Hello everyone,
How does this read to you? Love to get your feedback and thx so much!!
Prompt: Please describe your academic purpose for study abroad and explain why you have chosen this particular country and institution. You may wish to include your interests (intellectual, social and other), personal achievements, and future aspirations.
Although I have a Spanish-Finnish father and a Singaporean-American mother, I never lived anywhere else besides in London. As a result, I am determined to explore as much of the world as possible. By spending a semester at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), I will have studied in three different continents and been exposed to three completely different cultures. Additionally, my maternal grandparents built their careers by creating a successful business legacy in the banking industry out of Hong Kong. They worked tirelessly their entire lives in order to create a better future for their children. This instilled in me an appreciation and admiration of their Chinese values and culture. These values enabled them to create a successful business legacy and I would like to build on that heritage.
My personal goal is to work in Asia after college, and HKUST is the first step towards that goal. Ranked fifth best university in Asia, I chose HKUST primarily for the opportunity to experience its global business program taught from a Chinese or Asian perspective. Hong Kong served as a financial hub for Asia since it was a British colony and more importantly, for China after the 1997 handover. I intend to take advantage of this immense wealth of financial learning and know-how by taking finance (my main concentration) and currency exchange rate management courses such as Econ338: Globalization - Trade, Investment and Exchange Rate in order to fulfill my Business Breadths. I hope this will help give me initial exposure to understanding how Asian finance and currency markets work. Indeed, HKUST prides itself on its scientific and analytical methods of teaching business combined with case studies, which I find particularly useful. This approach to learning international finance in a dynamic Asian setting would not be possible if I did not go abroad to HKUST.
An essential pillar of my dream career is familiarity with the Chinese culture and language. For this reason, I took Chinese-011 my first semester at xxxx. But I realized that it was not enough; better to immerse myself in intensive courses and real-life practice. I plan on taking an intensive Chinese course at HKUST, as well as Lang111: Chinese Business Communication in order to learn how to use Chinese for business situations. Being able to use Chinese in both the office as well as in the streets will be an essential asset when working and living in Asia. Additionally, I want to take an Asian Studies course, more specifically Chinese Studies, in order to better understand and learn about the culture in Asia and China. With this new-found knowledge, I intend to travel in order to fully immerse myself in the culture and traditions of China. From the HKUST semester abroad experience, I hope to strengthen my knowledge and network connections. This could help improve my chances of obtaining an internship in Hong Kong or mainland China next summer. Hence, HKUST is the best choice for my semester abroad.
In conclusion, studying at HKUST provides me with the dual opportunity to focus my studies as well as embrace my ancestral cultural roots. To witness and hopefully be part of the world's fastest growing economy, all while taking exceptional business courses in a relevant environment and learning a new language is an opportunity that only comes around once in a lifetime. I hope to be given this invaluable chance to further pursue my studies at one of Asia's best business schools and take the first step towards realizing one of my personal goals.
How does this read to you? Love to get your feedback and thx so much!!
Prompt: Please describe your academic purpose for study abroad and explain why you have chosen this particular country and institution. You may wish to include your interests (intellectual, social and other), personal achievements, and future aspirations.
Although I have a Spanish-Finnish father and a Singaporean-American mother, I never lived anywhere else besides in London. As a result, I am determined to explore as much of the world as possible. By spending a semester at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), I will have studied in three different continents and been exposed to three completely different cultures. Additionally, my maternal grandparents built their careers by creating a successful business legacy in the banking industry out of Hong Kong. They worked tirelessly their entire lives in order to create a better future for their children. This instilled in me an appreciation and admiration of their Chinese values and culture. These values enabled them to create a successful business legacy and I would like to build on that heritage.
My personal goal is to work in Asia after college, and HKUST is the first step towards that goal. Ranked fifth best university in Asia, I chose HKUST primarily for the opportunity to experience its global business program taught from a Chinese or Asian perspective. Hong Kong served as a financial hub for Asia since it was a British colony and more importantly, for China after the 1997 handover. I intend to take advantage of this immense wealth of financial learning and know-how by taking finance (my main concentration) and currency exchange rate management courses such as Econ338: Globalization - Trade, Investment and Exchange Rate in order to fulfill my Business Breadths. I hope this will help give me initial exposure to understanding how Asian finance and currency markets work. Indeed, HKUST prides itself on its scientific and analytical methods of teaching business combined with case studies, which I find particularly useful. This approach to learning international finance in a dynamic Asian setting would not be possible if I did not go abroad to HKUST.
An essential pillar of my dream career is familiarity with the Chinese culture and language. For this reason, I took Chinese-011 my first semester at xxxx. But I realized that it was not enough; better to immerse myself in intensive courses and real-life practice. I plan on taking an intensive Chinese course at HKUST, as well as Lang111: Chinese Business Communication in order to learn how to use Chinese for business situations. Being able to use Chinese in both the office as well as in the streets will be an essential asset when working and living in Asia. Additionally, I want to take an Asian Studies course, more specifically Chinese Studies, in order to better understand and learn about the culture in Asia and China. With this new-found knowledge, I intend to travel in order to fully immerse myself in the culture and traditions of China. From the HKUST semester abroad experience, I hope to strengthen my knowledge and network connections. This could help improve my chances of obtaining an internship in Hong Kong or mainland China next summer. Hence, HKUST is the best choice for my semester abroad.
In conclusion, studying at HKUST provides me with the dual opportunity to focus my studies as well as embrace my ancestral cultural roots. To witness and hopefully be part of the world's fastest growing economy, all while taking exceptional business courses in a relevant environment and learning a new language is an opportunity that only comes around once in a lifetime. I hope to be given this invaluable chance to further pursue my studies at one of Asia's best business schools and take the first step towards realizing one of my personal goals.
