Back to the blog
After the BacPractical guide

Integrated prep or classic prep: what the guide says

Integrated prep or engineering preparatory cycle: length, entry to the engineering cycle on record for about 80%, national competition, and 2026 cutoffs.

ReviserBac1 min read

The national engineering degree takes five years through a two-year prep followed by a three-year engineering cycle, or six years through a licence then a three-year engineering cycle.

Classic prep

After two years, students sit the national competition for the engineering cycles and choose their school by rank.

Integrated prep

It is taken in an institution that also runs the engineering cycle. There is no national competition: entry is on record, and second-year passers join the engineering cycle within about 80% of them, ranked by results. The best licence graduates share the other seats, within about 20%. The 2026 guide lists 12 institutions.

Easier to get through, harder to get in

Demand to get in is high. In 2026, INSAT's integrated prep (code 10520) closed at 189.010 for mathematics students and 199.792 for the computer science section, at the level of medicine.

Before choosing, look at the institution's engineering specialties: an integrated prep only leads to the ones it offers. The orientation simulator compares your score with preps and licences in the same region.

After the BacPractical guide

The 7% regional bonus: who gets it at orientation

The regional bonus multiplies your score by 1.07 for programmes near your lycée. Conditions, exclusions and a worked example from the official 2026 guide.

2 min read
After the BacPractical guide

The orientation choice card: the official rules

Ten slots, six choices minimum, a single test programme, the order of choices: the official choice card rules and how the assignment is computed.

2 min read