Discover our international students testimonials and their first impressions about France
We asked some of our international students to share their expectations about France and what were their first impressions; pre-arrival steps, cultural differences, daily life etc.
Every year, we welcome students from all over the world. With more than 110 nationalities on our campuses, EDHEC Business School is home to many cultures. As a new academic year is about to start in september, we asked some of our international students what was their take on France when they first arrived.
Mateo Popivantchev, from Bulgaria - Global Business track student
« I have been enjoying every second of the time I spent in France so far and I find French people really nice. I love the Nice campus and the best part of it is that I get the chance to live by the sea. »
Nina Robbe, from United States - Global Business track student
« Something that I like about France is how food is such a big part of the culture. I'm not used to eating so late but French people have dinner at 8 p.m. I really embraced this habit and I like how people treat it as an event to spend time together, laugh and create memories. And that’s what is great about it! »
Aki Schüßler-Langeheine, from Germany - Global Business track student
« My first impression of France, was that it's very sunny here. I'm used to quite a lot of rain but here in Nice you can basically go to the beach throughout the whole year and it's very nice all the time. I also like the fact that the mountains are so close. So you'll also have opportunities to go hiking and skiing and doing many different activities. »
William Wai-Choon, from the United States - Global Business track student
« I'm originally from Los Angeles, so living in France has been quite different. There are so many cities and things to do right here! Around Nice you can easily visit cities like Cannes, Antibes, Marseille or Monaco by train. We have the mountains right behind Nice, where you can go snowboarding during the winter and in the summer, you can go to the beach and enjoy the sun. I really like the diversity of the landscapes and the things you can do. Also France is so close to Italy, Spain, the Netherlands or the United-Kingdom. You can easily reach the European capitals and explore other cultures - even if it’s just for a week-end. »
Adora-Maria Ezzeddine, from Lebanon - Business Management track student
« Before coming to France I thought that French people would be really cold or wouldn't communicate very much but I found out that it’s not true because they have been very welcoming with me. It wasn't that hard to adapt to the French culture, because I already spoke some French before. I had French friends where I lived and I came to France many times in the past. I prepared my move to France with my parents because they have the French nationality. They were able to help me with everything related to the procedures we had to go through and they came along with me. I was very thankful for this. I found my accommodation with the help of the International Student Office and it was a very easy procedure. I started searching in June, before coming to EDHEC Business School in September. »
Dana Krayem, from Saudi Arabia - Business Management track student
« The first day I arrived in France, I wanted to have lunch as I normally would at 4 p.m but I realised that everything was closed because French people have lunch early. Also, I found out a bit hard at first to use the metro as I wasn't used to it. I didn't know it was this easy to travel around Europe, everything is so close, you can easily book a train and travel across Europe. And also people are much nicer than what I expected. I chose to live on the Lille campus, as long as you are applying in advance and if you're a first-year international student, I think it's pretty easy to find a place on campus. »
João Rias, from Portugual - Business Management track student
« While coming to France, I had a predetermined idea that people were not going to understand me, and that I was going to have a hard time. I also thought that French people were not friendly. But in reality, I found out that people are nice and they are welcoming, they’ll ask you how you've been doing and they are polite as well. In reality, I've made a lot of friends from different ages even outside school, people that I have met in Lille, students from another university or even people with whom I take part in sporting activities. Before coming to France I did prepare, and I did research on the EDHEC International BBA website, and I even booked a campus visit after I found out that I got accepted. The process was all very smooth and the team here explained to me everything that I needed to know about visas, and shared other practical information such as accommodation, how it is to live in France and all of those things that you need to know before you move to a different country. »
Louise Callens, from Ireland - Business Management track exchange student
« I'm an Irish exchange student of the EDHEC International BBA. I've been here since September as part as a one year academic exchange with my university in Dublin. It’s been a great opportunity to join this programme and I've been able to create connections with people from all over the world as my class is very international. Before coming to France, I already knew about the clichés related to food, wine etc. And it's all true! Food is like a religion here. For example, people have lunch between 12 p.m and 1 p.m, everyone sits at the canteen and we all eat together. In Ireland we could be eating when we’re walking around, and just eat a bag of crisps. But here, food is a huge part of the culture. I'm so grateful that I get to live this amazing experience as part of the student exchange programme. »
