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St. Gallen  /  Essays  /  Prompt 1

St. Gallen: The video interview

About 10 minutes total; roughly 60 to 90 seconds per answer after a short prep window. No live interviewer; limited or no re-recording.

A recorded video interview of 4 to 6 prerecorded questions, about 10 minutes total, answered into your webcam after short preparation time. Questions probe your motivation and interests; HSG assesses motivation, interest, and your reflective and expressive skills.
What it’s really asking

HSG is asking, in spoken form: why do you want to study this subject at St. Gallen, what drives you, and can you think and express yourself clearly under time pressure? Because there is no written essay, these answers carry the personal, motivational weight that a US personal statement normally would.

Why they ask it

The interview exists because international places are capped and demand is high, so HSG needs a fast, comparable way to judge motivation and communication beyond grades and the aptitude test. They want students who chose HSG deliberately and can hold a clear line of thought on camera, which mirrors how you will perform in seminars and case discussions.

Three ways in
Anchor each answer in one real thing

Pick a concrete anchor for each likely question (an internship, a competition, a book that changed how you see the field) so you are recalling something true, not inventing on the spot. Real detail is what makes spoken motivation believable.

Write each answer as a tight spoken paragraph

Use one sentence of claim, one specific example, and one sentence on what it means for studying at HSG. Then rehearse it aloud until it fits the time window naturally, so the structure carries you when nerves hit.

Record yourself and fix two habits

Film yourself on your phone answering common prompts, watch it back once, and fix the two worst habits (filler words, looking away, running long). Repeat until you sound calm and finish on time. Self-review is the fastest improvement you can make.

✕  Weak opening

“Ever since I was a child, I have been passionate about business and have always dreamed of studying at a prestigious university like St. Gallen.”

✓  Strong opening

“Last summer I helped a family friend's bakery move its orders online, and watching a spreadsheet change how many loaves they baked is why I want to study business at HSG.”

✦ Annotated example · Why HSG, on camera (spoken answer, ~75 sec). Written by EssayLens to teach, not a real applicant’s essay. Tap a highlighted line →
Why do you want to study at the University of St. Gallen? Two reasons, and they are connected. 1First, the integrated curriculum. I do not want to study finance in a sealed room. Last year I ran the budget for our student council, and the spreadsheet was the easy part. The hard part was convincing forty people that cutting one event funded three others. 2That is St. Gallen to me: economics taught next to ethics, politics, and the awkward human part where you actually have to decide. 3Second, the people. I have read that the Assessment Year throws you into teams you did not choose, and you sink or swim together. 4I want that. I am better when I am responsible to other people, not just to a grade. 5So those are my two reasons: a curriculum that refuses to separate the numbers from the people, and a place that trusts students to figure things out together. That is exactly where I want to spend the next three years.6
  1. 1Opens by restating the question in one breath and immediately signaling structure ("two reasons"). On camera with no interviewer, a verbal roadmap in the first five seconds buys you composure and tells HSG you can think in order under time pressure.
  2. 2A concrete, ownable anecdote with a number (forty people, one event, three) does the work no adjective can. It shows motivation through behavior already done, not asserted, which is exactly the reflective evidence HSG screens for.
  3. 3Names a specific, real feature of HSG (the Contextual Studies / integrated model) and ties it straight back to the anecdote. Specificity here proves the applicant researched the school rather than reusing a generic "prestige" answer.
  4. 4Clean verbal transition ("Second") keeps the structure audible, which matters enormously when the listener cannot scan back over a page. Referencing the Assessment Year shows genuine homework on how HSG actually works.
  5. 5A short, plain sentence of self-knowledge. After the evidence, this reads as earned reflection rather than a slogan, and the brevity lets it land cleanly on camera.
  6. 6Closes by looping back to the "two reasons" frame from the opening, which signals control of time and structure right up to the final second. A calm, complete ending beats trailing off and is the single most controllable way to project composure.
Stuck? Start here
  • What is the one concrete thing (a project, job, competition, or book) that best explains why I want this subject, and can I tell it in 60 seconds?
  • If an admissions officer asked 'why HSG and not any other business school', what specific feature would I name, and is it actually true of HSG?
  • When I watch a recording of myself answering, what are the two habits that make me look least prepared, and how do I fix them?
Before you submit
  • I have rehearsed each core answer out loud and timed it to fit roughly 60 to 90 seconds.
  • Every answer names something specific (a real example and a real HSG feature), not generic praise.
  • I have done at least one full practice recording on my webcam and watched it back.

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