St. Gallen / Essays
St. Gallen supplemental essays
All 1 required prompt for 2026 entry, each with its own deep guide: what it is really asking, annotated examples, and what to avoid.
The single most useful insight: prepare the video interview like a speech, not a chat. You will get a small set of questions about your motivation and interests, short preparation time per question, and a fixed window to record each answer. Before you ever sit down, write and rehearse out loud a tight 60 to 90 second answer for the predictable themes: why this subject, why HSG specifically, a strength and how you have used it, a challenge you handled, and what you want to do after. Practising aloud (and recording yourself on your phone) is the difference between sounding prepared and sounding ambushed.
Do not over-script to the point of sounding robotic. Memorise the one concrete example at the heart of each answer (the internship, the model UN resolution you drafted, the data project), and let the wording flex around it. And remember the test comes first: the aptitude test is a reasoning test, so practise with timed logic and numerical-reasoning sets, sleep well, and treat it as the gate you must pass before the interview even matters.
Mistakes that sink St. Gallen essays
There is nowhere to submit one. Pouring weeks into a Common-App-style narrative about overcoming adversity is wasted effort for HSG. Redirect that energy into rehearsing spoken answers and drilling the aptitude test. The story still matters, but you tell it in 60 seconds to a camera, not in 650 words on a page.
The recorded format with short prep time is unforgiving for the unprepared. Applicants who think they will improvise freeze, ramble, or run out of time mid-sentence. Script and rehearse your core answers out loud, record practice runs, and watch them back. Preparation reads as confidence; improvisation usually reads as panic.
Saying HSG is prestigious or highly ranked tells them nothing. Name the specific programme (for example the Assessment Year leading into Business Administration or the Major in International Affairs), a feature you actually want, and how it connects to what you have already done. Specificity is the whole signal.
The video interview only happens if your aptitude-test result earns the invitation. Some applicants obsess over interview answers and walk into the timed reasoning test cold. Practise timed logical and numerical reasoning for weeks beforehand. The test is the first gate, not a formality.
St. Gallen essay FAQ
Does the University of St. Gallen require an application essay or personal statement?
No. There is no written application essay or personal statement for HSG. International applicants go through a selection procedure made up of a 70-minute online aptitude test and a recorded video interview. The video interview is effectively your spoken personal statement, since that is where you explain your motivation.
What is the St. Gallen video interview and what does it ask?
It is a recorded interview of 4 to 6 prerecorded questions lasting about 10 minutes total. You answer into your own webcam, not to a live person. The questions focus on your motivation and interests, and HSG assesses your motivation, interest, and your reflective and expressive skills. You get short preparation time before recording each answer.
Do American and other international students apply to St. Gallen through the Common App or UCAS?
No. HSG uses its own online application on unisg.ch, not the Common App or UCAS. After applying, international applicants with a recognised foreign school-leaving certificate must complete the HSG selection procedure (aptitude test plus video interview) because international places are capped at 25% by Swiss law.
What are the application deadlines for St. Gallen Bachelor 2026 entry?
The Bachelor application window runs 1 October to 30 April. If you submit a complete application by 10 January and register by 31 January, you can take the February selection round (aptitude test 10 Feb 2026, video interview 12 Feb 2026). Later applicants are limited to the June round (test 2 June 2026, interview 4 June 2026). Confirm exact dates on unisg.ch.
Can I study at St. Gallen in English?
Yes. The Assessment Year (first year) with an economics specialisation can be taken fully in English, which then leads into Bachelor majors such as Business Administration or International Affairs (BIA). You complete the selection procedure in your chosen language of instruction, so if you apply for the English track you interview in English.
How hard is it to get into St. Gallen as an international student?
It is competitive. International places are limited by a 25% legal cap, and third-party estimates put the acceptance rate in the mid-20s percent (HSG does not publish an official figure). The aptitude test is the first gate, so you must perform there before the video interview even counts.
Prompts and facts verified against HSG selection procedure (official), Admission to a Bachelor's programme (official), Application deadlines (official), Video interview instructions (official PDF) and Major International Affairs (BIA), English-taught (University of St. Gallen, 2026 entry cycle). Supplements change yearly, re-verify each cycle.
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