A final-year student at the French lycée in Dubai, Singapore or New York applies to the grandes écoles (France's selective engineering and business schools) with the same rights as a student in Lyon. They go through Parcoursup, the national admissions platform, on the same calendar, and almost every post-bac entrance exam now offers a way to sit it remotely. The difficulty lies elsewhere: choosing the right route, keeping to a calendar set on Paris time, and building a list of choices without being able to visit the schools or rely on the word of mouth of a Paris lycée.
How to get into the grandes écoles: three routes
The first route is the classe préparatoire, or prépa: two years of intensive preparation, then the competitive exams for engineering schools (Polytechnique, Centrale, Mines…) or business schools (HEC, ESSEC, ESCP…). It leads to the most selective schools, and it is applied for on Parcoursup like everything else. We have described what it involves from abroad, grades, boarding and choices, in Getting into a prépa from a French school abroad.
The second route is the five-year post-bac school: an engineering or business school that recruits straight after the baccalauréat, through a shared entrance exam. The third covers bachelor's degrees and selective three- or four-year programmes, such as the Polytechnique Bachelor or Sciences Po. All three can be combined in one list of choices, and that is often the right strategy.
Parcoursup from a French lycée abroad
Students at accredited French schools abroad follow the same procedure as in France. The AEFE, the agency that runs the network, has a guidance office that follows these applicants; it is reached through the "Contact" section of the Parcoursup file. According to the AEFE, in 2023, 96% of the network's applicants received at least one offer, and 53% of its graduates went on to study in France.
The calendar is set in Paris. In 2026, registration opened on 19 January, choices could be entered until 12 March, files had to be completed by 1 April, and offers started on 2 June. For a family in Singapore or Los Angeles, every midnight-in-Paris deadline falls at a different local time, and it has to be planned for.
Post-bac engineering schools: sitting the exams remotely
Four main entrance exams recruit baccalauréat students into five-year engineering schools, all through Parcoursup. Their 2026 rules each provide a solution for applicants abroad.
| Exam | Tests (2026 session) | From abroad | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concours Avenir | Single-answer multiple-choice papers on 2 May | Test centre, or on a computer from home, under video supervision, on Paris time | €120 |
| Puissance Alpha | Written tests on 25 April: maths, sciences, English, verbal reasoning | "Outside mainland France" centre: on computer, remote supervision | €130 |
| Geipi Polytech | 3-hour written test on 28 April | Centres in France and abroad; with no centre in the country, ranking on the file | €60 |
| Groupe INSA | No written test: file, then an interview for the best ranked | Remote interview | €105 |
These schools are not all at the same level, and a student aiming for Polytechnique or Centrale is better served by a prépa. But for a good student who wants an engineering school without two years of competitive exams, these routes are solid, and they need preparing: a timed multiple-choice paper, sat on Paris time, does not forgive an approximate method.
Post-bac business schools
The Sésame exam groups several post-bac business schools. Its 2026 written tests were held digitally, at the same time in France and abroad, and the 2027 tests are announced for 7 April. Interviews are run by each school, and some hold them by video for applicants living outside France. The Accès exam (ESDES, ESSCA, IÉSEG) drops its shared written tests from 2027: selection will be based on the Parcoursup file and on interviews, which only students at French lycées abroad will be able to take remotely.
Sciences Po and the Polytechnique Bachelor
A student preparing the French baccalauréat at a school abroad applies to Sciences Po through Parcoursup, as in France. For September 2027 entry, the file is marked out of 40, based on the early baccalauréat exams and the results of the last two years. A score of 30 out of 40 is needed to be invited to the interview, held remotely in April-May, which lasts about 25 minutes and is also marked out of 40; admission requires 60 out of 80. The file includes two written motivation questions in Parcoursup.
The Polytechnique Bachelor, taught in English (the school asks for C1 level), follows the same rule: a student in the French system must apply through Parcoursup, even abroad; the École polytechnique's own platform is reserved for other applicants. The interview is held remotely, in English.
2026 session rules. Dates, tests and fees come from the 2026 rules published by Concours Avenir, Puissance Alpha, Geipi Polytech, Groupe INSA and Sésame; the Sciences Po and Accès rules are those announced for September 2027 entry. The 2027 rules of the engineering exams are published during the winter, and every date should be checked on the exam's website before entering choices.
Building the list of choices from abroad
A good list combines the routes: one or two prépas matching the file, one or two five-year post-bac exams, and Sciences Po or a bachelor depending on the profile. It is decided in the autumn of the final year, because the choice of exams sets the spring preparation calendar: maths and science multiple-choice papers for engineering, verbal tests and English for business, an interview for Sciences Po. It also means thinking about housing in France, which none of these procedures arranges for the family.
That is the work we do with expatriate families at Carmine: choosing the routes according to the file, keeping to the calendar from abroad, preparing the tests and interviews. For the maths of the post-bac exams, I prepare students in online private lessons, whatever the time zone.