“I did not really have the choice, there was no school near my home …” Jeanne, 19, is an orthoptist student in Lille. In her city of origin, Château-Thierry, in the department of Aisne, she could not continue her studies after the bac in this sector which interested her. “Basically, I didn’t really want to come here … I bored a little. There, there is my family, my friends, my evenings. In Lille, when I’m in my apartment, I’m all alone. »»
Like her, many young people leave their city to follow their studies, with more or less enthusiasm. In 2022, among 571,000 neobacherymen residing in France, 58 % thus left their area of employment of origin to integrate higher education, according to an information note published in January 2025 by the sub-directorate of information systems and statistical studies (sies), the statistical service of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research. Among these young people, 17 % even change regions.
Training unevenly distributed in the territory
The training offer in higher education being unequally distributed in France according to sies, mobility is influenced by the lack of opportunities in certain areas, as for Jeanne.
The majority of training is located in major cities. Thus, 48 % of the places offered on Parcoursup are found in “the major agglomerations with a high concentration of metropolitan functions”, specifies the note. 35 % is in other large cities with large employers and 8 % in diversified economy areas. Finally, “residential, tourist areas, specialized in agriculture or industry, group together only 9 %”.
Paris alone concentrates 15 % of the national training offer – 110,000 places – while only 11 % of neobacher holders live there.
First year students who travel the most far from their home, on average at 250 km, are those who join a business school, an engineering school or a preparatory class: the majority of these schools are located in Paris, Lyon or Lille, unlike BTS, better distributed in the territory. Thus, those who most often change regions to study are students in engineering school (37 %) and business school (34 %).
48
%
Places on Parcoursup are in “Large agglomerations with a high concentration of metropolitan functions”
Said
Conversely, neobachemers who change the region the least often are registered in Pass (5 %), BTS or LAS.
The neobacher holders with a general baccalaureate are more mobile
The type of training is not the only criterion to influence the mobility of first -year students: the bac and the mention obtained also play a role. It is the holders of a general baccalaureate who leave the furthest. “The neobacher holders with a general baccalaureate are more mobile: 61 % change their employment zone, against 53 % for those with a technological baccalaureate and 47 % for a professional baccalaureate,” specifies the sies.
If general baccalaureate holders are 95 % in a quarter of the employment areas, technological and professional graduates are more dispersed. The latter are particularly present in rural areas, where they represent 39 % of students, against only 13 % at the national level. Conversely, general graduates are under-represented in these areas.
Finally, the higher the mention, the more the probability of leaving your region increases: 74 % of graduates with congratulations from the jury require mobility, against 60 % for those without mention. These disparities are also found in the geographic distribution of students. The neobacher holders who have obtained a TBF mention are more concentrated in urban areas.
The social environment influences student mobility
The choice of training of neobachery holders on Parcoursup also reveal differences according to social origin: the most mobile are those which “are of social origin favored with regard to the chances of academic success”.
In 2022, among half a million candidates who formulated at least one wish, 63 % plan to change their employment area for their studies. But this desire for mobility varies according to the profile of the students: “59 % of neobachers of very favored social origin are mobile, against 50 % for students of disadvantaged social origin”, specifies the study of the sies. In fact, 21 % of the very favored changes region, compared to 14 % of disadvantaged.
Result, social origin also influences the geographic distribution of students after the bac. Students of wealthy backgrounds are less numerous in rural communities, where they represent only 29 % of the workforce, against 42 % nationally. Conversely, moderately favored students are more numerous than the average. Likewise, students of disadvantaged origin are more present in these rural areas (20 % against 14 % at the national level).
Result of these mobility: in the territories where the training offer is limited, four in five neobachers must leave to continue their studies.
