That's not true, in France going to the university is open to anybody that obtained the "Bac" (not necessarly a general or scientific one, doesn't matter, you can get in mathematics there with a mechanics degree) and if you don't have it there are some formations to get an equivalence, opening the doors for you. (of course it will be extremely difficult to catch up in compsci for someone without a scientific bac but he can try) And the university is almost free (less than 500e a year if you don't get any social help)
It is true however that you need good grades to get to the top engineering schools.
As you said the bigger issue anyway is the cost of living.
Not if you're older than 25, I was asked to pay something like 3000 euros to enter in L1, despite the fact that I have no income.
And even if you have the BAC, university will often teach a lot on math and theory, which in my mind if counter productive because there is a very high demand for low skilled programmers and technicians. 42 focuses more on the meat of what programming is, and most often only that.
Not saying you don't need those computer scientists, but usually students want to work in the industry with an easily accessible job that doesn't involve too much academic headache or research.
"of course it will be extremely difficult to catch up in compsci for someone without a scientific bac but he can try": universities are subjectively making this hard. 42 fixes it.
(I'm a french CS engineer, and I'm part of a system I despise)
I don't buy that at all. Programming is programming. If you can do it at "42" (without supervision), I'm pretty sure you can do it in a university too. An important part of university teaching is also based on programming projects, and class attendance is usually not mandatory. I assume there are more classes that don't involve coding than at 42 (some maths, some more theoretical CS stuff) but not enough to fail an otherwise motivated student.
Besides, if some student is unable to take a few classes they doesn't like, I'd be worried about their ability to adapt to a professional context.
Actually, I taught CS in a French university, and usually, the only students that fail totally lack interest in the discipline. I can remember one or two students that liked programming as a hobby and quit or fail, but it's pretty rare.
I had to study Chemistry for 2 years (no CS DEUG at that time), failed to pass because of thermodynamics, was finally rescued in-extremis because the jury's head was also my CS teacher (CS was an option). I entered a CS engineer school and things went very smoothly after that.
I almost failed to study CS! because of thermodynamics. It could have been because of bio-chemistry, or maths. None of which were needed to study CS.
42 fixes this. Their pre-requisites are relevant to what you'll need to study.
Nope, sorry, I don't want to live under credit.
> If you've already worked before you can get ~650e per month during the 3 year of the formation.
Not if you're over 25. What are you talking about?
The idea is great, but when you're poor, the price of the school is not the only problem. In france education is already free, and the problem is still the cost of living.
Obviously it is a great alternative because the selection process in other universities is tedious (you need to be good in high school etc), meanwhile with 42 you just do some fancy tests, so it's more open.
But I'm curious about how poor students can really finance staying at 42. Students here are already working more hours outside so they can study.
Obviously, making such school in the US is going to make it more interesting than 42 in france.