Accumulating Strength for Future Returns | Feng Chia University Department of Economics Hou-Hua Wang

Hello to everyone reading my sharing. I am Hou-Hua Wang, a fifth-year student in the Department of Economics at Feng Chia University. I have successfully received master's admission offers from University College London (UCL), University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and The University of Chicago.

I come from Ningbo, Zhejiang, China, and arrived in Taiwan to study in September 2019. Initially, I struggled to adapt to the cultural differences between the two sides of the strait, and it was my first time studying away from home, which led to a less-than-ideal GPA in my freshman year. Subsequently, COVID-19 broke out, and due to government policies, I was unable to return to Taiwan, forcing me to complete the second semester of my freshman year at home in Ningbo, Zhejiang. In the first semester of my sophomore year, I made a bold decision to double major in Mathematics, choosing to delay graduation to improve my academic performance and supplement my quantitative background (I advise against this, it's too exhausting). Since then, from sophomore year to now in my fifth year, I have been working hard to raise my GPA, eventually reaching a barely acceptable level.

Hello. The one giving a thumbs up is me.

About Quantitative Courses

Most North American graduate school applications have a separate list to detail the quantitative courses you have taken. It is recommended to take mathematics and computer science courses within your department, or choose to minor, double major, or dual major in computer science or mathematics. This greatly helps in getting into good graduate schools. There are many excellent professors and resources within the department, and elective courses outside the department are not difficult. Most do not require reports, just good preparation for exams to achieve high scores. You get what you put in.

About Language Preparation: Start Early! Start Early! Start Early!

If you plan to choose UK graduate schools, you can take your time in your senior year and solve it through conditional offers or language courses. However, if you are applying to North American schools, it is recommended to achieve suitable scores before starting your senior year. Generally speaking, IELTS 7 and TOEFL 105+ are appropriate scores. Additionally, a small tip: if you are preparing for the IELTS exam, you can start with TOEFL preparation. Once you achieve a certain score in TOEFL, switch to IELTS, and it will be easier to achieve high scores like 7, 7.5, or 8. As for GRE and GMAT, I haven't taken GMAT, so I'm not familiar with it. GRE is divided into verbal and quant sections. Aim for a perfect score in quant; it's not as intimidating as it seems, high school level can achieve 170. For verbal, aim for 150+, the key is to memorize difficult words.

About Internships

Do not waste any summer or winter vacation; try to arrange fulfilling learning or experiences. The logic is step by step. The recommended basic path includes the Big Four accounting firms, consulting companies, foreign investment banks, PE/VC, etc.

My first internship was during the summer between sophomore and junior year at a regional branch of CITIC Securities, working as a research assistant, tracking and analyzing multiple funds and related fields' fundamentals. The second internship was during the winter of junior year when I was on exchange at Shandong University in mainland China. This gave me the opportunity to end the semester early and work at an investment bank in Shanghai. At CITIC Construction Investment Securities' real estate group, I engaged in industry research for nearly three months, mainly building models, fundamental analysis, writing research reports, and calculating valuations. The third internship was also in mainland China at Minsheng Securities, working in bond underwriting. The main task was traveling across China to target companies to collect drafts, complete financial due diligence, and respond to internal controls and government inquiries. The last internship was at Frost & Sullivan, a comprehensive consulting company in the United States, working as a research assistant in the field of biosciences. The main tasks included assisting in organizing global biopharmaceutical conferences, helping complete industry white papers, processing raw data, and building databases.

These four internships covered primary and secondary markets, investment banks, research institutes, consulting, etc., providing me with rich internship experience when applying to foreign graduate schools. Although I may not compare to applicants with strong quantitative internships or US-based internships, compared to other applicants, I am unlikely to be disadvantaged in terms of internships. Additionally, the fields I worked in include real estate, biopharmaceuticals, semiconductors, automotive parts, and policies. These experiences also provide entry points for writing personal statements when applying to specific field programs.

Planning university life and learning with goals allows for daily growth and harvest.

Final Thoughts

Friends, do not worry about being hindered by Feng Chia University's bachelor's degree when applying to North American graduate schools. My friends at Feng Chia have successfully applied to prestigious universities such as The University of Chicago, Cornell University, and Columbia University in the United States. In the UK, I have received an admission notice from University College London, and other friends from business schools have received admission notices from Imperial College London and The London School of Economics and Political Science.

Additionally, during university, make sure to go out and see more. The college and university have many resources available for students. Every professor is enthusiastic and willing to write recommendation letters for you. Do not limit your progress; current investments are for future returns. Accumulating strength for future returns means that at 35 or 40 years old, the money you earn in one year could be the total of what you earned in the previous decades.

During university, make sure to go out and see more. The college and university have many resources available for students. Every professor is enthusiastic and willing to write recommendation letters for you. Do not limit your progress; current investments are for future returns.