Dear friends,
I have written up a short ps for application to MSc in LSE. As deadline approaches, could I have someone's advice? Anything on structure, sentences, wording or grammar will do.
Thank you SOOO MUCH!!!
Yanming Sun
---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
I have been eager to start my career in the financial industry for long, as the dynamics and delicate operations always fascinate me. I realize that participants in this industry cover a wide range of spectrum including companies, financial institutions, audit firms, to name but a few, connected by some complex mechanism. Therefore I have been dedicated to acquire broad set of knowledge related to finance and accounting areas through coursework and internship in order to develop structured understanding on the financial world. Though this long-term preparation has fulfilled my curiosity to some extent, I still feel it not enough and really want to be exposed to more quantitative, profound and practical knowledge, which would be definitely beneficial for me to become more competitive and capable of handling real challenges when I finally step into the industry, especially under the status quo of the turbulent markets and stalling global economy. Thus I determine to pursue a master degree to consolidate my background and after thorough research, I am convinced that MSc Finance and Accounting Program offered by LSE suits me best, regarding the teaching scheme, prevailing reputation in quality of courses and promising career development.
My passion in finance started from the last year of high school when my family began trading stocks as retail investor. Since then I had been engaging in frequent discussions of both national and international financial news and even tried to follow a stock. Undoubtedly, this experience fostered my early sense of the economy and prompted my decision in further studying subjects related to finance in university. In my second year at The Chinese University of Hong Kong as one of 200 students of my age from Mainland China, I chose to major in Risk Management Science because I have observed an increasing emphasis in risk management particularly after the widespread financial tsunami in 2008 and I consider it valuable and interesting to get involved in this area. I believe I made the right decision. This major program combines finance, accounting and quantitative skills together so that I could not only learn theories and methods to analyse financial problems especially from the perspective of investment and risk controlling but also nurture logical and numerical reasoning ability through statistics and mathematic courses. Personally, I am keen on subjects such as simulation methods for financial markets where I used VBA to price derivatives and constructed trading strategies; financial management and financial accounting where I obtained some insights into corporate finance and financial reporting; etc. Those courses guided me to explore the mysteries of finance industry and I endeavoured to extract the most from them.
As rewards for my efforts paid in study, I was named in Dean's List and College Head's list for academic excellence along with three scholarships. Most memorably, I won the opportunity to be an exchange student at Wharton School of Business, thanks to which I received harsh academic trainings, learnt from leaders in field of finance and tremendously broadened my horizons. I attended loads of seminars talking about various aspects of world economy and conferences like Wharton Finance Conference to improve my understanding in finance in terms of width and depth while interacting with distinguished bankers. Besides, I enjoyed cooperating with students with diverse culture background on challenging coursework, which made me adaptable to alternative ways of thinking and approaches to problems. This wonderful experience not only strengthens my analytical and quantitative capabilities but also further stimulates my enthusiasm in financial industry.
To apply knowledge learnt in school into practice, I intentionally worked in banking industry and audit firm as an intern. My first internship was in Bank of China, the largest national bank in China. Through conducting around 60 international transactions and frequent communication with clients, I gained, to some extent, insights into trading business that aids my understanding of economy in macroscopic scale. Moreover, I was even able to utilize my knowledge in stock market accumulated so far to make suggestions to clients when I introduced them various investment products, from which I also learnt about product structuring. One year after the first internship, I joined Local Commercial Bank Department of Citibank for three months and assisted relationship managers to provide small and medium enterprises with customized financing solutions. Taking the opportunity of preparing credit analysis single-handedly, I investigated a number of manufacturing sectors such as ceramics and tyre and correspondingly, companies' business operations and capital structure so that I could comment on prospects of the industries as well as the clients. Additionally, I got far more familiar with accounting knowledge since I analysed dozens of financial statements to summarize useful information on situations of the clients in terms of outstanding debt, net working capital, major financial ratios like Debt to EBITA, etc. I do think this internship was fruitful, as I was exposed to corporate financing and received fantastic trainings on research and communication skills. Besides some experience with banking industry, I would like to strengthen my background in accounting and started to work in Ernst & Young since early January 2011, where I would assist audit teams to value different derivatives of clients such as convertible bonds and interest rate swaps. I believe I will have better understanding on the operations of audit firm and prepare best for further study in the MSc program of LSE.
Another approach I reckon as inspiring and appropriate to enhance my skills for financial industry is participating in business competitions. In early 2010 I led a group of four to compete in SCMP/IFPHK Financial Planner Awards. It was an exciting and cheerful experience because we strived to structure a complicated portfolio regarding monetary pension funds, stock investment, insurance, etc., that properly managed the client's wealth. Later I participated in Global Management Challenge where I learnt how to increase profit of a company through motivating efficient cooperation between different departments, proper planning for manufacturing and accurate senses on market fluctuations. This competition gave me some insights into operational sciences and sharpened my business acumen.
Carefully considering my interest and past experience, I would like to further explore career opportunities in commercial banking as financial asset management. I consider it as a challenging but inspiring role as it covers in-depth knowledge of financial products of all kinds, investment sciences and risk management. It requires such high-rank capabilities that I believe one year further learning will be definitely advanced preparation for a competing and demanding career. Particularly, I reckon MSc Accounting and Finance Program of LSE suits me the most. Courses are recognized as well designed and would offer me solid and comprehensive understanding on a wider range of topics in the financial world while cater to my interests. I am very much interested in Valuation and Security Analysis which further reinforces my quantitative skills in telling fair values of securities and prospective analysis, and Portfolio Risk Management from which I would learn specific measures in performing asset management and various trading strategies. Therefore I am convinced that learning in LSE would be a great stepping stone for my future.
Besides high quality of education that LSE builds its reputation from, the environment is also a big advantage over other business schools. LSE, as a world leading institution, attracts talented people with strong passion in finance from all over the world to study, make advance and share diverse values and experiences. I am fascinated by the chance to encounter multi-cultural communications with those people and together thrive to make a difference for our lives. With abundant experience of living in mainland China, Hong Kong and USA, I would rather explore more of London, another financial hub in the world. No better way to improve myself all-rounded than to immerse myself in the international community at the heart of United Kingdom.
I appreciate you taking the time to consider my application and I hope the information I have shared has demonstrated my academic ability, professional objectives and my enthusiasm to be a MSc student of LSE, a prestigious academic institution.
------------------------------------------------------
I have written up a short ps for application to MSc in LSE. As deadline approaches, could I have someone's advice? Anything on structure, sentences, wording or grammar will do.
Thank you SOOO MUCH!!!
Yanming Sun
---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
I have been eager to start my career in the financial industry for long, as the dynamics and delicate operations always fascinate me. I realize that participants in this industry cover a wide range of spectrum including companies, financial institutions, audit firms, to name but a few, connected by some complex mechanism. Therefore I have been dedicated to acquire broad set of knowledge related to finance and accounting areas through coursework and internship in order to develop structured understanding on the financial world. Though this long-term preparation has fulfilled my curiosity to some extent, I still feel it not enough and really want to be exposed to more quantitative, profound and practical knowledge, which would be definitely beneficial for me to become more competitive and capable of handling real challenges when I finally step into the industry, especially under the status quo of the turbulent markets and stalling global economy. Thus I determine to pursue a master degree to consolidate my background and after thorough research, I am convinced that MSc Finance and Accounting Program offered by LSE suits me best, regarding the teaching scheme, prevailing reputation in quality of courses and promising career development.
My passion in finance started from the last year of high school when my family began trading stocks as retail investor. Since then I had been engaging in frequent discussions of both national and international financial news and even tried to follow a stock. Undoubtedly, this experience fostered my early sense of the economy and prompted my decision in further studying subjects related to finance in university. In my second year at The Chinese University of Hong Kong as one of 200 students of my age from Mainland China, I chose to major in Risk Management Science because I have observed an increasing emphasis in risk management particularly after the widespread financial tsunami in 2008 and I consider it valuable and interesting to get involved in this area. I believe I made the right decision. This major program combines finance, accounting and quantitative skills together so that I could not only learn theories and methods to analyse financial problems especially from the perspective of investment and risk controlling but also nurture logical and numerical reasoning ability through statistics and mathematic courses. Personally, I am keen on subjects such as simulation methods for financial markets where I used VBA to price derivatives and constructed trading strategies; financial management and financial accounting where I obtained some insights into corporate finance and financial reporting; etc. Those courses guided me to explore the mysteries of finance industry and I endeavoured to extract the most from them.
As rewards for my efforts paid in study, I was named in Dean's List and College Head's list for academic excellence along with three scholarships. Most memorably, I won the opportunity to be an exchange student at Wharton School of Business, thanks to which I received harsh academic trainings, learnt from leaders in field of finance and tremendously broadened my horizons. I attended loads of seminars talking about various aspects of world economy and conferences like Wharton Finance Conference to improve my understanding in finance in terms of width and depth while interacting with distinguished bankers. Besides, I enjoyed cooperating with students with diverse culture background on challenging coursework, which made me adaptable to alternative ways of thinking and approaches to problems. This wonderful experience not only strengthens my analytical and quantitative capabilities but also further stimulates my enthusiasm in financial industry.
To apply knowledge learnt in school into practice, I intentionally worked in banking industry and audit firm as an intern. My first internship was in Bank of China, the largest national bank in China. Through conducting around 60 international transactions and frequent communication with clients, I gained, to some extent, insights into trading business that aids my understanding of economy in macroscopic scale. Moreover, I was even able to utilize my knowledge in stock market accumulated so far to make suggestions to clients when I introduced them various investment products, from which I also learnt about product structuring. One year after the first internship, I joined Local Commercial Bank Department of Citibank for three months and assisted relationship managers to provide small and medium enterprises with customized financing solutions. Taking the opportunity of preparing credit analysis single-handedly, I investigated a number of manufacturing sectors such as ceramics and tyre and correspondingly, companies' business operations and capital structure so that I could comment on prospects of the industries as well as the clients. Additionally, I got far more familiar with accounting knowledge since I analysed dozens of financial statements to summarize useful information on situations of the clients in terms of outstanding debt, net working capital, major financial ratios like Debt to EBITA, etc. I do think this internship was fruitful, as I was exposed to corporate financing and received fantastic trainings on research and communication skills. Besides some experience with banking industry, I would like to strengthen my background in accounting and started to work in Ernst & Young since early January 2011, where I would assist audit teams to value different derivatives of clients such as convertible bonds and interest rate swaps. I believe I will have better understanding on the operations of audit firm and prepare best for further study in the MSc program of LSE.
Another approach I reckon as inspiring and appropriate to enhance my skills for financial industry is participating in business competitions. In early 2010 I led a group of four to compete in SCMP/IFPHK Financial Planner Awards. It was an exciting and cheerful experience because we strived to structure a complicated portfolio regarding monetary pension funds, stock investment, insurance, etc., that properly managed the client's wealth. Later I participated in Global Management Challenge where I learnt how to increase profit of a company through motivating efficient cooperation between different departments, proper planning for manufacturing and accurate senses on market fluctuations. This competition gave me some insights into operational sciences and sharpened my business acumen.
Carefully considering my interest and past experience, I would like to further explore career opportunities in commercial banking as financial asset management. I consider it as a challenging but inspiring role as it covers in-depth knowledge of financial products of all kinds, investment sciences and risk management. It requires such high-rank capabilities that I believe one year further learning will be definitely advanced preparation for a competing and demanding career. Particularly, I reckon MSc Accounting and Finance Program of LSE suits me the most. Courses are recognized as well designed and would offer me solid and comprehensive understanding on a wider range of topics in the financial world while cater to my interests. I am very much interested in Valuation and Security Analysis which further reinforces my quantitative skills in telling fair values of securities and prospective analysis, and Portfolio Risk Management from which I would learn specific measures in performing asset management and various trading strategies. Therefore I am convinced that learning in LSE would be a great stepping stone for my future.
Besides high quality of education that LSE builds its reputation from, the environment is also a big advantage over other business schools. LSE, as a world leading institution, attracts talented people with strong passion in finance from all over the world to study, make advance and share diverse values and experiences. I am fascinated by the chance to encounter multi-cultural communications with those people and together thrive to make a difference for our lives. With abundant experience of living in mainland China, Hong Kong and USA, I would rather explore more of London, another financial hub in the world. No better way to improve myself all-rounded than to immerse myself in the international community at the heart of United Kingdom.
I appreciate you taking the time to consider my application and I hope the information I have shared has demonstrated my academic ability, professional objectives and my enthusiasm to be a MSc student of LSE, a prestigious academic institution.
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