St.Gallen SIM 2017

Again, calling is always quicker than e-mail, so best to give them a quick ring. Yes, the interview does count a lot. The questions are very interesting, very challenging and target your level of self-reflection, curiosity about life, your will to make a difference and your keen interest in global topics.

I won't tell you the questions they ask, because they don't care about the answers that much. They care about you matching what the rest of your application represents. When they gave me my feedback, they said that my interview completely matched with my application, which was really good, so make sure that you're 100% honest in your application, don't lie or bullshit, so that during the interview you might **** up, because you forgot about a lie in your application. It's about being authentic and friendly. You should know what you want from life and why St. Gallen will help you get there (although there won't be a motivational question in that sense).

With regard to your references, as someone else already said, they don't seem to contact them, so don't worry about them too much. However, they might do if you're a maybe candidate, then the reference could be a make or break kind of thing. In general with references, it's a lot less important who the reference is than that they can make a strong case for you. One of my references was my boss who I had only worked with for 2 weeks. But because we work with each other all the time, go for lunch and generally have a good connection, he was able to write a very strong recommendation for other unis. I guess you get the idea. The professor taught at Harvard and can make an ok case for you - yeah. The professor taught at Uni X and can make an excellent case for you - much better.

Hope that helps. Any other questions, let me know.

Moin, moin from Hamburg to everyone!

Dan92 - thank you for sharing your insights! I will have my call this week - could you please elaborate further / reflect back? I have loaaads of questions I would like to fit in that short timeframe, so 1. How was it structured? 2. Was the feedback you received reflective or descriptive? 3. My call will be via phone as opposed to Skype (as I'll be on the road), so did you have the camera on?

Potentially see you in St. Gallen then! (Haven't made my decision yet)

Cheers.

BTW, happy to answer any questions regarding the application process.

Die Fischmarktmafia auch am Start - NICE.

The feedback call is very relaxed. They will simply tell you what strengths and weaknesses were of your application, which I find really nice, because they wouldn't need to - also because they're super busy. I had it via Skype and had the camera on. That is obviously irrelevant if it's a telephone call. Regarding structure: 1. Feedback on your application 2. Any questions you have. That's it.

If you'd like my input regarding your decision for your Masters, I'd be more than happy to talk to you about it. It's a super important decision and I think that you can never have enough input. Just send me a PM if you like. I personally withdrew from other applications after getting my offer, so I might be a bit biased. haha

Hey man,

sorry to hear that. Mind sharing your profile?

Hey guys,

I'm very late chiming in, but just wanted to hop in here and let you know that I will by applying to MA HSG SIM if my GMAT turns out okay.

22, no work experience but several extra curriculars including a charity project in India and a thesis internship in the US (1month) and a lot of school-related extracurriculars. GPA is not great (72/100), so after reading all these posts I'm super doubtful I'll get anywhere.

Definitely giving it a shot though!

Where else did you apply? And why?

My selection process was pretty much based off rankings, and scrapping out the ones I didn't feel good about plus the ones which deadline had passed. Very few options left!

Never get disheartened by other people's opinions or their profiles. At the end of the day, only the admissions team will be able to properly assess your application. I had a few people telling me that I didn't have chances before I applied and I really considered not to. But then I decided to just give it a shot and I now find myself in St. Gallen from September.

I also applied to LBS for MiM, as well as Rotterdam and SSE (Stockholm) for CEMS.

LBS:
+ Reputation
+ Network
+ Location
- expensive
- very basic curriculum (no management or business knowledge required)
- LBS is best known for MBA, so you're a second row graduate

Rotterdam:
+ cheap
+ good reputation of school
+ sick city
+CEMS
- programme lower ranked than St. Gallen and not quite as good - really like the SIM for social impact aspect

SSE:
+ ZERO tuition fees
+ cool city
+ CEMS programme
- very expensive city
- really hard to find accommodation
- programme lower ranked than St. Gallen and not quite as good

That's it in a nutshell.

Awesome to read! I am not disheartened, it's more a reality check on the strength of all profiles. I think I would fit in most programs for ambitious students, so I'm applying once I get confirmation on the acceptability of my degree (I came from a private business school with a weird double degree), and I want to confirm that my degree qualifies before I apply. And I need to make a GMAT! Scheduled one yesterday for the 26th - made my first prep test, Q46V35 (680) so pretty okay with no strategy.


London: Studied there before, I don't want to spend like 700-1000GBP a month on living alone, hated that about it.

Rotterdam: I've actually studied a year at the EUR (the University that RSM is a part of), didn't truly like it. Although the city is fantastic and the new campus is great. My dad also works there

SSE: Haven't looked at them, but I'll have a peek.

Edit: The biggest problem for me were the application deadlines. My business school failed to provide help on deadlines, and because our fall semester was spent abroad, I was kind-of caught off-guard. Have to cram my thesis and the GMAT in April, rough business.

Why have you not looked at other decently rated options such as HEC, ESADE or IE? I've applied to IE, need to hear back still!

The answer to your question is very simple - tuition fees.

You're obviously trying to make a cost benefit analysis of your investment and I would have rather gone to Rotterdam with very low tuition fees and a great city than go to a suburb of Paris, pay a ridiculous amount for my studies and not be better off with that degree.

Posted from my mobile device

Hey Guys,

For the essay, what were your thoughts on the essay question?

Disruption is significantly shaping our world. In one way or another such radical changes affect all of us. In your view, is disruption good or bad for the well-being of our societies and economies? Argue thoroughly.

I am not sure whether the questions ask about disruption in general or disruption in business.

How did you guys tackle the essay?

In this sense, it seems clear to me they want to hear about disruption in business. Disruption is too general of a term to consider "disruption in general". Also, because it is a business school, that route seems logical.

Good luck!

Fair assessment, this. Sadly, I was informed by Sankt Gallen that my degree (which is a double degree) is not fully recognized, making me unable to apply to Sankt Gallen. Sadly! Good luck to everyone here, Sankt Gallen is a fantastic school!

Yeah I definetely took that route straight off the bat. But maybe that is exactly what the committee wants to see, the assumptions you make and how you lead the essay. Tricky, because it is not directly stated.

On top of that my GMAT score is very low to be applying. I blew my RC in the GMAT by not scrolling on the screen and getting 4 questions wrong in a row, getting 5 questions wrong blew me down to a 620. Don't have time to retake as deadline is closing up and I want to retake for scholarships at other business schools I am lgot accepted in (HHL, EBS, WHU). I was really surprised to get in with a 620, but then, I have a very strong entrepreneurial background, internships, international background, and extra-curricular activities. I am just bad with standarized tests and I got quite nervous in the exam and underperformed.

Lets see how it goes, I have 5 days to write a killer essay

Cool man! Good luck. Could you tell me a bit about the WHU application process (via PM might be better)? I'm thinking of applying there myself.

As for your GMAT and Sankt Gallen - they explicitly state that the GMAT is worth 20% in the application. So if you rock in the other 80% (in which the essay is important!) you have a decent chance to get in either way. The minimum score most schools consider is around 600, especially in cases such as yours with a fantastic profile. Getting in touch with them and checking will be worth it, however, as the application fee for Skt Gallen is CHF250 (€230ish).

Good luck!

Hey there, all the best for your application! This detailed breakdown might allow you to assess your application better, as it also shows how many points you get for what part of your application.

https://www.unisg.ch/~/media/internet/c ... sim_en.pdf

Hope you have insane grades.

22 years. Croatian.
studied top business school in Hungary
internship at L'Oreal and Amazon
ok-ok grades
700 gmat
very friendly person with good skills
play chess and volleyball in teams