Estimated Study Cost in Switzerland for Pakistani Students

estimated study expense in Switzerland for Pakistani students

First of all, you have to apply for admissions in a Swiss University, of which all the applications are submitted online which is free of cost. After being accepted from a Swiss University you immediately have to apply for Swiss D Visa and application fee of Swiss D visa is around PKR 11,500 and if you are submitting your applications through visa application centres on behalf of embassy there must be definitely some other extra charges. In addition, there are also some other charges such as VFS service fee and courier charges which will be around PKR 5000-6000 in total.

One of the major pre-departure expense is the air ticket ofcourse, the cost of an average round trip air ticket from Pakistan to Switzerland is around PKR 85,000-93,000 and one way PKR 40,000 to PKR 45,000.

There are also some other pre-departure expenses such as clothes and utilities.

Post-Departure Expenses

If you are studying in a European country, this definitely means that most of the part of your expense will be covered by the tuition fees. Compared to other European countries, tuition fees in Switzerland is a little bit lower.

Public Universities Tuition Fees

Public sector swiss universities receive significant funds which makes tuition fee comparatively lower compared to other American and European Universities providing same quality of education.

Average tuition fee at a public sector swiss university is around EUR 1,500 to EUR 1,700 per year for Bachelors and Masters program. On other hand, EUR 100 to EUR 250 for PhD. program.

Private Universities

Private universities in Switzerland have quite higher fees, which goes around EUR 8,000 to EUR 16,000.

Some of the good private universities and their fees are

Sustainability Management School, starts at around EUR 8,600/year.
Swiss Business School, starts at around EUR 10,000/year.

Affordable Swiss Universities

University of Geneva, average tuition fees EUR 900/year.
University of Bern, average tuition fees EUR 1,500/year.
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland FHNW, average tuition fees EUR 1,300/year.
University of Lausanne, average tuition fees EUR 1,500/year.

Top Ranked Swiss Universities

ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, average tuition fees EUR 1,600/year.
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, average tuition fees EUR 1,100/year.
University of Basel, average tuition fees EUR 1,600/year.
University of Zurich, average tuition fees EUR 1,400/year.

Living Cost

All over the Switzerland, the living cost is quite expensive and managing your monthly budget without making any compromise will be definitely a tough job.

You should keep in mind an average budget of around EUR 1,300 to EUR 1,800/month to pay for accommodation, food, transportation, tuition, supplies and some few leisure activities. Geneve and Zurich are the most expensive cities that gives a budget exceeding EUR 1,800 to EUR 2,500/month.

There are some other extra costs too, such as, monthly health insurance which is around EUR 250 to 300/month, books and supplies which is EUR 100/month.

The average cost of living in some Swiss cities:

Geneve, around EUR 1,800-2,500/month.
Zurich, between EUR 1,800 and 2,200/month.
Bern, around EUR 1,600/month.
Basel, between EUR 1,400 and 2,000/month.

Student Accommodation Cost

Students who are earning through a part time job, out of the total average monthly earning of an international student studying in swiss universities, they usually pay around 33% of their monthly expense on accommodation, around 8% on tuition fees and 7% on transportation. Rates for accommodation in Switzerland are above the international range of 300 EUR/month, as the average for any housing option is around 600 EUR/month.

Student halls of residence, between EUR 450 to 800/month.
Rent/share an apartment, average price ranges between EUR 700 to 1,000/month for a one bedroom apartment.

Food Cost

Usually most of the students buy groceries from the local super market and cook food at their own, which will cost around EUR 300/month if you even eat out once in a while.

Average meal at and average inexpensive restaurant in Switzerland cost around EUR 15 to 20 per person. And in a university dining hall, it cost around EUR 7-10 per person.

Transportation Cost

A monthly cost through public transport will cost around EUR 60/month but most of the students chooses to walk instead or some travel through bicycle.