ETHZ, the best in Europe and the world

Are you planning on studying in Switzerland? Are you studying engineering? Go to ETH, in Zürich. It's an amazing university, their investigation teams are the best in the world, their budgets aren't so small, the Masters' classes are almost all in English, there are free language classes, a free gym, a multitude of student organisations that organise festivals, talks, parties and trips...

It's true that it isn't the cheapest city or country in the world. Each month you will spend at least around 800 euros. A room in a shared flat, not too close to the centre (30 mins via public transport) can cost in the region of 600 francs, the cost of monthly transport is about 60, food costs 200 francs... And I did not add even what you will spend if you go out partying, but a beer (not a pint, just a small draft) is 7 francs in the most normal places.

And travelling home isn't especially cheap either. You have Vueling to Barcelona, Easyjet to London and the rest of the normal companies like Iberia, Swiss...

However, how do you get to study at ETH? There are various options.

The easiest is if you university has an Erasmus agreement with ETH (for years Switzerland had some different agreements but now they work in a similar way to France, Italy or a normal country, still speaking of Erasmus of course). Ask and come to do a project or a semester or two abroad. The grant that they give you isn't so big, if they continue to give out grants, obviously, but hey it's something. Being an Erasmus student also has many other advantages regardless of the grant (young Iberia mainly).

If your university doesn't have an agreement, don't worry, mine didn't either. You could always request one, convince the teachers in both universities, but it's a bit of a nightmare, and you would have to do it well in advance. The other option is to ask for any Erasmus internships. A teacher from your home university has to say that they will supervise you from Spain and a teacher from ETH has to accept you as a student intern. Generally, the best way to go about it is to speak to a trusted teacher, or that you know is involved with foreign universities, or, if you're really really lucky, know is in contact with the ETH laboratory or department. You have to get the teacher from Switzerland to send you a letter of acceptance and present a few papers in international relations at your University, but I think that depends on each University. Of course, they can not give you a title while you are doing the internship. And as an additional detail... you can go one year of Erasmus internship, and another year of Erasmus studies, with scholarship and everything.

And the Erasmus grant that they give you, although it's only 6 months, is more than what you get as an Erasmus student going to university, three times more, which isn't saying much, but there's that.

Another option, the most complicated (or perhaps the most complicated it the last one, I'm not sure) is to come and do a full Masters here. No idea how much it costs, I only know that it isn't especially hard to get in.

And the fourth option, to come and do a PhD here. I have been studying in Spain for many years, and I never found as many students as here. There are just so many! They pay a lot, at least what they pay in Spain. You can live well with what they give you. You will have to work, but after seeing the labour market in Spain, it doesn't seem so bad. Of course, you have to be good because a teacher here will have to accept you (and it's not the practices that do not pay you, Europe pays you, the doctorate is paid by Switzerland, so they look at it more). And you have to be willing to be here between 3 and 4 years (more like 4 years).

Overall, I've been here only 2 months but it's worth it.

That, or I've simply been very lucky.

Photo gallery