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yotomo
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 07 Mar 2015, 02:57
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Hey Guys, anybody applying for the MBF this year or has already gotten in?

St. Gallen is my top pick and I'm going to apply as soon as my last employer gets around to sending me my letter of reference ;).

I'm a German/US citizen, did my econ undergrad in Mannheim, Germany. GPA of 2.5 on the german scale which is pretty mediocre. GMAT 760, 1 summer internship at a boutique asset management firm, 1 six month internship at a large asset management firm in equity research, 1 six month internship at a boutique IB in Fixed Income trading.

Please post in this thread and share your profiles/thoughts on the programm if your applying/have already gotten in.

Cheers.
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mnm156
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 13 Mar 2015, 05:28
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Hey yeah i finished my application last night. What about you ? have you heard anything back yet ?

The program seems to be pretty good but based on previous threads it seems a large advantage being multilingual (German or French particularly). What do you think ?
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bt90
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 13 Mar 2015, 09:13
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Hi! I sent my application earlier this week, still being processed. I do not speak fluent German either, just a bit of French, and yes I think it is very advisable to learn the language specially if you want to work in Switzerland... I have been already admitted to RSM MSc Finance and Investments, and I am waiting reply from LSE, HEC and Imperial's MSc Finance. GRE Q166, 2years exp at FO roles, CFA Level I.
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bt90
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 13 Mar 2015, 09:22
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yotomo
Hey Guys, anybody applying for the MBF this year or has already gotten in?

St. Gallen is my top pick and I'm going to apply as soon as my last employer gets around to sending me my letter of reference ;).

I'm a German/US citizen, did my econ undergrad in Mannheim, Germany. GPA of 2.5 on the german scale which is pretty mediocre. GMAT 760, 1 summer internship at a boutique asset management firm, 1 six month internship at a large asset management firm in equity research, 1 six month internship at a boutique IB in Fixed Income trading.

Please post in this thread and share your profiles/thoughts on the programm if your applying/have already gotten in.

Cheers.
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FYI, letters of reference are not taken into consideration by the Admissions Committee, just apply, you have a good profile. Watch out the Application Instructions, it is very transparent how they "score" an application.

I edit to post this:

Criteria and corresponding maximum points (as per "MBF Admission Rules"):
50 points GMAT or GRE Test (quantitative reasoning section)
30 points Grade Average at Bachelor's Level
15 points Extracurricular Activities
10 points Letter of Motivation

Regards,
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yotomo
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 13 Mar 2015, 10:29
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Sent my application of this morning. How would you that they don't take reference letters into account? Just because they merely state proof of extracurriculars is needed, doesn't imply that they wouldn't use letters of reference to determine how many points they award you for "extracurricular activities"

I know their scoring system, although how they convert grading scales is a bit opaque. There is no standard for converting foreign grading scales to the swiss system, and from what I heard from other people studying in Switzerland, swiss universities convert foreign systems more harshly than vice versa.

I speak German, so this isn't an issue for me personally. I think there is definitely some truth to the claims made in the 2014 MBF thread about the language issue for landing a job in Switzerland. I think one should also take into account, that St. Gallen itself is not exactly an international hub and student life in general will be a lot harder, if one doesn't speak German. Speaking french will help your chances if you want to land in Lausanne or Geneva, but the northern part of Switzerland, including St. Gallen, is german-dominant.
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bt90
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 13 Mar 2015, 10:57
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Yeah, you probably right, a letter of reference will never hurt your chances... :)
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 13 Mar 2015, 13:20
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Hey guys,

I am taking the GMAT in early April and I hope to finish the application by April 10th.
Hopefully we will all meet in St Gallen :)

Btw I am not completely sure whether to apply to the MBF program or to the Masters in Finance&Accounting, which would allow me to take many electives in German.

What do you think ?
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bt90
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 13 Mar 2015, 15:22
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Ivan91
Hey guys,

I am taking the GMAT in early April and I hope to finish the application by April 10th.
Hopefully we will all meet in St Gallen :)

Btw I am not completely sure whether to apply to the MBF program or to the Masters in Finance&Accounting, which would allow me to take many electives in German.

What do you think ?
Show more

I'd say that depends on your career aspirations... I may be wrong but I think that the MBF is the "flagship" program and thus the most difficult one to get into because it is targeted to people willing to work in front office and Investment Banking. The Master in F&A should be geared towards working in the Finance Department of Corporates or consulting... At the end of the day what matters is the person but that is my idea.
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Ivan91
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 14 Mar 2015, 02:18
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I guess you are right.
Are you guys applying for some fellowships ?
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mnm156
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 14 Mar 2015, 03:07
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Yeah i think you are probably right bt90.

As for the fellowships, my understanding is that for most of them they will simply let you whether you got one when you are admitted (at least for those that are given out by the banks).
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Ivan91
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 14 Mar 2015, 03:15
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I think there is an exception for that scholarship:

Scholarship of the Bernt Rohrer Stiftung
For the Autumn Semester 2015 the Bernt Rohrer Stiftung awards a scholarship for new MBF entrants. The scholarship supports the student with EUR 500 per month. The support is limited to one year. For more information please see the information and application form in the download section.

https://www.unisg.ch/~/media/internet/co ... .pdf?fl=en

Unfortunately its only in German, which basically means that the application should (?) be in German ?
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mnm156
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 14 Mar 2015, 06:08
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Hey I checked it out (not sure if you speak German), and well they don't specify in what language but they need a motivational letter, recommendation letter from a professor, transcripts and your high school diploma. I recommend that if you want clarity on that point to send an email to the admissions office ! :)
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 14 Mar 2015, 06:15
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Yeah, I speak German, I will definitely contact the admission office because, I might be wrong but, the fact that the description is in German, at least to me, suggests that the application should be in German and even that the scholarship might be open for Swiss/German students only..but I will ask and let you know :)

P.S

Can "Abiturzeugnis" mean college diploma as well or it is high school diploma for sure ?
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bt90
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 14 Mar 2015, 08:01
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High school.
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bt90
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 17 Mar 2015, 00:35
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What I do not understand is why they call it Master of Arts instead of Master of Science because the content of the course is obviously very quantitative and a thesis is required... Master of Arts is usually for humanities like literature, art, etc. Maybe in the "German world" is different?
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 17 Mar 2015, 05:11
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haha yeah it surprised me as well. To be honest its still considered a very good program so it didn't really put me off :)
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yotomo
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 17 Mar 2015, 05:35
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Friend of mine holds a Master of Arts in Physics ;). Don't think it holds much meaning, the school is recognizable enough that employers won't think you graduated in art history.
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 17 Mar 2015, 05:44
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Yes I agree its pointless from the point of view of the quality of the program and career prospects since the program is extremely well-established. For me it is the best finance program in Continental Europe together with HEC MIF. I just wanted to know the criteria for being MA or MSc if there is any...
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 31 Mar 2015, 01:37
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bt90
yotomo
Hey Guys, anybody applying for the MBF this year or has already gotten in?

St. Gallen is my top pick and I'm going to apply as soon as my last employer gets around to sending me my letter of reference ;).

I'm a German/US citizen, did my econ undergrad in Mannheim, Germany. GPA of 2.5 on the german scale which is pretty mediocre. GMAT 760, 1 summer internship at a boutique asset management firm, 1 six month internship at a large asset management firm in equity research, 1 six month internship at a boutique IB in Fixed Income trading.

Please post in this thread and share your profiles/thoughts on the programm if your applying/have already gotten in.

Cheers.

FYI, letters of reference are not taken into consideration by the Admissions Committee, just apply, you have a good profile. Watch out the Application Instructions, it is very transparent how they "score" an application.

I edit to post this:

Criteria and corresponding maximum points (as per "MBF Admission Rules"):
50 points GMAT or GRE Test (quantitative reasoning section)
30 points Grade Average at Bachelor's Level
15 points Extracurricular Activities
10 points Letter of Motivation

Regards,
Show more

Hi!

I find the admission criteria rather confusing. In total they add up to 105, is it the purpose of scoring 100?
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mnm156
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University of St. Gallen (HSG) 2015 MBF intake 31 Mar 2015, 04:15
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No, essentially you can get in only on your GPA and GMAT if you score 70 points or more. Otherwise if you manage to attain 80 points or more using all four criteria, you are in as well. However there is a GMAT waiver if you have attended a Swiss university for undergraduate. If you want more details, they have a document on their admissions website outlining what GPA equals what score and what GMAT equals what score which can be found at:

https://www.unisg.ch/~/media/internet/co ... .pdf?fl=en
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