Undergraduate / 'international firm job' - My past experiences and future (UNC business school) [2]

o Rationale for why you are interested in studying business (Why did you choose business over other majors? What experiences have led you to this decision?)

o Articulation of your specific short (immediately upon graduation) and long-term (10-15 years post-graduation) career goals and how you have decided on these goals.
o Reasons why the Kenan-Flagler Undergraduate Business Program is essential to helping you achieve these goals.

I was born in a hospital near the fourth highway ring in Beijing, the heart of the rising eastern superpower and a city of what I believed to be the setting of my entire childhood. From a crying infant to the elementary school kid running around playing kick the can, Beijing was my entire world. My mother used to tell me story of our year at the United States before the divorce, but I was only three when we were there and her story just seems like an exotic dream which I have no memories of. To me, what was important was XXX (I wanna say something like "where I live now" or "my world arund me" but can't word it well), I had many of friends and knew the city like my grandma's backyard; I was the master of my world.

One day near the end of my fifth grade school year, I was walking home from school with my childhood friends; I laughed and played through the street that we've been walking for an entire decade knowing little that everything I knew will experience a complete overhaul. (I'm not sure If i should use "I" or "we", we sounds better but "I" fits more with the second part of the sentence since its talking about my world being changed)(also is my usage of "overhaul" right?)

At the age of eleven I moved to Atlanta to live with my father. As I step in the airport terminal, my world view was crushed in an instant and before me stood unfamiliar people speaking in foreign tongues; I have entered a society that I have selectively chose to ignore, a world outside my world. At first I was overwhelmed and reluctant to accept this new world. However through school, friends, and society, I slowly eased my way into the American way of life while reconstructing my perception of the world. By the time when I graduated middle school, I leapt over the language barrier and was an expert in the new culture.

My childhood experience had granted me two valuable gifts, the adaptability in a foreign environment and a multi-perspective world view. I want to fully use my past experiences in my future career (I want to word this sentense better but making trouble doing so); thus I have decided to pursuit a career in international business.

In any field, especially business, Knowledge, connection, and experience are three essential components in achieving success. I believe I will acquire all three components at the Kennan Flagler undergraduate business program. By taking professional classes and actively participating in discussions and group projects, I will learn the knowledge necessary to enter the career field while establishing a strong network with the professor and students of the school. Through exploring working and internship opportunities in the business school career center, I will acquire real world working experiences. (I want to add a short conclusion saying "my dream comes from my past, and I believe b school will help me reach my dream and connect my past to the future" but having trouble syng it good)

My short term goal after college graduation is to find a job position in an international firm. I believe working in a company is the best way to learn how it operates while building valuable work experiences and connections. In the long run, I aim to start my own international company between US and China. I will make great contribution to the international trade and connect the two worlds that embodied my life. (sounds weird)

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanx in advance!! :D

Undergraduate / UNC business school essay about a AP physics group project [5]

- Please prepare and upload an up to 500-word (max) essay that addresses ONE of the following:

A. With so many conflicting priorities, it can be challenging to motivate a team to complete projects. Tell us about a time when you were successful at achieving results even though you were part of a volunteer or work team that was difficult to motivate. How will the strengths you relied on to overcome this challenge enable you to contribute to the next undergraduate business class, and what do you hope to gain personally and professionally by being a part of this program?

OR

B. The UNC Kenan Flagler Business School attracts students who have drive, energy, and a record of achievement. Provide a recent example of a leadership challenge you faced and how you were able to overcome the challenge to achieve your desired results. What did you learn about your personal strengths and how will these strengths enable you to contribute to the next undergraduate business class? Drawing on your experience, what do you hope to gain personally and professionally by being a part of this program?

I have wrote an essay (its still a very very rough draft). It is about a AP physics group project where we build a catapult. The teacher gave a alot of freedom in the design so I suggested we build a more unique catapult that has better functionalities. However the group were lazy and just want to settle on a general design. I then motivate and lead the group to do the unique design.

my concern is that I originally intend to write about the leadership aspect (topic B) of the event but the event itself falls more into the motivation topic (topic A).

Do you guys think it'll be bad if my essay talk about both aspect (how being a leader involves motivating members)? The 2 prompt are so similar!!! Should I strictly change my wording so that it fits only 1 topic?? Please reply thanx in advance!!

Undergraduate / "the immigration office and American dream" - MIT Significant Challenge [5]

Tell us about the most significant challenge you've faced or something important that didn't go according to plan. How did you manage the situation?(*) (200-250 words)

With foot shaking with anticipation and excitement, I slowly make my way toward the immigration office. However the feeling of excitement soon transformed into frustration as I discover myself mute, deaf, and blind in the new world.

Adjusting to my life in the United State was the most significant challenge I've faced. As a twelve years old Chinese Immigrant, I was overwhelmed with the difficulties as a foreigner. I did not speak English, had no friends, and knew almost nothing of the American culture. It was very frustrating during my first year of school in the US to receive no grade for homework because I never knew that any was assigned. These problems have suppressed my hopes and dreams in America.

To overcome this challenge, I studied diligently to learn English inside and outside of class and I also worked to catch up with the society by communicating with others in public. I also found helps from my parents, teachers, and classmates. After about a year, with the help from others and my own determination, I became fluent in English and was able to fit in with rest of the society.

By successfully overcoming this challenge, I feel more confident about myself and my ability to take on new challenges in the future.

Undergraduate / "inspired by my parents' life story" - MIT Describe the world you came from [3]

Describe the world you come from; for example, your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town. How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations?(*) (200-250 words)

My dream is to become a scientist and make great contributions to the society. This dream was inspired by my family. My family is very diligent and hardworking, we believe that education and determination is the path toward a successful life.

I was inspired by my parents' life story, especially my father's. My father was born in lower class of China, the part of the society where feeding oneself with adequate food was considered a lavish dream. But through hard work and dedication, he got PhD Degree and became scientist in America.

Using their life story as a guide, my parents expected great achievements from me. Ever since I could read and talk, my parents told me many stories of great innovators and scientists, such as Isaac Newton and Thomas Edison, who has revolutionize the world. Motivated by the stories of the great figures of the past and the remarkable accomplishments of my parents, I made a resolve that I will dedicate my life to great achievements in the field of science and technology and make contributions to the world.

My dream was inspired by my parents and I believe that through following my family's tradition of diligence and persistency, I will achieve my dream in the future.

Undergraduate / "Perseverance and Overweight" - MIT personality essay [6]

What attribute of your personality are you most proud of, and how has it impacted your life so far? This could be your creativity, effective leadership, sense of humor, integrity, or anything else you'd like to tell us about. (*) (200-250 words)

Perseverance is the attribute of my personality that I am most proud of. My ability to persevere through hardships has helped me overcome many obstacles in my life with one of them being my weight problem.

Overweight is a global issue that is threatening many people's physical and psychological wellbeing. In the past, I have often felt that I weight more than the standard value, especially after a summer vacation spent in my home town Beijing, where myriad varieties of tempting food could dramatically expand my waistline. To resolve the problem that has been suppressing my confidence and self esteem, I made plans to run a mile every day to lose weight.

Making goals is easy but stay committed to them is much more difficult; obstacles such as poor weather, lack of time, and my pure laziness have made me think of skipping or quitting multiple times. But every time such obstacles appear, I would think of think of my goal and push on to finish my daily exercise.

After two years of consistent running, I gradually ramped up the distance from one mile a day to seven miles a day and successfully reduced my weight from 170Ibs to 140Ibs. By staying focused on my goal, I felt healthier, happier, and most importantly more confident about myself and my future. Reducing weight is only one of many achievements I made through perseverance in the past and I believe that it will continue to help me strife for a successful life in the future.

Undergraduate / "eating pizza" - What is something that has a special meaning to you and why? [6]

One circular piece of dough, covered in dairies and tomato sauces, heated in the oven for around fifteen minute and ready to be consumed. Eating pizza is something that has a special meaning to me.

Back in my second grade year, my parents and I decide to celebrate my seventh birthday by eating in one of the few Pizza Huts in Beijing. About ten minute after my parents made the order, the waitress carefully laid the pizza on our table. Gazing closely at this piece of western food, the strong smell of molten cheese, which was completely new and unknown to me, made me back off from the table and wonder why would anyone eat something that possess such a strange odor. I turned to my mom and told her that I don't want to try the pizza because it smells weird. But my mom turned to me and replied: "I know sometimes it feels strange to trying something that's completely unfamiliar, but if you give it a chance, it might turn out better than what you expected. So, I decide to give the pizza a try and, surprisingly, it turned out to be one of the best cuisines that I have ever tasted and immediately became one of my favorite foods.

Some people might think it's strange that I regard eating pizza to be something so special, but to me, eating pizza expresses my desire of always trying something new in this world, because after all, you never know what might happen.

I believe that this essay represent me well because it illustrate my belief of always try something new, which not only let me keep an open mind but also helped me obtain a new perceptions of the world.

Please feel free to comment and point out any grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors as well as content that you feel could be imporved. Any suggestion will be highly appreciated! Thanks

Undergraduate / Prompt: What is the best advice you have ever recieved? [2]

Henry Ford once said: "Whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right." "Believe in yourself" was the best advice I have ever received. I believe that the different thoughts are what make everyone in this world unique. However, if one fails to recognize and place trust in one's own perceptions, it would be no difference from not having them in the first place.

I used to consider myself to be, by nature, a shy person. Occasionally in my life I would come up with some ideas or thoughts that I considered worthy to be mentioned, but the fear of rejection by others and the doubt of my own knowledge halted me from expressing them to the outside world. In my junior year of high school, I participated in the Panther Number Crunch Competition with four other people. During the competition, as my team was hurriedly trying to find the solutions in time, I ended up with a different answer from my teammate's result. However, I decide not express my thoughts on the problem because I believed that my teammates are all brilliant people in mathematics, and if none of them see any errors in the solution then I had probably made a miscalculation somewhere. After the solutions were evaluated, the results of the competition were revealed. My teammates and I were shocked and disappointed to find that we placed lower than what was expected. As my team was scanning the solution sheet to find what went wrong, I felt a sudden sensation of guilt when I found a huge X placed right on top of the question that I had suspected of being wrong. If I had only addressed my thought during the competition, my team would have scored much better and possibly place higher than originally expected, but instead I let my doubt took over and did nothing to help the situation.

After the competition, I realized that the past cannot be amended but I can change the future. I decided that if I wish to stop the regretful scenario in the competition from happening again, I must give my thoughts the credit they deserve. By following this advice, those ideas that were once trapped in the corner of my mind were finally able to be set free and have a chance to become a solid part of the world. This advice has become one of my most important turning points in my life and was definitely the best advice I have received.

Please review my essay and feel free to comment on any spelling and gramar misusage or any contents or ideas that could be improved. Any suggestion will be highly appreciated!

Thank You