HSG admission test

Foreign applicants for a Bachelor's degree who have recognised secondary school leaving certificates have to take the admission test.

The following applicants are exempt from the selection process:

• applicants with Swiss or Liechtenstein nationality
• applicants with a Swiss permanent residence permit C
• applicants with a recognised Swiss or Liechtenstein maturity certificate (Maturität, Matura)
• applicants with a degree from a recognised Swiss university

You cannot apply for the admission test yourself. You must first apply for matriculation at the HSG via the online application tool. If you fulfil all admission requirements, the Admissions Office will then register you for the test.
You will receive an email from us providing you with a link to your Compass postbox. In your Compass postbox you will find the Confirmation of Registration with your enrolment number.
Make sure you can receive our emails by adding the following address compass-noreply@unisg.ch to your safe sender list in your email settings.

You must sit the admission test in the language you have selected as the language of instruction for the first year of study (Assessment Year).

The admission test takes place every year in July, on the Wednesday of calendar week 28, at the University of St.Gallen. We publish the updated, detailed schedule at the beginning of April.

The written test takes place on Wednesday. The test takes four hours, including a break. Applicants with the best test results will be considered. Please bring your passport or ID card to the test. 

We reserve the right to conduct interviews with some candidates. Candidates who are invited to an additional interview complete the interview online by individual appointment.

Only use blue or black pens in the written test. Non-German or non-English speaking students may use a dictionary without any handwritten notes. No other resources are permitted. Pocket calculators, mobile telephones, notebooks or other electronic devices are strictly prohibited.

The Test results will be available in your electronic postbox by Friday after the test. You will receive an email with the login instructions as soon as your results will be online.

The admission test at the University of St.Gallen tests aptitude and not knowledge. Intellectual capacity, creativity and the ability to solve problems are crucial. The admission test is divided into five sections: text analysis, quantitative problem-solving, pattern recognition, language systems and diagram interpretation. We recommend you take a look at the sample questions that we provide for preparation.

Should you be invited to an interview, you will be expected to talk about your background, your strengths and weaknesses, your experiences, your reason for choosing the selected degree programme and your goals. It comes down to the quality of content of your responses and how you respond to questions in the interview.

You may repeat the test once - the following year at the earliest.

No, the admission test cannot be taken in advance. You have to take the test in the July before you want to start your degree.

Exception: If you can demonstrate that at the time of the admission test you will be completing your military or community service outside Europe, you may submit a written request to the Admissions Office  at the University of St.Gallen by no later than 30 April the preceding year.

Yes, foreign applicants for the Bachelor's degree programme at the University of St.Gallen can only be admitted by taking the University's admission test.

Exception:
If your legal residence at the time of obtaining your secondary school leaving certificate was outside Europe (all member states of the European Council and Belarus), you may be admitted with a sufficient score on one of the following international study qualification tests:

Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)
Graduate Record Examinations (GRE)
Law School Admission Test (LSAT)

The score that determines whether you will be accepted to the Bachelor's degree programme for the semester in question will only be determined once the results of the admission tests of the University of St.Gallen are known.

You have to submit the test result with your application documents in due time. Your application will only be considered if you can demonstrate at least the following scores: GMAT 650 points, GRE Revised (quantitative reasoning) 158 points, LSAT 161 points.

To allow us to verify your test result electronically, please state the institution code of the University of St.Gallen when taking the test. If you have already taken the test, please instruct GMAC or ETS to provide us with your test result.
GMAT: HSG institution code 5RK-QG-07
GRE: HSG institution code 7202