> You are not going to enter Polytechnique or ENS solely because of that. It still requires a lot of work or talent. What's interesting is what they put the em

> You are not going to enter Polytechnique or ENS solely because of that. It still requires a lot of work or talent. What's interesting is what they put the emphasis on. Polytechnique is probably the most theoretical math heavy engineering program I've ever seen. It's probably better exemplified by an anecdote from someone who did a double diploma from Polytechnique Paris and Montreal. He got flak in Paris for solving a problem using a numerical approximation, because there was a way to get to an exact answer. And in Montreal he was asked by a professor if he could "borrow his micrometer CNC machine" since he gave an answer that was way too precise for the material whatever he was working on was going to be made of.