Prepas in PACES: good or bad idea? What do they offer? The first year of medicine is a tough course, and it’s no secret. Therefore, every student needs help for the test this year. To this end, students have two options: choose a preparatory course or enroll in tutoring.
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In this article, we will address the thorny subject of preparatory classes. We are discussing a topic that has been talked about repeatedly: a simple call for testimonies from us on Twitter allowed us to gather many accounts in just a few hours.
This is not about favoring this path over tutoring, but rather showing its particularities, flaws, and qualities, as well as explaining how it works.
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Many preparatory classes exist: for a single city, it is not uncommon to find at least three or four different ones. Two main types can be distinguished: the so-called “classic” preparatory classes followed by first-time students, and the weekly competition prep classes favored by repeaters. The preparatory classes offer the same overall service: guided exercise sessions led by an instructor, course notes, and mock exams.
Generally, repeaters will prefer those that only offer weekly mock exams. Most offer pre-school courses ranging from 10 days to 3 weeks. After experiencing both categories, I think both were very helpful for me, especially starting with the excellent quality course notes that were provided. On the other hand, the exercise sessions were as much as possible: I would have liked the opportunity to only take the course notes and the mock exams.
Of course, all this comes at a price. And all the testimonies we have collected are unanimous on this point: this price is too high for almost all preparatory classes.
A student from Lyon currently in their second year of pharmacy testifies:
“Without my prep, I think I wouldn’t have passed my first year, but it was clearly too expensive and I had never felt so much pressure in my life.”
Some preparatory classes adjust their prices based on your status as a first-time or repeat student, as reported by a student from Lyon.
“My prep is called Avicenne, it was founded by a 6th-year student from Lyon Sud, and it is mainly medical students who run it. I paid just over 3000 euros last year, and for my repeat year, it will be a little less.”
The first of these testimonies illustrates another flaw pointed out by many students:
Despite the quality of teaching, prep tends to add an extra layer of anxiety to students.
This excess pressure is often due to a poor atmosphere within the prep groups, with a spirit of competition sometimes fostered by the teachers themselves. A student from Bordeaux even gave up spending an entire year with this prep because of this:
“I did a semester of prep and I mainly hated it because of the competitive atmosphere between the groups.”
On the other hand, many students appreciate having a class preparation for the support it offers. Students who have recently graduated from high school are encouraged to work and organize themselves without any supervision: few can boast such abilities right after getting their diploma! A student from Lyon talks about this:
“It’s not essential, but I think it can help those who don’t know how to organize themselves well and who like to have a more ‘secondary’ environment. Whether to take one or not depends on individual needs, and the choice should be considered since it remains a significant financial investment.”
When talking about preparatory classes, it is inevitable to mention tutoring. Often opposed by students, these two paths should be seen as complementary… for those who can afford it. Many of the testimonies we received explained that they chose a prep because they felt that tutoring alone was not enough.
Be careful, the opposite is equally true: a prep alone cannot provide the necessary training to succeed in the exam.
I speak from experience: in my first semester as a first-time student, I followed this model and ended up in 1651st place. Then in the second semester, I combined prep and tutoring and moved up over 500 places.
Of course, the main advantage of tutoring is its free nature: CEMP6, the tutoring program at UPMC in Paris, is known for its effectiveness without requiring a single denial from PACES students. But like prep courses, not all tutoring is equal.
Another advantage of preparatory classes is the course notes provided by the teachers. Often very comprehensive, they save valuable time and have courses by themselves.
In addition, there are referents who work for the prep and the mock exams. For example, the student from Lyon Sud talks a bit more about Avicenne:
“In the first year, we had two weeks of pre-entry before S1 and one before S2, all the courses before they were given in the amphitheater and a sheet with corrections/new items afterward, a quiz per week, and two mock exams per semester. We also have TD every week given by students in their 2nd or 3rd year or sometimes by teachers. We are also supported by a second-year student who helps us with our planning. In my college, there is also tutoring that is not bad, but their courses are not always as comprehensive and clear, and I really do not regret my choice to take a quiz box. I am repeating, but I really did not go far from the number, and I think I would not have done so well without it. Of course, it remains expensive as a service, but that’s the price of success (although I do not doubt that some people can succeed only with tutoring).”
When you see the number of preparatory classes available, it is very important to think about your choice. Some students have expressed their dissatisfaction with a performance that is sometimes outrageously mediocre, and still as expensive as a student from Nantes told us.
The prep chosen by the young woman charged 1500€ per year for weekly quizzes, which she felt was very insufficient. Internships were also available for 1000€ and an “Advanced” option was available for each subject, for an additional 500€. But in the mountain of testimonies we received, we read everything and its opposite. For example, Clément, a student from Lyon Sud, reports that he was extremely satisfied with his prep:
“It cost 3000€ per year it seems and 500€ for a pre-school internship. Since I did two PACES, I had 6500€ for the two years! It offered a bit of everything: up-to-date course notes, training sessions, TD sessions with professors, mock exams… without my prep, I would not have succeeded, it made the work easier for us, it was super convenient. Tutoring in Lyon Sud was very present, but the prep is necessary for DEs, for example, which are not developed in Lyon Sud. Honestly, I think it was justified in terms of price and quality, especially compared to other Lyon preparatory classes.”
A student from Lille believes that prep is not mandatory as such, but that in the face of the increasing number of enrolled students, it is necessary to take one.
“Thanks to the prep, I had notes, mock exams, sessions to explain difficult courses, and a lot of stuff. My university tutoring is quite good, but limited (only biophysics and chemistry), although I still recommend it because they do everything they can and tend to really improve. Especially since it’s a free limit. I think that without the prep, I would not have succeeded in biophysics… they really provide the necessary stuff for the exam. Prep is not mandatory in my opinion, but really beneficial. It’s a plus… especially since two-thirds of the faculty have a prep, it limits the chance loss of not having one.”
For this student from the University of Nancy, the prep is particularly beneficial for first-time students:
“Above all, it ensured that I had well-designed, clean, and comprehensive courses, which is what I wanted because I am unable to learn when it is not organized or when information is lacking. It also benefited me by giving me a routine to regularly do quizzes or MCQs, to give me a real rhythm to train as often as possible. It is far from essential, even though it was a real tool, especially at the beginning when you are a first-time student.”
A student from Caen who validated her PACES really appreciated the contribution of her prep, insisting that only those with the greatest abilities can really do without it.
“I did 2 years with Medicaen (a branch of Médisup), I think I would never have passed my exam without it. In the first year, I missed medicine by 10 places even though I felt I wasn’t working in S1, but the prep did the work for me (course notes, review sheets, training polys, TD, CB, interviewed all the time) so I managed. In the 2nd year, I got into medicine and dentistry, without feeling any pain either because MedicaEn prepared and trained a lot, I made all my closest friends in my pre-school class. and I think it’s thanks to the prep that I have a good memory of PACES, it was a bit my home, my reference point. And I find that the price is not excessive, I paid 2 x 3000€. A small clarification: in Caen there is only one prep and more than 80% of the people in the numerus have done Medicaen, there may be 18% who did not do Medicaen but bought the courses and the others are aliens.”
In summary, it is clear that most pre-pas classes will offer good performance in the strict field of work: exercises, mock exams, and course notes are essential. On the other hand, few of them do not impose a poor general atmosphere in return, which is necessarily detrimental to the already altered well-being of PACES students. But once again, the great diversity of preparatory classes requires long reflection so as not to spend such an amount for nothing!
Article written by Henri Bazire
Tag : why choose a prep pass?