France
Classes préparatoires (prépa)
Prépa is a two-year course that prepares students for the entrance exams of the French grandes écoles. Lumi helps you hold the large mass of lessons in memory, next to your problem sets and oral drills.
In short
Classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles last two years after the bac. They are split into science, business, humanities tracks and a few rarer ones such as the Chartes or law. The workload is heavy, with regular timed tests and oral drills called khôlles. At the end of year two, written and oral entrance exams open engineering schools, business schools or the ENS. Each track has its own exams.
What goes on your cards
In prépa, what goes on cards is definitions, theorems and their assumptions, course formulas, literary or economic dates and references, and language vocabulary. Lumi has you recall them so you waste no time looking things up during problems.
A study rhythm
Keep one short Lumi session a day on the week’s chapters, and a wider one on Sunday for older ones. The gap between reviews should grow with the distance to the exam (Cepeda et al., 2008). In the spring of year two, go through the whole programme by cards. More in How to make a study schedule before an exam.
Subjects for this level in Lumi
Detailed pages
- MPSI (maths, physics, engineering science)MPSI, the first year of the maths, physics and engineering track of French prépa, centres on maths and physics.
- PCSI (physics, chemistry, engineering science)PCSI, the first year of the physics, chemistry and engineering track of French prépa, gives physics and chemistry as much weight as maths.
- MP2I (maths, physics, engineering, computer science)MP2I, the first year of the prépa track combining maths, physics, engineering and a strong dose of computer science, stands apart for its computing weight.
- PTSI (physics, technology, engineering science)PTSI, the first year of the physics, technology and engineering science track of French prépa, leans toward technology and engineering.
- TSI (technology and engineering science prépa)TSI is a science prépa designed for students from the technological baccalauréat streams.
- BCPST (biology, chemistry, physics, earth science prépa)BCPST is the prépa for life and Earth sciences, with a great deal of biology and geology to remember.
- ATS (one-year adaptation prépa for engineering schools)ATS is a one-year prépa for holders of a BTS, a BUT or a second-year licence.
- ECG (business prépa, economic and general track)ECG is the economic and general business prépa, the track leading to business schools.
- ECT (business prépa, technological track)ECT is the business prépa reserved for technological baccalauréat holders, mostly STMG.
- Hypokhâgne and khâgne A/L (classics-based humanities prépa)Hypokhâgne then khâgne A/L make up the classic humanities prépa, with Latin or Greek.
- Hypokhâgne and khâgne B/L (humanities and social sciences prépa)Hypokhâgne then khâgne B/L combine humanities and social sciences, with maths.
- Lettres Ulm (humanities entry to the ENS Ulm)Lettres Ulm means preparing for the humanities entrance exam of the ENS in the rue d’Ulm in Paris.
- Lettres Lyon (humanities entry to the ENS de Lyon)Lettres Lyon means preparing for the humanities entrance exam of the ENS de Lyon.
- Prépa Chartes (entry to the École nationale des chartes)Prépa Chartes prepares for the entrance exam of the École nationale des chartes, centred on history, Latin and old documents.
- Prépa D1 (law, entry to the ENS in law)Prépa D1 prepares for the law entrance exam of an ENS.
- Prépa D2 (economics and management, entry to the ENS)Prépa D2 prepares for the economics and management entrance exam of an ENS.
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Teach this to Lumi
Lumi adapts to your Classes préparatoires (prépa) subjects and comes back to each chapter right before you forget it.
