Of course, la cl\u00e9 du succ\u00e8s <\/em><\/strong>(the key to success) is hard work and perseverance.<\/p>\n And that means quite a lot of it!<\/p>\n Today, we will take\u00a0\u00c9NA<\/a><\/strong>, <\/em>the same\u00a0“elite school” we talked about just three days ago<\/a><\/strong>, as a showcase of the long and challenging road which ultimately opens to the successful candidate the doors of a French Ivy-League school.<\/p>\n The process of applying to\u00a0<\/span>\u00c9NA<\/a>, <\/strong><\/em>namely\u00a0<\/strong>the “\u00c9cole Nationale d’Administration<\/a><\/strong><\/em>“, has often been compared to\u00a0<\/span>les\u00a0douze travaux d’Hercule<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(the Twelve Labours of Hercules.)<\/span><\/p>\n As you may rightfully suspect, there is a very good reason for that comparison.<\/p>\n Like for any other\u00a0Grande \u00c9cole <\/em><\/strong>in France<\/strong>\u00a0(think, for example, of\u00a0Polytechnique<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, the “French MIT<\/a><\/strong>“), one ought to go first through\u00a0a\u00a0classe pr\u00e9paratoire<\/strong><\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>before even thinking of getting into\u00a0\u00c9<\/em><\/strong>NA<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n You can see this step as “un hors d’\u0153uvre<\/strong>“,\u00a0<\/em>or “appetizer<\/strong>“,\u00a0<\/em>where one gets “un avant-go\u00fbt<\/strong>“<\/em>\u00a0(“a foretaste”) of the sort of treat that the upcoming stages will bring with them.<\/p>\n The “pr\u00e9pa<\/em><\/strong>” (shortcut for “classe pr\u00e9paratoire<\/em><\/strong>“, meaning “preparatory class”)\u00a0for the\u00a0\u00c9NA<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>is conducted\u00a0under the aegis of a school which you probably have already heard of.<\/p>\n That would be the widely famous\u00a0Sciences Po<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, especially popular among exchange students<\/strong> from all over the world.<\/p>\n There begins the process which ultimately, or rather penultimately, leads to the admission exam called\u00a0le<\/em>\u00a0concours externe<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0(extrenal exam.)<\/p>\n This exam\u00a0begins with\u00a0l’\u00e9crit<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0(<\/em>written test),\u00a0which challenges the candidate with a wide array of questions ranging from\u00a0le droit<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(law) to\u00a0l’\u00e9conomie.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n One should not be overly surprised, however, to also run into a question of\u00a0<\/span>culture g\u00e9n\u00e9rale\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(or “general knowledge”, the\u00a0sort of quiz questions that can pop up at a Monday\u00a0Trivia night. No kidding.)<\/span><\/p>\n As one can easily imagine, the “survival rate<\/strong>” at the end of this preliminary step does not exceed\u00a010%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Only then will “les survivants<\/a><\/strong>“<\/em>\u00a0(“the survivors”)\u00a0be served what may be called the\u00a0“plat de r\u00e9sistance<\/em><\/strong>” (“main dish.”)<\/p>\n This would be the\u00a0examen oral<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(oral exam),\u00a0<\/em>which puts to the\u00a0test one’s\u00a0\u00e9loquence<\/a> <\/strong><\/em>regarding\u00a0a vast\u00a0variety of topics.<\/p>\n And as if all the previous stages were not enough, the oral exam culminates with the much-dreaded\u00a0<\/em>Grand Oral\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/span>(affectuously\u00a0nicknamed as the “Grand O<\/strong><\/em><\/span>” by its fans), which lasts about the same time\u00a0as\u00a0une mi-temps de football<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(a half-time of a soccer game.)<\/p>\n In the\u00a0Grand O<\/strong><\/em>, the\u00a0candidate is generally\u00a0malmen\u00e9\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(manhandled, that is)\u00a0<\/em>by\u00a0all kinds of unusual and often ridiculously\u00a0puzzling\u00a0questions.<\/p>\n These are mostly what you would call\u00a0des questions d\u00e9concertantes<\/em><\/strong>,\u00a0the aim of which is to test one’s ability to think “outside of the box<\/strong>” (so to speak!)<\/p>\n
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