Mostly regarding scholarships in Humanities !
(long post ahead) My apologies for any hazy or dubious formatting, I just got sick and my head is tormenting me.
I have some questions regarding Oxford / funding / applications, etc. Please do not tell me to just do some research and find resources online, I thankfully do have a useful Internet access but as a French student, international studies systems can be quite opaque.
I, like many people, have a dream and it is to study at Oxford. I currently wonder whether there’s a point in applying next year.
First, a bit more about my academic background (I am not sure what is relevant, so I figured I’d better write it all out) :
→ I graduated from an international French high school with the highest honors + as a valedictorian
→ Said graduation also came with the recognition of the “european” pathway, which basically means I studied some extra topics in English
→ I currently am in a classe préparatoire which is a unique French program (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classe_pr%C3%A9paratoire_aux_grandes_%C3%A9coles)
→ I am in one of the most prestigious of them
→ I am also in the one ranked no. 1 in my specific field
→ I was ranked among top 3 students last year (year 2 just started so I have no data for the current one + we were also joined by a handful of students retaking the classes so naturally, they are more advanced)
→ Last year I was ranked no. 1 student in Art History
→ For next year, I am to complete my BA (the classe prépa does not offer a BA since it is extremely broad but is considered equivalent to 2 years, so we are expected to join BAs directly in 3rd year)
→ Through the classe prépa, I can aim for the ENS, the no. 1 school for humanities here but it is more research-oriented and it is almost guaranteed I would end up as a teacher/researcher which is not a position I am interested in.
→ I can also just go to the Sorbonne University (top 100 for QS, if that means anything)
→ However I intend on going to the School of the Louvre (not sure about rankings, but yes, it’s literally within the museum)
Now more on my personal background and motivations :
For a long time I was quite uncertain about what I liked. Being an ‘academic weapon’, I was just always oriented to keep on studying although I am not sure whether I have an academic heart. Being great at something does not imply you enjoy it. So lately I started to step back and reconsider what I actually appreciated : history and beauty. I am enjoying art history, which is sort of my ‘major’ currently (although, once again, in classe prépa I also study intensively French, Latin, Philosophy, History, Spanish, English). However, I don’t see myself in a museum, I love to travel & discover and my mind is restless. Therefore, I’m currently considering heading more towards a sort of ‘decorative’ path, basically taking care of old places, something involving designing, art-making… I remain also open to more traditional paths like geopolitics (which I miss dearly) or simply history and just seeing where it takes me from there.
While many seek out the American dream, I grew up surrounded by elements of British culture (be it books, movies, series, music…) and naturally Oxford was omnipresent in British media. Having done more research about it, I think it would suit my heart while also being perfect to fulfill my extremely (overly ?) high-aiming ambitions.
However, like many others of us peasants, I am not exactly rich and in fact am rather poor. I get help from the French government for my current studies (I am extremely grateful for it) and don’t get to work on the side due to the heavy workload of a classe prépa. So, of course, having no intention to get into debt for a degree, I am wondering if there are any hopes of getting a scholarship.
The thing is, I am eyeing some courses like the MSt in History of Design, or perhaps something more traditional like a MPhil in European History. Are these fields not just theoretically but actually getting scholarships ? Humanities aren’t a priority in today’s world so I’m worried getting a scholarship for those would be near impossible, even more so compared to other degrees. Plus, I’m French so I don’t know if French students are eligible for most scholarships.
And if so, is there anything I could do to improve my profile ? Additional information : I am able to get a letter of recommendation from a highly-regarded French art historian if it matters.
And finally, is there anyone with a general review on History of Design and what it brought you ?
Thanks !