As a French exchange student and after spending a year at WSU, I realized that being a student in America is different from being a student in France in a lot of ways.
The first thing that I noticed when I first came here was how helpful and welcoming people were. All the people I met were very nice and that really helped me to feel more comfortable and get used to my new environment. Americans show that they care about people and their feelings which is not always the case in France, especially in French universities.
One of the biggest differences between France and America is tuition. A year of college in France costs around $500 (at a public university) which include the price of health insurance for the whole year, so obviously I found the cost of college in the United States very expensive. I think it is really unfair that a vast majority of students have to take loans to be able to afford college. In my opinion, living in a developed country means fair and equal access to quality education and I really believe that something should be done to lower tuition.
Discovering a different teaching method was one of the reasons that motivated me to come study in the United States and if I had to pick between the two, I will definitely choose the American way. In France you spend 90% of your time in class writing down what the professor says. This year at Wright State I wrote less and I learned more. I loved the fact that there is a real exchange between the professor and the students during the class and that one can give their opinion freely. In France, there is also no such thing as extra credit opportunities so I was very happy to be able to earn extra credit by attending various events or additional writing papers.
One thing that I absolutely loved about Wright State is the sense of community. Even though I was just an exchange student I was considered a member of the WSU community and I discovered what brings the students together. I never felt particularly proud of my university in France, neither did I ever feel that I belonged to a community and I know that most of the other students felt the same way.
Finally, the most important thing that I noticed by living in this country is that whether you are writing a paper, applying for a job, an internship or any other things, the key to success is motivation. What I like about the American culture is that what people always take into consideration first is how much work you put into what you do and how motivated you are to succeed. Skills are important, but they come after. I like this way of thinking because it means that you might not be the best at something, but as long as you are motivated and work hard you have every chance to improve and succeed.
I really loved my experience at Wright State, I learned a lot this year and I met wonderful people. I would not trade the past nine months for anything, except maybe for a crusty baguette and some French cheese!
