If you are looking to apply to universities abroad for higher education, you may require “Certified Translations” of your documents. At Semiotic Transfer AG, we understand the stressful process of applying to different universities with differing translation requirements. In this article we look at how we can help you with this process.
Are you applying for higher education in universities outside of Switzerland? If so, you will be asked to submit certified translations of your application documents by many of these universities. Let’s look at the experience faced by one such student.

Julia’s Story [Certified Translations]
Meet Julia Muller. She is a student at the University of St. Gallen. Julia is about to complete her Bachelor of Business Administration course and is really looking forward to doing her Master’s course in the USA. With this goal in mind, Julia has applied to a bunch of colleges in the US which have good Masters programs in her field.
The Challenge
This is where she encountered the first of many administrative requirements which began to stress her out.
First, her entire application dossier which included her passport, educational qualifications, application letter and her professors’ recommendations had to be translated to English. Since she was bilingual in both German and English, she thought this would be an easy enough task for her.
That’s when she heard of the term “Certified Translation” for the first time.
As it turns out, having a simple english translation of her application documents was not enough to apply for top B-schools in the USA. All her documents had to be translated by an accredited authority and certified for accuracy. This is where her problems started.
For one, the number of places open for foreign students in US universities are very limited and so the competition is really fierce. To stand any chance of getting a good university with the specialization of her choice, Julia had to have a top notch application. The quality of her documents’ translation would play a make or break role in that.
Secondly, most of the translation companies that she approached were either too expensive or catered mainly to the corporate or legal translation clients and were not ready to take up a translation job for a student.
Finally, with the application deadlines for most universities fast approaching, Julia was running out of options fast. If she didn’t do something fast, she would lose out on six months of her precious time.

Where we Stepped In
This is when she was introduced by a classmate to Semiotic Transfer AG – A TÜV-certified translation services business with their main office in Baden. By now Julia had evaluated a bunch of translation companies and was really wary of being disappointed again. But with submission deadlines fast approaching she had very little choice.
As a part of their services, she noticed that they offered multiple variations of the certified translation service. This included
- Notarized translations
- Translations authenticated with an apostille.
- Translations certified with declaration under oath.
This was a big deal for her because different universities that she was applying to had different requirements. And here was a one shop stop which was covering all her needs.
What She Heard From Our Customers About Us:
Once she had a basic understanding of the services being offered, she checked out the customer reviews to ensure that she was getting quality service. This is what she saw:
I would definitely recommend you. As a private individual with a small budget, I didn’t get the impression that I’d have to incur high costs although I needed the work completing urgently. I could tell that the job was carefully handled.
Katharina Carène
I just received the certified translation by post that I requested a few days ago.It’s perfect! I endorse it 100%. Thank you for everything and especially for delivering the job with such speed and precision. Excellent!
Xio Fong Vilaysane – Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation
You did a great job with our project. All contact with your office was dealt with in both a friendly and professional manner – thank you very much. We’ll definitely be recommending you. I’ll certainly come to you again with follow-up requests (translations). Thank you again for your great work.
Ueli Jermann
And many more testimonials like this. After this, the decision was a no brainer. She got in touch with the team at Semiotic Transfer AG and they took over from there. All her applications were translated with the required certifications at a very reasonable price point. And they were dispatched to the universities on time. Check blog https://www.traducao-juramentada.ch/ (tips in portuguese)

What We Offer You:
This was the experience of Julia Muller who was looking for certified translation services to apply for higher education in universities in the US. If you are planning to apply for study in the US or any other foreign countries you are likely facing similar challenges. On one hand the idea of certified translations is probably new to you. On top of that, different universities often have different requirements for admission. If that was not difficult enough, you have to get all this done and dispatched in time for your application to be considered.
Most critical of them all is of course the requirement that the translations meet a very high standard of quality. After all, your admission to a course and university of your choice depends on it.
Conclusion
Applying to foreign universities is stressful enough as it is. But with Semiotic Transfer AG, you don’t need to worry about your certified translation requirements. Click here to book a free consultation to understand how we can help you with certified translations for your university application.