How can I share the idea with my friends and family?

Some members of your family and those around you may be enthusiastic and try to support as much as possible – but they might not be familiar with universities and their systems. It may also be that higher education is not considered a priority. Your parents may have hoped that you would choose a different educational path or field of study, or they may believe that the duration of the study programme and the financial effort are too great. In addition to your own doubts and uncertainties about whether you have chosen the right path and whether success awaits down the line, you also have to deal with the worries of those around you. That’s not always easy!

Here are some tips, considerations and arguments:

Going to university is too expensive

It’s true that different educational decisions will enable you to become financially independent of your parents more quickly and maybe even support them in return. Although going to university requires a high investment, it ensures a decent income from your first job onwards and offers good career prospects on the labour market in the short, medium and long term alike. You can also ease your parents’ fears in certain respects by showing them the scope for financing your studies at an early stage.

Plus d’informations sur le financement des études

What will it lead to?

Your family may need to understand the career options that will be open to you after graduation, especially if your course of study does not lead to a particular profession. For example, you can research this information and show them examples of careers you could pursue, attend job fairs with them, and talk to student advisors

Need more information ?

Perhaps your parents would like to know more about your future course of study and the institution in question? Information brochures are available for most subjects and all universities run open days. These are a good opportunity to show off your future place of study to your family members: there, they can talk to employees and students, ask questions and get to know the university.

Information on Open Days:   EPFL, ETHZ, HSG, UniBe, UniFr, UniGe, UniLu, UniNe, USI, UZH

Get them involved at an early stage

Choosing a course and field of study is a process that begins well before the end of school, and ideally, students should discuss going to university as a possible option early on. As your ideas of your subject and place of study become more concrete, you need to discuss your course of study and its financing openly. It is important to try to keep your parents and relatives in the loop so that these important caregivers can be involved in providing guidance on your studies and the admissions process to a greater extent and can understand the decisions made.