International Students

Your studies at École Polytechnique begin on Wednesday August 28, 2024. When you arrive on campus, you will be welcomed on two separate days.

Please note that if you arrive before the day of your convocation, you will be responsible for booking a hotel room (close to the School) and meals.

The induction week for the X2024 class, which you will join with the French cadets, begins on Friday August 30 at 1:30 pm. This is the first major step in your life at X, and gives you the opportunity to discover the École, its military dimension, the Polytechnique curriculum and class life.

From the day of your convocation and during the incorporation period, you will be accommodated in pairs in polytechnician student housing (caserts). Comforter provided.

During the week of induction, breakfast is served in the sports section bars, lunch at Magnan, the École's collective restaurant, and dinner either outside, in the main hall in bipromotion, or in the section bars. All meals are taken care of during incorporation.

Download a typical induction day at schedule (in French): here

At the end of the induction week, you will begin your Human Training period. Human Formation is the specific and characteristic period of Polytechnic education. It provides a unique human experience and an opportunity for you to establish solid links with civil society. Carried out during the first seven months of your studies, it is a full-fledged course that contributes to the academic training provided at the École. It helps prepare students for the professional world, and is a coherent complement to the in-company period (2nd year), the research-based scientific option period (3rd year) and the vocational training period (4th year).

Download the human training booklet (in French): here

View job descriptions on X-Job Board (in French): here 

Consult the alumni feedback database on their human training period (MemoriX): here

Welcome week :

Welcome week is the first stage of life at X. It's a week to discover the École, its military dimension, the polytechnicien curriculum and class life. It begins on Monday, September 9, 2024, with your welcome at the airport, followed by administrative formalities, military activities and cohesion events organized by the Kès.

From Monday September 9 to Thursday September 12, 2024 inclusive, you will be accommodated in building n°17, with disposable bedding provided.

During this week, breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served at the Magnan, the school's collective restaurant (with the exception of non-compulsory dinners organized by the Kès). All meals are taken care of until your departure for the language stay on Friday, September 12, 2024.

If you arrive before your arrival date, please note that the school is unable to accommodate you (please choose a hotel close to the school at your own expense).

Language training :

The language training takes place from Friday, September 13, 2024 to January 10, 2025 at CAVILAM in Vichy, a school that has been awarded the "Qualité Français Langue Étrangère" label 4 times and is Qualiopi certified.

During your stay, you'll enjoy free accommodation (except for Campus France Eiffel scholarship holders) with a host family less than 20 minutes from CAVILAM. You'll take part in sports, cultural and social activities, and benefit from 375 hours of French lessons over 17 weeks (general French, themed workshops, customized workshops, scientific, economic, etc.). 

Preparatory training :

An integral part of the first year of the polytechnicien engineering cycle and entirely designed for engineering students admitted as non-French speakers, the preparatory course combines French language and culture classes, scientific courses and cultural and sporting activities. 

Designed to help non-French-speaking students get their bearings at l'X, this program takes place while the class's French officer cadets and French-speaking international students complete their human and military training

Your comeback on campus for the start of the academic year (core curriculum) is approaching. 

Presentation of the core curriculum (protected access): here 

French speking students who are finishing their Human Training Period can go to the Memorix database to write up their feedback. 

School badge and International Student Card (ISIC)

You will receive your School badge on your return to the campus. 
There are two sides to this badge. 

• The front contains the X logo and European student ID number
• The back contains your ISIC international student card

Provisional expenditure relative to your tuition at École Polytechnique :

Download the summary of provisional expenditure. (You must provide your login and password to access this document, which will also be sent to you via email by the BasiX). The amounts listed in this document are estimations and actual expenditure may differ from the amounts indicated.

Replenish your meal account : 

To eat at the campus canteen (Le Magnan), you must have a funded account. You can do this on your return in April at the Magnan central cashier or at the terminals with your badge. The smartest thing to do right now is to load your catering account online using the pop&pay application (to avoid queuing). The identifier to use when you first connect to pop&pay is your student number. If you don't know your student number, you can find it here. The usual login is firstname.lastname, which you've been using since September. 

To find out more 

Link to application procedure

Accommodation and bed linen : 

 The X2024 will not have its definitive caserts (rooms) until it returns to campus in April 2025, when the sports sections are formed. Students will be able to collect their casert at the beginning of April. Students wishing to collect their casert earlier should contact their section head before mid-March. 

Print out your Pégase rent deduction authorization 

To make settling in easier in April 2025, you can reserve a sleeping kit (comforter, pillows, etc.) in January 2025, so that you don't have to carry bulky items with you when you return to campus.

As of  Monday Jan. 13, until Friday, March 28 2025, bed linen kits may be bought whether on line or on spot at the Equipment Department ("Service du matériel") located in building nber 64

They include: 

• 1 mattress protector (90*200 cm)
• 1 fitted sheet (90*200 cm)
• 1 quilt (350gr/m2-140*200 cm)
• 1 quilt cover (155*230 cm)
• 1 pillow (60*60 cm)
• 1 pillow case (65*65 cm)

All items are washable.

Amount: €59 (all charges included)*

Bed linen kits are to be picked up at the beginning of April upon the collection of your "Grand Uniforme" which will take place in building number 64. 

Please note that: 

1. There will be not refund for every ordered kit.
2. The purchase of a bed linen kit is not mandatory. Just make sure to have your own bed linen before arriving on campus.
3. Bed linen kits are not to be sold in seperate items. The amount (59 euros) cannot be splitted or detailed*

Please follow this link and log in

Personalized Housing Assistance (APL) : 

Housing subsidies help you pay the rent on your main residence if your income is modest. 

If you qualify, apply for the Aide Personnalisée au Logement (APL) to pay your rent. 

Find out more about APL (in French)

Apply for APL 

Secondhand BocantiX platform : 

Access the Brocantix platform for reselling items between 3rd year students (3A) leaving campus and 1st year students (1A) just before they arrive. The idea was born out of the following observation: when the 3As leave, they throw away a large quantity of everyday objects (irons, fridges, etc.); the 1As need these objects, but since these promotions don't cross paths, reselling objects between them is impossible. The "BrocantiX" site, open "off-campus", aims to enable the resale of these items, and thanks to the premises, the 3A's items can be stored before the 1A's pick them up.