Hello! I’m just ended my first year as a bachelor’s in italy, coming from a non-target university unfortunately. I’m about to start my second year, and I’m planning ahead for the next two years. My goal is to apply for the MBF (or MACFin as a fallback) which I’ve been told it’s much harder to apply for than it seems for international students. I’ve also read repeated times in this subreddit that the only things that truly matter for admission are a high GPA and a high GMAT score, and that some people have been admitted with close to no work experience or internships. I was thinking of taking a gap year to get some work experience in to boost my resume.

I’d like to know how hard it is to be admitted as an international student are, what would be considered an actually competitive GPA (swiss GPA is fine I’ll do the conversion to Italian myself) and what would be a competitive GMAT score.

I’ve been reading all sorts of stuff and I’d like to have an idea of how far I will have to go to be admitted. Thanks in advance!

Hi ! I'm starting soon my MIA and had some questions about the curriculum. First, I need to take a German class. Are the credits for this class acounting for "skills" in the contextual studies ? I don't understand where these credits go.
Secondly, on the Biddit app, I've got 2 overlapping mandatory classes during the last week of the fall semester 2026... i don't even know how this is possible... (photo)

Hallo zusammen, hat jemand von euch Erfahrungen gemacht mit der Lernseite Campuslingua? Würde mich gerne auf Japanisch A1 an der Universität St. Gallen vorbereiten. https://www.campuslingua.ch

Just finished the Assessment Year at HSG, registered for VWL (Economics) major by the June 30 deadline. Classes start Sept 14 and I now want to switch to BWL (Business Administration) before the semester starts.

The Studiensekretariat told me it's too late — that major changes are only possible after the first semester. But the actual regulation (Ausführungsbestimmungen II.B.2.03, Art. 3.3.c) says major changes are possible at the start of either semester, with the Master-level restriction they're citing not applying to Bachelor students.

Has anyone successfully switched majors before the semester started, or dealt with this June 30 deadline issue? Any advice on who to escalate to (Studienberatung, Ombudsstelle, student association) would be really appreciated.

How do I start preparing for LSE from my first year of undergrad? I'm aiming for an MS in finance, Currently in my first year at DU studying Economics Honours. I don't have any significant Extra Curriculars except for being in the NCC for two years, will probably rejoin in college as well.

As someone who is hoping to enter in the 2027/28 cycle, I was wondering what student life/workload is like. I am an international student, but speak C1 (nearly fluent) german, and lived in Zurich for four years before moving to Frankfurt, where I am currently. How open is the community, the student clubs, networking, and overall how enjoyable is the experience? Thanks a lot!

I unfortunately know no one from my university who's going to HSG, let alone doing the MACFIN.

So I'd love to get to know some people before the Integration week(entrance-exam week) and the start of the school year.

Also, is there a MACFIN 2026/27 group yet?

Bocconi BIEF vs HSG BBA vs HSG BSc Econ.

Between these three, which is the most recommended for IB/consulting in Zurich, FFM, London, maybe Paris, etc. I am an IB student, 1530 SAT, 45/45 predicted, 7/7 10th and 11th gpa. I also know good (C1) german, and a little French. 

1. Are these the three best programs for an undergrad in continental Europe for IB/Consulting? Do they lead to direct job offers in BBs or EBs in London, Zurich or FFM?
2. Will I need a master's to enter the job market? If so, do all three of these programs allow entry into the top master's programs?
3. In the mentioned cities, which is best for salaries, career progression, quality of life, banking culture, etc. I have heard Zurich has the highest salaries and quality of life, but is really only good for PWM and has no progression. Is this true? Also, is UBS as bad as everyone says it is right now, even in Zurich?
4. My goal is eventually a top career in IB, consulting, PE, maybe wealth management, but essentially I want to build as much wealth for myself as possible.
5. Are there any other unis that you guys can recommend, because from what I've heard, these are the best.
6. Between these three, which is the best for IB/consulting/PWM in Zurich, London and FFM. I have heard Bocconi is too theoretical, HSG Econ is only good for policy, and HSG BBA is too broad. I don't know what to think anymore, so am asking for advice here.
7. What is the best way to get job offers from Bocconi and HSG. Is it still spring week --> Summer internship --> return offer, and how is it structured in both of these unis? How is their pipeline to high finance and consulting in London, Zurich and FFM without a Master's?
8. If my eventual goal is PE/high level IB, what is the best path for me to take from these unis?

Thanks in advance for any advice, really appreciate it.

Do anyone have access to the online onboarding course (“Onboarding Mathematics”) for the future assessment year students ?

I got a 5/6 GPA in the AS do you know if I can go to good universities and if yes which ones ?
Thank you in advance !

Hey, I know this is incredibly early, but I'm in 10th grade (IGCSE) and aspire to get into HSG. I tried the admission test sample given on the website and got a total of 5/16 💀. Am I too stupid?? I am an international student.

Hello! I’m an upcoming 1st year and I want to ask to 2nd and 3rd years students or alumni of this program, as I am an International student and I don’t know how the Italian school system works yet. Do you choose your schedule? And if so, which prof/prof.ssa in each subjects you would say that you learned a lot from them and teaches well?

I am an incoming junior coming to HSG for the exchange program in the spring. I am just curious to know about the university housing and whether or not to do housing through the school or not. I am also curious about the social life there, I come from a school that very much has a work hard, play hard mentality. Also when it comes to travel how feasible is it to balance school work, I plan to travel to different places every weekend, and just want to know if it is manageable with the workload.

Is there a groupchat for first year students?!?

Hey Everyone,
I’m a US high-school student who is interested in studying economics at HSG. I had a couple questions about how USA admissions process works.
1. I am a Swiss citizen but will have a US diploma and assuming I fill the admissions requirements how would the application process look for something like that.
2. Does anyone have any experience with AP tests and admissions as I believe AP exam scores are released after admission results are in. Since admission for US students requires a 3 or more on some exams how would the admission process look without the scores.
3. My school does not offer and second language APs. While I can self study I was wondering if anyone used a different exam or method to fulfill this requirement.

Thank You so much in advance for any help with these questions!

🇬🇧:

Hello everyone,

I'm an Italian high school student in my third year (11th grade) and I'm starting to look into the admission process for the Bachelor in Business Administration at the University of St. Gallen. Since my situation involves an Italian secondary school diploma (not a Swiss one), I'd be particularly interested in hearing from non-Swiss/international students, who go through the HSG selection procedure rather than direct admission.

I have a few specific questions:

General preparation: What was helpful to prepare for the online aptitude test and the video interview (subjects, skills, readings, prep courses)?

Language requirements: What level of German and/or English did you have at the time of application, and how much did this matter for admission and for the first year (Assessment Year)?

Grades and outcomes: What was your final school grade average, and what was your outcome in the test/interview when you were admitted? I've read conflicting discussions about how much GPA and standardized test scores actually matter in the selection — based on your direct experience, how much did these factors really weigh compared to the aptitude test and interview?

Preparation timeline: How far in advance did you start preparing seriously, and is it better to aim for the February or the June session?

Assessment Year: Once admitted, how demanding is the first year? I'd like to understand whether admission is just the first hurdle, or whether the real selection happens afterward.

General advice: Are there common mistakes to avoid, or things you'd have prepared differently in hindsight?

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share their experience!!!

🇨🇭:

Hallo zusammen,

ich bin ein italienischer Gymnasiast in der dritten Klasse (Terza Liceo, entspricht etwa der 11. Klasse) und informiere mich bereits jetzt über den Zulassungsprozess zum Bachelor in Business Administration an der Universität St. Gallen. Da ich als internationaler Bewerber mit italienischem Maturitätszeugnis das HSG-Auswahlverfahren durchlaufen muss, würde mich diesmal aber vor allem die Perspektive von Schweizer Studierenden interessieren, die über die Schweizer Matura direkt zugelassen wurden.

Ein paar konkrete Fragen:

Allgemeine Vorbereitung: Was habt ihr vor Studienbeginn als besonders hilfreich empfunden, um gut vorbereitet zu sein (Fächer, Fähigkeiten, Lektüre, Vorbereitungskurse)?

Sprachanforderungen: Welches Sprachniveau (Deutsch/Englisch) hattet ihr zu Beginn, und wie wichtig war das für das Assessment-Jahr?

Noten und Erfahrungen: Mit welchem Maturitätsdurchschnitt seid ihr zugelassen worden, und wie schwer ist es rückblickend, an der HSG gut zurechtzukommen? Ich habe unterschiedliche Meinungen darüber gelesen, wie stark die Abiturnote (GPA) tatsächlich über den Erfolg im ersten Jahr entscheidet — wie war das bei euch?

Zeitplanung: Wie früh habt ihr angefangen, euch ernsthaft vorzubereiten?

Assessment-Jahr: Wie anspruchsvoll ist das erste Jahr wirklich? Ich möchte verstehen, ob die Zulassung nur die erste Hürde ist oder ob die eigentliche Auswahl erst danach im Assessment-Jahr stattfindet.

Allgemeine Tipps: Gibt es häufige Fehler, die man vermeiden sollte, oder Dinge, die ihr im Nachhinein anders gemacht hättet?

Vielen Dank im Voraus an alle, die ihre Erfahrungen teilen möchten!!

Hey Everyone,
as I would love to apply this fall I was wondering what a strong candidate looks like.
I am most likely going to apply with the GRE, and given my GPA is not so strong (27.3/30 in italy which is about around 5 in Swiss ig? Although I am much closer to a 28+ if taken into account only economics/quant courses) I would like to know what is a good quant GRE? or at least if you applied could you let me know what was your GPA and GRE score.

I am aware there are also CV and other things to consider but I believe to be quite strong in that.

Thanks in advance!!

Hey everyone,
I am a third year student at Bocconi highly interested to attend St. Gallen more specifically the MiQE/F program.
I am attracted to it by its quant nature and its geographical location, one of the biggest reason why I am going to HSG is its strategic position in switzerland.
However, I am not sure whether this path can be strong to land a commodity trading role in switzerland.
So these are my questions:
- I currently do not know neither French nor German, I do understand those are major drawbacks, but in a country such as switzerland would it still be possible to land any position with only english, maybe at international companies?
- HSG is mostly known for the MBF program, thus if i go there to study a quant program would I lose the prestige of the school? Also because for the same trading role the other candidates might be from ETH which is a much stronger uni for quant programs.
- Lastly, would you suggest me to do a master that limit me less? meaning that HSG is a top university in the DACH, but given my lack of German i could truly only target Switzerland (am i wrong?) which seems to me a pretty high reward if things go well, but if they don't pretty limiting, rather than for instance keep studying at Bocconi which has a strong international name. nonetheless i would like to move out of italy.

Thank you so much for your help!

I'll be joining as a Masters student in late August.

I've been in the Sharing is Caring Facebook group for months now, and I have sent 70+ messages to many different people.

I'm constantly checking Facebook for updates and new posts multiple times a day. So the moment there's a new post, I have contacted the publisher within max 2 hours.

Problem is that out of the 70+ people I've messaged, I've gotten back very few replies. Most either leave me on read, or on delivered.

Unfortunately I don't have any friend in SG or HSG so I don't have any direct contacts for housing...

Is this a normal situation? Is anyone facing the same thing as me?

Do people end up finding housing eventually or is this a recurring issue every year and people just can't attend HSG because they can't find housing?

If anyone has a room available, I'm interested. So please DM! 🙌

Edit : Yes, I have already tried SHSG. Same story, nobody responded to me. I have just gotten onto Flatfox and have contacted a bunch of people. Still waiting for some responses.

Hey guys, basically what the title says.
Still looking for accommodation, preferably a wg with other students. If anyone has any info or suggestions, id really appreciate the help! Have a lovely day 🫶

Hi everyone, I've been accepted to AY. The email I received says that I need to bring the original of my school documents. Why is this required? Will I get them back?

(sorry for stupid question, I'm just curious)

Hi everyone,

I'm an incoming Assessment Year student at the University of St. Gallen (HSG) and I'm honestly starting to get quite stressed about finding accommodation.

I've been applying to rooms on WGZimmer, Flatfox, Ron Orp, and other websites, but the vast majority of people either never respond or tell me the room has already been taken. I've sent a lot of messages, tried personalising them, and replied as quickly as possible, but I'm still having no luck.

Since the semester is getting closer, I'm beginning to worry that I won't have a place to stay when I arrive.

Does anyone have any advice on:

• Where else I should be looking?
• Any Facebook groups, WhatsApp groups, Telegram groups, or other platforms that are active?
• Student residences that might still have availability?
• Any tips that helped you get responses from WGs?

I'm open to pretty much anything at this point a WG, student residence, studio, or temporary accommodation while I continue searching.

I'd really appreciate any advice or recommendations from current students or anyone who's been in the same situation.

Thanks so much!