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trader1
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St. Gallen 15 May 2008, 07:20
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It may surprise some people how St. Gallen, the university, stacks up against other European and world universities in some other rankings (not already mentioned on St. Gallen's website):

1) 26th out of 338, Professional Ranking of World Universities

https://www.ensmp.fr/Actualites/PR/EMP-r ... l#chapter5

2) 18th out of 32, Recruiters' Top European Business Schools

https://www.topmba.com/research/top_100_ ... 42_europe/

3) 1st out of 9, BWL and VWL (business administration and macroeconomics) universities in Switzerland

https://www.swissupranking.ch/ranking-re ... ay=ranking

https://www.swissupranking.ch/ranking-re ... ay=ranking
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St. Gallen 16 May 2008, 05:04
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Found a nice article about St. Gallen today:

https://www.topmba.com/mbanews/article/e ... xperience/

excerpts:

Now, Switzerland is leading the way in MBA and executive education. Located approximately one hour from the country's two leading economic centres of Geneva and Zurich are IMD (considered by many the best MBA program in Europe) and the University of St. Gallen (arguably one of the strongest business universities on continental Europe).
...
IMD has been leading the European market for more than a decade now and is used as a benchmark for many MBAs. On the other hand St. Gallen is a relatively new entrant to the market and has entered straight into the top tier of the sector.
...
A substantial amount of individual attention can be paid to the personal needs and situation of every candidate. The St. Gallen MBA career development program, for instance, helps participants gain insight into what really matters to them and where they have to excel to achieve their greatest potential. Career services go beyond mere personal SWOT analyses. The goal of the career service office of the St. Gallen MBA is to enable a wide range of "weak ties" for the MBA candidates by thinking in terms of networking.
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St. Gallen 29 May 2008, 15:33
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Who still on this thread is waiting for a decision from St. Gallen?

Trahul, what is the latest with your status?
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St. Gallen 23 Sep 2008, 07:48
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:arrow: 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
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St. Gallen 27 Sep 2008, 15:06
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lumone
:arrow: 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
Show more

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....
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St. Gallen 22 Oct 2008, 07:52
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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.
:arrow: 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.
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St. Gallen 23 Oct 2008, 04:52
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lumone
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.
:arrow: 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.
Show more

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!
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St. Gallen 02 Nov 2008, 07:06
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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 :P

Thanks for being so helpful part of this community
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St. Gallen 02 Nov 2008, 08:18
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filmcity
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 :P

Thanks for being so helpful part of this community
Show more

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!
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St. Gallen 02 Nov 2008, 11:15
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Thank you so much , Trader1!

It has been very very helpful :-D
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St. Gallen 03 Nov 2008, 07:29
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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.
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St. Gallen 04 Nov 2008, 13:10
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filmcity
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.
Show more

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.
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St. Gallen Updated on: 11 Dec 2008, 09:02
Originally posted by lumone on 30 Nov 2008, 15:57.
Last edited by lumone on 11 Dec 2008, 09:02, edited 2 times in total.
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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
-
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St. Gallen 06 Dec 2008, 16:40
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lumone

lumone - submitted This is conditional because my recs haven't submitted yet.
filmcity ?

R2 - February
-
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good luck!
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St. Gallen 10 Dec 2008, 06:14
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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...
Attachments

Screenshot schedule.png
Screenshot schedule.png [ 117.14 KiB | Viewed 9602 times ]

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St. Gallen 11 Dec 2008, 08:58
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Waitlisted! :evil: :evil:
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 :shock:
What will the other rounds be like? :?

It seems this year is the worse possible to apply for MBAs :?
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St. Gallen 12 Dec 2008, 12:13
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lumone
Waitlisted! :evil: :evil:
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 :shock:
What will the other rounds be like? :?

It seems this year is the worse possible to apply for MBAs :?
Show more

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.
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St. Gallen 11 Jan 2009, 05:04
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It may surprise some people how St. Gallen, the university, stacks up against other European and world universities in some other rankings (not already mentioned on St. Gallen's website):

1) 26th out of 338, Professional Ranking of World Universities

https://www.ensmp.fr/Actualites/PR/EMP-r ... l#chapter5

Show more

Seems St. Gallen slid down to 64th in an updated ranking of # CEO's of 2007 Fortune 500 Companies...
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St. Gallen 09 Mar 2009, 05:54
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Anyone else in for St. Gallen starting in September 2009? I got my admission offer two weeks ago and stumbled upon this discussion thread ;-)
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St. Gallen 21 Aug 2009, 12:15
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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
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