- What is your motivation to study for a MAcc/MBT degree at USC? Describe how you believe a MAcc/MBT degree fits with your future career objectives. (Do not exceed two double-spaced pages).
- Have you applied to any other graduate programs/schools? If so, please list schools and degrees.
I have been thinking about studying for a MAcc degree overseas for several years, and the reasons are manifold.
To begin with, I always try my utmost no matter what I do. When I was 11 years old, I once practiced eight hours a day for a month in order to pass the 6th-level electronic organ grading test. And when I was in high school, painting an assignment for an art class, I took a month to draw, was taken by my teacher to an exhibition, although I was not good at painting at all. Additionally, the host competition I paid great efforts to prepare and organize independently when I was the undersecretary in the student union achieved unprecedented success.
In my academic life, I studied diligently in my major courses, and as a result of my endeavor, I got a 90+ in almost all the core courses. Moreover, I got 100 in Human Resource Management and was among the only two students with a 4.0 in Microeconomics in my class. In addition, I read a lot of papers written by famous experts and wrote a paper to participate in the Sixth Student Academic Thesis Competition as the only freshman, in which I expressed my concern of the pro-cyclical effect of the International Accounting Standards and presented my suggestion to alleviate the problem. The paper achieved high evaluation from my advisor, who spoke highly of my deep thought and research spirit.
In my sophomore year, several friends and I introduced MoneyThink (originated from the University of Chicago) in Beijing, which aims to educate high school students on the basics of personal finance, giving them the tools they will need for financial stability before they enter the job market. The progress of starting MT is no doubt very difficult, and I devoted almost all my spare time to it. As the investment development division director, I was not only responsible for dealing with financial affairs and contacting CMSB (our sponsor) for funds but also assisted the undergraduate division director in recruiting tutors in colleges and carrying out relative training, and assisted the high-school division director to develop courses in high-school. I want MT to be developed and strengthened as soon as possible. Thanks to our devotion and dedication, MT runs well in Beijing now after a year’s development.
During my last winter vacation, I worked as an intern in the audit department at Deloitte for more than two months. My serious attitude and a strong sense of responsibility made me accomplish every task outstandingly. I developed more than ten core working papers completely and independently, which were always done by the junior auditor, and was praised by AIC(Associate in Charge) for my high professional qualities. I communicated with the tough client insistently, who was not willing to cooperate with us at first, winning her cooperation at last. What’s more, I was the only intern who was willing to work with AIC until four o’clock in the morning to catch up with the progress. Additionally, I took pleasure in helping all the formal staffs fulfill their tasks and became the most desirable intern. At the end of my internship, the AIC evaluated me as the most versatile intern and wanted me to join Deloitte immediately after graduation. Just a few days ago, I received their invitation to a partner interview for the 2012 recruitment.
(Internship at Microsoft)
However, in my opinion, what I have learnt so far is not enough for my future career and what I need are more in-depth research and a global perspective. So I decide to study for a MAcc/MBT degree overseas to promote myself.
My long-term goal is to be a CFO in a multinational corporation. But only being well-grounded can ensure success in what one does. So, my short-term goal is to be an auditor in one of the big four accounting firms where I can gain more exposure to corporations in different industries and learn from their operating systems. I believe that the experience in the accounting firm will be greatly helpful to my long-term career objective.
To serve my short-term career goal, a MAcc degree will give me a deeper understanding of the General Accepted Accounting Principles and more knowledge about auditing. And for my long-term career objective, a MAcc degree will give me more knowledge of enterprise accounting and how to apply discipline-specific knowledge to the operation of corporations.
When I decided to pursue a master’s degree in the U.S., USC attracted me because of its high rankings and strong faculty and students. Furthermore, I have heard from a senior student, Xinling Song, who achieved a MAcc degree in USC and now works at KPMG, that what she learnt at USC was not only discipline-specific knowledge and skills in the fields of accounting but also an international perspective and appreciation for diversity and cultural differences, which are exactly what I want to gain. In addition, L.A. is such a flourishing city and I love the strong business atmosphere there. How wonderful it would be if I could be a USCer.