Hi guys. I know it is almost Christmas so I am posting my essay here before you guys go on holidays XD. This essay has two parts, first with a word limit of 250 and the 2nd with a limit of 400. I know my language is a bit informal because I am not a native speaker. Please tell us where can I improve! Thanks and happy holiday!
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1.Why is the MSBA the next logical step for you? How do you hope to develop, both personally and professionally, during this one-year program?
Studying business analytics is exactly what I have planned for my academic and professional life. Since I chose accounting as my undergraduate major, I have already equipped with a solid financial background and I am familiar with how financial data are acquired and calculated. But to make a wise business decision, I must further process these data. Therefore, I found your MSBA program which fits into my personal study pattern and matches my values.
Should I be accepted, I will cherish my chance to learn from many great professors. Professionally, I will first quickly learn the small differences between the accounting system of China and the one of the US and then improve my analytical skills by actively engage in both in class learning and after class projects. Aiming to access the fully understanding of how business operates, I deem internships as critical components for realizing my career goals. Therefore I will keep seeking internship opportunities and learn the popular methods of data analysis nowadays.
Personally, I will seize the opportunities of group working with other creative students. To improve my competitiveness in the job market and my ability of critical thinking, I will do a lot of practicum/action-oriented learning and sharpen my practical skills and executive presentation skills. I would also participate in different sport and art activities, like I did in my undergraduate period, to make friends of different backgrounds and win glory for your university.
2.Provide an example of a big data analysis question that motivates you to apply for the MS in Business Analytics at Marshall. Make sure that your answer is short, no more than 400 words, and that it includes the following FIVE components: 1) a clear and concise description of the problem, 2) why you are interested in this problem, 3) the importance of this problem from a business point of view, 4) the potential solutions for this problem, and 5) a detailed discussion of the benefits and drawbacks of the suggested solutions.
I am particularly interested in estimating the risk of investing small and medium-sized firms. However, these firms may not report their financial status as frequent as the other bigger companies. Since we always base our analysis on past financial data, we need some powerful business analytical tools to analyze the risk of investing these firms.
It is universally acknowledged that risk analysis is vital for making investment decisions. But you may wonder why I am particularly interested in analyzing small and medium-sized firms.
Actually, this has something to do with my interest in the Chinese financial system. In the lesson Demystifying the Chinese Economy, I learned that with limited channels available to raise capital, the Chinese financial system has yet to hit maturity to balance out the labor-intensive small and medium-sized firms which have a great comparative advantage in the world. As there is limited legal protection for private loans and numerous restrictions for commercial lending, bigger firms have greater ability to raise money from banks, enlarging the wage gap in China. This results in the limited flow of capital into the companies with the highest comparative advantage, decreasing the competitiveness of China in the world market. Therefore, it is important to promote privately-raised company bond for small and medium enterprises, a product which my professor said would benefit the Chinese financial system.
However, during my internship at one of the biggest security companies in China, I learned that this product was a limited-release in testing phases. The reason behind this phenomenon, in my opinion, could be that the risk analysis for this product is difficult.
My solution to this problem is to use the factorial analysis and Support Vector Machines (SVM) to estimate the return on investment (ROI) of these firms. I will first classify these firms according to their industries and then narrow down the financial ratios I will use for my analysis. To improve the accuracy, I would use SVM to predict the ROI in a small range instead of at an accurate number.
This method will help us analyze these firms because by focusing on a few financial ratios, the deficiency of financial reports will not matter that much. But it is not without its drawbacks, since we are only focusing on its past data, we cannot really adjust to the future trend. Also, setting the average data of its peer firm in its industries as a benchmark may not really reflect the true status of its industries since other variables such as region and human factors may also have an influence over the data.
BonBonCase,
I can tell you sentence-by-sentence why I would change what you have written, but basically it boils down to what you have does not read smoothly or makes a point that could be made in fewer words. The first sentence, for example, is something they will assume, so you don't need it at all. It's also not wholly accurate in that the study of business analytics is preparation for your professional life.
Thank you for your reply Eric. However I have a few questions related to your revision.
As an accounting major[ missing "student"? I am not a MAJOR] , I am already equipped with
I hope to gain greater insight into the differences between accounting practices in China and those in the United States.
[that's not what I meant. MSBA doesn't teach me accounting, I just want to quickly figure out the differences in accounting system before learning BA]I would love to hear your opinion on part 2 too. Thanks for your help and patience.
BonBonCase,
Did you get an undergraduate degree in accounting? If so, I stand by the wording that Is above. We say in the US, I was an accounting major or I majored in accounting. Both will make sense on a graduate school application for an American school. Student is understood. It's not needed. As far as the other issue about the differences between China and US accounting systems, I understand your point. Rephrase it to this: Before starting on my MBSA coursework, I expect to quickly grasp the differences between US and Chinese accounting practices.
Best,
Tampa Tutor Eric
