The complementary phase of Parcousup is open, while the main phase is not finished… This is enough to disturb some candidates, who do not know the procedure for this stage in all its details.
This will not have escaped the notice of final year high school students who are preparing to enter higher education, nor of their parents for whom these career choices are also a significant source of stress: as its name suggests, the Parcoursup platform sometimes resembles a real obstacle course. The stages follow one another quickly, in parallel with revisions for the baccalaureate, and students can find themselves lost in the face of all the possibilities and subtleties that they do not necessarily know.
The complementary admission phase began on June 11, barely a week after the start of the main phase… Enough to create confusion, and perhaps unnecessary haste, for candidates: no, the start of the complementary phase does not mark the end of the main phase, which does not end before July 11. But then, how do these two overlapping stages in the calendar work? Can we participate in both at the same time? What details should you know and what mistakes should you avoid? Julie Mleczko, editor-in-chief of Studyrama and Parcoursup specialist, sheds light on what future high school graduates need to know about this somewhat vague stage.
The complementary phase is aimed at all those who have not yet definitively validated an admission offer: either because they have not received one, or because they are on the waiting list, or because they have said “yes” while keeping their other wishes in the hope of obtaining better. “We are on a tight schedule to be able to satisfy everyone. There are only 9 days between the two, but things move very quickly in terms of waiting lists so we already have, unfortunately, candidates who find themselves with nothing”notes the expert. In short, this complementary phase “can be both distressing for those who say ‘what’s happening, it’s only just started’, but it can also be reassuring for those who are struggling.”.
But what most don’t know is that the complementary phase is stricter than the main phase: “This is an even more decisive choice, since Parcoursup is not going to let you have a ‘yes’ on the main phase, and a ‘yes’ on the complementary phase. That would mean that you would reserve two places, and that is not the aim of the game.” In this second stage, candidates can no longer say “yes but”, and keep their other wishes on hold. Because if you receive a “yes” from training in the complementary phase, you will be forced to accept it or simply refuse it, there will be no in-between.
“I think that for those who already have positive answers and who are waiting for better, it’s a bit risky. There are some who just go to see to reassure themselves, to check if they can be taken elsewhere. Yes, but be careful, you can be taken. And all of a sudden, that puts you in doubt”warns Julie Mleczko. Two solutions are therefore available: “Either you take the risk of refusing because you feel good enough in the waiting lists at the beginning, or you reassure yourself by saying I’ll take it there, too bad. But they can’t make you wait in the main phase and in the complementary phase, otherwise it won’t move forward. The only characteristic of the complementary phase is that you will have to quickly answer yes or no.”
The Parcoursup specialist however prefers to warn, saying “no” is a “poker move” very risky: “Answering no, when you’re on a waiting list everywhere for other wishes, can be a mistake. It’s always more reassuring and comforting, especially in view of the baccalaureate exams, to say to yourself ‘I have something just in case’. Either you will ultimately appreciate the training, or you will not necessarily like it, but you will validate still a year. You never lose anything by studying for a year, whatever the field. It’s always something new, skills you learn.”
