Chapter 1: CROUS

The first thing I set out to do after I got my Erasmus place in Paris was to, however I could, get a place at CROUS (Centre régional des œuvres universitaires et scolaires).

This accommodation is really good value and therefore really sought after, getting a place there is all down to luck and the rent can vary between 130€ and 600€ a month (if you end up paying that much, you'll be living like a King). CROUS is linked with different cafes and restaurants dotted around Paris, you can eat at any of them for just 3€.

The green dots are the accommodation, the blue ones are the restaurants, red the cafes and the orange is the sport's centre.

The cut off date for applying to CROUS is the 30th April, so if you want to apply, as soon as you get your Erasmus place confirmed, get to work. They take weeks to send the documents that you need to fill out and send back so there's no time to lose.

Something that would've helped me massively when I was in your position would have been a step-by-step guide on how to apply, so here's one for you guys.

How to apply for CROUS residency

1. Take yourself over to http://www.crous-paris.fr/
2. Click on Suite de l'article 1, this will open the whole document, then click on number two: Connectez-vous sur la plateforme de saisie du dossier social étudiant en cliquant ici >> et complétez les renseignements demandés.
3. On this new page, click the second link: Saisir votre dossier social étudiant sans le n°INE. " This is for those who don't have an INE.
4. As you don't have an INE (French student ID), you have to select the following option: sans le nºINE = doesn't have INE.
5. Enter a password to use in the future.
6. Select the third option: Vous êtes scolarisé à l'étranger.
7. Choose Espagne (only if you're Spanish of course, haha) and then select the third option: Ressortissant d'un Etat membre de l'Union Européenne ou Islande, Liechtenstein, Norvège et Suisse, justifiant d'une situation particulière (travailleur communautaire, durée du séjour... ).
8. Select PARIS.
9. Select Logement and your type of degree (I chose the first option: licence 1º anneé).
10. Select your university in Paris.
11. Now you'll see the different accommodation options, pick whichever ones you want! You can have up to 4 choices.
12. On the last page they'll give you your INE, save this number in a word document or something, you'll need to know it in the future.

After correctly doing all this, like I said, you should save all the information given to you on the last page. Print screen it and save it on Paint or something.

After about two weeks you'll get a letter from CROUS, and you'll have to send it back (they give you the return address) with the following:

• A photocopy of your DNI.
• Income statement from 2009.
• Proof of study at your current university.
• The same thing if you have a sibling that is studying in a higher education facility (university too).

I don't remember if I had to send anything else, but it's pretty clear once you get the letter what you need. Don't forget to sign all necessary pages, and with every signature write "lu et aprouvé", then send it back to the desired address.

My experience

CROUS rejected my application, and didn't even tell me why, obviously I put that my parents earned more than 999999999 euros in 2009, so I wanted a place at CROUS rather than buying the Eiffel Tower to stay in...

Some other friends were rejected too, and again no one heard the real reason why, they probably had some other people they preferred.

However, I wasn't going to sit with my arms crossed in a strop, so after bombarding my coordinator in Paris with thousands of emails I decided to phone him and apply a bit of pressure.

Why did I get rejected? Do you have anything else for me? Did they reject the place due to a lack of money to pay rent? All these questions in fact made my lovely coordinator offer me a place in a shared 40 metre squared apartment in district 18 in Paris. All for less than 300 euros without even considering the help given by CAF (I'll talk about this soon).

So, if you keep pushing you'll get there in the end. Take my advice and follow everything up, the French are always hiding something up their sleeve, it'll work for you too.

Until next time!