Graduate / Statement of Purpose to KENT STATE MSFE [2]

Discuss your goals and objectives for pursuing an advanced degree. Indicate your career plans after completion of graduate study. If there are additional factors that you would like the Admission Committee to know about you, please include this information in your essay.

Finance, as a field, has always fascinated me right from my undergraduate college days. I believe my penchant for this field stems from my finance professor, Yanmei, Qin. During my days at Beijing Technology and Business University I used to go to my professor's office and help her manage her portfolio of equities and other financial instruments. This was the time I learnt the first lesson of finance from my professor i.e. risk and return are proportionate. In 2007 when I was a sophomore the Chinese stock market crashed. But fortunately, Prof. Qin had a well-diversified portfolio because of which our returns were protected from the downside risk. This was when I learnt the second principle of finance from my professor i.e. diversification reduces risk. While I understood these two principles intuitively, it produced in me a strong urge to learn and understand the complex theory behind the working of Finance. The stork market has always intrigued me and I was ecstatic to be chosen to assist Prof. Qin in a project preparing a company for its listing. I proceeded to read any available book on the stock market and specifically on accounting for marketable securities. I indulged myself in the task and made numerous important contributions to the portfolio management project. After two months of working under the guidance of Prof. Qin, I had obtained a thorough understanding of accounting for securities and had also gained much needed valuable research experience. This, I believe, was a turning point in my life. I made up my mind to pursue a career in Financial Engineering and hence decided to go for the Master of Science in Financial Engineering program in Kent State University.

Due to my diligence and enthusiasm for the subject, I outperformed most of my classmates. My GPA was consistently among the highest in my department, which resulted in many scholarships. By a quick glance at my transcripts you will find that I have a healthy appetite for the field of financial engineering and strong academic competence. A student on the dean's list at a renowned university in China, I firmly believe that I have all the academic credentials and experience necessary to prove a worthy participant in your Financial Engineering Program.

I benefited from the tutelage of my sagacious parents. The values of independence, resolution, and perseverance were instilled in me at an early age. Born in an academician's family, I was immersed in an academic atmosphere from childhood. My parents taught me English at the age of 3. At the age of 7, my parents took me to Australia. Later I realized this was a foundation for seeking advantage in my whole life. With this privileged background, I was encouraged to read books in a wide variety of disciplines and was thirst for more in-depth knowledge. From as early as primary school, a natural talent in mathematics was shown in me. With much training through middle school and high school, this talent has gradually developed into analytical thinking, and I thirst for more skilled training.

In order to achieve a more rounded education, I actively took part in numerous extracurricular activities. Far from an academic recluse, I was a visible presence among students. In my junior year, I was elected Chairman of the English Association, one of the most successful student associations. As a sophomore, I was nominated as a student representative responsible for academic affairs. These activities taught me the invaluable skills to manage, lead and collaborate effectively with people. My fondness for dabbling in all kinds of activities has given me a lot of practical experience. I had an opportunity to practice public speaking when I took part and won first prize of a English lecture contest for non-English majors. I polished my leadership skills as a student representative, as the captain of the university badminton team and the captain of the tennis team. Putting my heart into these positions, I received the awards of "Excellent Student Leader" and "Excellent Athlete" in my university.

During the junior year of college I learnt how Derivatives can play an important role in optimizing a Portfolio's performance and in managing risk. This exposure left me wanting for more knowledge in the area of Risk Management. With the "Opening-Up Policy" in China since 1979, the Chinese corporations and financial institutions are increasingly exposed to various kinds of risks. The Government and the People's Bank of China(The Reserve Bank of China) have initiated appropriate reforms to develop derivatives markets and financial markets in general. This has suddenly increased the demand for professionals who not only can understand the fundamentals of derivative markets but also can develop new financial instruments to evaluate and hedge the risk. I believe that in order to use financial engineering pro-actively and dynamically for optimum hedging, a finance professional should be well versed with the mathematics that underlies the financial theory.

Inspired by increasing interest in my major, I began pursuing independent advanced research. In March, 2007 I wrote a paper entitled "AN ANALYSIS ON THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF THE U.S. SUB-PRIME MORTGAGE CRISIS TO CHINA". My interest in writing the paper stems from the increasing involvement of Chinese businesses in international transactions. China has not become a victim in the Sub-prime mortgage crisis was due to a naiveté of financial instruments. But such a deficiency is not a privilege, only by the calculation of underlying risks in the derivative market can we be sure to control the level of risks which will be essential in the emerging market in China.

In the future I see myself, as a Financial Engineering professional, designing structured financial products by incorporating cutting edge methodologies and sophisticated tools in order to cater to the above mentioned requirements. To achieve this I would like to gain exposure to the latest practices adopted in the field of Financial Engineering and Risk Management. I would want to work with a leading investment bank or in the treasury of a commercial bank, which would enable me to help corporations manage their risks. I would like to bring this acquired expertise back to China and use it to help companies thrive in a dynamic environment.

I strongly feel that MSFE program at Kent State University is a highly structured program because it provides the right balance between theory and practice. The state-of-the art, on-campus Olga Mural Financial Engineering Trading Floor would provide me hands-on training in financial analysis and risk management. The ten-week internships would give me ample of opportunities to apply my knowledge to real world problems. The faculty, who were either former financial practitioners or academicians on the cutting edge of financial engineering, would help me with the understanding of the financial markets and provide important industry contacts.

I bring along a strong grasp of fundamentals in Finance and Engineering, an insider's experience of an emerging financial market, an affinity for teamwork and leadership and a zest for challenges. I would like to take with me in addition to the knowledge of the latest theory and practices in the field of Financial Engineering, a network of strong and lasting relationships with my teachers and fellow-students.

My strong quantitative analysis backgrounds have helped me to shape my career choice in business, and early experiences have taught me the value of education, perseverance, and hard work. Continued study in the Financial Engineering Program at your university will give me the advanced training I need to accomplish my goal. I hope my background and qualifications are found suitable for admission to Master of Science in Financial Engineering program in Kent State University.

Q's:
1.ARE there any grammatical errors from the eassy? plz point them out for me, thx!!
2.How to improve my eassy? plz give me some addvice!,thx a million!