Year Abroad at Geneva University -helpful advice/hints welcome!

[Georgie8]

Really, just that!

Eldest is off to Geneva Uni for her year abroad and I wondered if anyone has any helpful inside intel about the boring stuff eg accommodation, banking, food shopping, laundry, etc.

@Georgie8
Has she booked accommodation via the university? I think that’s important because it is an expensive city. The uni accommodation is subsidised so do it immediately. What is the cut off date? DD was in Carouge. (Check spelling!) Great location and it was mid priced.

They went into France for shopping/supermarket. Laundry - depends what is in flat. Cannot remember about banking. I would expect the university can advise.

DD found the university first class. They had a dedicated overseas student office and everything worked very well. She had a great time (2012/13!). Still in touch with Swiss friends and sees them every so often. The university is well organised and DD felt very welcome there. She shared a flat with 3 Swiss who spoke French, German, English and Portuguese. She actually took a module in Portuguese. She made other friends too.

Her friends invited her to their homes, they went on days out around the lake and other cities. It’s not cheap but worth it. DD really could not fault it. My bib tip. Get the accommodation sorted immediately.

Also worth saying @Georgie8 few uk students go to Geneva. Most go to France. I’m assuming this is for mfl
tbiugh! DD was one of 4 from her university.

Thank you @TizerorFizz

Accommodation is my main concern! There hasn’t been any information about it yet -the deadline for accepting the offer is today, so we’re expecting that sort of info soon, but I’ll suggest she’s pro-active and chases up uni accommodation -thanks for the heads up!

The UK university isn’t particularly helpful and won’t even give advice on visas (I’m sure I had more support in the pre-Erasmus 80s), and in year abroad lectures they (understandably) focussed on France and Germany.

Glad to hear your daughter enjoyed her time there and that Geneva University is well organised and supportive.

Yes, definitely an outlier, most are off to France!

Although I had a good time, I think I probably put her off France 😳 Certainly, we are much happier she chose Switzerland!

My advice is get accommodation sorted asap as Geneva is an expensive city and most Swiss students go to their local university and live at home.

Banking is not a problem provided she has her Permis B (residence permit) sorted.

How / where she does laundry will be determined by her accommodation. Flats have assigned laundry days / times though Saturday is generally open. This won't be the same in student accommodation, though.

As far as food shopping, there are two supermarket chains: Coop (not related to the British Coop) and Migros. Not much difference between them. Lots of bakeries for bread and pastries. Some fast food. Lots of cafes and restaurants for coffee, snacks and light meals. If it still runs, she can get the F bus to Ferney-Voltaire (just over the border in France) for shopping as it's cheaper.

For travel on public transport, she should get a Carte Orange.

Thank you @Florissant lots of helpful advice.

I’ll suggest she starts looking at uni accommodation asap

She’s really good at figuring out buses/trains etc. and very keen on not spending her own money, so will I’m sure quickly figure out how to reach the less expensive shops in France 😂 and it sounds likely that laundry facilities will be available in the apartment building.

Banking, after accommodation, is my main concern. I’m assuming the Permis B will be issued once she’s accepted a firm offer from the university and arranges her visa.

Do you know anything about health insurance for students? Her EHIC is only valid until March ‘24, but assume she’d need to have top-up insurance?

Getting the message that it’s expensive!

You're welcome!

She might be able to get her Permis B online but I don't think it will be issued automatically as she will need to provide documentation.

It is a legal requirement in Switzerland for everyone to have private health insurance from a Swiss company. I'm not sure that the EHIC applies as Switzerland is not in the EU and Swiss law might take precedent. Her university should be able to advise.

Geneva is expensive but everything is of very high quality. It is also very safe so I am sure your daughter will enjoy her time there.

On the basis of your advice I goggled “Permis B for exchange students” and found a site all about studying in Switzerland, which never came up in my previous searches (hence resorting to Mumsmet!), which also covers healthcare and banking. So, a big thank you!

Apparently she’ll have to go to the cantonal migration office to register and then apply for her Permis B -this is what I had to do in France in the 80s -once she has that she can arrange her health insurance, which looks a bit more complicated 😳

She’s really looking forward to studying there and, as both you and @TizerorFizz have said, it’s a great place to live and study and very welcoming.

I’ll forward all this info to her and she can get cracking!

I'm glad you looked up advice about the Permis B. I was going to say something about going to the Cantonal office but was afraid that my advice was outdated. On the other hand, the Swiss being the Swiss, the process will be straightforwardd and she shouldn't encounter long queues.

I am glad that I am able to help. If I can pull my information out of the dustry recesses of my brain I will be happy to do so.

Oh - there isn't the equivalent of a Students' Union in Swiss universities. I know this sounds minor but it's more a question of managing expectations.

It is also highly unlikely that she will have the UK equivalent of a personal tutor or that the university will offer much in the way of pastoral support as Swiss students are expected to have support systems at home.

On a minor note: she should find the buildings much like those of her British uni, though there is no campus per se. She'll be a short walk from the Plainpalais, which is a lovely green. There used to be a fleamarket and food market there on various days but this may have changed post-Covid.

Students who have been through the process already can be an invaluable source of information for the year abroad, so I would suggest your daughter tries to find out whether any current final year students at her university did their year abroad in Geneva so that she can make contact with them and ask for any tips.

@Florissant not sure she’d be too bothered about there not being SU events like Freshers’ Week, but it’s definitely something she’ll need to bear in mind as the SU can be a helpful resource.

Not having a personal tutor might be more of an issue, but @TizerorFizz said there was a dedicated overseas student office when her daughter was there, so hopefully that’s still the case.

@Boosterquery that’s a good idea but, from what she tells me, no one from her Uni went to Geneva University last year ☹️ But perhaps she should see if a UK student has done a blog/YouTube thingy on their time there.

Thank you all for taking the time to reply 😊 your advice has been very helpful.

I'd love to hear an update once your daughter is settled!

@Georgie8
There was a lot of student accommodation when DD was there. I am posting lots she wrote for a website. You have to accept its some time ago and check out some of the detail. There’s loads of pages so hopefully you can make sense of them. I am trying to avoid giving you her name.

More:

Last bit

We went with DD as “helpers”! Had a great weekend! Saw her flat and met her flatmates. It is worth the trip. Also be aware there is a red light area.

@TizerorFizz a red light district in Switzerland 😱 truly shocked, thought she’d only stumble across a Red Cross district!

Your daughter’s blog is very interesting -she obviously had a great time. Just knowing in advance about how well organised the university is with regard to overseas students is very reassuring, even if it was 10 years ago!

I’m fairly certain we’ll go over with her, as you did with your daughter.

@Florissant I will let you know how she’s doing -until you beg me to stop 😂

That would be wonderful!

The 'red light' district is Les Paquis and is very, very tame. Prostition is legal in Switzerland but only for Permis C holders (permanent residents) and Swiss nationals.

I went to school in Geneva in the late eighties and we used to go out drinking in Les Paquis and I don't remember seeing much of any concern back then (a long time ago admittedly and it may have changed :) ) I had friends at the university and it was a great area, used to love the flea market at plainpalais so I'd also be keen to hear how she gets on!

My family member lived there until about 10 years ago and I always enjoyed going to visit, it's a very nice city, old town especially. Lots of expat puns which always seemed to have a lot of English speaking students and lots of nice bars and restaurants. The lake is lovely and really easy to get the boat to different places. Trains are good to go to Lausanne, Nyon etc for the day from Geneva.

The Old Town is gorgeous. A visit to the Maison Tavel is a must.

In the winter, if she's a runner, she can participate in the Escalade run. If she isn't, she can watch the parade and drink vegetable soup.

Very cross -three times my posts disappeared ☹️

Thank you @SmartHome you’re more than welcome to the “let’s keep updated” posts. It’s very kind of you to share your experiences.

Lausanne is on our radar -husband did a course at IMB 23+ years ago

@Florissant no, defo not a runner 😂but she’ll be happy with soup!

Many thanks to you all!

Not sure how it’ll work, but I’ll try to set up a way to update you all xx