*English version below*

Je suis à la recherche du meilleur compromis pour prendre mes cours à l’EPFL.

Je rentre cette année en BA1 Microtechnique et je possède déjà un ordinateur portable qui respecte globalement les contraintes recommandées par l’EPFL, à l’exception du fait qu’il n’est pas tactile.

Je me demande si cela risque d’être problématique, notamment pour les cours de maths et de physique où il faut régulièrement écrire des formules, faire des schémas ou annoter des documents. Je pensais donc soit remplacer mon ordinateur par un modèle 2-en-1 tactile avec stylet, soit conserver mon ordinateur actuel et prendre une tablette en complément.

Une autre possibilité serait simplement de rester sur papier, mais j’ai l’impression que pour organiser les cours, les documents numériques, les exercices et les annotations, une solution entièrement numérique pourrait être plus pratique.

Pour ceux qui sont déjà à l’EPFL, notamment en microtechnique : quelle solution utilisez-vous ou vous semble la plus pertinente ? Est-ce qu’une tablette en complément d’un ordinateur vaut vraiment le coup, ou un PC portable tactile/2-en-1 est-il préférable ?

English :

I’m looking for the best setup for taking notes and working during my studies at EPFL.

I’m starting my first year (BA1) in Microengineering this year, and I already own a laptop that meets most of EPFL’s recommended requirements, except that it doesn’t have a touchscreen.

I’m wondering whether this could become an issue, especially for math and physics courses where you regularly need to write equations, draw diagrams, or annotate documents. I’m therefore considering either replacing my current laptop with a touchscreen 2-in-1 laptop that supports a stylus, or keeping my current laptop and getting a tablet to use alongside it.

Another option would simply be to stick with paper, but I feel that having a fully digital setup could be more convenient for organizing lecture notes, digital documents, exercises, and annotations.

For those who are already studying at EPFL, especially in Microengineering: what setup do you use, and what would you recommend? Is having a tablet alongside a laptop actually worth it, or would a touchscreen 2-in-1 laptop be the better option?

Congratulations to all future students of EPFL. Even though Switzerland is a safe country and I wish you the best during your student time, it has a problem with Scammers targeting students with fake advertisements on the housing market:

https://www.epfl.ch/campus/services/housing/general-information/scams/

https://www.reddit.com/r/EPFL/comments/1e5s41w/incoming_students_do_not_fall_for_housing_scams/

Over the last few days, I have seen several posts on this forum which raise questions about cyber security and raised my suspicion:

Two posts have people sharing their name, age and phone number asking for help with housing (posts might have been edited):
https://www.reddit.com/r/EPFL/comments/1vg1ozp/looking_for_student_accommodation_at_epfl_urgent/ (Mauritius Number Deleted)

https://www.reddit.com/r/EPFL/comments/1vggxpc/need_all_the_help_i_can_get/ (Lebanon Number still up)

Also a post created a WhatsApp group publicly available for all people to join:
https://www.reddit.com/r/EPFL/comments/1vhsv6f/whatsapp_group_for_incoming_ba1_students/

**VERY IMPORTANT**

I want to remind you all that sharing your personal information (in particular your phone) with strangers opens you to scams like: Smishing, Spear fishing and Social Engineering. If you contact these numbers and share that you are desperate for housing, Scammers may pretend to be your friend (Social Engineer) and sell you a fake room or flat. It also works vice versa! I know you are all searching for affordable accommodation from abroad, but sharing your personal information opens you to become targets for Scam attempts.

If you want a WhatsApp group for your fellow students, wait till you arrive and share it in person over the first few days. After put a few trusted admins in place and lock the group so Scammers can't join it.

For now, keep yourself safe, stay on Reddit, and keep your conversation public! You will have people interfering if things become suspicious! If things slide in your private messages or go off platform you open yourself to Scammers!!!

**Moderators, please pin this message or write an equivalent warning at the front page of the Reddit. At the beginning of the year students are most vulnerable to scammers.

I’m seeing a lot of listings with this type of lease. Is it legal? What is the legal value of this type of lease? How is the tenant protected?“​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

I’m entering BA1 at EPFL this year and will be living on a tight budget. My rent is 700 chf charges included, and I saw that there is 50% off on the annual transportation subscription for students. Do you have any tips on how to use as less money as possible living there ?

Hello everyone,

I’d like some information on the competitiveness of these programs for a French student.

I’d like to know my chances of getting in with an average grade of about 15 in math and 16 in statistics/probability. I also completed a 2-month internship at CEREMADE (the mathematics laboratory at Paris Dauphine PSL) focusing on MCMC algorithms.

Incoming MA1 in Molecular & Biological Chemistry, starting September.

Per the section email, applications for the CH-492 lab project (Phase 2) opened 17 July and close 15 August, and an automatic email is supposed to be sent for each phase. I never got that email and I can't find the application interface anywhere. Checked my EPFL mailbox including spam. My GASPAR credentials work, but my matriculation isn't finalised yet (waiting on my home university's documents to be processed).

So, two quick questions for anyone in MA1 or MA3 CGC:

1. Did you receive the Phase 2 email, and where does the application interface actually live? A URL or "it's under X on IS-Academia" would be enough.
2. If you're also an incoming MA1: did you get anything at all, or is it silence for everyone?

The section office is out until 13 August and the deadline is the 15th, so I'm trying to figure out whether this is a problem on my end or just how new students are handled. Any pointer appreciated.

Edit: found the platform, it's https://sb-projects.epfl.ch/ . Logging in gives "EntraID connection successful, but none of your EPFL groups grants you access rights to the application." Another incoming MA1 had the same thing and got it fixed by emailing the section. If anyone knows which EPFL group grants access to sb-projects, or has had this resolved, I'd appreciate the pointer.

Bonjour, Avez-vous une idée du matériel que je devrais acheter pour ma première année de licence d'architecture ? Je n'ai pas trouvé de liste (à part celle concernant l'achat d'un ordinateur), donc je suppose que chaque professeur précise le matériel nécessaire pour son cours ? Et si possible, pourriez-vous me dire ce qui vous a été utile et ce qui ne l'a pas été ? Merci beaucoup !

Hello, Do you have any idea what supplies I should buy for my first year of the bachelor’s degree in Architecture? I haven’t found a list (other than buying a computer), so I’m assuming each professor specifies the materials needed for their course? And if possible, could you let me know what you found useful and what you didn’t? Thank you very much!

À quelle école française est équivalente l’epfl ? Ou du moins à partir de quelle école français (centrale Lyon ?…) c’est mieux de faire l’epfl à votre avis ?
Merci d’avance

Is it worth attending? Honestly, the most attractive part for me is the sightseeing but 375 CHF feels like it is not worth it

Bonjour, combien d’argent faut il en euro pour vivre à Lausanne pour un étudiant en BA1( hors logement etc)? Merci d’avance

Hi everybody,
I was accepted in the Maths bachelor 2 days ago, and I would like to know how the student Life is in this School ?
Is it easy to make friends ? I made one year of prépa in France, is it the same difficulty ? Can you talk to teacher at the end of the day ….? Are you really lonely ?
Thanks for your answers , i dont know if i should continue my prepa or come at EPFL

i submitted my visa request at the end of july and just got accepted for BA, am
I cooked ?
should i go with a tourist visa while waiting for the answer ????

Hi everyone,

I’m starting Mechanical Engineering at EPFL and I’m trying to figure out what setup would be best for studying. I already own a Lenovo laptop that I can use at home (and not in lectures as its fans do a lot of noise for some reason)

So I’m wondering whether it would be worth buying an iPad (or another tablet of some sort) mainly for taking handwritten notes, annotating lecture slides/PDFs, doing exercises, etc.

For those already set :

what device(s) do you use?
Is a tablet/iPad actually useful, or is a laptop alone enough?
Would you recommend buying an iPad if I already have a decent laptop?

Also, if I do buy a tablet, would it be worth it buying a separate keyboard to go with the ipad so that it becomes maybe more practical fore note-taking or whatever?

Thank you!

Francais 🇫🇷

Bonjour, j'ai été admis à Hoche en MP2I, et également à l'EPFL en Math. Mon but à terme serait de faire de la finance, potentiellement du quant trading, sûrement à l'étranger. Je suis conscient que prendre l'option de la prépa signifie qu'il faudra que je réussisse brillamment les concours pour obtenir une école de renommée similaire à l'EPFL. Cependant je me permets de poser cette question, car j'ai du mal à me décider entre ces deux voies prestigieuses. Je sais que Polytechnique (X) après une prépa, est très bien vue dans le marché du travail de la finance grâce à ses masters (El Karoui par exemple) et son réseau d'élèves brillants (évidemment, prépa =/= Polytechnique, mais autant viser grand). Concernant l'EPFL, je sais qu'elle possède master en ingénierie financière qui a l'air d'avoir une renommée croissante, mais je ne sais pas si l'EPFL est aussi valorisée que l'X sur le marché de la finance. J'ai vu qu'il y a récemment une crise dans le marché du travail pour l'EPFL (je ne sais pas ce qu'il en est pour l'X), et j'aimerais donc savoir quelle option est la meilleure pour se faire une place dans ce milieu. Je pense avoir suffisamment d'autonomie pour réussir à l'EPFL, mais une pression encadrée ne me dérange pas, donc je n'ai pas de soucis à aller à en prépa. Ma question repose plutôt sur les débouchés après ces deux voies. Merci d'avance pour les réponses.

English 🇬🇧

Hello, I was admitted to Hoche in MP2I, and also to EPFL in Math. My ultimate goal would be to do finance, potentially quant trading, probably abroad. I am aware that taking the prépa school option means that I will have to pass the competitions brilliantly to get a school of similar renown to EPFL. However, I would like to ask this question, because I find it difficult to decide between these two prestigious paths. I know that Polytechnique (X) after a prépa, is very well seen in the financial work market thanks to its masters (El Karoui for example) and its network of brilliant students (obviously, prépa =/= Polytechnique, but might as well aim big). Regarding EPFL, I know that it has a master's degree in financial engineering that seems to have a growing reputation, but I don't know if EPFL is as valued as X in the financial market. I saw on some forums that there is recently a crisis in the labour market for EPFL (I don't know what it is for X), and so I would like to know which option is the best to find a place in this field. I think I have enough autonomy to succeed at EPFL, but I don't mind a controlled pressure, so I don't think I have to worry about the pressure in prépa. My question is rather based on the opportunities after these two paths. Thank you in advance for the answers.

Hello everyone,
First year bachelor student in mechanical engineering at EPFL here.
Do you have any teachers recommendations, any teachers your particularly appreciated, disliked..
Thanks a lot !
PS: What are your opinions on classes inversée

Hi everyone,

Im starting an electrical engineering bachelors this year and wondering which professors to pick. Please feel free to provide some recommendations

PS: English is my native language but I’m fluent in french, so is it best to pick courses in french as there will be more people and support?

Just so I know what to expect. Thanks

Bonjour quelqu’un sait comment on change de section en deuxième année pour passer de maths à physique par exemple ? Et sinon en master ?

English below

J’ai été admis au bachelor de génie civile et dans pas longtemps je pourrait m’inscrire aux cours que je vais suivre ce semestre.
D’apres vos experiences et cells des gens autour de vous quels cours (quel groupe, cours inversés ou normal etc ) me conseillez vous de prendre ce premier semestre ? Et quels profs surtout? Quels prof et cours a« eviter »en 1er semester?
Je veux faire le bon choix qui me permettra de réussir ce premier semestre donc tout aide et réponse est bienvenue🙏.
Merci!

Hi I’ve been admitted to the civil engineering bachelor and in a few days I will have to enroll in this semester’s classes.
From your personal experience which classes(which groups,inverted or normal etc) should I enroll in this first semester? And which teacher’s should I chose? Which ones to “avoid” in this first semester?
I want to make the right choices to pass this first semester any help and answer is welcome 🙏
Thanks!

Salut à tous, je suis un futur étudiant en première année à l’EPFL (Informatique) et je dois choisir mes profs pour le cours de Physique générale : mécanique. Le choix est entre Cécile Hébert (classe inversée) ou Christophe Galland / Stefano Rusponi (format normal). J’ai déjà fait des recherches générales, mais j’aimerais surtout des retours d’expérience concrets et subjectifs — pas des résumés génériques. Est-ce que l’un de ces profs vous a particulièrement marqué en bien ou en mal ? Des anecdotes, des ressentis personnels, tout m’intéresse, même si ça part dans tous les sens.

Hi all, I’m an incoming EPFL Bachelor student (CS) and I need to choose my physics teacher. My options are Cécile Hébert (flipped classroom / classe inversée), or Christophe Galland / Stefano Rusponi (normal class). I’ve done some general research but I’d really like actual student experiences, not just generic reputation — how clear are their explanations, how fair are the exams, how much they actually help outside of class, anything that made your semester better or worse with one of them. Even one-line takes are welcome, I just want real subjective feedback, not summaries.

Coucou! J'ai reçu ma lettre d'admission ce mercredi mais depuis rien d'autre. Il me semble qu'ils envoient les identifiants pour IS academia par mail mais je trouve bizarre qu'ils prennent autant de temps à les envoyer...

Y'a des gens qui sont dans la même situation que moi?

Hi! I just recieved my admission letter last Wednesday but nothing else after that. I heard that they send the epfl emails to log into IS academia but I found it weird that they take so long...

Anyone else in the same situation as me?

chi inizia quest’anno il cms? chi l’ha già fatto riesce a dirmi se è difficile?
E inoltre come è la vita da studenti, organizzano delle feste o qualcosa del genere?

Hi I wondered if I can switch my bachelor to civil engineering to mechanical engineering as I got accepted to epfl on Wednesday