I have a question for all undergrad and grad students in Switzerland: How do you pay for your studies?

I am interested in a Master's program at Uni Bern. I see that tuition is low (about 600 CHF per semester) but I understand that the costs of living are quite high.

I have read about a Master's Grant program that pays 1600 CHF/month to select Master's students. Unfortunately I've already missed the deadline for this. Does anyone know of other grant programs?

Thanks in advance!

Mum and Dad?

I worked during my undergrad and saved enough to live here for one year. The other year is financed through stipend/scholarship that I applied for. Parents will help if needed though.

Ummmm.... Not everyone came into the world sucking on a silver spoon. Some of us had to work our way through our studies. On my B student permit, I had the right to work 15 hours/week (officially). I lived off my savings for the first few months until I started to get some work in my profession. If you find a way to live without spending much money, you won't have too much trouble making ends meet by only working a few hours a week.

mom and dad also.

Studies were 30k chf per semester tho (includes room and board tuition and books.)

Glion Institute of Higher Education I went to for my post Grad. Waste of money....possibly; did it open many doors....def.

So before any one goes ....spoiled bla bla bla yes I am lucky with the rents but now live completely independant and have a good job straight out of the post grad. And i did work in the weekends to finance leisure needs....

Hey, if your parents have the money and are willing to pay for you, then good for them, and great for you!

To the OP, have you checked with the department you're interested in? Some of the students work part time for the department as graders, help with projects, etc.

Edited to Add...

BA - parents & scholarships, few loans
MS 1 - scholarships, part time work, loan or two
MS 2 - employer
PhD - employer while we were in the US and I worked, now my husband pays tuition... am on last semester I hope.

In the US, I was lucky enough to find employers who would send me to school. Full time, the first time and part time for this last trip.

Bachelors=parents, MD=parents (which is not much in Peru).

Masters and PhD in the Netherlands= Scholarships

During my studies at the Uni Bern, I was working as a language teacher/interpreter/translator. I must admit I was very poor since I only worked in the evenings but it got me through my studies :-)

BS: pricey midWestern US private skool: student loans and working in oil fields during the summer. parents ended up paying for plane tickets and maybe one quarter.
PhD: pricey Eastern US private skool: research grants.

For undergraduate, first year you really need to sort out your living expenses on your own. From second and on, if your grade is good, usually CH uni will give the scholarships, not much, around 700 CHF at that time ( when i was student). Still good for a student i think.

And for 2nd and 3rd year, you can also find TA positions at Uni.

As for Masters, usually the program is quite compact, not sure that you will have time to work as partimer. but if you have to, then you can always find jobs. Its not hard to get student jobs in CH, comparing to US or Canada, at least that's how i felt years ago. Note that as student, you have the permission to work 15 hours/week ( or 20h, depends on the canton). Becausae it is legal, you wont be underpaid in general.