how the cover letter reflects social inequalities between candidates

“I feel a little left to my own devices.” This year, Elise, 17, is not only stressed about the baccalaureate. Like the majority of high school students, she also spends her energy compiling files on Parcoursup. If the deadline for expressing wishes ends on Thursday March 14, the young woman still has until April 3 inclusive to write a CV, “future sheet” or even a cover letter for each training course that is close to her heart. A final exercise that disconcerts her. And Elise is not the only one, while the cover letter serves to justify her choices – even if this year, it is no longer systematically requested depending on the targeted course.. Mastery of the form of the text, presentation of extracurricular activities, importance of family support… Candidates are not equal in writing this letter, revealing social inequalities.

In 2022, sociologists Marion Valarcher and Marie-Paule Couto worked on this question. After the analysis of a corpus of motivation letters written by candidates for a sociology degree, they notably demonstrated that the social origin of the high school student influences their way of arguing. “The exercise of the letter is codified: you have to know how to arrange it, master the spelling and syntax. There are also implicit standards, such as staging your own journey, being able to translate it into the form skills that are academically profitable”deciphers Marion Valarcher.

Concretely, students preparing for a technological baccalaureate and having weaker cultural capital tend to use polite expressions such as “Please accept my respectful greetings”, according to the study. They praise qualities commonly valued in society: “rigorous”, “patient” or “dynamic”. In short, their way of writing,“relatively neutral”, does not allow them to stand out. Conversely, high school students from general streams, who do not receive scholarships and come from a privileged family, are more direct and personalize their text, by mobilizing “key terms or social science concepts”.

Know how to sell yourself

Eric Caup, head teacher at the Jules-Supervielle high school, in Oloron-Sainte-Marie (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), supports his final year students in compiling their files for Parcoursup. He notices that a “feeling of imposture” affects the sons of farmers and workers much more than others.

“In their letter, they often overvalue the school, sometimes sycophant it excessively. At the same time, they devalue themselves in their wording.”

Eric Caup, head teacher

at franceinfo

If Elise can count on the help of her main teacher in writing, she especially fears being “penalized” by his lack of experience outside of school. “I did some volunteering for the Fête de L’Humanité, but that’s it. It’s difficult to multiply activities in the countryside”, regrets the high school student, from a rural department. It aims for licenses and double licenses including philosophy, as well as literary preparatory classes to become a teacher. “I’m stressed because personal investment and motivation count” for these training courses, “between 20 and 30%” of the final grade, explains Elise.

A concern shared by Dilan, a high school student in Vitry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne). However, she has several strings to her bow: volunteer for the Jeunes solidaires association, winner, with the rest of her class, of the competition for young ambassadors, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs… “At the open doors [de Sciences Po Paris], I was told that you shouldn’t sell the perfect student. But on Parcoursup, we have the impression that that’s what they’re looking for.”underlines Dilan, who hesitates to mention his activist activities.

“It’s not easy to know what they will like.”

Dilan, high school student in Vitry-sur-Seine

at franceinfo

As with skills, there are experiences “academically profitable”repeats Marion Valarcher: “He may be courses at the conservatory, language stays or more generally the consumption of distinctive cultural products, such as visits to museums.” On the side of those who are less so, “we find all activities which are not supervised by adults and which are not directed towards the accumulation of legitimate cultural capital, such as playing sport outside of a structure, or spending time with friends”, lists the researcher. For Eric Caup, high school students also have experiences “legitimate” that they don’t think to mention.

“Having worked a summer job in the factory must be used. Even to join Sciences Po, the student shows that he knows the reality of the world of work and that it is not just academic.”

Eric Caup, head teacher

at franceinfo

What do post-baccalaureate recruiters think? Guillaume Lavalade, director of admissions at the Purpan engineering school (Toulouse), ensures that“to have been stimulated by traveling and practicing horse riding” are not enough to earn points. “It’s not so much the quantity of things you do that matters, but the values ​​you get from them”, he slips to the candidates. From experience, a good letter is, according to him, “the one that seems to be addressed to you” and in which the high school student “makes the bridge between the themes carried by the school which interest him and his own centers of interest”. “We have to guess your personality”adds Guillaume Lavalade.

Get help

Another inequality interferes between high school students: the importance of family support. “More on rise in the social hierarchy, the more help parents provide in writing the letter. This is not surprising because privileged families tend to overinvest academically. Conversely, working-class families are further behind, because they have less control”, notes Marion Valarcher. This lack of support is felt by Dilan:

“My mother can help me correct mistakes, but she doesn’t know what courses like Sciences Po expect of me.”

Dilan, high school student in Vitry-sur-Seine

at franceinfo

A survey by the National Observatory of Student Life, conducted in 2019, shows that 64% of high school students from a working-class family obtained help in writing this letter, compared to 80% for those from a privileged family. .

As a result, teachers come to support lonely students. “In the technological and professional series, teachers lack time to effectively support everyone, and tend to focus on the best students, with the idea that they can enter the school competition. In the general series, they focus more on the scholarship holders”, analyzes Marion Valarcher. Since December, Eric Caup has already conducted around forty individual interviews to help his senior students finalize their applications. He also talks about whole-class orientation during the Moral and Civic Education (EMC) course.

But most high school students interviewed by franceinfo, in other establishments, say they are frustrated by the lack of hours devoted to orientation. According to Lou-Anne, a student in a high school in the South-West, a total of two hours are devoted to Parcoursup during the year, during personalized support. “We haven’t been told about the letter yet. I’m a little worried, because it requires investment and reflection. However, this remains a challenge for many training courses,” regrets the young woman, who hopes to join an Institute of Political Studies (IEP).

Do not copy and paste

If the cover letter exhibits social inequalities, saying that it discriminates against candidates remains difficult to prove, as the training examination committees are held behind closed doors. High school students also believe that it allows them to reveal a certain side of themselves. “Even if we are not all supported in the same way, it remains necessary. Personally, I am not just a student. That is not what defines me and I would not like training to accepted only for my notes”supports Margaud, a student at the Louis-Barthou high school in Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques).

For Carole Berrouet, head teacher in a hotel high school in Loire-Atlantique, a change in the instructions must however be considered. According to her, “we should provide a list of questions to guide candidates” in the editorial. But like other teachers, she now fears the massive use by high school students of ChatGPT, which would completely distort the exercise. “We already had a lot of copy and paste of models found on the internet”regrets Cécile Chéron, professor in charge of BTS class recruitment.

“With artificial intelligence, letters will be less personal.”

Cécile Chéron, professor in charge of recruitment

at franceinfo

“It is the doubt that will accompany us with each reading”she concludes.