In 2025, 980,000 people expressed wishes on Parcoursup, and nearly 39,000 young people who had just graduated from the baccalaureate remained without an offer. However, according to the 2025 edition of OECD Education at a Glance, 95% of applications in France lead to a place in higher education. The problem comes later: only 34% of undergraduate registrations result in a diploma on time, compared to 43% on average in the OECD. These differences are largely explained by the model chosen. In France, we skim during the university career, while other countries select from the moment of registration in higher education.
Selon l’OCDE, dans près de la moitié des pays étudiés, la candidature se fait directement auprès des établissements. Only a third goes through a centralized platform like Parcoursup. The United Kingdom is closer to the French model where, via UCAS, you can formulate up to five wishes (four in medicine or dentistry), and each university sets its own criteria.
In French-speaking Belgium, people holding the CESS, the equivalent of the baccalaureate, register directly with establishments, except for competitive courses. However, this openness tends to lengthen studies. This is why, since 2022, French-speaking Belgium has tightened the screws. The reform of the “Landscape decree” requires validating the 60 first year credits in a maximum of two years, compared to 45 credits previously to access certain courses the following year, and completing the baccalaureate (equivalent to the license) in five years, under penalty of losing funding and risking refusal of re-registration.
In the Netherlands, more readable criteria than in France
The Parcoursup algorithm does not select: it transmits the applications to the establishments, which decide on the basis of grades, assessments and sometimes motivation. “The problem does not come so much from the algorithm, which is only a tool for connecting people, as from the criteria not explained by the establishments,” believes Florence Rizzo, founder of Écolhuma, an association fighting against educational inequalities. In the Netherlands, these criteria are, according to her, “particularly clear, shared and transparent. […] I think it’s a subject to work on and on which we can draw inspiration. »
Unlike the old APB system, Parcoursup no longer takes into account the order of wishes. Ranking only occurs after responses are received. (« oui », « non », « oui-si » ou « en attente »). As soon as a proposal is accepted, the lower ranked wishes are canceled, which frees up places.
The number of wishes varies greatly from country to country: just one in Brazil, three in Slovenia, four in the Netherlands, five in the United Kingdom, ten or more in France, Germany, Sweden and Turkey. In most centralized systems, only one final offer is made. Only South Korea does not cap the number of proposals.
Apply before or after the baccalaureate
In France, wishes are made before the baccalaureate results. In China or South Korea, applications are made after an exam. Spain, for its part, combines the baccalaureate mark and that of an entrance exam to establish a national ranking.
Finland is exploring a third path: the open university. “There is not just a single path that allows access to this or that training,” explains Florence Rizzo. Regardless of their age or background, anyone interested can take courses at reduced fees. By validating enough credits, they can then apply for a diploma course.
Select sooner or later
For Florence Rizzo, France is moving massively towards university, sometimes to the detriment of professional sectors. In Germany, orientation occurs very early in the school curriculum. According to the Länder, “50% of an age group is oriented from 10-11 years towards vocational schools, compared to 20% in France”, explains Frédéric Turlan, specialist in labor law in Europe with Touteleurope.eu. A model which makes the paths clearer, but which also reduces the number of candidates for the Abitur (equivalent to the baccalaureate).
In other countries, changing lanes is much easier. In Sweden, for example, a third of university places are reserved for obtaining the national test (Högskoleprovet) open to everyone, regardless of age. Old school reports are then not taken into account. “This system allows people who have had different life paths to branch off towards the university path of their choice,” explains Florence Rizzo.
The example of our neighbors shows that the issue in France goes beyond the simple elimination of Parcoursup. “The challenge is to give 100% of an age group the means to have access to a sufficiently demanding base of knowledge at the end of compulsory education at 16,” adds the specialist. The challenge is, moreover, to offer earlier but also less definitive guidance to leave room for error. And this, while upgrading professional sectors.
