101

STUDYING
IN FRANCE
ESSENTIAL
TIPS

INTRODUCTION

Youve heard about the city of Paris, the most romantic city in the world, about the TGV, the fastest railway train on our
planet, about la baguette, a bread so hard that you can whack people with itYou would like to learn more about the
land where peoples democracy started with the storming of the Bastille, where people use perfume instead of bathing,
where belles demoiselles sunbathes come summer. You are ready to go. But wait, before you take off, do take some time
out to read what some of your seniors have to say to advise you. Theyve been through it and below are some of the things
that will make your life a lot more comfortable as you step into this new strange land waving a story of your own. Voici
our 101 Tips on studying in France, all of them suggested by OUR own Malaysian students in France.

PRACTICAL ADVICE
1. Winter clothes - As the price of winter clothes in Malaysia is as expensive as those in France, but not nearly as
fashionable, it is better to just get 1 set from Malaysia just in case, and the rest you can buy it in France.
2. Dictionary - Its cheaper to get it in Malaysia, but do not forget to get yourself a French-French dictionary a few
months after you arrive here. Youll improve your French faster this way.
3. Wok/Oven/Rice Cooker Generally, these are not recommended due to their size and the difference in
electrical standards between France and Malaysia. You can get any of the above easily here and cheaply.
4. STPM/SPM/UEC revision books We find it quite useful for some of us, since we understand English/ Malay
better than French. HOWEVER, make it a habit to get use to the French way of doing things (like how to explain
each step in mathematics)
5. Stationeries If you want to save money, bringing stationeries is a must, as I have no idea why pens, papers
and erasers cost a fortune here. No papers please, useless extra load. They are cheap.
6. Brahims/Adabis/Maggis - If you want to taste Malaysian food during your stay in France, chances are that you
might want to stock up on Brahims and Adabis. You can actually get them at London, but still not in France,
though according to rumors, a certain Indomee is available in Bordeaux.
7. Electronic items/computer - Electronic items are really cheaper in Malaysia, so your external hard drives/pen
drives/mp3 should be bought in Malaysia. For laptops, we would suggest that you get one in France to facilitate
the typing of certain French characters like the , , .
8. Hand phones Bring one (nokia 3210 will be enough) with you. When you arrive in France, you have to wait for
about three month to do your students visa. During that 3 months, you are not allow to have a phone line. After
that, if you want, you can sign a mobile service contract for say, 2 years and you can get a huge discounted
phone. ;)
9. Alternatives medicines - Bring some Malaysian over-the-counter medications that youre familiar with (Panadol,
Minyak cap kapak, Minyak gamat, pil Check Ket Teck Aun or however you spell it)
10. Nail-clipper - Its cheaper in Malaysia (learnt that the hard way). Take a pair or more.
11. Scientific calculators Better to buy it in France because you do not know in advance what kind of calculator
your Profs will ask you to get. Certain schools are permitted to only one type of basic calculator.

12.
You will surely be missing your family members and friends and will feel anxious to call them all the time and
discuss things with them. Yet, overseas phone calls are generally very costly and hence you must stay away from
chatting.
13.
Have a plan of calling your family and friends at regular but long intervals so that all you family members will be
expecting the call for the scheduled day together, thus, reducing any additional telephone expenses.
14.
Even if you have exigency situations to convey the message to your family, try to avoid calling them in midnights,
keeping the fact in mind the time difference of the two countries.

to note that spectacles is not well reimburse by Scurit Sociale & Mutuelle, they only reimburse up to certain
amount (150 +/-).
24.
So it is a lot more cheaper to buy spectacles/contact lenses in Malaysia as the average price for a pair of
spectacles (+ visit to ophtalmologist) can reach 300 ++.
25. To see some specialist doctors like ophtalmologist, dentist or dermatologist, you have to make 23 months
appointment in advance. If it is quite urgent, you will need to try and call as many doctors as possible to get
the earliest rendez-vous. If it is not possible, try to convince them by saying that it is urgent. The best way is
to see them regularly for example dentist.

15.
These days, lots of discounted telephone call plans are available in almost all the developed countries. You
should enquire about the plan and be smart enough to look for the discounted price.
16.
Take a really good care of your studio/apartment/house especially around the kitchen area. Clean regularly as
this will ease your work when you want to move out from your house. Before moving out, the place should look clean,
exactly like the first day you move in. If the owner is not satisfied with the house condition, you will lose all your deposit
money and if its worse, you have to pay extra money for the cleaning service.
17.
If possible, pay the monthly rental on time as this will give good impression of Malaysian students to the house
owner. This is important because not all house owner/residence accept SFERE or MSIAN Embassy officers as house
guarantor.
18.
Some residences include the electricity/water bill in the monthly rent. But this does not mean you can use
electricity/water as much as you like. Certain consumption limit has been set according to the average student use of
electricity/water. Some of the residences will pay you back if your annual electricity/water consumption is less than their
estimation, but if you use more, than you will pay more.
19.
Due to the reason above, switch off your electrical appliances if its not in use especially electric heater as this
consume a lot of energy. If its not too cold, use slipper/socks inside your room rather than turning on the heater 24h.
20.
Dont throw away documents like monthly bank statement as this could be useful when applying new
studio/apartment as some house owners or real estate agency will ask you to provide the latest 6 months bank
statements. Other documents like rental payment slips, electricity bills, phone/internet contracts should be kept too.
French administration could sometimes be complicated and difficult when it comes to documents like these.
21.
Dont hesitate to make full use of the health care benefits in France as your medical treatments are 100%
covered by the Scurit Sociale and complementaire mutuelle, which is both paid by SFERE. Eventhough you will
have to pay first, dont forget to send the necessary documents (prescription and scurit sociale form) to Scurit
Sociale. Its better if you have the Carte Vitale as this will simplify the whole reimbursement process.

FINANCIAL ADVICE
1. If you think your parents will be sending you money quite often, instead of using Western Unions TT services
which costs MYR 25 to the sender and about 12 (Crdit Mutuel rate) for the receiver, ask them to put the
money in your Malaysian bank account, and use your ATM card to retrieve it. It costs only MYR 12 (Maybank
rate).
2. Make your own cup of coffee; do not make it a habit of hanging out in cafes like Starbucks. They charge
overpriced coffee which adds up over time, youll do better saving the money up. Starbucks is not a trademark
in France please.
3. Cook. Eating out is not cheap. Learn basic culinary skills at home, youll save a lot of money doing that.
4. Lots of banks here allow you to have a negative balance on your account, but try your best to avoid it. Not only
will you be charged a relatively high interest rate, youll also be charge with a 22,90 commission for 25
consecutive days of negative account. (with a basic electron account)
5. Be careful about passing your spending limit. For every transaction you make after you pass your limit, you pay
8 of fee. Even if youre like just paying 6 euros worth of stuff at the supermarket, youll end up paying 14. (for
basic account like electron oso)
6. Keep 10% of your allowance as savings as soon as you receive it, you might need the money when you move
to a new city. (expenses can vary anywhere from 300-1200 without much aid from our sponsors)
7. Make full use of your student card; in most places you can pay cheaper entrance fees. For certain fast food
restaurants like McDonalds or Quick, you can ask for 1 free extra burger.

22.
To see a doctor in France, you will usually have to make a rendez-vous earlier. But some doctors do operate
using the first come first serve basis like in Malaysia. Make sure you check if doctors around your area do have this
consultation libre, this will come handy if you fell sick.

8. Once you settle down, you will sure go to supermarkets regularly for your groceries. Ask for a carte de fidlit,
whenever you buy things, you can collect points which can be turned into interesting gifts. Supermarkets like
Carrefour, Champion, Super-U... offer this kind of membership card.

23.
If you need to make a new pair of spectacles in France, you will need to see the ophtalmologist(eye specialist)
first to get him/her to check your eye degree. Once you have the prescription from the ophtalmologist, you can go to the
optical shop to buy your new spectacles. The reason for seeing the ophtalmologist(to get the prescription) is so that you
can get reimbursement for your spectacles. It is

9. Buy hypermarket-branded items rather than established brands when buying food. The quality is about the
same, (most of the time its the same producer that produces for both category); its also cheaper, and you get
more points with your carte de fidlit.
10. 2 times a year, once after summer and the other just after winter, the French will go crazy with their Soldes.
(Read, gals: Sales!!!) Organize your shopping in such a way to profit from the huge discounts offered. Dont go
shopping for full priced item unless its really limited.

11.
Being that you guys will be living together or at least close with each other, buy chicken in cartons (cheaper
and can create a feeling of togetherness and jiwangness???)

3.
Les guignols de linfo - A hilarious way to know about whats happening in France and learn your french at
the same time would be to watch les guignols of Canal+ every evening.

12.

4.
Free newspapers Every morning (even evenings for certain city), free newspapers, such as 20
Minutes/Metro/Matin Plus are being distributed. Its a quick and easy way to improve your French. It isnt, however,
a substitute for paid newsprint as they do offer more in-depth coverage and analysis.

Carefully plan your expenditure. It can help you making your months.

13.
There is lots of competition in the ADSL internet market. The current standard is a packaged one: a phone
line, digital television and 20 Mbps internet connection altogether for less than 30 per month. Check for hidden
requirements (e.g.: unsubscribe fees), usually noted with **.

5.
Sharing an apartment You can even do a colocation, which means the sharing of apartment with the
French. It could be potentially a fantastic idea, but you have to be careful while choosing the people you will be
staying with: Choose those who are more laid back and not those who are too rigid about cleanliness etc. Youll
not only be able to practice everyday French, but also develop lasting relationship with the locals. You can even
taste and learn their cuisine.
6.
Read, Read and Read Make an effort to read French books, not only will it improve your French grammar,
vocabulary and syntaxes, itll also improve your general knowledge. Make sure you have good lighting though.

TRAVELLING ADVICE
1. Do not be STINGY about traveling; Europes the perfect place on earth to backpack. Some of OUR best moments in
France are spent traveling around with friends. ASK ALAN, HAHAHA.

7.

Organize ALL of your documents according to different subjects in a chronological order.

2. With the advent of budget airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet, youll save a lot of money if you plan your trips in
advance. Last minute tickets ALWAYS cost a bomb.

8.
Participate in classes, especially during your language preparation. Do not hesitate to ask questions, give
comments or even challenge the professor, this is a thing we Malaysians must learn. The French are naturals in
this regard.

3. Try to avoid taking trains on Friday and Sunday evening, its the peak period in France, train tickets are much more
expensive for the period. It is called priode blanche where tickets prices may be up to 50% more expensive.

9.
If you have any problem, never hesitate to ask SFERE, Edufrance, your sponsors student advisors,
theyre paid to help you.

4. If you take train very often, it would be interesting to get a carte 12-25 to enjoy 50% discount on tickets. If not,
whenever you buy tickets, remember to mention that you are below 25, you can get 25% discount for that.

10.

5. Sometimes you could find great offers on SNCF-(French National Railway Society), without actually having the
Carte 12-25, called the Prems offer.
6. If you happen to hang around in Paris for weekend, get a ticket jeune, its cheaper and you can use the Paris
transports as many times as you want (Zone 1-3). ONLY AVAILABLE ON WEEKENDS.
7. Learn how to travel light and lean, one way of doing that is rolling up your cloths instead of folding them. LADIES,
remember that you can wash cloths almost everywhere.
8. Those of you who plan to go outside of Europe (USA, Canada, Egypt, China, etc) be sure to enquire about tourist
visas. Go to the respectives embassies or high commissions to get more info.

Always help each other. Youre abroad; your Malaysian brothers and sisters will be your family there.

11.
Some computer program like Rosetta Stone or Pimsleur can actually help you improve your French in the
beginning.
12.
Remember, get into the French way of studying, its all not about memorizing but to think critically.
Repeating the same type of maths exercises doesnt help.
13.
French students tend to study in group in Ecoles/Universities. Try to join them for group studies because
this will help you a lot. If youre not the type to study in group, try to find at least a partner (French if possible) that
you can refer to if youre having difficulties.
14.
Get to know French senior students in your Ecoles/Universities as they will be glad to help their juniors
with past year examination papers or lecture notes. Some Ecoles/Universities do have senior/junior program,
meaning youll be assign to a senior(parrain/marraine). Dont be intimidated to contact your parrain/marraine for
help.
15.
Seeing teachers/lecturers after class is also advisable to improve your studies. Make appointment with
the teacher if you need more time to discuss your problem.

LANGUAGE AND STUDY ADVICE

1. For a start, try memorizing a French song, and when youre in the shower, sing it while imitating the way the singer
sings it (this sentence is full of redundancy). It helps to improve your vocabulary, fluency and pronunciation.
2. Radio - It helps improve your comprehension and at the same time, keeps you abreast of the various happenings
in France, which actually provides you with some conversational topic with the locals.

RELIGIOUS ADVICE

1. For Muslims, be very careful with what you eat. Read the ingredients. A pasta tomato sauce may look
innocent, but some contains white wine while coffee flavored ice cream more often than not contains

alcohol. Gummy Bears is a definite no-no.

2.

Dont forget to bring your kain sejadah.

3.

Nowadays, sabun samak is available in stores. This will be a useful item there.

7.
Youve secured an interview, good. Now what? Well, prepare yourself for that interview. Do your
homework. Know the company and the position you applied for. Prepare three to four questions to ask the
interviewer about the company. This will make you look really interested and serious about the position.
8.

4.
For Christians, participating in church activities is an excellent way to integrate among the French. You will
practice your French, establish lasting friendship, and visit different places.

Be presentable. Yes, it counts.

9.
Youre the chosen one. Congratulations, but it does not stop there. Now its time to prove to the company
that they had made the right choice.
10.

SOCIAL LIFE ADVICE

1. It is important as well to participate in your schools extracurricular activities. Its another great way of socializing and
actually sees how things are organized the French way.
2. Be active in various associations such as MASAF, youll meet more people, enrich your life and perhaps meet your
future life partner.
3. Remember, being shy does not necessarily mean you have to be anti-social too. They are two different things.

If your job starts at 8 a.m, then be at your desk at 7.55 a.m. Being late is a big NO!

11.
Dont be shy to ask around if you dont know about something. Thats why they call you an intern, you are
in the process of learning. Having said that, asking the same thing 10 times is not acceptable.
12.
Keep in mind that what you do during the internship is a win-win situation. The company gets a talented
and ambitious young man/lady to accomplish a project/task and you gain a lot of useful knowledge and
experience.
13.
You will have to write reports. Dont take it for granted. If they ask you to do it, its probably because itll be
useful to someone.
14.
You wont probably be asked to send the internship memoir the second week youre there. Its not a reason
to practice the art of procastination though. Last minute works often come with bad quality.

INTERNSHIP ADVICE
1. Know what you want. Its the first step in searching for internship opportunities. If you hate being in a production line,
then dont apply for an internship that requires you to be there most of the time.

OK, you will probably be asking why this booklet is named 101 Tips while there are actually only 81? Well, a wise man
once said to his son:
Son, I can show you the highest mountain. Still, you have to climb it by yourself.

2. Once you know what you want, its time to really search for internship. There a many ways in doing this. The most
common is through your school or university industrial partners database. Another method is through online
database. Websites such as www.iquesta.com and www.placeojeunes.com are excellent platforms.

As you walk the path, you will make mistakes. Learn from them and from others mistakes as well. Advice number
84 101 are the lessons you learnt from those mistakes.

3. This is perhaps common sense. You have to prepare your curriculum vitae and your cover letter. Having a CV and
having a GOOD CV are two different things. The former might get you through your communication professor, the
later can get you a place in a big company.
4. Yes, advice number three does apply for your cover letter as well.
5. How to make a good cover letter? Personalize it. A cover letter MUST NOT be a one size fits all, you have to custom
made it to suit the position you are applying to. Pay extra attention to your spelling. Be rigorous.
6. Follow up. Executives are hard working people. They hardly have time left to read your cover letter, let alone to really
know you. So, you have to make the initiative. Call them 7 days after sending your application, ask them if they had
received your letter and sell yourself. Dont forget to request for an interview to better explain why you are the best
candidate for the position.
Post scriptum: Do not over pack your luggage the first time you go there. follow these tips to carry only the essentials.