Rents roughly half of Geneva's, and thousands of students do it. Be clear about what it costs you: a longer commute, a French tenancy under French law, and a residence permit that assumes you live where you are registered. Check with the migration office before you sign, not after.
Landlords in Across the border in France ask for the same file as anywhere in the canton: a debt-collection extract, proof of income, and a guarantor who lives in Switzerland. Two of those are impossible before you arrive, which is why flatshares and private landlords are the realistic route from abroad.
Your deposit is capped at three months of net rent — up to CHF 2'700 at the top of the range here — and it is blocked in your own name, not the landlord's. How the deposit works
We co-sign leases so the file gets accepted, and we search the market when our own rooms are full.