Make your choice of centre a well-informed one
Before making your final choice between various course proposals and accommodation proposed by SOUFFLE centres ask (yourself) the following questions:
- How many students per class? On average? At most?
- How many lessons are given per week?
- Does the centre have a language lab? video cassette player/recorders? and a computer-aided language lab?
- Is it possible to attend courses at the University without being a registered student there?
- Which examinations can you take through the centre? Must you pay an additional fee to take these exams?
- What accommodation is available? How much does it cost?
- Does the centre require you to pay establishment fees for your accommodation?
- If host-family accommodation is proposed, are these families selected/inspected by the school? Do you pay the school or the family directly?
- Where are the school facilities located? Is the school in the centre of town, or on a campus, outside of the town?
- What are the premises like? New buildings or old?
- Are there also native French students on the premises of the school?
- Does the entertainment service organise activities and outings, etc. itself, or does it inform you on possibilities in town and in the area?
- Will you be met at the station, the airport, etc.? Is this service free of charge?
- Can meals be easily obtained at lunch-time? How expensive, and where?
- Does the centre issue a French student痴 card? If so, how much does it cost?
- If your enrolment is cancelled or if you must leave early, what modalities apply for refunds? Are there charges to be deducted?
- What happens if you fall ill?
Preparing for your departure
What you must know before you leave:
Documents and papers
To cross the border, take your identity card. Non-Europeans will need a passport and possibly a visa. If you plan to stay in France for some time, contact the French Embassy to see what authorization will be required.
Illness
No vaccination is required to enter France. The centres do not require participants to have health coverage. If you are a European Union state member (plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) there痴 no problem: the E111 form (to be obtained in your home country) will enable you to be refunded upon your return home.
If you are not from a European country, or if you wish to subscribe additional insurance coverage, the centres can recommend an insurance company which can take charge of all or part of fees arising from an illness or hospitalization.
Money
It is always recommended that you carry some Euros with you, for instance
to take a taxi or the M騁ro underground.
Currency exchange is available in many different places: banks, exchange offices, some post offices, etc.
However, these facilities are not open 24 hours a day.
Travellers Checks (made out in Euros) and credit cards (especially Visa
and Mastercard) are accepted in many shops and you can withdraw money
at widely available automatic teller machines 24 hours a day.
Holidays
With certain exceptions, SOUFFLE centres, French administrations and many shops are closed on holidays.
For 2006, these are
