St. Gallen

Trader1, casbroker

Are you guys in St Gallen now?

If your are, can you please let us know about your first impressions?

I will probably apply in R1 at St Gallen.

Cheers,

Lumone

Hi Lumone,

So far, it's exactly as I have expected. We have a highly international class of 43 students (largest class and highest avg. GMAT of 690 since inception) and quite a diverse professional background. The classes are intense, mainly in the sense that we go from 9 - 1230 and then 1400 - 1730 about 4-5 days/week. I say 4-5 days/week, because we've had some career-related and personal development events inter-mixed throughout the schedule. The workload has built up, but it has been manageable. You simply can't read all the material, so you have to set priorities of work.

Investment Banking Days start on Monday. Some of the top firms will be there, but several have canceled due to the financial crisis, i.e. Lehman Brothers, Dresdner Kleinwort, and HSBC. We have one day that is open to everybody in the school (~ 5000 bachelor and master students) to meet all the companies, i.e. career fair. However, there are workshops and 1st round interviews that companies offer on a limited basis. I applied for several workshops and interviews, and I was selected for two firms that interest me. So far, I'm quite pleased about this process.

St. Gallen the city is quite lively for a small town. There's about 70,000 people living here. I am living with 3 other MBA students in a shared-apartment, which I have found really great. On top of that, we are situated 3 minutes walking distance to the MBA Center and the downtown area. In Switzerland, everything is quite expensive, so I'm still adjusting to the sticker shock.

Well, now I need to get back to my BMW marketing case....

Thanks for the post!

Another question: Would you consider St Gallen as a finance school.

Apparently, it is what both of us want to do

PS: I got my IELTS grade today.
7.5/10. Good enough (especially that I did not even know how the test looked liked before entering the exam room) , I think, for any B-school.

Congratulations on your score!

St. Gallen has a strong reputation in banking and finance, predominantly in the German-speaking region. However, there are other financial centers, such as London, which recognize this as well.

In light of the financial market environment, it will be tough to find a finance job. There is a lot more competition now for fewer positions. Therefore, if you want to switch careers into finance, it will be extremely difficult if you don't have any financial-related work experience.

I was looking to switch careers into a finance-related function, but now I'm mainly looking to leverage my general management and IT background to work in a financial services company. We'll see how it works out!

Hello Trader1,

I am thinking of applying to HSG.

I am looking for a carer in continental Europe, but do now know German. I dont see it as insurmountable, since I am planning to learn German.

What I wonder, what is the job scene so far? How is it for non-EU internationals? How many non-EU internationals managed to get job in Switzerland last year?

And if you have insights, how are job timings in central Europe? Are they as stressfull as other parts of world

Thanks for being so helpful part of this community

It's a bit hard to answer your questions, because it all depends on what type of job or industry you're trying to target. For example, if you're trying to go into investment banking, good luck unless you already have i-banking or finance experience! It's hard to say how the overall economy will be doing by the time you graduate, and I think the state of the financial markets will have a significant impact on the types of career opportunities available.

If you're a non-EU international or do not possess a residence/work permit for an EU-country, the hurdles are higher in most cases. The best thing is to know (good functional knowledge, but not necessarily fluent) at least one continental European language besides English. You should know the local language of the country in which you want to work. Furthermore, if you have any special technical qualifications, then you want to leverage those. You may find yourself in a situation where it is nearly impossible to change both the country, industry, and function in which you want to work post-MBA. This goes for all the top b-schools. If you want to work in Switzerland post-MBA, it could be to your advantage to leverage past work experience, possibly within a new industry, but in a former or related functional area. You may find it easier to switch functions in a firm only after being there for a couple years, rather than trying to switch immediately following the MBA. I am finding this to be the situation after communicating with several firms in Germany and Switzerland, and I have altered my career strategy to align with the realities.

Working hours differ from country to country and firm to firm. Generally speaking, I think European firms offer more vacation time to employees than American firms. For one firm I've interviewed with, the average work week is around 40 hours (and that's for a firm in the financial services industry!) I think this is an exception and not the norm, however. If you're going for consulting, plan for at least 50 hours/week. And, I think that's a safe bet for most "typical MBA level" jobs.

As for job placement, St. Gallen will release the stats from last class by mid-December. So, stay tuned on that front.

Best of luck with your applications!

Thank you so much , Trader1!

It has been very very helpful

Hello Trader1,

In BW forum I read that HSG issues a B ( or something like that) visa to students, which can be used as work permit. And then once you get employment , you need to just convert that to other kind of visa,which seemed to be easy ( that is what the poster implied).

What is your take?

And what is the expenditure like for a family? I heard it is crazy expensive. How much usually it costs to rent an apartment?

I have bombarded you with soo many questions...please take your time in replying

Any nfo will be helpful.

We receive a B permit after we get here in St. Gallen, but it's not a work permit (rather a resident permit for studying here) and it only applies to the Canton of St. Gallen, not to all of Switzerland. For non-EU citizens, getting a B permit with work privileges really depends on the prospective employer, and it's a misconception that this is an easy process. The University will do everything they can to assist, but ultimately it depends on the company.


The costs of living are indeed quite high here in Switzerland. The price of meat is ridiculous (due to certain import restrictions), so if you're a vegetarian then it won't be too bad! But, if you work in Switzerland, the higher salaries do offset some of the relatively high costs of living. Rents vary from region to region and city to city. I'm not an expert on this market in St. Gallen, but I live in a shared apartment with fellow MBA students. My rent is extremely cheap given my location in St. Gallen based on feedback from my peers. But, my situation is definitely not the norm.

Gmat clubbers applying to ST GALLEN - CLASS OF 2010



R1 - Deadline Dec 1st
lumone - waitlisted -> My R1 application will be reconsidered in R2
filmcity ?

R2 - February
-

good luck!

If anyone has any questions about St. Gallen's MBA, please feel free to ask away. We are approaching the close of the 1st semester of the programme, which ends next Friday (19 DEC).

The following is a look at my schedule over the next 10 days...

Waitlisted!
That means my application will be reconsidered in R2.

They gave a stat for R1 -> 60 applicants and they will make 12 offers.
20% admit rate in R1
What will the other rounds be like?

It seems this year is the worse possible to apply for MBAs

Definitely going to be very competitive.

I would periodically check in with admissions office about a month after the close of each round if you think St. Gallen is your first choice. Basically just a way of showing your interest.

Seems St. Gallen slid down to 64th in an updated ranking of # CEO's of 2007 Fortune 500 Companies...

Anyone else in for St. Gallen starting in September 2009? I got my admission offer two weeks ago and stumbled upon this discussion thread

Does anyone know about Private Equity placement from St. Gallen's? I'm looking to work in the European Private Equity firms, hopefully, in Switzerland. Although, I know its centered around London and Paris I would love to stay around the area I got(going to get) my degree. Thanks