Switzerland

SOUTH KOREA cont.

must follow directions carefully. LAS will only send required documents directly to the universities.

You usually do not need to get any documents stamped at the embassy as part of the admissions process. You will, however, need to have documents stamped at the embassy when you plan to matriculate.

When to Apply

The timeline of applications in South Korea varies from school to school and from year to year. Please check deadlines carefully. In general, if you are applying to a university for entry into the first semester (which will usually start in March), you will apply sometime in June or July. Korean citizens may only matriculate in spring. Some students may choose to apply for a second semester intake; this semester will usually start in August or September.

Most students may apply to Korean universities in two separate rounds. This means that if you are not admitted to a university in the first round, you may be eligible to apply in the second round.

Since our office will need to handle a great deal of paperwork for the Korean schools, and since we must put everything physically in the mail, we ask that you give our office at least a month’s notice before you apply.

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland’s university system is based on three pillars: fundamental research, applied sciences and arts, and teacher education. Each university type serves a specific purpose in Swiss education, research, and innovation. Switzerland also boasts several private universities, primarily focused in the hospitality industry. The oldest Research University in Switzerland is the University of Basel, founded in 1460; it is one of 12 publicly funded research universities. Two of these institutions are federal research universities—ETH in Zurich and EPFL in Lausanne—that have consistently ranked among the top universities worldwide. The other 10 universities are cantonal public universities divided by linguistic region: • German-Speaking—University of Basel,

University of Bern, University of Lucerne,

University of St. Gallen, University of

Zurich • French-Speaking—University of Geneva,

University of Lausanne, University of

Neuchâtel • Bilingual German and French-Speaking—

University of Fribourg • Italian-Speaking—University of Lugano

Application Considerations

Swiss public universities look strictly at the student’s secondary school qualifications across specific subjects and are very transparent about curriculum requirements for foreign, non-Swiss degree applicants.

Generally, the Swiss public universities have very specific entry requirements, which are often not very flexible. For instance, there are only certain AP and IB subjects that the Swiss public universities recognise. In addition, each university has its own requirements to which you must adhere. Also, some Swiss public universities require you to take an admissions test. Finally, there is the language proficiency requirement (generally C1 level of the canton but sometimes B2 level may be accepted) for admission.

LAS students need to keep the following information in mind if they are considering applying to Swiss public universities: The general list includes classes in English, a