I decided to apply for an exchange since I was curious to experience the research environment in Switzerland in order to expand my career prospects. 

The collaboration with ETH Zurich had just started when i applied and I was the first student to go on exhange. 

 I chose this University for many reasons. First of all it is one of the highest ranking Universities in the World, especially in the field of Biology which I am interested in. Second, as an exchange student you are enrolled in the master's program in Pharmaceutical Sciences. This give you the chance to get a specialized training in pharmaceutical drug discovery and development. For me this was very fascinating since I was missing this type of Courses from The Master in Biomedicine at Karolinska Institutet.

In order to get more information regarding the application process, I visited the office of the International Coordinator, and she was very helpful to discuss with me the possibilities of exchange studies that the master in Biomedicine is offering.

It is very important issue before leaving to check the situation of you Health Insurance. If you are a European Citizen and hold the European card then you dont need to take any more actions. But i think this card then you can make a private one in your country. However this is usually not accepted by Swiss Authorities and then you are obliged to make one once you are there. This happened in my case and it costed me CHF 80 per month.

I went to Zurich a few days before the registration and the welcome event which was held on 16th of September. Many of the Erasmus students arrived 2 or 3 weeks earlier since they attended the intensive German Courses offered by ETH.

There were several events taking place from 16th to 24th of September organized by ETH for incoming students.

ESN Zurich and VSETH, the student organizations at ETH were always present with welcome gifts throughout this week. Especially ESN organized many events for Erasmus students during the whole semester.

Life in Zurich is quite expensive. The Erasmus scholarship was around 10,000 sek for the whole semester. Calculate minimum 600 chf per month for your personal expenses apart from accomodation.

As an Erasmus student I was exempted from University fees.

Once you get accepted as an exchange student at ETH you can apply for student accommodation. The prices range from 290 chf for a room to 1600 chf for a flat. However I wasn’t offered accomodation from ETH since they informed me that they didn´t have available rooms. Thankfully my project supervisor at the Chlidren´s Hospital found me a room for 500 chf per month. These rooms are intended for employees affiliated with the hospital and are situated in a lovely neighborhood very close to the center of the city. 

• Zurich is one of the most expensive cities to live in. The quality of life is very high and the transportation system is one of the best in the world. However this high quality comes with a high price.The subscription for the tram and buses in Zurich is worth 59 chf or 81 chf for adults over 25 years old. However Zurich is very small and you don’t actually need to use the transportation system except if it is very cold. You can easily walk or bike around the city. In case you enter the tram or bus with invalid ticket with or withour your intension then the fee is quite high, starting from 100 chf for the first time and 200 chf for the second time. Eating in a restaurant will cost you minimum 20 chf. There is the cheap solution of eating at the student restaurant which will cost you around 6 chf for a meal. A beer will cost you around 7 chf, a glass of wine 6 chf , 3chf for a coke. Coffee or hot chocolate is quite expensive compared to Stockholm, around 5 chf for a cappuccino. Entrance to the clubs is also quite expensive, it will cost you at least 15 to 40 chf.Grocery you can find cheaper if you to Konstanz a city situated in the borders with Germany, one hour far from Zurich. The difference in prices is really big and totally worths to visit it once per month. 
• If you want to decrease the living cost but still have some Eramus fun I would suggest that you attend the events organised by ESN Zurich and IASTE. Also, avoid dining out and chose the student restaurant and cafeteria instead. Other exenses that you should expect is the health insurance which is mandatory. It cost me 80 chf per month to get a Swiss one since I didn’t have the European health card. Also if you change adress you have to report it to the district offices and expect to pay 25 chf. Traveling around Switzerland is very expensive. If you would like to travel to Basel for example, which is 1 hour travel by train it will cost you 32 chf one way. However you may save some money with the supersaver tickets which offer 40% discount for a last minute trip. 
• ETH has two main campuses. One is located right in the city center and the other which is called Science city Hönggerberg is located on the outskirts of the city of Zurich. There is a bus which directly links those two campuses. It is offered for free by ETH and the journey takes around 14 minutes. The departments of Biology and Pharmacy are located at the Science city therefore I suggest that you use this bus for your everyday commute from the center since it is the fastest and cheapest way. If you chose the public transport the journey takes minimum 30 minutes from the city center.

• One important thing to have in mind is that the professors expect you to be at the class 15 minutes before the scheduled start time of the lecture.

• All the fall courses offered at the master program in Pharmacy are held in English by well known professors. 
  
  
• ETH in collaboration with the University of Zurich offers German courses for international students. If you don’t want to learn German then you can choose to learn other language if you want, e.g. Italian, Spanish, etc. The courses are offered for free but there is a fee of 100 chf for materials for the whole semester. Once the registration is open you should apply immediately to secure your position since the places are immediately filled. It is important that you take this German course since in Switzerland it is difficult to live without knowing the language. Don’t expect things to be like in Sweden. Sometimes you will also hear professors in the class speaking in German. But I hope this was an exception. 

• There are a lot of things to do around Zurich depending on the season you are visiting. Hiking, swimming in the river, skiing are only a small example of the activities you can do. Many of these activityies are organised by ESN-Zurich.
• It was difficult to connect with other students. The problem is that I was the only one exchange student therefore almost the only one international student in the master program. The rest of the students were German speaking students already know each other from the Bachelor. Plus there are more than 100 students enrolled in the master per year. However,  I managed to make very good friends from the laboratory.
• Zurich is a very lovely and small city. The city is full of hills which offer great views but on the other hand give you a hard time. One of the Swiss specialties that you shouldn’t miss if you like cheese is the famous fondue. You may know Zurich as a boring posh city with banks and boring boutiques. However I can assure you that there is a youth side of Zurich and you can find it in the street called Langstrasse. This street is full of bars and clubs with lower prices. If you want more parties ESN always organizes one.If you go on the fall semestrer you will experience Christmas. The weather is normal for winter (much more warmer than Sweden). Christmas in Zurich is a wonderful experience. The whole city is decorated with a great taste and is full of people. In summer you can swim in the river almost every day r have a bbq in the park around the lake since the weather is very warm.