We are back with part two of our series where WHU overachievers reveal how they got through the selection process and what they expect from their prospective programs! Sharing is caring, so please enjoy.

Firstly I chose the UK as the destination for my further study, and found out that the University of Warwick has the program that I'm interested in. Next I submitted my application materials and got the offer. Now I'm preparing to go to the UK. To prepare for the application, I took a related minor degree program at WHU. As for my expectation, I'm going to enter a total different field compared to my undergraduate major, so I want to learn as more as possible and pave the way for my future career.

Zhe Yan

University of Warwick

Honestly, I don't know how I got into UPenn, as I believe it was UPenn that chose me. As I made up my mind to study landscape architecture as my graduate degree, UPenn naturally became the best choice. I have exchange experience in the Netherlands and interdisciplinary education experience of architecture, urban planning and fine arts. I guess they chose me because I have explored the field of landscape architecture from perspectives other than landscape architecture itself. I am excited about the people I will meet and tasks I will get to try out over there at Upenn. I am preparing for my forthcoming studies at UPenn right now, doing things such as reading and software learning. Still I don't want to narrow my mind towards a fixed definition of “landscape architecture”. I am curiously trying out all the unknown things.

Liao Linghui

University of Pennsylvania

I went to the University of California, Berkeley as an exchange student last year, which was indeed one of my most precious experiences. What impressed me most were the adorable people there, including the dedicated professors, competitive classmates and warm-hearted neighbors. Also, the culture of diversity, advocacy for people to speak out and respect towards different groups influenced me a lot. The LGBT classes, Black Lives Matter parade, and protest against Donald Trump made me realize that letting people hear your voice is of great importance. You’ll find out nothing is impossible in UC, Berkeley. It’s you that makes a difference. In order to become a data analyst in the future, I'm going to study my master’s program in applied mathematics and statistics in Johns Hopkins University. I'm really looking forward to this new journey.

 Yu Zhenyi

Johns Hopkins University

I decided to go abroad when I was in my sophomore year and started to brush up my English with fellow classmates. I kept a high GPA and participated in experimental research before sending out my applications in my senior year. In March, I received admissions offers from UTokyo and Carnegie Mellon University among others and the results surpassed my expectations. I plan to successfully publish several papers before graduating and become a data scientist. It is more important to be able to enjoy studying and do research. It would be a pity if I don’t try to live by my ideals. Even though I am not sure of my level, I will continue to do research and I am eagerly looking forward to join data lab with my computer science professor and start my PhD this August.

Li Yuening

Texas A&M University

UMich is one of the ten schools I applied for and I believe I got into UMich by sheer coincidence. In fact, the result of this year's applications was not very good, but anyways I settled on UMich, decided to “Go Blue”. My project MArch2 is a large project of the School of Architecture, with very diverse data source types, a rich design studio and high-tech combination of digital fabrication and robotics research. My undergraduate learning has laid the foundation of professional knowledge and research interests and I hadn’t realized that the scope of study for architecture could be so vast. Throughout my study at UMich, I looked forward to expanding my horizons, mastering skills and working at the frontier of this discipline. Though I am a bit unprepared psychologically, I hope to adapt to American life as soon as possible with my warm friends and teachers. I believe UMich will not let me down.

Qin Jiayue

University of Michigan

I took a double degree in French, participated in a competition held by BNP Paribas, managed to polish my CV, worked out 8 essays, prepared for a 30-minute interview with HEC alumni, communicating my career plan and exchanging ideas on the property market, before I  got accepted into HEC Paris.  As for my future study there, I hope that I can adapt myself to the atmosphere of a business school quickly, and integrate finance with the energy and sustainability sector. France is superior in the development of the energy industry and if I can learn something about it, take an internship opportunity and see how they invest and finance for energy projects in France, I will be able to make a contribution to the domestic finance and energy markets after returning back to China. I am now busy strengthening my English and French language ability, so that I could feel adapted in the shortest period in France. I hope we could all fit into life overseas and realize our academic and career goals.

Zhou Jinyao

HEC Paris

In my freshman year, I came to know about UCL's Bartlett School of Architecture from a senior. Bartlett is located in London, capital of the arts and culture, retaining the rich styles of architectures from various periods. The time it took to apply for UCL can be said to be very long, because architecture students need to prepare their own portfolio to apply. It took me five months to prepare my own portfolio and I finally submitted my application and portfolio, did my IELTS and received the admission offer from UCL in April. During this whole process, I think they underestimated the importance of English proficiency. For the Master’s application, one cannot imagine the difficulties but we must be bold during the application process and find out specific information on the school beforehand. My graduate program starts at the end of September, so I have three months after graduation to rest and prepare for my own graduate study. In addition to travelling with friends and relatives during the holidays, I am ready to learn some new software and I have also asked my seniors at UCL for the specific contents of the course in advance.

Liu Chang

Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL

I got the invitation for an interview from Duke in February. The interviewer was a lovely lady who was really conversable and affable. The interview did not last long, but we both had a great time. After that, I received the admission from Duke, and that is when I started my journey. At the beginning, I was not very familiar with Duke University, but as I gradually got to know more about it, I was attracted by it. Its diverse campus culture, beautiful environment, and cohesive alumni relationship are the reasons why I firmly chose it in the end. I wish I could enjoy my life at the campus while gaining professional knowledge on my major. Actually, I have never been to America before. North Carolina will be the first place that I will live in America, and I am ready to create some wonderful memories there.

Peiyi Chen

Duke University

I started to prepare for TOEFL and GRE ever since my junior year began but my language skill hasn’t been good. It has limited my choice for graduate school. I began to collect a professional portfolio two years ago; and because of the Californian weather, I applied to most of the schools in that region. Finally I chose UCLA, mainly because my application to the studio was largely influenced by Pritzker Prize-winning Architect Thom Mayne, who teaches there. In my junior year, I applied to Columbia University for a summer exchange, met a lot of friends and got adapted to life in the US. This experience has been the driving force for my application to UCLA. In UCLA, I hope to get inspired by Mayne, get to know like-minded friends and find a good job after graduation.

Ge Fanghui

University of California, Los Angeles

After I joined WHU, for my own enjoyment, I began to engage in several extracurricular activities. I played for the school’s basketball team and was also selected to be the vice chairman of the Urban Design Institute student body. Perhaps my performance in all these activities set me apart from other competitive candidates. I had also put a lot of effort in improving my English language skills. I had just met my language requirement in September which left me little time to work on my portfolio, and I used to stay awake till four o'clock in the morning every day. I asked for my seniors’ help to complete it and had to make a lot of changes before applying to Columbia. So I think while applying for school, it is very important to choose the right school. Some schools will be very concerned about academic performance, while others are more concerned about internship experience. Since the application process is cumbersome, I advise others to prepare for it as early as possible.

Wang Tianyu

Columbia University

A friend of mine went to the University of Melbourne last year to pursue her Master’s degree in architecture. She told me that Melbourne is the most livable city in the world and the graduate school of architecture in the University of Melbourne is one of the most professional in the world. So I took one and a half month to prepare my portfolio for the application. During the preparation period, I attended an internship in China Architecture Design. I felt really busy and tired but at the same time, I also tried my best for my application to the University of Melbourne. I hope I can experience more local customs during my two-year study there. By cooperating with new partners, I hope to improve my professional skills and abilities. I went to summer school in the University of Pennsylvania to experience the American lifestyle, therefore I am really looking forward to having a special Australian experience.

Su Xiaolei

University of Melbourne

I opted for Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) Master of Science in Computational Finance (MSCF) program because it’s the first to start the master’s program in Financial Engineering and its graduates are recruited by leading multinationals, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Citadel, Uber and Blackrock among others. Universities prefer students with previous work experience as they are more likely to land internships. So, in my freshman year, I did my first internship at an investment bank in Wuhan and then moved on to Deloitte and Essence Securities.  I also sought help from my senior alumni with composing and polishing my CV and personal statement and they were willing to lend me a hand on most occasions. My interview for CMU was a behavioral one, and I was really thrilled to get called for the interview because the passing rate is really high. The whole application process is time-consuming and when you are faced with uncertainty, you need to take a leap of faith. Whenever I faced depressed from the setbacks, I picked myself up and went on. When things didn’t go as smoothly as I thought, my friends were always there to support me in my vulnerable moments. In the future, I hope to find a quant job in Wall Street to get more industry experience before I come back to China.  

Zhongwei Shi

Carnegie Mellon University

Photo credits-individual students

Edited by Edmund and Hu Sijia