three-year licence alone does not qualify, which is one reason most Indian students in France are on a master's or a five-year school programme.

Who it suits, and who it does not

Suits: students with, or willing to build, B2 French who want a rigorous, very low-fee public university degree and can fund EUR 10,000 to 18,000 a year of living costs.
Suits: students targeting business, engineering or design at a grande ecole or accredited private school in English, at fees comparable with the Netherlands, who value the internship culture and the 964-hour work allowance.
Suits: families who value safety nets: free state health coverage, EUR 1 meals and CAF housing aid are real.
Does not suit: students who want an English-only life. Daily administration, housing and most part-time work run in French.
Does not suit: families who need a scholarship at bachelor's level; Eiffel is master's and PhD only and CROUS need-based grants are not open to new arrivals.
Does not suit: last-minute applicants; the DAP falls in December of Grade 12 and the Campus France interview cannot be skipped.

Common questions

Do I apply through Parcoursup?

Almost certainly not. Campus France says Parcoursup is for European applicants and non-Europeans from French lycees abroad. Indian board and IB students in India apply through the Etudes en France platform, with a DAP for the first year of a public licence.

Can I do a bachelor's in English in France?

Yes, but mostly at business and engineering schools and private institutions, at private fees. English-taught licences at public universities are a small minority.

How much is public university tuition for an Indian student?

The differentiated non-EU rate is EUR 2,902 a year for a licence and EUR 3,950 for a master's for 2026-27, per Campus France, plus the CVEC.

What is the guarantor problem?

French landlords almost always require a guarantor and expect a French one. Visale is the free state guarantee for eligible students and can be obtained before you arrive, per Campus France.

Can I work while studying?

Up to 964 hours a year without a separate work permit, per Campus France, roughly 20 hours a week averaged over the year.

Can I stay after graduating?

Professional bachelor's and master's graduates can get the 12-month, non-renewable APS to look for work or start a business, per Campus France, and India has a bilateral agreement with additional conditions. Confirm the current terms with Campus France India.

Sources

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