Study by level
Lumi adapts its subjects to your level. Here is how to study at each stage, in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Spain.
United States
- High schoolHigh school covers grades 9 to 12, with separate classes and regular quizzes and tests.
- AP examsAP, short for Advanced Placement, means college-level classes that end with a national exam.
- SAT and ACTThe SAT and the ACT are the two standardized tests used for US college admission.
- Community collegeA community college is a two-year school, often cheaper, that leads to an associate degree or a transfer to a four-year university.
- College or universityIn a US college, classes pile up with midterms and finals.
- Pre-medPre-med is the track that prepares you for US medical school, with science courses and an admission exam.
- MCATThe MCAT is the admission exam for medical schools in the US and Canada.
- LSATThe LSAT is the admission test for US law schools, built around reasoning.
- GREThe GRE is a standardized test asked for by some master’s and doctoral programs.
- Grad schoolGrad school covers US master’s degrees, PhDs and MBAs.
- Law schoolUS law school trains you for legal work in three years.
- Med schoolUS medical school is a four-year program with a lot of content to retain.
- Bar examThe bar exam is the test that lets you practice as a lawyer in a US state.
United Kingdom
- GCSEGCSEs are the exams that students in the UK sit at around 16, at the end of Year 11.
- A-levelsA-levels are the end-of-school exams in the UK, taken in a few chosen subjects.
- BTEC and T-levelsBTECs and T-levels are vocational or technical qualifications that lead to work, an apprenticeship or university.
- Entrance testsSome UK courses, like medicine and law, ask for an entrance test on top of grades.
- Undergraduate degreeA UK undergraduate degree often lasts three years and ends with a classified degree.
- Master’s degreeA UK master’s is often shorter than in many countries and very dense.
- Professional examsUK professional exams, like the SQE, ACCA or ACA, are often prepared alongside a job.
France
- Lycée (French high school)The lycée is the French high school, from seconde to terminale, with many subjects running side by side.
- BaccalauréatThe baccalauréat, or bac, is the national exam that ends the lycée and opens higher education.
- Classes préparatoires (prépa)Prépa is a two-year course that prepares students for the entrance exams of the French grandes écoles.
- BTS (advanced technician diploma)The BTS is a two-year vocational diploma taken after the bac.
- BUT (university bachelor of technology)The BUT is a three-year degree taken in an IUT.
- Licence (university bachelor’s)The licence is a three-year university bachelor’s.
- Master (two-year postgraduate degree)The master takes two years after the licence.
- PASS and LAS (first year of health studies)PASS and LAS are the two ways into health studies in France.
- Health studies after the first yearAfter the selection stage, health studies continue over several years of courses and clinical placements.
- Engineering schoolA French engineering school trains students in a three-year engineering cycle, often after a prépa.
- Business schoolA French business school offers programmes from the bachelor’s up to the grande école programme.
- Competitive exams (concours)A concours is an exam in which a limited number of places are awarded by ranking.
Spain
- BachilleratoBachillerato is the two-year stage before university in Spain.
- PAU (selectividad)The PAU, also called selectividad, is the university access exam in Spain, taken at the end of Bachillerato.
- Vocational training (FP)Spanish Formación Profesional prepares you for a trade with theory classes and work placements.
- University degree (grado)The grado is the Spanish bachelor’s degree, usually four years.
- University master’sThe máster universitario is a one or two year program after the grado, with a final project.
- MIRThe MIR is the national exam that gives access to specialist medical training in Spain.
- OposicionesOposiciones are the competitive exams for Spanish public-sector jobs, often prepared over months or years.
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