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EXCLUSIVE - Cost of tuition and on-campus accommodation, selectivity, international student success rates, reputation... Find out where French students can follow a brilliant curriculum across the Atlantic at prices, all in all, measured.

The American Dream is not dead... 6000 French students study in the United States every year. Most of them take the plunge directly after graduating from high school, to earn a Bachelor’s degree. Having an American degree always looks good on a CV. But what motivates young people most of all is the campus life so often fantasized about in TV series (US sports, fraternity/sorority life...). On a more down-to-earth level, they can enjoy greater flexibility in organizing their studies than in Europe, perfect their English and gain easy access to on-campus jobs. 
The only limit is the staggering cost of tuition. You often must pay around $60,000 a year (55,000 euros). More affordable establishments exist, but are little known on our side of the Atlantic... So, we set out to rank those universities which, while renowned for the quality of their teaching, were still affordable. The verdict: it's possible to have a brilliant American curriculum for a budget barely higher than that charged by French private schools. Follow the guide.

Universities were to study in the USA at a reasonable cost Head for the Southeast! The University of Florida (UF) takes first place in our ranking. The cost of tuition is certainly not affordable for everyone (26,665 euros for an undergraduate year). But this is still reasonable compared to most other American universities, which often charge twice as much. What's more, you can finance your studies by working, as Célestine Limouzin, 24, did, as a teaching assistant who completed her Master’s degree in French & Francophone Studies. UF, which boasts some fifty French students, a selective establishment (only 23.3% of admissions). And it has a reputation for excellence! It ranks 168th worldwide in the QS rankings. "The follow-up and support for students is very good," says Célestine. Above all, it's a very generalist establishment. "Only a few American universities have a law school, a veterinary school, a medical school and a business school on the same campus as engineering, liberal arts, agriculture, etc.," confides Marta L. Wayne, dean in charge of the International Center and Associate Provost.i The university is particularly renowned in certain scientific fields: ecology (19th in the world in the Shanghai rankings), agronomy (8th), dentistry (32nd) or pharmacy (24th) .... "We are also a leading university in artificial intelligence, currently with the largest Nvidia computer in an American university," as Marta L. Wayne points out. The school is in Gainesville, a "campus-oriented" city, explains Célestine Limouzin. "This means it's quite safe, and much more cosmopolitan than you'd expect given its size (around 140,000 inhabitants). We have a monthly 'gallery walk' (an event where artists meet the public, editor's note), numerous theaters, lots of restaurants and so on," says Marta L. Wayne.

It's the ideal place to live the American student experience to the full. "I go see basketball, US Football..." continues Célestine. In fact, Florida's famous "Gators", the banner team, gave their name to a nationally famous energy drink invented at the very heart of the university in 1965: Gatorade. Already a success story.

The University of South Florida (USF), with its main campus in Tampa, is also located in the Sunshine State. It has the lowest tuition cost of our panel, at over 16,000 euros per year for a Bachelor’s degree. These fees can be significantly reduced when securing one of the two (merit-based) grants reserved for French students: the Raymond and Simone Miklos scholarship, and the Institut de Liaison Floride-France (FFLI) grant. The latter allows them to pay only the tuition fees charged to students from the State of Florida, approximately 6,000 euros per year. An almost $10,000 discount. The school "offers students the opportunity to obtain a world-class education at a very affordable price", confirms Kiki Caruson, Vice- President in charge of International Studies. USF ranks among the top 100 American universities in the Shanghai ranking. In details, it is particularly renowned for its law school (39th in the world), information science and documentation 
(15th in the world) and oceanography (51-75th place) programs. Last fall, 22 young French students were studying at this highly international campus (10% of students are foreign). Tampa offers them "the thrill of a major metropolitan university with endless events and activities", enthuses Kiki Caruson. Best of all, they enjoy "a subtropical climate with 243 days of sunshine a year!"

Still in the American South, Atlanta is the 3rd university on our list. The Georgia Institute of Technology - or Georgia Tech for those in the know - is certainly the best known insitution to the French on our panel. Partly because it has a campus in Metz, enabling students to prepare double degrees. Above all, the university is highly reputed internationally. Georgia Tech is in the Top 100 of the QS world ranking of the best universities (99th). The school has a real reputation in scientific subjects: ranking 17th in the world in chemistry in the Shanghai ranking, 
5th in electronic engineering, 3rd in materials science, 12th in aerospace... Georgia Tech also offers training in most other non-scientific fields: management, psychology, political science, etc. I can see the academic excellence in the professors, who are all big names in their fields and give many lectures," says Estelle Couppey, 23, who has been in Atlanta for a few weeks to earn a degree in mechanical engineering. There are a lot of teachers who at the same time work at Meta, Google, etc." continues Benjamin Missaoui, a student in computer science applied to AI. This is sometimes an opportunity to get to know the big tech companies, right from the school benches. "In terms of job opportunities and salary levels afterwards, it's nothing like Europe," continues the 22-year-old.

The success rate among foreign students is very high (97%), the best on our panel. "Compared to France, there's a lot more personal work involved," remarks Louise Bour, a French student studying materials mechanics at Georgia Tech, hoping to work in the sports car industry. The price - over 30,000 euros per year for undergraduates - is one of the highest of the universities on our panel. But as the French students assure us, they get their money's worth, both in and out of the classroom. "On campus, there are lots of very different restaurants, the sports center is huge, with 3 swimming pools, it's really the American way of life, always bigger and better," assures Estelle. "There's even a free bus service that takes us wherever we want to go in the evening, in complete safety," adds Louise. "And there are a lot more extracurricular activities than in France. And they're free. Last week, we learned how to paint ceramics!" she continues. Finally, for the 54 French students enrolled this spring at Georgia Tech, it will be an unforgettable plunge into American culture, just like in TV series and movies. "The university logo is everywhere," notes Benjamin. Even on people's clothes, they wear it with pride. It welds a community together."

Selecting the universities: from among American universities where at least 150 international students graduated in 2021, we selected those offering tuition costs of less than 35,000 euros a year, and with a campus offering on-site accommodation. That's a total of 12 universities.

We then compared these institutions based on the following 8 criteria weighted by coefficients:

  • Cost of tuition and annual fees 2023-2024 for an international student in an undergraduate curriculum (Note: rates may vary according to students' personal situations, available grants...) - source: official university websites (coefficient 3)
  • Annual cost of books, equipment, and supplies for 2022-2023 - source: National Center for Education Statistics (coeff. 1)
  • Annual cost of room and board on campus in 2022-2023 - source: National Center for Education Statistics (coeff. 1)
  • Undergraduate graduation rate for international students in 150% of normal time (generation that entered universitý in 2016) - source: National Center for Education Statistics (coeff. 3)
  • Selectivity (number of admissions vs. number of applicants) - source: National Center for Education Statistics (coeff. 1.5)
  • Number of physical books in the university bookstore - source: National Center for Education Statistics (coeff. 0.5)
  • QS World Rankings 2024 - source: QS World University Rankings 2024 (coeff. 2)
  • National ranking (USA only) in the Shanghai ranking - source: Shanghai Ranking (coeff. 2)

Big thanks to Célestine Limouzin and Sylvie E. Blum for translation assistance.

To read the original article in French, click here