Design preparatory course: is it really necessary to do one before starting school?

Should you do a preparatory design course before entering your chosen school? The question comes up every year in the final year of high school, often with the same anxiety: fear of not being accepted into a selective school, fear of wasting a year, fear of paying for nothing. The honest answer is that a preparatory course is neither mandatory nor useless—it depends on your profile, your project, your budget, and the school you're aiming for. This article reviews real-life situations where a preparatory year makes all the difference, those where it's pointless, and concrete alternatives for those who can do without it.

What a design preparatory course really is today

A design foundation course—or art foundation course—is a year of full-time study between high school graduation and entry into higher education. Its official objective is to prepare students for the entrance exams and competitions of public and private art and design schools. Its real objective for many students is to build a credible portfolio and explore several disciplines before making a final decision.

The landscape changed significantly in 2018 with the discontinuation of the MANAA (Mise à Niveau en Arts Appliqués), a state-recognized one-year diploma. It was replaced by the DN MADE — Diplôme National des Métiers d'Art et du Design — a comprehensive three-year program (equivalent to a Bachelor's degree). Today, when we talk about "preparatory classes," we are referring either to an independent preparatory year (public or private) or to a year integrated into a Bachelor's degree program at a specialized school.

The content of a good preparatory course covers five main areas: observational drawing, visual culture, artistic expression, design project, and preparation for admission interviews . The best programs add a digital dimension (introduction to Adobe software, initial projects using Figma) and an exploration of the different design specializations (graphic, product, spatial, fashion, motion, illustration). For a broader perspective on the challenges and best practices, the article on art preparatory courses details the key elements to focus on in an application.

The 3 situations where a design prep course really changes the game

Rather than answering "it depends" to the question, here are three concrete cases where a year of preparatory classes brings a real gain — enough to justify the cost and the additional year.

1. You are aiming for highly selective public schools

The most prestigious public art schools—ENSAD (Arts Déco), ENSCI (Les Ateliers), Beaux-Arts de Paris, and regional art schools—have acceptance rates between 3% and 8% . The juries receive portfolios that are already highly developed, sometimes prepared over two years. Without a full year of technical work, a high school student's portfolio with a few sketches simply doesn't stand a chance.

In this case, preparatory classes are not a luxury but a realistic condition for entry. Public preparatory schools (Estienne, Olivier de Serres, Duperré for their preparatory year) or specialized private workshops (Atelier de Sèvres, Prep'Art) have historically been the royal roads to these public schools.

2. You did not receive any art education in high school

If you didn't take visual arts or art history as a specialization in high school, your cultural and technical background is mathematically behind that of students who studied art for four hours a week for three years. This gap can be closed, but it's difficult to close while pursuing a demanding Bachelor's degree.

A preparatory course allows students to bridge this gap before starting school: mastering the fundamentals of drawing, acquiring a basic visual culture (artistic movements, key designers, graphic conventions), and arriving at the Bachelor's level with the same starting point as other students. This is probably the situation where the return on investment is the clearest.

3. You are hesitating between several specialties

Graphic design, product design, spatial design, fashion design, motion design, illustration, UX… The design disciplines are numerous and radically different in their daily practice. Choosing a specialization directly in a Bachelor's degree without having tried two or three is a risky gamble.

Good preparatory classes rotate students through several disciplines in short cycles, allowing them to arrive at engineering school with a clear and well-thought-out plan—not a choice forced upon them simply because they had to tick a box on Parcoursup. This exploratory dimension is the most underestimated argument in favor of preparatory classes.

The 3 situations where design prep is useless

Conversely, there are those for whom preparatory classes are a superfluous expense—or even a pointless delay. No reputable school will tell you this, because no school has any interest in discouraging paying applicants. Here's the honest side of the story.

1. You already have a solid personal portfolio

If you've been drawing for years, have already completed personal graphic projects (illustrations, visual identity, professional photography), and can discuss your approach in an interview, you probably don't need a preparatory course. Reputable private schools admit students based on their application and an interview, valuing motivation, personal culture, and potential more than a preparatory diploma.

2. You enter a private school that provides training from the first year

Most private design schools (visual communication, graphic design, and applied arts schools) offer a Bachelor's degree that starts at the high school diploma level and provides students with technical training from scratch. The first year of the Bachelor's program serves exactly as a preparatory year: refresher courses, exploration of disciplines, technical fundamentals, and the creation of an initial portfolio.

In this case, adding an independent preparatory course beforehand means paying twice for the same year. Most of these schools operate on an admissions basis outside of Parcoursup , which also simplifies the application timeline.

3. Your family budget is tight

A private preparatory course costs between €5,000 and €8,000 for a year, and this is not recognized by a state diploma. Added to three or five years of Bachelor's/Master's studies at €8,000 per year, the total cost often exceeds €35,000 for the entire program. If your financial situation is precarious, preparatory courses should be the first expense to consider—especially if the Bachelor's program you're considering already offers a preparatory year integrated into its curriculum.

Public, integrated, or private preparatory classes: 3 distinct approaches

Once the decision to do a preparatory course has been made, the format still needs to be chosen. Three models coexist, each with its own logic.

Public preparatory courses remain the best option in terms of cost and educational quality—but their selective admissions process makes them inaccessible to most applicants. Independent private preparatory courses offer more flexibility but are expensive for a non-degree year. A preparatory year integrated into a Bachelor's program is probably the best compromise for those who already know which school they want to attend: continuity of instruction, guaranteed admission to the second year, and consistent portfolio tracking over four years.

How much does it really cost and what kind of return can you expect?

The economic calculation deserves to be done calmly, without the filter of panic surrounding Parcoursup.

A year of private preparatory courses costing €7,000 represents—by comparison—the equivalent of a year's net salary after four years of study for a beginning graphic designer. It's a significant sum, justified only if it provides a measurable benefit: entry into a school inaccessible without preparatory courses, a technical skill level impossible to acquire independently, and a clarified career path.

The true hidden costs to include in the calculation:

• The extra year : a 12-month delay in the start of one's career, representing a loss of earnings of approximately €25,000 in the long term
• Equipment and supplies €800 to €1,500 for an artistic year (paper, paint, software, drawing materials)
• Housing and daily life : if the targeted preparatory course is in another city
• The psychological effort A year of preparatory classes is demanding, with a sustained production pace and jury pressure.

The real alternatives to prep school

For those who can do without it, several alternatives exist to arrive at school with a solid application — without paying for a year of preparatory classes.

Building your portfolio independently

A coherent personal portfolio—8 to 12 varied projects over 18 months—is easily worth a preparatory certificate for most private schools. Schools primarily look for the ability to manage a project from brief to delivery , to justify choices, and to demonstrate genuine personal artistic sensibility. A well-maintained Instagram account, a graphic design blog, and documented personal experiments will suffice.

Prepare specifically for the admissions interview

Admissions to private schools largely hinge on the interview. Understanding the expectations, knowing how to discuss your project, and presenting your portfolio orally are skills that can be learned with a few weeks of targeted preparation. The article on how to ace your design school interview details typical questions and the expectations of the interview panel.

Take advantage of the integrated preparatory year

More and more private schools are offering a genuine preparatory year integrated into their Bachelor's programs . It follows the same educational approach as an independent preparatory course, but with the guarantee of progression to the Bachelor's program at the end and continuity of support. This option eliminates the risk of paying for a year with no job prospects and having to reapply everywhere.

To complete the first year of a university degree in visual arts

A lesser-known alternative is to complete a first year of university studies in visual arts (Paris 1, Paris 8, Strasbourg, Aix-Marseille) and then apply to a private art school after those 12 months. The advantages include: virtually no cost (university registration fees), academic recognition if you drop out, and exposure to university visual culture.