| 2008-11-18 | UC Berkeley is my top choice for exchange! When thinking about exchange, UC Berkeley came to the minds of a lot of students. I have to agree that UC Berkeley is world famous and it is good to include the name of the university on our CV that we have one-semester exchange at the top university in the US.
I have been telling my students to choose a university that will allow us to have a totally different experience from what we have at HKU. I want them to consider the possible value added in that one semester. We should pay less attention to the ranking of the university, but more to the class size, the city where the university is located, and culture exposure.
Whichever university you end up with, if you are willing to try your best, you are going to get a lot from the exchange, and possibly more than what you can get from an exchange from UC Berkeley.
Don't listen to me. Listen to students who had the experience. Read what Michael Xiao has to share.
---- Michael's sharing (November, 17, 2008, some irrelvant parts were deleted) ----
Dear Prof. Wong,
I am Michael Xiao. How is everything going for you?
My exchange in Canada comes to the end in a month. After experiencing the half a year in Canada, I start to understand those words you told me when I asked your opinions for exchange. You suggested me do not care much about the rank of school, but pay attentions to the other attributes like class size, the city where the university locates in and culture there. Although I was quite unhappy when I got the offer to UBC, the University of British Columbia, not UCB (UC Berkeley), I feel it is an unexpected good deal. Here we have an honored Econ program, designed specifically for students who want to go for PhD. I have learned a lot this semester. And Vancouver is so nice! I have really good time here.
Exchange gives me a comparatively relaxing time to think about my future. After the whole year back and forth, I finally decide to pursuit my interest in economics. And I think over the reason why I can't make decision for so long, I guess it is simply because I am lack of information. I do not know what a research life is, what a life in company is and I even do not know what economics is. When I get the information, it is actually not too hard to choose. And your advice of "replicating" a paper is very helpful me to get a better idea of what professors are doing. Haha.
Recently I am applying for a summer program in Washington D.C. which I applied for last year, too. And I still remember we discuss the educational system of mainland China in the canteen. Although I didn't get the offer last time, I was quite delighted when once I scanned on your web and saw you write a little essay about our talk. This year I don't have the privilege to talk to you face to face, but I still want to hear your advice on the new "little econ essay". Until recently did I realized writing skill is so important. However, I didn't practice more outside your class, which make me very regretful now. I attached my new essay on the attachment. I am looking forward to seeing your advices.
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Best regards,
Michael Xiao
| 2008-11-02 | Why did we not have fresh mushrooms twenty years ago? | | 2008-02-23 | Dialogue is preferred to monologue. | | 2008-02-13 | If I were a single unemployed old man who lives on Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) | | 2007-12-17 | Is forecasting a pure guessing game? | | 2007-12-16 | I want zero emission of CO2! | | 2007-11-30 | How would I choose universities for exchange? | | 2007-11-28 | Excuse me. Can you write a recommendation letter for me? | | 2007-11-12 | No pain, no gain! | | 2007-09-14 | Teaching is to be enjoyed, and so is studying. Grades should only be secondary. | |