Hey Everyone,

Has anyone applied to a Swiss University? I am applying to the University of Zurich in a few weeks..If I'm not accepted I will still be moving to Zurich in August to learn German for six months but it would be good to have an idea of how likely it is that they will accept foreign applicants. Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

I guess you know the drill already. You need to have at least 60 credits from US school to be admitted to 1st year here. Also, they need to accept your school - I couldn't get criteria from University of Geneva and was told they decide this on individual basis (even if college is regionally and federally accredited). There's also some exam in Basel that you can use in lieu of 60 credits, but preparation takes several months. They make it difficult for international students here, because tution is cheap. Good luck

to the EF!

Best advice is to befriend

S/He led me to the requirements for US students for UNZ (near bottom of page): Google Translate produced:

Thanks for the response :-) I spoke with admissions and they said they couldn't really tell me what my chances are...I'll have to wait and see but it would be nice to know what my chances are. Thanks!

Google has become my bestfriend :-) Thanks for looking up the info for me.

Just as an idea, if you haven't done so already, have a look at other universities in CH: http://www.swissuniversity.ch/univer...witzerland.htm

I'm not sure which program you're applying to (you haven't mentioned that), but hopefully it (or a similar one) exists in other unis as well.
Needless to say, multiple applications will increase your chances of being admitted.
Transferring between Swiss universities is always an option.
For example you could study for 2 years at UNIL and then transfer to UZH.
Good luck!

what a stupid idea.

Unless you just walk to the German class and then run back home right after (with ear muffs, of course)

That's a good one!!!

That's sweet of you.

MKATZ: I'm also American and in the process of applying to the University of Zurich. I was wondering if you could let me know how it turned out for you.

remember the german you will be learning here is the Swiss German not German German which is very different. Good Luck I hope you saved alot of money bc Zurich is not cheap at all

This is only partially true.

IF you stick to learning German on the street or specifically seek out Swiss German language classes, generally German lessons would be in standard / high German. Taking H.German is better though for purpose of taking uni classes and seeking employment though.

The flip to this is that taking classes in standard / high German will not necessarily make it much if any easier to understand casual street conversations you may overhear.

Is it to UG or PG? IF UG, they need C1 certification in addition to the requirements mentioned by the other poster.

How difficult is to pass C1 for someone who is fluent in German and has completed AP german? Where can one get quick intensive course that focusses on the format of the exam as a review session prior to taking the exam?

What are the job prospects for a Zurich Univ. Bachelor degree person? How do you rank Zurich Univ in comparison to ETH for natural sciences courses? Appreciate your inputs on this. IF someone were to choose between universities in UK , should Zurich univ be considered during the evaluation process ?

Thanks for the various inputs.

Bump. Requesting your inputs please. thanks

Hi Info,
The Zentral Mittelstufenprüfung is what you need to be C1.

It is pretty easy. If you put in 3 months of good studying, it
should be a piece of cake. You say that you are functional
in German.

The description of the exams can be found at www.goethe.de.

There is training at a number of places, but www.klubschule.ch
is probably the cheapest.

Thanks. Can anyone help with views on the below

What are the job prospects for a Zurich Univ. Bachelor degree person? How do you rank Zurich Univ in comparison to ETH for natural sciences courses? Appreciate your inputs on this. IF someone were to choose between universities in UK , should Zurich univ be considered during the evaluation process ?

I am looking to apply to the masters program at University of Zurich and would be very interested to know how your application turned out! Please let me know if you learned anything from the process and have any suggestions.

Are you going for an undergrad, or masters? If it's an undergrad, which I'm assuming as you're talking about learning German, and you don't already have 2 years an a US university, then no chance. Not trying to be negative, but there really is no chance - maybe a fachhochschule, maybe try the Fribourg exam, but in general, absolutely no chance for undergrad admissions in a state university.

Personally, I'm looking at a Masters degree. I graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor degree in 2009 with a minor in French (GPA 3.6/4). I have studied some German but am currently only at the A2/B1 level. I would be looking to enter a masters program (most probably MBA) in fall 2012 and to further my German skills in the months leading up to that point... as long as I can get accepted!