Caroline & The Casiraghi's - University Life

[LadyEsquire]

I think someone said she was due to start back September 2.

 

[Sancia]

I think someone said she was due to start back September 2.

If she is in khâgne, yes, she strated back on september 2. If she's at university (la Sorbonne, same as mine), she'll start back on october 3.

 

[Sancia]

Has anyone actually heard or seen anything new about Charlotte? It seems that we haven't really gotten anything new about her since August. I mean, gosh, WHERE IS SHE?

She is studying. I don't know exactly where in Paris, but not very far from where I live.

 

[Daytona]

What does she study?

 

[Sancia]

What does she study?

We don't know exactly. Either she's in khâgne at lycée Fénelon (a khâgne is one of the preparatory classes, a french speciality) either at the university at the famous Sorbonne (where I'm studying too).

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

She is studying. I don't know exactly where in Paris, but not very far from where I live.

Then you live in St. Germain? This is where I believe Char lives because all of the places she's been photographed point there and it seems to be very fashionable, where a wealthy and chic woman might live.

 

[Sancia]

Then you live in St. Germain? This is where I believe Char lives because all of the places she's been photographed point there and it seems to be very fashionable, where a wealthy and chic woman might live.

I live in a street which is a kind of border between Saint-Germain des Prés and the Quartier Latin (Latin Quarter). A very wealthy and lovely quarter... I live here in a student room. I never met Charlotte, by the way.

 

[acid_rain3075]

Is it possible that Charlotte lives in the same house that Caroline, Grace, and stephanie lived in when Caroline was studying at the Sorbonne in the 70s? I remember that Prince Rainier used to own that house where they lived and that stephanie used to live there off/on in the 80s or 90s(or something like that). I just don't know the area. But I remember there was a picture.

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

Is it possible that Charlotte lives in the same house that Caroline, Grace, and stephanie lived in when Caroline was studying at the Sorbonne in the 70s? I remember that Prince Rainier used to own that house where they lived and that stephanie used to live there off/on in the 80s or 90s(or something like that). I just don't know the area. But I remember there was a picture.

It is certainly possible. This is something that many of us Casiraghi Watchers have wondered.

 

[Daytona]

We don't know exactly. Either she's in khâgne at lycée Fénelon (a khâgne is one of the preparatory classes, a french speciality) either at the university at the famous Sorbonne (where I'm studying too).

Sorbonne is one of my options as a postgraduate in law as a major.

 

[Mrs.Smith]

Sorbonne is one of my options as a postgraduate in law as a major.

Which sorbonne, I mean which number has that university as Sorbonne is Paris I and IV I think? is there a special course for foreign law students? (sorry, this is off-topic, but I planned a year at Paris II during my studies which is not possible now, and so I'm thinking about going there for an additional qualification.)

 

[monica17]

Is it possible that Charlotte lives in the same house that Caroline, Grace, and stephanie lived in when Caroline was studying at the Sorbonne in the 70s? I remember that Prince Rainier used to own that house where they lived and that stephanie used to live there off/on in the 80s or 90s(or something like that). I just don't know the area. But I remember there was a picture.

The family's apartment is in Avenue Foch. I don't know if they still own it - most likely. I think Caroline and family live elsewhere near Paris, Fountainbleu?

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

The family's apartment is in Avenue Foch. I don't know if they still own it - most likely. I think Caroline and family live elsewhere near Paris, Fountainbleu?

Princess Caroline has a mansion in Fontainebleau, yes. This is where the Trio lived when they were going to the local school. But now Charlotte actually lives in the city of Paris, on her own somewhere, probably in the St. Germain district.

 

[michelle]

Princess Caroline has a mansion in Fontainebleau, yes. This is where the Trio lived when they were going to the local school. But now Charlotte actually lives in the city of Paris, on her own somewhere, probably in the St. Germain district.

The fanily's 'hotel particulier' big appartment where Grace lived with her girls is in the Avenue Faoch, that's right, it's very close to the Arc de Triomphe. Caroline has a house in Fontainebleau , that's right too...
When Stephanie was older and she lived alone in Paris she had another
appartment and I can't remeber where that was. I'll look for it. It is possible that Charlotte uses this appartment of Stephanie, as both. this one and the one in the Avenue Foch. now belong to Stephanie.

 

[Mrs.Smith]

yes, I want to know that too, it is not only "Charlotte - interest", I want to see which possibilities are there in France, specially for foreign students. About courses that take a lot of time: my courses start tomorrow and we'll see if I'll come here that often. But unlike Charlotte I don't have to run a household(do you say it like that?) - still live with my parents

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

yes, I want to know that too, it is not only "Charlotte - interest", I want to see which possibilities are there in France, specially for foreign students. About courses that take a lot of time: my courses start tomorrow and we'll see if I'll come here that often. But unlike Charlotte I don't have to run a household(do you say it like that?) - still live with my parents

Well, it seems Point de Vue has confirmed what some of us have suspected, that Char is enrolled in Lycee Fenelon, in the two-year hypocagne (sp?) course, to prepare for the four-year Ecole Normale Superieure (sp? again). If you go into the Lycee Fenelon official site (don't remember, sorry, but I did put it up at my site, Casiraghitrio.com in both the Felix page and the page on "Charlotte 411") you can read about this two year course. I think the level of academia that Char is enrolled in seems to be very unlike the level of the average American undergraduate. It seems like her studies can be more accurately compared to a student in America preparing for dissertation or at least at graduate level. It's very serious and very concentrated. It's nothing like what her mother did at the Sorbonne. Caroline went to college just for the sake of going. Charlotte seems to have a very serious purpose. I love this girl more and more!!

 

[Mrs.Smith]

Thanks for the info! It really seems to be very hard. But I think going to such a famous, "elite" institution is also a great motivation. I've always been jealous because royals and rich kids can take the courses at university they want without caring for future possibilities in earing money.But Charlotte seems to have chosen the hardest way. I think you don't do that only to be sophisticated and because you have some interest in these subjects - you're probably right - she has a purpose.

 

[Grace]

I think you're underestimating Caro's course of study; for what I know (and I hope with all my heart I'm not offending anyone) the workload in European Unis tends to be heavier than the workload for undergraduate studies in the US. France in particular has very demanding University, and in France Philosophy (particularly at Sorbonne) is one of the most prestigious (again not the right word I fear) majors...
Of course ENA is more prestigious than Sorbonne, because only the elite go there, but a philosophy course in France can be just as hard. If you ever talk to a French student and tell him you study Philosophy (or Political Sciences like me and that's why I know it) he will be in awe of your superiour intelligence (while in Italy Political Sciences is considered the major for those who want to waste time...everything is relative!), just because such courses in his Country are considered the hardest.

Just another thing, after hypokhagne I think you can attend several Grands Ecoles, and take very different subjects, not only ENA (please correct me if I'm wrong)...

Kisses

 

[mia_lanes]

I think you're underestimating Caro's course of study; for what I know (and I hope with all my heart I'm not offending anyone) the workload in European Unis tends to be heavier than the workload for undergraduate studies in the US. France in particular has very demanding University, and in France Philosophy (particularly at Sorbonne) is one of the most prestigious (again not the right word I fear) majors...
Of course ENA is more prestigious than Sorbonne, because only the elite go there, but a philosophy course in France can be just as hard. If you ever talk to a French student and tell him you study Philosophy (or Political Sciences like me and that's why I know it) he will be in owe of your superior intelligence (while in Italy Political Sciences is considered the major for those who want to waste time...everything is realtive!), just because such courses in his Country are considered the hardest.

Just another thing, after hypokhagne I think you can attend several Grands Ecoles, and take very different subjects, not only ENA (please correct me if I'm wrong)...

Kisses

Yes, you're right Grace. We have some American exchange students at our university somewhere in England who at undergraduate level, same as me. They were saying about how heavy the workload is and they were comparing our undergraduate level to their graduate.

I also want to say well done Char and you go girl!

 

[Sancia]

I think you're underestimating Caro's course of study; for what I know (and I hope with all my heart I'm not offending anyone) the workload in European Unis tends to be heavier than the workload for undergraduate studies in the US. France in particular has very demanding University, and in France Philosophy (particularly at Sorbonne) is one of the most prestigious (again not the right word I fear) majors...
Of course ENA is more prestigious than Sorbonne, because only the elite go there, but a philosophy course in France can be just as hard. If you ever talk to a French student and tell him you study Philosophy (or Political Sciences like me and that's why I know it) he will be in owe of your superior intelligence (while in Italy Political Sciences is considered the major for those who want to waste time...everything is realtive!), just because such courses in his Country are considered the hardest.

Just another thing, after hypokhagne I think you can attend several Grands Ecoles, and take very different subjects, not only ENA (please correct me if I'm wrong)...

Kisses

As a French one I will correct a few things. I've done an hypokhâgne and after, two years of Khâgne, but I didn't attend a Grande école. To attend theses kind of university (ENS, ENA) you must pass a very difficult exam which each year only 75 people (in classics) have. It's not really an exam, in France we call thiis a concours but I don't know the word in english. There must be 1000 students in french khâgnes for classics but only 75 have the exam. There are different kind of khâgnes preparing to differents grandes écoles.
To enter in the ENA you must pass a very difficult concours. So it's not automatic to enter in grandes écoles if you want.
ENA is not an university but a school where students are prepared to work for high administration.
I hope I'm clear.

 

[Grace]

Thanks for explaining, I knew the difference between Universities and Grandes Ecoles, but I know very very little about khagne and hypokhagne.
Just one question, do you have to attend a different kind of hypokagne for each Grand Ecole? I mean, after the one she is attending can Char take the "exam" (concour) for any grande ecole or just for ENA?
Usually does it count who you are and who you know when you take the exam? In Italy it usually does, even when they say it doesn't, but maybe in France you're more serious...

Thanks for the information,

Kisses

 

[Tosca]

Thanks for explaining, I knew the difference between Universities and Grandes Ecoles, but I know very very little about khagne and hypokhagne.
Just one question, do you have to attend a different kind of hypokagne for each Grand Ecole? I mean, after the one she is attending can Char take the "exam" (concour) for any grande ecole or just for ENA?
Usually does it count who you are and who you know when you take the exam? In Italy it usually does, even when they say it doesn't, but maybe in France you're more serious...

Thanks for the information,

Kisses

Why are we Italians always so self-deprecating?

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

I think Grace is right about the Grand Ecoles and the hypokagne (sp?), but, please correct me if necessary, I think there's a limit. I don't know if ENS exam can be taken by any hypokagne student from any Grand Ecole. I think they take from certain ones because on the ENS website (ens.fr) it says specifically which schools prepare for the exam, unless I am misunderstanding, which is highly possible, as my French is a little shaky. So Lycee Fenelon might have courses that prepare you for other Grand Ecoles but I believe their hypokagne course is specifically designed for the ENS exam. Again, I might have read it wrong, but that was my impression.

Grace, you're absolutely correct about US universities. They are nowhere near as difficult as French universities. I cannot speak about other European universities, because I only know somewhat about French ones. Additionally, the Grand Ecoles are even more advanced than US universities, if my impression is right. I think French students would have a nice vacation if they took a semester or two as an exchange student in the US.

Thanks to all we replied to my post about Char's academic pursuits because I feel very enlightened. I love learning about French education. I do hope that Charlotte got into Lycee Fenelon because of her BAC scores and not because of who she is. I hope that her results get her into ENS and that she does not "beat" someone who scores better just because of who she is. I hope I'm not being naive here.

 

[Sancia]

Thanks for explaining, I knew the difference between Universities and Grandes Ecoles, but I know very very little about khagne and hypokhagne.
Just one question, do you have to attend a different kind of hypokagne for each Grand Ecole? I mean, after the one she is attending can Char take the "exam" (concour) for any grande ecole or just for ENA?
Usually does it count who you are and who you know when you take the exam? In Italy it usually does, even when they say it doesn't, but maybe in France you're more serious...

Thanks for the information,

Kisses

You can take the exam till 23 years old only, and the exam after khâgne is just for the grandes écoles named ENS (Ecole Normale Supérieure). To prepare ENA you need another "university", called Sciences Po. You can pass the exam for ENS after two years of studying after the bac. For the ENA you need at least five or six years of studies.
No it doesn't count who you are, theoretically it doesn't. But a name very known can help a lot. Or coming from a very well-known school, when you prepare the ENS, helps a lot.

 

[Sancia]

I think Grace is right about the Grand Ecoles and the hypokagne (sp?), but, please correct me if necessary, I think there's a limit. I don't know if ENS exam can be taken by any hypokagne student from any Grand Ecole. I think they take from certain ones because on the ENS website (ens.fr) it says specifically which schools prepare for the exam, unless I am misunderstanding, which is highly possible, as my French is a little shaky. So Lycee Fenelon might have courses that prepare you for other Grand Ecoles but I believe their hypokagne course is specifically designed for the ENS exam. Again, I might have read it wrong, but that was my impression.

Grace, you're absolutely correct about US universities. They are nowhere near as difficult as French universities. I cannot speak about other European universities, because I only know somewhat about French ones. Additionally, the Grand Ecoles are even more advanced than US universities, if my impression is right. I think French students would have a nice vacation if they took a semester or two as an exchange student in the US.

Thanks to all we replied to my post about Char's academic pursuits because I feel very enlightened. I love learning about French education. I do hope that Charlotte got into Lycee Fenelon because of her BAC scores and not because of who she is. I hope that her results get her into ENS and that she does not "beat" someone who scores better just because of who she is. I hope I'm not being naive here.

Yes, Fenelon is only for preparing ENS.
To get her into ENS, she will need to be in the 75 best. If not, she won't...
To be honest, I don't think that the "examinators", the "jury" of the ENS even know who is Charlotte Casiraghi...

 

[Ariel]

Her grandmother said she is an excelent student and very demanding on herself. So that goes well with this selection. Hopefully she will go on with her plans and will have a successful academic experience.

 

[fandesacs2003]

Yes, Fenelon is only for preparing ENS.
To get her into ENS, she will need to be in the 75 best. If not, she won't...
To be honest, I don't think that the "examinators", the "jury" of the ENS even know who is Charlotte Casiraghi...

Hello
Is something not very clear for me. The 75 will go into the ENS, what about the others?? When you fail, what can you do ? Do you have a least a diplome? Or these preparatory years were a total waste of your time? This question may not apply especially to Charlotte, but a normal student, failing this exam is being considered to have a paper to work in his life? Or he comes back in the same level a a simple "bachelor"???
Thanks

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

Yes, Fenelon is only for preparing ENS.
To get her into ENS, she will need to be in the 75 best. If not, she won't...
To be honest, I don't think that the "examinators", the "jury" of the ENS even know who is Charlotte Casiraghi...

I think the "right" people know who she is. How can they not? Princess Caroline is a very well-connected and known person. I think it's possible her daughter might have some advantage over others. I don't want to be cynical because I adore Charlotte and I am hoping with all my heart that it was her brains that carried her this far and not her connections, but I do think the possibility is there that she might be chosen over someone with a better score because of who her mom is.

 

[CasiraghiTrio]

Hello
Is something not very clear for me. The 75 will go into the ENS, what about the others?? When you fail, what can you do ? Do you have a least a diplome? Or these preparatory years were a total waste of your time? This question may not apply especially to Charlotte, but a normal student, failing this exam is being considered to have a paper to work in his life? Or he comes back in the same level a a simple "bachelor"???
Thanks

That's the thing that sucks about this system. There are only so many places ENS and other grand ecoles can fill, so those who don't make the cut have to settle for a lower degree. A degree from a lycee is probably still very respectable and I'm sure you can get good jobs with it. The Grand Ecole degree just puts you a notch above. It's comparable to the US system somewhat. I'll explain it this way, for those who are American like me:

(This is a rough comparison. I know the two systems are very different, and these "equivalents" aren't exact. I'm just doing it this way to explain it a "simple" way for my fellow Americans.)

Ecole = primary education
Lycee?? = secondary education
Lycee = undergraduate level
Grand Ecole = graduate level, even post-grad/doctorate level

Obviously, the two systems don't correspond exactly because the amount of years and the level of difficulty varies, but that is basically how it compares. I hope this helps. I'm not exactly sure about my secondary education "equivalent". I used to think Lycee was only the secondary level and not also the undergrad level. Is a person's "high school" also called a lycee? Wasn't the school Char attended in Fontainebleau a lycee?

 

[Grace]

Why are we Italians always so self-deprecating?

Actually I don't think I was being self-deprecating, I just know that's how it often works in Italy and unfortunately in many other Countries (I think more or less everywhere actually, somewhere more and somewhere less).
At the same time I stated European Universities (Italian included) tend to be more demanding than American ones; I just tried to be objective given the little knowledge I have of the different education systems.

Dianelane, thanks a lot for the additional info, I didn't know that you had to attend Science-Po before applying for ENA; I have personal experience of how hard, demanding and competitive Science Po can be, so now I fully appreciate how difficult completing the course of study at ENA can be. If I understood correctly, after the courses she is supposedly taking Char can try to enter ENS, that is an equivalent (in terms of how you prepare to enter) of Science Po...As for the admission, I think her connections more than her name can possibly help her but won't be decisive.

Thanks again for the interesting information...

Kisses