What is the DAP (Demande d'Admission préalable) process like? Who is concerned?

The DAP (demande d'admission préalable, or preliminary admission request) is the application you must make if you are a non-EU student and want to enter the first year of a bachelor's degree (Licence 1) at a French public university or a school of architecture. It does not apply to later years of a bachelor's, master's or doctoral programmes, or to exchange students.

If you hold a French baccalauréat, or you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, you apply through Parcoursup instead.

How to apply depends on where you live:

1. You live in an Études en France country: submit your DAP online on the Études en France platform. See the list of countries.
2. You live in another country: submit the DAP form (the "white file") to the cultural service of the French embassy in your country.

Key dates for the September 2027 intake:

• 1 October 2026: applications open
• 15 December 2026: deadline to submit (some countries close earlier)
• by 30 April 2027: universities send their answers
• by 31 May 2027: you must accept one offer; no answer counts as a refusal

You can choose up to three universities.