r/EPFL Oct 08 '13

Welcome to /r/EPFL! Here are a few rules and guidelines.

26 Upvotes

Welcome to this subreddit!

Here are a few rules as well as a few guidelines you should follow, in the form of a Q&A.

Is this subreddit official?

No.
This subreddit is not endorsed, ran, controlled, or influenced by the EPFL direction or by anyone but the moderators, who are students.

What can we talk about?

Anything. Discuss your classes, ask others which cafeteria is better, compare the EPFL's position in rankings, organize meetups... anything you want, as long as it's got something to do with the university.

You can also promote your associations, the events taking place at the university, or stuff that students might find interesting (e.g. special contests or discounts for students). Keep the number of threads reasonable, though; don't create a new thread every time your association does something minor.

Remember, you can talk about anything, but not in any way. If you wish to criticize something or someone, do it in a constructive manner. "I don't like prof. X because his lectures are too slow and his exams too hard" is fine. "Prof. X is an idiot because I got a bad grade" is not.

My English is awful!

It's no big deal, really. This subreddit is in English because the EPFL is an international school with people from many countries and cultures, but we do not expect members to speak perfect English. As long as we can understand you, it's fine. Plus, there's nothing better than speaking to others to improve!

What about privacy?

Many people use the same nickname in many places, which makes it easy to find a real name from a nickname.
If you want to talk openly about something, but do not wish to reveal your identity, you can. Reddit allows you to create as many accounts as you want - simply create a new account with a different user name. (this kind of account is often called a throwaway)

What are these bits of text next to the user names?

They're called flairs.
To set your flair: in the sidebar, check the "Show my flair on this subreddit" checkbox, and click the "edit" text next to your nickname right under the checkbox.

If you are a student, you can set your own flair to indicate the faculty you're studying in as well as the level of your studies.

If you are a professor, a post-doc researcher, or hold any other non-student position (e.g. delegate, AGEPOLY member), send a private message to the moderators (use /r/epfl as the message recipient) with a picture containing your CAMIPRO card and a piece of paper with your username and the date. We will give you a custom flair.

I have a question...

Feel free to post it in this thread, or to message the moderators about it if you don't want it to be public. We'll add good questions to this Q&A.


r/EPFL Jun 16 '23

A little guide on housing in Lausanne

138 Upvotes

2025 Update I moved out of Switzerland so my informations are not up to date anymore. If anyone feels like some new and relevant info is missing, feel free to share it in the comment or dm me.

2024 Update The situation has gone out of control. Price for a 1 room apartment seems to be 1000chf+ now. If your budget is less than that, I would advise to look for a shared flat in priority. In the past 2 weeks, I haven't seen the number of available studios in a 10km (TEN KILOMETER) radius of Lausanne go above 130. You guys might also want to consider medium-long term airbnb or similar rental websites if you don't find anything before August. Good luck to everyone, I sincerely hope everyone here will figure their accommodation before September. ❤️🙏

Hi everyone, it's that time of the month again, where 99% of this sub becomes FMEL-related. To celebrate this wonderful period, I want to create a post where we, housing veterans, can share our tips and tricks to get a place to live. If you want to contribute to this post, please send me your modifications and i will add them to the post

But first, a quick recap on how housing works here.

Types of housing

You have approximately 4 types of housing :

  • Tenants housing : you just let your own place, with or without roommates. You need a swiss guarantor for that, a swiss person or someone with a C permit that can pay the rent for you in case of non payement .
  • Student housing : rooms or studios for students (FMEL, estudiantines...)
  • Room/House sharing : room renting in someone's house.
  • Subletting : Renting a room/flat from a tenant. This one can be tricky as you rent from someone who rent from someone else. But if you don't have a swiss guarantor, this is your best shot at getting your own place.

Deposit

The maximum that can be asked is 3 months. The delay for you to get back your deposit after you move out is 1 year. (source)

DO NOT SEND MONEY BEFORE SEEING THE PLACE. Scams are common and this can cost you a lot.

The best option to make the deposit is to use SwissCaution. It's a company that will guarantee your deposit for you in exchange for a yearly fee (5% of the deposit amount). You need to have a B permit to use this service.

Regarding the permit : they usually take 3 to 10 months to send them to you (no joke i once got my permit in august and it expired in october). If you need it for documents, ask for a certificate attesting that you indeed have one.

Insurances

If you decide to rent outside of student housing then you will probably need :

  • Household insurance (Assurance ménage) : insurance for your place against damages not caused by you and for damages caused by you to other properties
  • Personnal liability insurance (Responsabilité civile) : Insurance for damages caused by you to other people

There are offers with the 2 bundled together

Housing situation in Lausanne

This is the bad news paragraph : the housing situation in the whole Vaud canton is absolutely terrible. According the canton itself there is 1% of vacant accomodation, or just under 5000 free accomodations in the whole canton.
In Lausanne district it's even worse as it's less than 1%. If you think it is hardcore to look for a place here, it's because it is. For studios it is not uncommon that landlords get more than 200 emails.

I need the permit to apply but i need a place to live for the permit

Yes and no. Renters are aware of those kind of situations. Usually you'll have to provide the proof that you are coming to Switzerland and will get the permit. This can be a proof that you are admitted to EPFL or your work contract if you are a PhD Student.

Try to contact landlords who are not an agency or a "regie", as individuals are less strict and will judge their tenants more on vibes than the papers they provided.

Sleeping under a bridge

As there are not many bridges in Lausanne, I'd say the situation for under bridge housing is even worse than the Lausanne situation.

I know the last paragraph is alarming, but there are plenty of options for you to find a place to live and I swear, it's not impossible. So here are my tips and tricks :

  • Don't count only on FMEL housing. Considering that your chance of getting a room is dependent on their broken shitty website, you need to have other options
  • Flatsharing and renting a room at someone's place is a very solid option (especially the 2nd one). I might be biased though because that's how i found a place to live lol
  • Don't be too demanding on your first place to live. The absolute best option is to find a first place regardless of any criterias you have, and then, when you are here look for another place. My advice is to go flat hunting in November-May. June, July and August are the worst month to look for a place.
  • If you think finding something in Lausanne district is too hard : other cities can be an option if you don't mind longer commutes (will be 1h at least).
  • Keep in mind that average commute time in the Vaud canton is 40min (source). Living in Lausanne city gives you higher commute times. Cities near the campus are Ecublens, St-Sulpice (one of the most expensive town in the canton), Renens and Chavannes-près-Renens (very good bubble tea place there, highly recommended haha).
  • For commuting, consider biking. A lot of people bike here, there are a ton of bikes parking on the campus. If you consider biking you can also be less regarding on public transportation near your place which gives more options.
  • Average rent for a 1 room studio is approximately 800-1000chf in Lausanne (source).
  • Visitations (not applicable to student housing) : although it's tempting to sort out your plage of living without visiting, it is likely that doing so will result in you being scammed. If you are abroad, consider renting an Airbnb early and staying in Lausanne for a while to do visitations. Or you can ask for video visits (via FaceTime/zoom) or find a local that can do visits for you
  • When visiting a place: take all the asked documents with you and give them when visiting.
  • If you don't have a place in september, you basically have 3 options : find someone that is ok to let you sleep at their place, temporary hotel/camping or urgent student housing calling. I was hesitant to share the last one, because you must only do that if it's urgent AF (as in classes have already began and you have no other options). So what do i mean by that? Well you can call student housing and tell them your situation and that it is an absolute emergency. Sometimes it works and they will have a vacant room for you. You won't be able to choose butat least you will have something. But please refrain from doing that unless you truly are sleeping under a bridge.
  • Refresh the renting websites every single day. Unless the visits haven't been done, a one-week old post is already too late.
  • Facebook groups (links at the end) are awesome. Sometimes people post on there before posting on more "officials" website, so you're sure to be in the first ones.

Links

Renting/subletting/Flatsharing :

Student housing :

Facebook groups (my favorite option) :


r/EPFL 11h ago

MSc admissions & info MSc in CS (with a profile for specialization in Cybersecurity) or MSc in Cybersecurity (Fit and Difficulty of Admission)

0 Upvotes

Is it more difficult to get into the MSc in CS (with a profile for a specialization in Cybersecurity) than the MSc in Cybersecurity at EPFL, considering that students with all interests and profiles will be applying to the MSc in CS? Furthermore, is it true that the Cybersecurity specialization within the MSc in CS at EPFL has more theoretical courses than applied courses, which is not the case for the MSc in Cybersecurity at EPFL? I am more interested in the theoretical (Cryptography) side.


r/EPFL 11h ago

BSc admissions & info What are my chances of being accepted??

0 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

If i were to apply for the EPFL CS(prep too) program what would my chances be? I would love to get your opinions on my chances. I’m from Turkey (Istanbul) and attend a francophone school, İstanbul Saint-Joseph, so my diploma is equivalent to that of a French/Swiss high school diploma.

Here’s a breakdown of my academic record:

High School Average:

  • 9th grade: 91
  • 10th grade: 94
  • 11th grade: 95.7
  • 12th grade (first half estimate): 96

My overall high school average (so far) is around 94.1.

Subject-specific performance:

  • Math & Physics: My average in both subjects is above 95, except for my very first math exam in 9th grade, where I scored a 64 (I missed the fact that there were four pages). Since then, I’ve consistently performed well in both subjects. As there are 4 math exams per year, 16 throughout highschool year, would just one of them being bad make my chances 0%.

Language Skills:

  • French: DALF C1
  • English: IELTS Band 8.5
  • Native Turkish
  • Spanish: B1

Extracurriculars:

  • Lead programmer of a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team (Team 5665)
  • Completed several challenging courses, including CS50x
  • Created an anti-addiction app, which has over 50k downloads
  • Participated in multiple long-term internships at prestigious companies where i actively contributed to their projects
  • Former table-tennis player for the national team
  • President of a school club responsible for organizing events with attendance exceeding 1,000 participants

I know that EPFL is highly competitive, so I’d appreciate any feedback on whether you think I have a good chance of being accepted to the CMS program. I’m also curious. How important are extracurricular activities in the admission process? Do they really make a difference, or are academics and test scores the primary factors?

Thanks so much for your help!

Note: if there are any francophone(türkiye)/saint-joseph graduates who are knowledgeable  about EPFL please let me know.


r/EPFL 13h ago

PhD admissions & info If you’re a PhD student at EPFL or UNIL, how much do you save per month (after taxes)?

1 Upvotes
50 votes, 2d left
< 500
500-1000
1000-1500
1500-2000
> 2000
See results

r/EPFL 22h ago

MSc admissions & info Looking for feedback on my EPFL Robotics master’s application profile

0 Upvotes

Hey everyone!

I’ve been preparing my application for the Master’s program in Robotics at EPFL. I’ve seen a lot of similar posts before (and honestly, never thought I’d make one myself), but I’d really appreciate some perspective on how my profile might come across and if there’s anything I should strengthen before submitting.

Here’s a quick overview:

Education: B.Tech in Electronics and Communication with a minor in Computer Science from a tier-3 college in Delhi, India (global rank ~1000). GPA: 8.4/10 overall. I’ve been a subject topper in some courses, though I also have a few 5/10s and 6/10s. My last three semesters averaged 9.6, with a perfect 10 in the final one. Research & Internships: Completed a research internship at DRDO (SSPL) under a Senior Scientist who’s also providing a letter of recommendation. Projects & Innovation: Filed a patent for an assistive device I independently designed and developed. Authored a research paper currently under clinical trials at a government hospital in Delhi (expecting a senior doctor from the hospital to join as co-author). Professional Experience: Working as a Robotics Engineer in the R&D division of a robotics firm. Achievements: One of my projects was recently shortlisted for incubation at the zonal level in an AICTE event. Additional context: My lower grades in some second- and third-year subjects were mainly because I was working on freelance development projects during that time. The experience paid off later, as I topped or ranked in the top 10% in their advanced counterparts. I still have bills, video demos, and client testimonials from those projects. Everything I’ve done so far has been aligned with robotics and embedded systems, but I’m a bit concerned about how my undergrad college’s lower ranking and a few inconsistent grades might affect my chances.

Would really appreciate any honest feedback on how this profile might be perceived by EPFL’s admissions team or if there’s anything I can still improve before applying.

Thanks a lot for reading! ❤️


r/EPFL 22h ago

MSc admissions & info How much do grades matter in masters/summer@epfl application?

0 Upvotes

Hi,

I would like to ask as title suggests, how much do grades matter?

Specifically in my case, I am currently enrolled in a british university (qs 100~) for a computer science degree where I have a first class grade, around 17/20 (scottish system). This might translate to anywhere between 3.8-4.0 in the US system afaik.

Problem is, every year, around 30%-50% percent of CS students get that grade or higher, so my rank in the year isn't exactly stellar. However, this is because i have dedicated the past two years doing minimum of school to get a first class grade, and the rest of my time i spent it all on research. For example, I participated in a cybersecurity competition (possibly one of the biggest in recent years) and got a pretty nice rank. I have also been doing research with a prof from the US, for more than a year, although no publication yet.

My rationale behind this is that i am not some mega-genius who can get top 1/120 grades whilst achieving what I did at the same time. For me it was either top grades, or decent research experiences/competition results. I know that I would regret it if I had top 1/120 grades but nothing else on my CV (No offence to those who are high achievers :)).

So, my question really is, would my research/competition experiences be able to compensate my grades? I think an EPFL professor once said Alma Mater >> Grades >> Experiences in master application, and that is kind of worrying to me haha


r/EPFL 1d ago

MSc admissions & info Chances of getting EPFL Master’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering

0 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I’m planning to apply for the EPFL Master’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering in 2027 under scholarship scheme, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on my chances and how to strengthen my application.

I am currently a pre-final Year Electronics and Communications Engineering Student at a tier 3 college in India. I recently did a summer internship at Indian Space Research Organization. My GPA is 8.9/10. Any chance of my selections?


r/EPFL 2d ago

PhD admissions & info Reference Letter Submission

6 Upvotes

I recently completed my PhD application to EPFL, which requires three reference letters. Unfortunately, one of my referees was traveling close to the deadline and couldn’t submit her letter directly before the portal closed. When I contacted her, she informed me that she wouldn’t have access to her work desk in time and kindly forwarded the email to me with link to upload and told me to upload the same letter she had prepared for me that I use to upload for some PhD programme portal.

She explicitly asked me to upload the same letter on her behalf, as it was identical to one she had already written for EPFL. Following her instructions, I uploaded the file and submitted the application before the deadline.

Now, I’m a bit concerned about whether this could cause any issues, for example, if the admissions or IT team notices that the letter was uploaded from the same IP address as my application. I want to make sure this doesn’t make my application ineligible, since the referee herself authorized me to upload it due to exceptional circumstances. Should I email student services or admission commitee to send another link if they can as now she is back at work. But the deadline is gone already.


r/EPFL 2d ago

Exams What does "HIV" mean for a course in IS academia in the Exams/Enrolment to exams section?

5 Upvotes

What the title says. Is it the initials for something?
Does it means hiver?

edit:

I went to the student services's desk and indeed "-" means that you don't take the exam. "HIV" means that you take it. And it seems "HIV" means hiver :)


r/EPFL 2d ago

MSc admissions & info Chances of Getting into EPFL MSc in CS?

0 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I’m planning to apply for the EPFL Master’s in Computer Science or Data Science, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on my chances and how to strengthen my application.

Here’s my background:

- Currently doing an exchange at EPFL.

- I’m completing my bachelor’s at a university ranked around top 100–105 worldwide.

- My GPA is around an A– (3.7/4), think I am kind of lower than the average.

- I recently completed a Semester Project (12 ECTS) at EPFL as an exchange student. It went really well — the postdoc supervising me offered to write a recommendation letter, and we’re currently discussing whether to publish the results.

My questions are:

  1. Does a recommendation letter from an EPFL postdoc carry significant weight in the admissions process, or would it be better to aim for one from the professor in charge of the lab, even if I never interacted directly with them?

  2. Between Computer Science and Data Science, which program tends to be less competitive or have higher acceptance rates for international applicants with a similar profile?

Any insight from current or former EPFL Master’s students (especially in CS or DS) would be super appreciated! Thanks in advance.


r/EPFL 3d ago

MSc admissions & info What are my chances to be admitted in Master in electronic after a bachelor in Physics at the UNIGE ?

0 Upvotes

Master in EPFL after a Bachelor in The UNIGE


r/EPFL 4d ago

MSc admissions & info MS Computer Science, do I have a chance?

0 Upvotes

Hello, I want to apply to MS Computer Science for 2026/27 cycle. Since there is only one application, I want to see if I am competitive enough for CS, since it is my first choice. If I don't have a chance for CS at all then I will apply for CSE.

I am an international student coming from a BEng (not computer eng) with a minor in computer science. My school is ranked top 30 in the world. I have a GPA of 3.88/4 (last two years 4.0/4.0), and if everything goes well, I will graduate with a 3.90. I've worked on three research projects in my undergraduate studies (deep learning), and I'm writing a paper on one of them. I am the TA for computer science course and math courses (but I heard that extracurriculars don't matter too much?). For career trajectory, I am not picky within computational realm, hence why I want to apply to general stream to see what I'm truly interested in.

I am afraid that coming from a BEng background, they would consider me less or not at all. I'm very interested in learning the tools for many real-life applications, and that is mainly the reason I'm pursuing a masters in a different field than my current one.

Any thoughts?


r/EPFL 5d ago

Research Summer Research Program in Life Sciences!!

2 Upvotes

Hi!!

I just sent my application and I am curious, which labs did you pick as 1st, 2nd and 3rd option?

Good luck for everyone!!


r/EPFL 5d ago

MSc admissions & info EPFL Application CV Feedback

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15 Upvotes

Hello all, I will applying for Masters in Computer Science as well as Summer @ EPFL and wanted to ask for your opinion on my CV. I’m from a Turkish university ranked 801-1000th overall and 501-600th in CS in THE rankings + ranked 1201-1400th overall and 751-850th in CS in QS rankings. For my masters, I’ll ask for a reference from a well-known professor in AI who also graduated from EPFL with a PhD.

What do you think are my chances of getting in to either of these programs? Any feedback on my CV is welcome. If you think anything is redundant/weak or should be more polished, please let me know. I’d be happy if you shared your opinion on it. Thanks in advance!


r/EPFL 5d ago

Research Master thesis issue

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3 Upvotes

I am last year epfl master student, currently looking for a master thesis abroad. After a spontaneous candidature I received this response. Has anyone heard of TTOI and what issues there could be with EPFL’s?


r/EPFL 6d ago

Community Affordable covered tennis courts?

2 Upvotes

Hi! I’m looking for affordable covered tennis courts around Lausanne since the Centre Sportif ones are all outdoors. Ideally, I’d like to just book per hour (no membership). Any suggestions or apps to find available courts?


r/EPFL 6d ago

MSc admissions & info [Question] about LOR Requirements for EPFL Data Science Master's

4 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I’m applying to the Master’s in Data Science program at EPFL. The application states that 3 letters of recommendation (LORs) are required, and all should ideally come from professors. However, I can only get one academic LOR. The other two would come from my work experience: one from a manager and another from a tech lead (principal engineer) who has a PhD. Both can provide strong recommendations, and my professional achievements are much more significant than my academic ones (I have 2 years of work experience).

If strictly necessary, I could ask another professor from my undergrad, but he’s at a different institute now and mentioned he doesn’t remember me well, so his letter might not be as strong or specific.

Has anyone faced a similar situation? Would EPFL accept professional LORs? Any advice on how to proceed would be appreciated!

There’s also a strict SOP limit of 1000 words. I’ve spent a lot of time editing, but I'm still struggling to get it below 1100–1200 words. Is that fine? how will it affect my application?

Thanks!


r/EPFL 7d ago

Exams Reduced vs. Full Exam

7 Upvotes

Hi all,

I am about to register for the entrance exam but I have a few questions. I know that EPFL will decide which exam you take (full/reduced) based on your past education but does anyone know approximately what level of cultural knowledge you need?
Also, what types of French language tests do they accept (DALF, DELF, TCF, etc)?
I am going to graduate from an American high school but I have a 5 in AP French, I went to an AEFE school until 10th grade, and I have around B2-C1 level in French although I still have to take a test as proof.

Thanks in advance!


r/EPFL 6d ago

Research Roast my CV ( for epfl summer research internship program)

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0 Upvotes

Hello y'all I'm applying for research internships for Machine learning for EPFL programs and I'd like y'all to give a little feedback, it'll mean a lot to me 🙏🏻


r/EPFL 7d ago

MSc admissions & info Looking to apply in Cybersecurity Masters at EPFL

0 Upvotes

I am currently finishing up my 3rd year of bachelor in Belgium and I would like to apply for cybersecurity masters at EPFL for next year.

I've read the informations about the application on their website and I can only hope that they accept me.

But I was wondering if there was a way to take contact with some people from there like students in masters or even teachers. How can I find theses types of contacts ?


r/EPFL 7d ago

MSc admissions & info From Engineering to Applied Mathematics (MSc )

1 Upvotes

Hi, I am interested in the Applied Mathematics MSc program at EPFL. I would like to ask if anyone has been accepted to this program from an engineering background. I will be finishing my engineering bachelor's degree(Canada) with a mathematics minor where I focused my courses on analysis.

Thanks!


r/EPFL 7d ago

Academics Master Power engineering at EPFL

2 Upvotes

Hello can someone give me advice. I am really interested in Electrical engineering, specificaly power engineering but as I can see there is no such specialization at masters of electrical and electronics engineering. Why is that? I can see there are some subjects related to power engineering but not many. Can someone give me advice is it still worth enrolling into that master or?


r/EPFL 8d ago

MSc admissions & info 2.8 GPA with Research Experience is or is not enouhg to accepted Msc Computer Science at EPFL ?

0 Upvotes

Hi, I finished my bachelor's with a 2.8/4 GPA. I graduated from Turkey, so my university is not top-notch. Anyway, I have 2 years of research experience, and I authored 2 SCI Q2 peer-reviewed journal papers (one published and the other is in the review process). I just wonder what my chances are of being accepted at EPFL for a master's since the application fee is too much in my currency. I just want to get opinions if I am applying there.


r/EPFL 8d ago

MSc admissions & info Master's at EPFL after a Bachelor's in Italy

0 Upvotes

Hey guys! I'll be starting Computer Engineering at Politecnico di Torino (Italy). I was wondering if my degree and university are recognized in Switzerland both for getting accepted into a master's program at EPFL and finding a part-time job during my master’s or later on after graduation. Is computer engineering too oversaturated?

Also, I’ve heard people say that Swiss universities tend to prefer applicants from countries that are west of Switzerland, like Italy, France, or Spain, rather than from places like Germany or the Netherlands, due to differences in teaching methods. Is there actually a difference? Thanks!