Thom attended the Lycée Saint-Louis in Paris and applied to enter the École Normale Supérieure but failed to gain entrance in 1942. Determined to take advantage of a university education at the École Normale Supérieure, he applied again in 1943 and this time he was:
Thom, nag-aral sa Lycée Saint-Louis sa Paris at inilalapat sa ipasok ang École Normale Supérieure ngunit nabigo upang makakuha ng pasukan sa 1942. Tinutukoy upang samantalahin ng isang unibersidad na edukasyon at ang École Normale Supérieure, siya-apply muli sa 1943 at oras na ito siya ay: