Background
An internationally renowned management program with a close-knit community
St.Gallen University’s Strategy and International Management (SIM) is a top-tier and internationally renowned management program in Switzerland. The small cohort of 50-60 students gets the balance of an international experience at a reputable business school alongside the relaxed atmosphere of living and learning in a small Swiss college town.
Challenge
Staying true to the school’s mission and vision
What makes SIM unique is the “community spirit” of the program and its students. With that in mind, it seemed like a mismatch that the school’s admissions decisions were based heavily on grades and test scores. For St.Gallen, the choice to redesign admissions came down to staying true to the program’s mission and vision.
"In admissions, it’s not only us selecting our students, it’s also them selecting us. Now, we have coherence between our mission and vision and our admissions process."
- Nathalie Naveda, Admissions Manager for St.Gallen SIMSolution
A more holistic admissions process
In order to create a personal, yet scalable, experience for SIM, St.Gallen sought out Kira’s admissions software. Using Kira, the SIM program introduces itself with a branded assessment portal and welcome video and the team gets a chance to hear from each applicant first-hand about why they wanted to come to St.Gallen and to gauge their potential.
Results
The right students find their place at St.Gallen SIM
Since reforming its admissions process, which included adding Kira, the communication between the school and prospective students has been smoother and more deliberate than previous years. Students are better informed and have fewer questions than they had in previous years as they learned more about the program through the process.
St.Gallen SIM welcomed the first class enrolled using the new broad-based admissions process to campus in the fall of 2017: 58 wonderful and energetic students, representing 28 different nationalities, and a 50/50 gender ratio. And the SIM team welcomed them with arms wide open.
