Huang Chen, Duke University Fuka Business School.
Name: Huang Chen.
Gender: Female
Bachelor degree: graduated from Fudan University 1996.
Major: chemistry
The nearest company: an American environmental protection company.
Achievements: GMAT 720, TOEFL 653, GPA 3.2.
Applicants: Tucker School of Business, Dartmouth University, Fuka School of Business, Duke University, Kellogg School of Business, Northwestern University, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California.
Admission schools: Duke University Fuka Business School (final choice), University of Michigan Business School, University of Southern California Marshall Business School.
Our reporter: Compared with other famous American universities, Duke University's MBA class is relatively small, with about 300 full-time students. But relatively speaking, there are fewer domestic applicants. Nice to meet you! Do you want to introduce yourself first
Huang Chen: Nice to meet you, too. I 1996 graduated from the Chemistry Department of Fudan University. I chose chemistry partly because of the influence of my family and partly because I want to improve my knowledge of natural science. When I was in high school, I studied at Shanghai Foreign Languages School, and my language and humanities were very strong.
I still think I made the right decision. Difficult science education has cultivated my learning ability, which is of great help to my future work. But personally, I am not a person suitable for working in a laboratory. I am talkative, outgoing and like to deal with people. So I finally decided to switch from scientific research to another more exciting field-business.
I have worked in this American-funded company from the beginning, and I am one of the few employees in that company. 1997, starting a new company was not as fashionable as it is now. No customer resources, no social relations, and even no Chinese catalog. It is in this environment that I began to enter the market of environmental protection products and services.
Compared with other MBA applicants from China, my background is not typical, so I have no advantage in MBA application. But the self-confidence honed by these years' work finally made me apply successfully. I think the best thing I did was to successfully "sell" my characteristics to business schools.
Our reporter: You are strong in liberal arts in high school and strong in science in undergraduate course. Finally, you chose to go into business! Since every business school says to admit people from any industry and any undergraduate background, why do you think your background is not good for applying?
Huang Chen: I call a certain type of China applicants that some top business schools like "typical". Many conservative schools don't like "atypical" China students. I hold a relatively junior position in a small company, which is not an advantage. Maybe you can call it "characteristics", but this is not recruiting undergraduates. Business school is a vocational school. They compare business people horizontally. They only look for certain types of people. Only in this range do they seek diversification. Therefore, those with "atypical" backgrounds must first integrate into this school before they can stand out. In the United States, people with low positions in small companies generally do not need to study for an MBA. At least you need to prove that you are no worse than those people in Fortune 100 Company.
Therefore, if an applicant with a special background can solve the problem of "suitability" first, and then give full play to the unique advantages of his background, then his own characteristics will have a competitive advantage. Otherwise, the result may be miserable. It is also difficult for people with unique backgrounds to find jobs while studying for MBA. At least that's my understanding.
Our reporter: Why did you choose to do business in the sea?
Huang Chen: Almost everyone will ask me why I switched from chemistry to business when they first meet me.
The answer is simple. I want to go my own way. As I said before, my personality determines that I don't like life in the laboratory. I chose science because I am curious about the principles behind natural phenomena, but that doesn't mean I want to devote myself to science. I may be too idealistic when choosing my major. I only consider broadening my personal knowledge, not looking for a job. However, I have strong communication and expression skills, and science education in universities can make me develop more comprehensively, not just in one direction.
When I achieve this goal and become an all-round development person, I think business is the most suitable field for me to exert my comprehensive quality.
If I had decided to study chemistry five years ago, with my GPA, GRE and TOEFL, I could have gone abroad with the full prize, but I am proud that I made the right decision. I didn't go to America because I was going to America. Many of my friends studying for Ph.D. in chemistry in the United States are trying to switch from chemistry to business. I was lucky to find my real interest earlier than them, and I made every step firmly.
When applying for MBA, every school will ask this question: Who are you? How did you get here? What do you want to do in the future? Have you tried to answer this question? This is a difficult but worth thinking about.
Our reporter: Indeed. Many people who have experienced it say this is an MBA application * and they have to look back and think about who they really are. What's your answer? What is your "selling point"?
Huang Chen: In a sense, everyone is actually promoting sales. You sell good ideas to your boss, your charm to your boyfriend or girlfriend, or your expertise to your company.
I am good at selling our company and its products, but at first I didn't know how to sell myself. Modesty and moderation, these virtues of China people don't work in the United States.
My first application document was complete rubbish. It's not hard to find my uniqueness, but when I wrote them in the application document, I found that the article was still very boring.
Obviously, uniqueness does not guarantee that you can get into a good school unless you are good at selling them. So later I focused on environmental protection, company creation and communication skills. I lack leadership experience, so I persuaded my boss to entrust me with more responsibilities and design training courses for new salespeople. I actively create experiences instead of making up stories.
Things didn't end there. I write stories as succinctly as possible, leaving more places to analyze what I have learned, how my past experience will help me achieve my goals, how my uniqueness will strengthen the diversity of school students and help other students increase their knowledge.
If you can express all these contents concisely in an application document, then you will do the Admissions Committee a big favor. They read thousands of boring application documents every day. In that case, you should be admitted naturally.
Many people with science background are at a disadvantage in the application, because they are used to giving figures and listing facts, but they are not good at expressing or selling. So don't underestimate sales and marketing skills!
Our reporter: Oh, I didn't underestimate the sales skills. I think you are not only an excellent salesman, but also an excellent leader. It's interesting that you guide your boss to promote you.
Huang Chen: I think many people are afraid to talk about the word "sales promotion" because salesmen always give people a bad impression for a long time. So now all universities are talking about "marketing". There is a book called How to Sell Yourself to Business School. What MBA wants to sell is called marketing! Just kidding! Ha ha laugh ...
Our reporter: Haha. So we should call these books How to Sell You to Business School.
How long have you been preparing for the MBA?
Huang Chen: What a pity. I really prepared for a long time. I got a GMAT199911720 in June. I am anxious to apply for the fall class of 2000. I sent information about three schools, and the results were not too bad. From then on, I began to seriously study the school and how to write the application documents.
I bought some books from Amazon. I asked an MBA student to send me some application documents and feel what a good application document is. I have also carefully studied which schools might like my background. By the time I realized how to sell myself to business schools, it was too late. Fortunately, it's not too late.
Our reporter: Which schools have you applied for and why?
Huang Chen: In China, it is difficult for students to choose a suitable school. How do you know that this school is more suitable for you than another one? I applied to some schools just because I can only apply to these schools.
The strength of the school I choose is my favorite major-marketing. I chose a school at the bottom. I don't want to mention the name of this school here, because it's just my personal opinion.
Finally, I chose Duke because its marketing is very strong, because its ranking has jumped rapidly in recent years, and now it ranks fifth in Business Weekly, and because its climate is very good, which is very similar to Shanghai!
Every top ten business school has similar job opportunities, but we can only choose one. Since I chose Duke, I decided to love it and enjoy my life there.
Our reporter: Just now you mentioned that environmental protection is one of your selling points. Can you elaborate on it?
Huang Chen: Paying attention to environmental protection has gradually attracted the attention of the government and enterprises. I will contribute my experience in this field.
To my MBA classmates, tell them the difficulties our country is facing on this issue in the new century.