Is University of St.Gallen overrated?? (Rant)
Besides being highly ranked on ft, HSG struggles to validate itself as a target school. Looking through their website and socials gives an impression they're more focused on climate change and societal problems than economics and finance. St.Gallen advertises itself with having connections with many prestigious firms, however, using LinkedIn as an indication, very few of their graduates are employed in actual front office IB/Consulting jobs. Also, their admission to bachelor appears way too easy for a top business school.
Would like to hear some thoughts from someone who is/has studied there.
Best placement in IB/MBB out of all schools in continental Europe, learn how to use Linkedin…
Got very different results with Bocconi/HEC leading the way
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm seeing 1.5-3x more employees in IB/MBB from schools I mentioned than HSG
Why the downvotes?
Because what you write on the placement is simply wrong and rather sounds like you failed the St.Gallen assessment test rather than actually trying to learn about the university
I did learn more about the university and was quite disappointed
It's underrated and they place a lot of good talent. Compared to the average LSE student who is a virgin at the age of 30, HSG students have personality and are fun to hang out with
Thanks for the answer
HSG is a Swiss public university. Therefore, it must accept anyone possessing a Swiss Gymnasial Matura (only ~20% of Swiss go through that path; most pursue a vocational path). The number of international students it can accept is also limited by law. The admission to the bachelor is, therefore, relatively “simple”. However, HSG proceeds to trim the batch via the “assessment year” where grades are curved so that a significant part of the batch fails.If you fail, you have one more chance to complete the assessment year but must go through everything again. The competition is thus high, and you will have to study hard to pass the year even if you are smart.
Concerning LinkedIn, plenty of people end up in IB, PE, VC and MBB. Did you only look at London? Because the vast majority of HSG graduates are perfectly happy to work in Switzerland or Germany instead of going to the UK.
Also, for the master programs, most of the HSG masters are open to anyone with a Swiss bachelor so the placement might not be stellar. However, the Master in Strategic Management (SIM) and the Master in Banking and Finance (MBF) have a selection process for all applicants and place incredibly well. Be sure to take that into account when looking at LinkedIn.
PS: News articles on a university website might not be the most accurate manner to judge if the university is “target” or not.
Thanks for the info. How many students are cut in the assessment year then? Regarding employment, I find that HSG graduates do end up in many high finance positions, but still less than other target business schools, both on absolute and relative basis. Also, I understand news articles on the university website are not an indication of target status, however, it gives a glimpse into the focus of university and its research. That's why I'm getting the impression HSG is more focused on "sustainable" economics than perhaps corporate finance.
HSG is relatively small compared to LSE and other target schools which leads to „better“ placement in a relative comparison to the number of students. Also, most students do not want to go to the UK and prefer to stay in Switzerland/Germany as the salaries are much higher and the quality of life is better
Question here:
Salaries are much higher in Switzerland, true, for Germany instead it is not true, salaries are similar and higher taxed in Germany than the UK. COL in big cities is similar
Question is: are these graduates mainly German native speakers or are there also internationals who end up working in Germany/Switzerland?
Just shows you have no clue about working in Germany. Investment Banking base for A1 is around 85k with a few places paying 10-15k more. Bonus is around 50% (again, few boutiques and T1 banks pay more in a good year). Graduate programms at corporates are often based on a regulated contract around 60-65k. Sure, taxes are a bit higher than in the UK but cost of living is significantly lower aswell
Dude, seriously, stop this „international“, „diversity“, „inclusion“ BS. You are not getting anywhere with this attitude. Firms in DACH are going to hire you if you speak the local language, same goes for other countries like France, Italy and so on. Don‘t expect firms in any foreign country to hire you if you don‘t speak the local language at least on a B2/C1 level. If you are not able to get to that level in 3-4 years while living in that country, you are not the right fit anyway
I am C1 but I speak with a very noticeable accent although people say they can understand me
Well inclusion, diversity and international teams are a fundamental element for every company who wants to expand internationally and in general international teams are important because there is extensive academic research that proves such teams perform better
My question was especially:
How is having an accent seen by Germany-based employers even if you speak C1? Are you aware of any success stories? Or you only see natives?
Understanding exactly how this environment is working is important for the many internationals who maybe consider studying in Germany.
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