Is it better to take these courses at lycée or as preparatory courses at Polytechnique?

Taking the supplements at lycée allows direct admission with no preparatory year, but in Terminale students are overwhelmed and the supplements are often skimmed. Polytechnique's preparatory courses offer a dedicated pace to understand the concepts properly. In exchange, lycée students there sit alongside students from CEGEP, who are usually more comfortable with material they already command.

Who has to take Polytechnique's preparatory courses?

Candidates who have not covered the scientific prerequisites of the Quebec college level, for example a student of the French curriculum without the corresponding supplements, or with supplements missing. Polytechnique then imposes the relevant preparatory course or courses before or at the start of the engineering program.

Engineering admission, Polytechnique Montreal

Polytechnique Montreal's Preparatory Courses, in Detail

Q: What are Polytechnique Montreal's preparatory courses and which supplements do they match?

The preparatory courses are CHE0501 (General chemistry), MTH0101 (Differential calculus), MTH0103 (Integral calculus), MTH0102 (Vector algebra), PHS0101 (Dynamics) and PHS0102 (Electricity and magnetism). They correspond respectively to general chemistry 202-SN1-RE (formerly 202-NYA), mathematics 201-NYA, 201-NYB and 201-NYC, mechanics 203-SN1-RE (formerly 203-NYA) and electricity and magnetism 203-SN2-RE (formerly 203-NYB). A student who passed all six supplements at lycée has already covered all six preparatory courses.

When a candidate has not covered the scientific prerequisites of the Quebec college level, Polytechnique Montreal imposes preparatory courses. Each one corresponds exactly to a Quebec supplement taken at lycée. This page details the six courses, explains when it is better to take them at lycée rather than at Polytechnique, and where tutoring makes the difference. I prepare these courses, first of all as a mathematics tutor in Montreal.

Six courses detailed Equivalence with the supplements Polytechnique & ETS ★ 5.0 · 11 Google reviews

Get in touch WhatsApp

What these preparatory courses are for

Polytechnique Montreal expects its future engineers to command the mathematics, physics and chemistry of the Quebec college level, that is, the equivalent of the CEGEP courses. A candidate without those prerequisites, for example a student of the French curriculum without the corresponding supplements, has to take preparatory courses before entering the engineering program properly.

Each preparatory course covers the same scientific prerequisites as the matching Quebec supplement, even though the teaching approach and the assessment can differ. That is why a student who passed all six supplements at Collège Stanislas or Lycée Marie de France can be admitted directly, without going through these courses.

For how the supplements are spread across the lycée years, see the page on the Quebec supplements at lycée, year by year.

The equivalence table

Quebec supplement at lycée	Polytechnique code	Preparatory course
General chemistry 202-SN1-RE (formerly 202-NYA)	CHE0501	General chemistry
Mathematics 201-NYA	MTH0101	Differential calculus
Mathematics 201-NYB	MTH0103	Integral calculus
Mathematics 201-NYC	MTH0102	Vector algebra
Physics 203-SN1-RE (formerly 203-NYA)	PHS0101	Dynamics
Physics 203-SN2-RE (formerly 203-NYB)	PHS0102	Electricity and magnetism

Six supplements cover six preparatory courses. The chemistry course, CHE0501, covers general chemistry (202-SN1-RE, formerly 202-NYA), and the electricity course, PHS0102, covers 203-SN2-RE (formerly 203-NYB); solution chemistry (202-NYB) and waves and modern physics (203-SN3-RE, formerly 203-NYC) have no named equivalent in this list, and how they are treated is to be checked with Polytechnique. Conditions can change: always confirm with Polytechnique Montreal when the application is being prepared.

Each preparatory course in detail

MTH0101

Differential calculus

equivalent to 201-NYA

Limits and continuity, the definition of the derivative, differentiation rules and the chain rule, related rates, optimisation and complete analysis of functions. It is the gateway to all engineering calculus.

Advantage at Polytechnique: the course runs at a dedicated pace, leaving time to anchor limits and continuity, which are often skimmed in Terminale. Watch out: many classmates arrive from CEGEP, where this course is already well established.

MTH0103

Integral calculus

equivalent to 201-NYB

Antiderivatives and the definite integral, integration techniques (substitution, by parts, partial fractions), applications to areas and volumes, then sequences and series.

Advantage at Polytechnique: series, absent from the French curriculum, need time to be understood rather than merely applied. Prerequisite: solid differential calculus (MTH0101).

Practice periodic test 1 → Practice periodic test 2 → MTH0103 practice exam, with solutions → Differential equations, corrected exercises → Exercises: series → All of MTH0103: practice tests and exam → Next: Calculus I MTH1101, chapter by chapter →

MTH0102

Vector algebra

equivalent to 201-NYC

Linear systems, matrices and determinants, vectors in space, dot product, cross product and triple product, lines and planes in space.

Advantage at Polytechnique: the cross product and the triple product do not exist in the French curriculum. Meeting them at a dedicated pace avoids gaps.

Exercises: matrices and systems → Exercises: vectors in space → Exercises: lines and planes →

PHS0101

Dynamics

equivalent to 203-SN1-RE

Kinematics, Newton's laws, forces and friction, work and energy, momentum, circular motion and gravitation. The base of engineering physics.

PHS0102

Electricity and magnetism

equivalent to 203-SN2-RE (formerly 203-NYB)

Charge and electric field, potential, capacitors, circuits, magnetic field, the Laplace force and electromagnetic induction. A dense block that assumes dynamics is already solid.

CHE0501

General chemistry

equivalent to 202-SN1-RE (formerly 202-NYA)

Atomic structure and periodicity, chemical bonding and molecular geometry, stoichiometry, gases and thermochemistry: the content of CEGEP general chemistry.

Exercises: atomic structure → Exercises: bonding and geometry → Exercises: stoichiometry →

The exercise sets above are written in French.

Preparatory courses at Polytechnique, or supplements at lycée?

The preparatory courses cover the same scientific prerequisites as the matching Quebec supplements, even if the teaching approach and the assessment differ. What really changes is the conditions under which they are learned. Here are the two logics, without spin.

Doing the prep at Polytechnique

+A dedicated pace: time to understand properly rather than skim.
+Cleaner foundations for the rest of the engineering program.
−The path lengthens by a term or a year.
−At Polytechnique and ETS you sit with former CEGEP students who already command this material and start ahead.

Doing the supplements at lycée

+Direct admission, with no preparatory year.
+A term saved, sometimes a year.
−In Terminale students are overwhelmed: the supplements are often skimmed, or failed.
−The material is covered fast and superficially, without anchoring the concepts.

Where tutoring changes the outcome

For a student already in a preparatory course at Polytechnique, the aim is not to be left behind by the former CEGEP students: closing the gap quickly, on the precise points where they are more fluent (calculus, vector algebra, dynamics). For a student still at lycée, the aim is the reverse: passing the supplements in depth, without skimming, so as to earn direct admission. In both cases, targeted support in mathematics and physics is what makes the difference.

What the number of supplements changes at admission

6 supplements passed

All six preparatory courses are covered. Direct admission to competitive programs is possible, subject to results.

Supplements missing

Polytechnique imposes the corresponding preparatory course or courses, which lengthens the path.

0 supplements

A full preparatory year may be required before entering the program.

In short

Identify the missing supplements early, above all in mathematics and physics, before the application goes in.

Official source to check: Polytechnique Montreal, candidates from Collège Stanislas and Collège International Marie de France.

Frequently asked questions

What are the preparatory courses and which supplements do they match?

CHE0501 (General chemistry), MTH0101 (Differential calculus), MTH0103 (Integral calculus), MTH0102 (Vector algebra), PHS0101 (Dynamics) and PHS0102 (Electricity and magnetism). They correspond to general chemistry 202-SN1-RE (formerly 202-NYA), mathematics 201-NYA, 201-NYB and 201-NYC, mechanics 203-SN1-RE (formerly 203-NYA) and electricity and magnetism 203-SN2-RE (formerly 203-NYB). The six supplements cover the six preparatory courses.

Lycée or Polytechnique?

At lycée it means direct admission with no preparatory year, but in Terminale students are overwhelmed and the supplements are often skimmed. The preparatory courses offer a dedicated pace. In exchange, lycée students there sit with students from CEGEP who already command the material.

Who has to take the preparatory courses?

Candidates who have not covered the scientific prerequisites of the Quebec college level, for example a student of the French curriculum without the corresponding supplements, or with some missing. Polytechnique then imposes the relevant courses before or at the start of the program.