r/EPFL

Hello everyone, this year I’ll start to study in EPFL or a TU in germany but I’ll probably choose EPFL. I just want to ask is there nice clubs for socialising I mean in my life, I go to gym, I love running. I love drinking tea and I love video games, fantasy books and frp so is there any student clubs about running, gym, or maybe even frp. Btw my french is not very good so it would be a problem for socialising? I passed DALF C1 exam but I’m not very good at daily french and I have a little accent.

Bonjour à tous, cette année je vais commencer á étudier à EPFL ou dans un TU à l’Allemagne mais probablement je vais choisir EPFL. Je voulais juste demander si y a-t-il des club pour bien socialiser. Dans ma vie j’aime courir et aller à gym, j’aime bcp goûter des thés et j’aime bcp jouer an jeux vidéos, lire des livres fantastiques et jeux de rôle fantastiques. Donc est-ce qu’il y a des club de jeux de role, de courir, ou gym ou des choses comme ça. Et d’ailleurs mon français c’est pas très bien donc est-ce que ce serait un problème pour socialiser? J’ai passé l’examen DALF C1 mais je suis pas très bien en français quotidien et j’ai un petit accent. Et merci par avance pour vos réponses.

Salut, est ce que le bachelier en génie civil de l’epfl est l’un des plus difficiles ? Quels sont les notions les plus importantes ? En sortie d’étude est il facile de trouver un emploi à temps plein ? Quels sont vos conseils pour un étudiant en bac1 ?

Vos conseils et expériences svp

Sorry if this has already been asked, but how socially cooked will I be if my French is pretty bad? I’m from Italy and I’ll be starting a bachelor’s in CS.

Bonjour à tous,
Pourriez-vous svp me dire quelle banque est la plus intéressante en terme de frais de transfert d’argent Euro > CHF et en taux de change, pour un étudiant français à l’EPFL.
Merci !

Hi everyone,
I don’t know which bank to pick to get the lowest transfer fees from euro to chf ?
Many thanks

Hello! I am a student from Italy that really loves physics and art. I have been accepted to EPFL and Sorbonne to do a bachelor in physics. Reading online it seems to me that EPFL seems to be probably the “better” choice. I am really excited about the EPFL as an opportunity, the only thing that worries me is Lausanne’s and EPFL’s artistic and cultural scene. Art and in particular music ( especially underground and experimental) is really important to me and although I understand that it is hard to compete with Paris I was wondering how is the art/alternative scene in Lausanne and epfl. Also I read about the epfl pavilion but it seems to be no longer active. Thanks in advance for any answer!

Bonjour à tous !
Je suis une lycéenne tunisienne et je souhaite candidater à l’EPFL pour un Bachelor à la rentrée 2027. Je prépare actuellement à la fois le bac tunisien et le bac français, et je suis un peu perdue concernant la procédure à suivre en tant que candidate tunisienne/non-européenne.
Ma principale question est la suivante :
👉 Est-ce que je dois candidater à l’EPFL avec mon bac français ou avec mon bac tunisien ?
Est-ce que l’un des deux est plus avantageux ou est-ce que l’EPFL considère les deux de la même manière ?
J’aimerais également savoir, pour ceux qui sont passés par là :
quelles sont les démarches spécifiques pour un candidat tunisien ;
quels documents sont demandés ;
comment se passe la candidature lorsqu’on possède deux diplômes du secondaire ;
s’il y a des conditions particulières pour les candidats hors UE/AELE ;
et comment se déroule ensuite la procédure de visa/permis de séjour.
et surtout s’il ya des aides parce que c’est assez couteux
Si des étudiants tunisiens ou internationaux ayant été admis à l’EPFL pouvaient partager leur expérience, ce serait vraiment très utile 🙏
Merci beaucoup !

Hello, in September I begin my first Semester at EPFL, I'd like to find/build a table as follows:

Course code + name | Professor | Credits | WEEKLY TIMETABLE

Example:

CS-443 Machine Learning | John Smith | 8 | Tuesday (16h15 - 18h00), Wednesday (10h15 - 12h00), Thursday (14h15 - 16h00)

This is very similar to what you get from IS-Academia when you actually select a course to add to your study plan, BUT what if I want to see all the timetables AT ONCE of ALL the available courses (selected and unselected), so that I can use this info to assess multiple valid combinations faster than manually building them one by one inside IS-Academia?

je vais passer la Maturité Fédérale en autodidacte mais je ne sais pas quoi choisir comme options spécifique , j'ai un bac francais general . Franchement je n'ai pas eu des bonnes notes en francais , Maths et PC , est ce que vous avez des conseils ?

in english :

I am going to take the Federal Swiss maturity as a self-taught student, but I do not know which specific options (options spécifique OS ) to choose since I have a general French baccalaureate. and honestly i didn't get good grades in Frensh , Mathematics and Physics/Chemistry .

Do you have any advice ?

Hello everyone,

I was considering to start applying sometime next year, but wanted to know if I stand a chance.

I am almost done with my masters at Georgia Institute of Technology with a 4.0 GPA and 3 publications under my belt (first author in 2 IEEE papers) with infrastructure and systems industry experience and open source contribution.

My undergrad gpa isn't the best as I had to work at the same time while finishing it.

I might have a 4th IEEE publication by the time I graduate depending on how well it goes with my advisor.

(I'm a non EU citizen)

Please advise

H,i i just had a quick question about workload. Everyone says that the first year is the hardest, but does it mean that it gets a bit easier in the second or third year or is the workload practicly the same ?

Hi all,

International student here. So I submitted my documents at the Swiss embassy near me about two and a half months ago. They said it has to go through the cantonal government for final approval. About three-ish weeks until the term starts and I’m getting nervous. I just wanted to ask if people are aware about any resource at Vaud that I can reach out to ask about the status of my application?

Additionally if there are delays, do people know how long the university is willing to wait before forfeiting your student status. Any help/advice y’all can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'm starting my maths bachelor in september and I'm trying to find out which lectures get recorded. I live far from Lausanne and the commute is long, so I need to plan ahead.

- MATH-100(a) Analyse avancée I - Boumal

- MATH-110(a) Algèbre linéaire avancée I - Kressner

- MATH-113 Algèbre I - Wyss

- PHYS-101(f) Mécanique - Bréchet

- CS-119(l) ICC - Doeraene

Does anyone know whether these teachers record their lectures, and if so where the videos end up (Mediaspace, Moodle, ...)?

Thanks!

Hello,

I successfully completed the CMS last year and will be starting the bachelor cycle this fall in mathematics. I wanted to know how difficult the jump is to BA1 when coming from the CMS. I’d imagine the workload is pretty similar, with more advanced content?

In the pre matriculation form they require the degree certificate and propose three different methods of authentication: qr-code, digital signature, online platform + code.

I have a bachelor from Sapienza University of Rome and a degree certificate which has a digital stamp that can be verified via free third party software.

This system isn't part of any of the possible methods, therefore I must select the option "none of the above", which requires the email of those responsible in my university for the certificate authentication.

The problem is that my university doesn't have any entity/person with that role and I can't contact them to ask what to do as they are on holiday.

What should I do for my matriculation?

Hello! I'm wondering how October break is generally used by engineering students at EPFL.

I'm thinking of going to visit my family during that week but I wanted to get some feedback as to if that would be a wise choice or if I'm better off using that time to study. For example I know many people would advise not to take December off because of exams, I was wondering if maybe something similar applies to October or not.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I’m an exchange student coming to EPFL from Japan this September and will be living in Lausanne. I’m looking into public transport (metro/bus) subscriptions and would like to double-check how the Mobilis pass discounts work.

I’ve read online about two different savings options:

1. Mobilis Jeune / Junior pass (for under 25s)
2. Ville de Lausanne subsidy (50% reduction coupon for young people in education)

Could someone clarify a few things for me?

• How it works: Does the 50% city subsidy apply on top of the already reduced Mobilis Jeune annual price (zones 11 & 12), or is it calculated differently?
• Resident Registration: How long does it usually take to get the city subsidy voucher after registering at the Contrôle des habitants in Lausanne? Is it better to buy a monthly pass first while waiting for registration/vouchers?

Any advice on the cheapest way to get around Lausanne for a newly arrived student would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone!

I’m starting my Bachelor in Microengineering (Microtechnique) at EPFL this September. I passed the entrance exam, and I’d say I already have a pretty solid grasp of the CMS material. I’m also pretty comfortable with algebra and analysis, so I don’t feel like I need to spend my whole summer reviewing the basics.

I still have some time before classes start, though, and I’d like to use it wisely to prepare for the first year.

I’ve heard that the first year at EPFL is pretty tough and that around 50–60% of students fail or don’t make it through, so I’d really like to avoid going in completely unprepared 😭

I’m asking students from any section, not just Microtechnique:

• What would you recommend studying/reviewing before starting EPFL?
• Are there specific first-year subjects that are worth getting ahead on?
• Should I focus more on physics, programming, chemistry, mechanics, etc.?
• Are there any courses, books, websites, or resources you’d strongly recommend?
• And what do you wish you had studied before starting?

I’m not trying to learn the whole first year in advance 😂 — I just want to spend the remaining time preparing for the things that actually make a difference once the semester starts.

Any advice from current students or people who already went through first year would be greatly appreciated!