Sign up for French university grants now

This is completed annually at messervices.etudiant.gouv.fr. You can also apply for subsidised accommodation.

Grants are allocated according to parental income, the number of dependants in the family and the student’s distance from home.

You will need your last tax bill (avis fiscal) and, if not yet a student, the list of study choices requested and where. You also need justificatifs de scolarité.

You should receive a decision within 30 days. Every year around 702,000 students receive grants.

Amounts range from €1,009 to €6,661 (2018/19 figures). It exempts you from enrolment fees and CVEC (a €90 contribution to student life) and you have priority for student accommodation.

The main cost for a public course is accommodation, as tuition fees are free.

University inscription fees are fixed at €170 (degree), €243 (masters) and €601- €2,500 for an Ecole d’Ingénieur. DUTs (diplôme universitaire de technologie) are run by universities so the same fees apply. BTSs (brevet de technicien supérieur) are taught in lycées so are free. See etudiant.gouv.fr.

International students pay an enrolment fee of €2,770 a year for a degree, a third of the actual tuition cost. If the student is resident with a carte de séjour or your country has an agreement with France, you pay the same as a French student - see campusfrance.org. Fees for private schools vary and can be high.

As of 2018, students can continue to use the health cover they had at home and do not need to change carte vitale but do need to notify any new address.

Those signed up to the previous student healthcare regime will be automatically changed to their home centre from August 31, when it officially ends.

Students can use an existing top-up health insurance or a special student one.