Concours Banque PT

It is a shared national entrance competition used by a group of French engineering schools to recruit students from the PT preparatory track. You sit written papers, and if you are declared admissible you go on to oral and practical tests. Places are then allocated by ranking across the member schools according to your preferences, so there is no single pass mark.

The mathematics and physics demands are comparable to other scientific concours, but the PT syllabus adds substantial engineering sciences, which many candidates underestimate. Difficulty is relative: because ranking is against the PT cohort, the practical question is where you stand in your class and in mock papers, not an absolute score.

Rules on retaking, five-year windows and repeating the second year of CPGE are set by the official organising body and can change. This page does not state them. Check the current official notice for your session before making any decision about repeating a year or re-registering.

Paper lengths, the number of exercises and the overall session timetable are fixed each year by the official body, so no figure is given here. Consult the official website for the current subject durations and the calendar of the written and oral sessions before you plan your revision schedule.

Build mathematics and physics continuously across both years, because everything else rests on them. Add engineering sciences from the start rather than cramming them in the second year, since mechanics of structures and automation reward long practice. Keep French/philosophy and the language alive weekly, with short regular work rather than last-minute blocks.

Typically through weak modelling habits: jumping to formulas without a clear free-body diagram, sloppy unit handling, and failing to justify assumptions in mechanics of structures or automatic control. Examiners reward a clean method and clear reasoning even when the final number is wrong, so practise writing full solutions under time pressure.

Very. Being admissible only qualifies you for the second stage; the orals and practical tests then carry real weight in the final ranking. Candidates often prepare them too late. Rehearse speaking through a physics or engineering problem aloud, and practise bench work and measurement handling well before the oral period begins.

These are published each year by the official organising body of the concours, and they change between sessions. This page deliberately gives no dates, fees or pass figures. Go to the official Banque PT website for the current registration window, fees, session calendar and the list of participating schools.

Treat them as full rehearsals: strict timing, no notes, complete written solutions including justifications. Then spend at least as long correcting them, classifying errors as knowledge gaps, method errors or careless mistakes. Tracking that classification across several mocks tells you far more about your likely ranking than the raw mark does.