16/20
Maths
final grade
final grade
For Ryan · Première → Terminale → after the bac
Engineering after the bac: the options
Engineering first, because it keeps every door open: an engineer can move into business, finance or founding afterwards, and the reverse path barely exists. Commercial skill is an attitude you pick up on the job. So the real question is which engineering route. Here are the serious options from a French bac, with EPFL, one of them, worked out in full because it is the one with a published, precise bar.
The options at a glance
| Route | How entry works | Language | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| EPFL (Lausanne) | Direct admission on bac grades: a published bar, no entrance exam if the bar is met | French + English | Worked out below |
| ETH Zürich | Swiss federal institute, top of the world rankings; a French bac usually goes through an entrance examination route | Mostly German at Bachelor level | Bar to verify |
| Prépa + grandes écoles (France) | Two years of classe préparatoire (MPSI/MP), then the national concours for Polytechnique, Centrale, Mines and the rest | French | Concours route |
| INSA (Lyon and others) | Integrated 5-year engineering schools, entry straight after the bac on dossier | French | Dossier route |
| TU Delft (Netherlands) | Direct application with the French bac; some BSc programmes cap places and select | English | Bar to verify |
| Politecnico di Milano | Entrance test (TOL), very low tuition by international standards | English or Italian | Test route |
Only EPFL's numbers on this page are verified to the source. The other routes are real and worth a proper check before any decision; their exact bars belong in a second pass, not in guesses.
The EPFL option, in full
EPFL in Lausanne is one of the top engineering schools in the world (QS 2026: #22). For a French baccalauréat, direct admission is three published numbers:
The one rule that protects the EPFL option: keep BOTH spécialités into Terminale.
EPFL requires Mathématiques and Physique-chimie as spécialités in Première and in Terminale. Most Première students drop one spécialité at the end of the year. Dropping either of these two closes the direct EPFL route, whatever the grades, while keeping both also serves the prépa and INSA routes.
Where Ryan stands
15.73/20
Seconde average (May 2026), strong across the board
16/20
EPFL's overall floor. The gap is 0.27 of a point, with Première and Terminale to close it
The 16/16/16 is an eligibility floor, not a guarantee: EPFL caps first-year places for foreign school-leavers (3,000 since 2025) and ranks candidates on the general average, decisions in early August. The conditions are republished every January, so the bar gets re-checked in Terminale.
| Degree shape | Bachelor 3 years, then Master 2 years |
|---|---|
| Cost | CHF 2,190 per semester for foreign students, roughly €4,700 a year |
| Business | No business Bachelor at EPFL. HEC Lausanne is UNIL, a different university. That is fine: business is learned on the job, engineering is the degree that keeps the doors open |
| Fallbacks | Lateral entry into year 2 is realistic if the direct route is missed; entry at Master level after another Bachelor stays open |
| Timing | Applications on a November to end-of-April pattern (to confirm in autumn 2027) |
What this means this year
- Première: Maths and Physique-chimie count double, for EPFL and for every other route on the list.
- End of Première: when the school asks which spécialité to drop, the answer is: not Maths, not Physique-chimie.
- Terminale: re-check each route's published conditions in January and apply in the windows.
The point of the options list
EPFL is one strong option, not a single bet. Keeping both spécialités and aiming at 16s keeps EPFL, prépa, INSA and the international routes all alive at once. The choice between them can wait until the grades say which doors are open.
EPFL facts: swissuniversities country conditions for France (valid 2026/27) and EPFL's own admission pages, checked 25 October 2026; fees per EPFL's tuition ordinance for foreign students; ranking QS 2026. Other routes: headline characterisation only, exact bars to be verified before use.