The experience of studying abroad in WUSTL

Du Yiwei

14International Finance(2)

In July 2018，I took the plane heading for St. Louis alone and began my one-year study in Washington University in St. Louis. Actually, I was really excited and also anxious about the study life in Wustl before I landed on the destination. Just after the undergraduate graduation ceremony, I started another learning journey that I am looking forward to. In my junior year, Ispent half a year studying in UC Berkeley. The experience in Berkeley really made me have a deeper understanding of American universities. In order to be able to apply to the Washington University in St. Louis to continue studying finance, I have put in a lot of effort. First of all, I improved my TOEFL test score to a good score of 106 in preparation for the language test. At the same time, I also actively studied the GMAT test, and finally got a score of 710. On the other hand, preparing for essays is also very important when applying for a master's institution.We need to carefully read and think about the essay questions issued by various universities, and make a good summary of our learningexperience, careerplanning and personality characteristics, etc., which will greatly help us write the essay. Additionally, I would also like to thank all the teachers in JUFE for their help when I applied for the graduate program in the US. They were not only very willing to help me write the recommendation letter, but also actively recommended me to participate in the off-campus internship, all of which played a great role in my application.

Language is usually a big problem for studying abroad. However, my first semester in Berkeley gave me a certain understanding of the campus culture and campus life of American universities. This time, when I started my study in St. Louis, I was not as nervous as when I first stepped into the campus. In my opinion, language learning is a long-term process of accumulation, and it is difficult for us to improve our English level to a very high level overnight. In my undergraduate study experience, I think the English learning environment of our International College provides us with a good environment to cultivate language habits. Listening and speaking in English enables us to adapt to English teaching more quickly. Of course, this does not make us fluent in daily communication. I think the first thing we need to overcome is fear. We should first try to speak English as much as possible and try to communicate more with foreign professors, which is of great help to deepen our understanding of the course. Based on my experience, I suggest that students who are considering studying abroad put great effort in improving the listening and speaking skills. Nowadays you can have great access to all kinds of resources. Watching the TED videos and listening to different podcasts programs may be great alternatives to practice the listening and speaking skills.

After I registered on the campus, the foreign students will have nearly one month of training of basic courses and we need to pass the corresponding exams. This is also a good time for us to lay a good foundation for our study in the following semester. I think this period of time really helped me adapt to the school.For the junior students planning to study abroad, I suggestactively participate in all kinds of activities held by the school, like our school will often organize various types of buffet activities.We even had an official welcome party.We were randomly assigned to each table, this also give us a chance to meet and communicate with different classmates and teachers. In addition, our school also organized activities to visit local museums and parks. During this process, we could make many friends, and they could also provide you with a lot of help in your daily study.I got to know many excellent students in these activities, and they helped me a lot in the following days.

  During the semester, I also noticed that there are many differences between the teaching system in China and America. The first I want to mention is the course arrangement. In Wustl, each course usually has two parts—lectures and discussions. Some of the courses have the lab part. In the lecture, professor will cover the main materials in the week and the amount of information in the lecture may be overwhelming. So it’s better to preview or at least have a rough browse about the content covered in the lecture. Additionally, the discussion part is also quite vital for each course. The teacher assistant will not only cover some extra materials beside the lecture but will also help you do the exercise required in the week. These exercises can do great help to you in the sense that you can consolidate the knowledge as well as be well prepared for the midterm and final. In my mind, the arrangement of lectures and discussions is reasonable since separating the course content and the exercises may let the student be more efficient in each part. Another point to mention is that each course will arrange office hour for the professor and teacher assistant. Actually, it can say that professors encourage you to ask them questions because it is of the student’s benefits. In JUFE, we usually ask questions after the class or during the break. Sometimes you can’t solve the puzzles by simply asking questions during such period.While the office hours give us great opportunities to solve the puzzles, which is of great important to the learning in any area. What’s more, it allows you to have great conversations with the professor and give him a better chance to know more about you.

  Talking about the resources of study. Wustl has anonline system that is called “WebSTAC”. After getting enrolled in different courses, the system will allow us to gain the access to the study resources covered in the whole semester, which includes syllabus, lecture notes, section notes, homework solutions and other materials. It is really convenient for us to review what we have learned in each week and put great effort in consolidating the knowledge. Also, you can form a study group in the “WebSTAC”. By getting together, the group can brainstorm and take up on different issues. Also, we may often be required to do group projects, forming the study group is crucial to finishing the project. In my opinion, completing project assignments in study groups is an indispensable part of each course. Communicating and trying to solve different problems by working with team members in study groups are of great help for us to understand the course content and improve our ability to solve practical problems. Like in an accounting course, we were assigned to do a detailed analysis of a listed company in US. So our group took steps to try to investigate all aspects of the company. We not only analyzed the company’s financial position, but also made a DCF model analysis for the reasonable valuation of the company. Our team completely finished each analysis work and vividly presented to the professor and the class students. I learned a lot during the process and this form of learning allowed us to learn to solve problems better.

Based on my experience, I think it’s better for us to attach great importance to the study group. Not only because the work of the study group is related to your score, but working in a group will also help you gain some extra experience on how to analyze and solve the problem. After all, studying in college is not for the score or the diploma, but for the ability to solve problems in the society.

Although my one-year study in WUSTL is very short, I think this learning experience has brought me a lot. In my school life, our curriculum arrangement was very tight, and we often finish our homework in a variety of study groups on weekends. But I feel that my whole study life was very fulfilling.Every day I can have access to different new knowledge and information in class, this let me have a clearer understanding of my future career. I want to be able to work and study in the field of investment, hope in the future I will become a veteran in the field. Although I didn't spend much time looking for a job in the United States, I learned that it is not easy for international students to find a job in the financial field there. Because the local company has to pay a large fee for your visa, and we need to have a very strong ability to persuade the company to hire us. I suggest that students should prepare completely for overseas job hunting before going abroad, including not only the preparation of resume and cover letter, but also more efforts should be made in the internship. Because certain internship experience in relevant fields will be of great help, and it is more likely to attract the target company's interest.