> Public university programs charge only a small tuition fee of about 200 dollars for most programs.
Public universities are indeed very cheap and they tend to offer more and more English programs to attract foreign students. However, they're usually not prestigious as there is very little selection to get in. The brightest students usually follow a different path.
> Other, more elite institutions have adopted a model that requires students to pay fees that are based on the income of their parents.
I think they refer to business schools which are mainly private and more expensive. However, the best scientific schools are public (and pretty much free) but there are very specific admission conditions, and teaching is mostly done in French.
This comment is very true, but I would like to add that if the public Universities have quite a bad reputation for the first two or three years, the level of the Msc (in France it's 5 years of University) is decent, and still free.
> Public university programs charge only a small tuition fee of about 200 dollars for most programs.
Public universities are indeed very cheap and they tend to offer more and more English programs to attract foreign students. However, they're usually not prestigious as there is very little selection to get in. The brightest students usually follow a different path.
> Other, more elite institutions have adopted a model that requires students to pay fees that are based on the income of their parents.
I think they refer to business schools which are mainly private and more expensive. However, the best scientific schools are public (and pretty much free) but there are very specific admission conditions, and teaching is mostly done in French.