Answering because I don't think someone who doesn't know the system will get the right conclusions out of your comment.
"However, going to a random countryside Prépa and going to Henri IV or Louis le Grand is not the same thing. In the second case, you'll have a significantly higher chance to get a shot at the top schools."
-> Yes. But not because of the prépa. Because the students in these prépas are the best (on paper, at least). Students in prépa are selected by the teachers for their percieved potential. The more prestigious prépas (the most well-known, oldest, biggest, etc) then get the best students. But as everyone is going through the same exam at the end, the prépa itself does not have that big of an impact. A mediocre student in a great prépa will do as poorly as in a mediocre one (I'd say maybe even worse, because the teacher won't slow down for the one student trailing behind and will leave them in the dust). I'll admit there is an issue in the other direction: a great student in a poor prépa might get slowed down by their teachers and the other students and not perform as well as they could have, but that's not the point I am trying to make here. The prépa is far from the main factor in the exam result.
PinParasol t1_iti2xl7 wrote
Reply to comment by Creep2Crazies in [OC] Chances to attend a "Grande Ecole (Top university) in France. If you want to attend "ENA", the best university in France, you have 330x chances if your father graduated from there. by pacmanpill
Answering because I don't think someone who doesn't know the system will get the right conclusions out of your comment.
"However, going to a random countryside Prépa and going to Henri IV or Louis le Grand is not the same thing. In the second case, you'll have a significantly higher chance to get a shot at the top schools."
-> Yes. But not because of the prépa. Because the students in these prépas are the best (on paper, at least). Students in prépa are selected by the teachers for their percieved potential. The more prestigious prépas (the most well-known, oldest, biggest, etc) then get the best students. But as everyone is going through the same exam at the end, the prépa itself does not have that big of an impact. A mediocre student in a great prépa will do as poorly as in a mediocre one (I'd say maybe even worse, because the teacher won't slow down for the one student trailing behind and will leave them in the dust). I'll admit there is an issue in the other direction: a great student in a poor prépa might get slowed down by their teachers and the other students and not perform as well as they could have, but that's not the point I am trying to make here. The prépa is far from the main factor in the exam result.