One word that stood out to me was that many of the french students wrote words associated with education, but many of the other words were similar. However, there were two words that stuck out to me. An american student wrote "journey" while a French student wrote "result". Do you think the journey or the result is more important in success?

Somewhat expected, a lot of MIT students put money or wealth when they talked about success. On the other hand, French students mentioned it few times, but mostly at the bottom of their list. There are questions here for both sides. Why is money so important for Americans? And why do French think it’s not as important for success? Do people need less money in France to survive, or they’re just not occupied with materialism?

Also, a lot of people on both sides associated success with happiness. So in your opinion, what are the things that are most important in order to be happy in France, or in general? ( I hope Americains won’t say money again :))

I noticed that although the two lists were very similar, the American students included some negative associations, while the French did not seem to.  For instance, one student thought that success was rare, and another though it left no time for family.  Yet another thought it made people stuck up.  Are any of these connotations in existence in France?

I also noticed the extra focus on hard work on the American side, but I find the focus on finishing school on the French side more interesting.

Is graduating from a good school in France a guarantee for success? It probably is for some notion of success (happy, worry-free and healthy life), but it won't immediatly lead to becoming a millionaire or owning a large company. But is it success when your job becomes your life?

I also noticed (Jovana also noticed) that the American side talked about money in success a lot more. I know in certain industries, how well you do in your job would dictate very heavily how much money you make so it serves almost as a measure of how apt you are at your job. On the other hand, perhaps it comes from the fact that Americans have a more consumerist society and money is a bigger part of culture and social stratification. What are your associations of Americans and money? Is the general opinion in France that Americans are obssessed with it or otherwise put too much emphasis on it?

Nous avons un rapport avec l'argent très différent des américains. Je donne un exemple : Lorsque qu'un américain se présente, il parle de lui, et peut aussi parler de son salaire (sauf si je me trompe). En France, quelqu'un qui parle de son salaire, est mal vu, et cela ne se fait pas du tout. On peut dire que le salaire est presque une information confidentielle.
Du fait que vous êtes beaucoup plus libre que nous pour parler de l'argent, nous fesons plus facilement ce lien, et alors vous semblez (mais ce n'est peut-être qu'une impression), donner plus d'importance à l'argent que nous.

I think that Jerome gives a good explanation for why the french responses did not comment on money.  Comparing the responses clearly indicates that Americans are more comfortable talking about money.  But even though Americans are less conservative than the French when talking about money, we still consider it impolite when someone talks about his or her salary.

I think it's unfortunate that a lot of people can't think of anything but money. I consider it success that I was accepted into MIT because I get the chance to work with amazing professors and classmates and I get a lot of opportunities that I wouldn't have had back home. However, I've heard people saying that MIT is a great place because they are going to be paid a lot after they graduate from here. If MIT is only going to give me a good salary (which I can’t be 100 % sure as well), then I don't think it's worth it staying here. 

I just thought of this example. Different people have different associations when it comes to success but it is sad when it’s all about the money. It feels like people are missing something from the big picture, right?

@ Jerome Duron

I agree that America places a very high importance on one's salary. Unfortunately, American society has usually shown that a lot of money is what makes someone a success. I believe that a person is a success when they are living a life that makes them happy. That is to say, they have a family if they wanted one, they have a job that they enjoy, and they live in a place that they like.

What is the general view toward success in France?

Je pense quand en France on à une plus grande importance sur nôtre vie en dehors du travail. Avoir un bon salaire aide dans la vie, mais l'argent ne fait pas le bonheur

Je suis d'accord avec Benji, l'argent ne fait pas le bonheur, mais je pense qu'il peut aider pour arriver au bonheur.

Effectivement avoir de l'argent permet d'éviter bien des soucis, de mettre sa famille à l'abri du besoin. Mais avoir trop d'argent peut aussi entraîner d'autres problèmes ...

@ Adrian

En France, la réussite est exactement associée aux mêmes choses, c'est-à-dire avoir une famille, un bon salaire, une belle maison, une belle voiture.  Je pense que l'idée est la même partout.

@MIT votre avis sr la question suivante:

Vous préférez avoir de l'argent et pas famille , ou pas d'argent et une famille???????

@ Jelle van den Hooff

Je pense qu'en France lorsque l'on sort d'une grande école la réussite est garantie si l'on continue à bien lutter pour conserver le travail. Pour répondre à ta deuxième question, la notion de réussite est très subjective selon moi. Certaines personnes préfèrent courir derrière l'argent jusqu'à ce que leur travail devienne leur vie tandis que d'autres accordent une grande importance à la famille. Et celà reste vrai dans le monde entier.