Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

Housing is expensive as are the normal comsumer goods. Good discounts at the supermarkets.

PLAN WELL AHEAD! Prepare yourself by reading books on Switzerland and the Swiss people. I recommend "Living and Working in Switzerland", Survival Books. Travel in- and outside the country during your stay. Lausanne is 4 hours of train from Milano and Paris, and 6-8 hours from the French riviera!

I really improved my French which was just brilliant!

You can sign up for a dorm room, but in reality this has no effect. Instead, the best way to get a room is to go to the university dormatory administration office and beg for a room. It is my experience, that this approach is far more effective than doing things the orderly way. Because I did not follow these rather primitive methods, I ended up having to find an appartment, which was quite a struggle, but also a good experience.

Great restaurants located in the city center: "Minuit Soleil" and "Vieux Lausanne". Best night spots: Buzz, Paparazzi, Brasserie, MAD, Karma, Bleu Lezard.