France – The Short List

Marie-Sophie

France

Multiple Programs

Columbia Univ. & Sciences Po

Client: Marie-Sophie
Marie-Sophie is French and was attending a bilingual school in New York City when we first met her. She was looking at US colleges but was still intrigued by studying in France. She turned to The Short List to help her navigate the American college admissions process.

Despite a natural shyness, Marie-Sophie was a well-rounded student: a top academic performer and avid runner who loved the performing arts and community service. She loved most subjects, was fluent in three languages, and had strong interests in economics and politics. We believed her challenge would not be in communicating what she had to offer but rather in defining what she wanted to pursue.

We explored schools that would nurture Marie-Sophie’s multi-cultural heritage and multi-faceted personality, and we encouraged her to express herself even further. She was thrilled and terrified when she was cast in a solo role in the high school musical. As she explained, performing “gave me the passion and the courage to pursue singing, and play a role in front of an audience. Whenever the whole cast is on stage, I can feel a current of energy that makes me want to stay on stage forever.”

Marie-Sophie’s parents took her on visits to her top-choice US colleges. Her confidence grew and her future goals began to take shape, but she couldn’t quite let go of her desire to study in France. She was thrilled to discover the dual BA program between Columbia University and Sciences Po in Paris, an opportunity to receive degrees from two world-renowned universities. She would have to apply and be accepted separately to both schools, which would have been daunting enough to scare off most applicants. But Marie-Sophie pursued admission with gusto.

Her efforts paid off when she was offered a spot in the dual program. She wrote, “The dual BA will be a perfect continuation of what I have enjoyed since I was in first grade, which is being in an environment that is fully bicultural and which constantly reminds me that there is always more than one way to look at something. It will also allow me to study further and more thoroughly what I find the most interesting: trying to understand the world in which I live.”

Anne-Claire

France

The Artist

Cambridge

It is rare that we work with teenagers who are singularly focused on a specific profession, but Anne-Claire was the exception. She was absolutely in love with art, and she was always clear that she wanted art to help shape her career.

Anne-Claire is French and, in Paris, was surrounded by some of the finest art museums in the world. As a young girl, she moved to Barcelona and was struck by both the beauty and oddity of Gaudi’s architecture on the grand Paseo de Gracia Avenue. She would spend hours outside contemplating the distinctive nature — inspired, organic shapes and forms that characterize his famous buildings. Her family also moved to London, where she became acquainted with the national Museum and was captivated by the Portrait Gallery. She began to keep a sketchbook and design costumes based on the many images she saw in the galleries. Finally, Anne-Claire discovered the world of modern art when her family moved to new York City while she was in high school.
Anne-Claire looked to The Short List to help her find schools that would allow her to explore her passion for connecting art with the world around her. We introduced her to a former career client who had secured a job at Sotheby’s. She saw the business side of art and was smitten. Anne-Claire wanted to explore schools in both the United States and United Kingdom. While most U.S. colleges require students to explore many academic areas through a core curriculum, students in England enter a specific college with a singular academic focus. Anne-Claire was open to both options as long as the schools had strong art history or art management programs. She made it clear that she would not apply Early Decision to any school because she wanted to keep her options open.

The Short List helped Anne-Claire research her list of schools and programs, and then plan her visits. She was keen to have interviews so she could better understand each school’s philosophy. We took her through our interview prep, helped her formulate questions, and then role-played many of the questions she was likely to encounter. She received tremendous feedback from several schools indicating that her interest and background made her a strong candidate. Anne-Claire was accepted to many premier schools. She chose to attend Cambridge University in England, where she will spend the next three years at Christ’s College reading the history of art.