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Learn what truly sets the UC Riverside MBA apart and how it helps in your professional growth
06 Aug 2017, 05:06
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Hi everyone,
I just finished my first year at Tsinghua and I think it is time to leave a few words about my MBA experience in China. Maybe some foreigners are also willing to take on this challenge and my impressions might help to get a first overview how Tsinghua life is like.
I will first give some general information about the application and the teaching style in class. After that, I will give personal reasons why I think going to Tsinghua is a unique chance in your life.
My application
To be honest, I did not give myself high chances to get accepted. I knew that Tsinghua is one of the hardest schools in the world to get in, at least for undergraduates. Around 9 million people take the national entrance exam every year in China and only the absolute best students get into Tsinghua. For MBA students it is easier to get in, but the people you study with are still China’s elite.
Fortunately, I applied in December already. For internationals, there are seven application rounds and I already applied in round two. The earlier you apply, the higher the chances to get accepted and I think that the chances to get a scholarship are also higher. But also without scholarship, the MBA is comparatively cheap (even though it is in cooperation with MIT).
You need a GMAT (or take the entrance exam in school) and take an interview in front of three interviewers, including a person from the MBA office, an MBA professor and an alumni. The interview was a bit challenging, especially because one of the interviewers tried to test how you react under stress.
When you are interested in applying for the MBA, make sure that you find enough reasons why you want to shift your focus to China and why Tsinghua fits perfectly to you. Maybe you share similar values like me, then you can refer to some of the arguments mentioned below.
Inside the classroom - teaching style
The teaching style is a mix between American and Chinese. The way the program is structured is very American and I guess MIT has a great influence here. You usually don’t have more than 50 students in a classroom. Furthermore, you have study groups that you need to build every semester in order to make presentations or to do some of the homework together. The grade is composed of a lot of homework, presentations, midterms and final terms. Especially the first semester is pretty busy. School and students are ambitious, therefore you might need to study a bit more than usual in the beginning. You definitely don’t fail but you should stay on the ball.
Personal reasons why China and Tsinghua is not just a usual place to study
There are many ways to take in your life. For me, I was seeking the opportunity to get myself out of the comfort zone as far as possible with the opportunity to benefit from this step later in life. If you are willing to get an international profile and differentiate yourself from the Western world, China and especially Tsinghua is probably the best step to take.
The following points summarize some of the reasons why I think Tsinghua is not just usual:
1. High-class education and world leaders at Tsinghua
It is very unique to receive education on an Ivy League level in a booming country like China. The university is known to be very close to the Chinese government. Therefore, Tsinghua receives great support but it also has the side effect that world leaders are constantly coming to Tsinghua. They need the government to do business in China and Tsinghua is a great channel for them to make an impact. Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Tim Cook are just one of many leaders that are members of the Tsinghua SEM board and regular guests on campus.
Due to the presence of world leaders and the great job of researchers and professors, Tsinghua is getting great international recognition. This is also reflected in the current world rankings. Nevertheless, the university is not well-known outside Asia yet and it is still an insider tipp in the Western world. However, this is changing and I guess it will get more competitive for the upcoming applicants to get in this program.
As an MBA student from Tsinghua, you also benefit from Tsinghua's global connections. You will be able to go to MIT, to take a short-term exchange at Stanford or you can also go to other top schools around the world for a semester (including Yale, HEC, Singapore, etc.). I guess Tsinghua SEM has one of the best connections globally, in terms of the number of partner schools, but also in terms of the number of world leaders coming to Tsinghua.
2. International students from literally every corner of the world
Tsinghua is located in Wudaokou, which is probably one of the most international places on earth (not in absolute terms, but in terms of the number of people from different countries and cultures).
On campus, you play football with students from North Korea and support your neighbours from Pakistan during Ramadan. You hang out with the African crew from Eritrea after classes and go for dinner with your classmates from China. People literally come from all corners of the world as China supports students from emerging countries in Africa, Asia or Central America to come to Beijing. This is a great approach as the area around Tsinghua becomes an interesting melting pot of different cultures. This diversity is very unique and it is unlikely to find such a mix of China and the world in any other student area.
3. Diversity in the classroom
When you take a look into the Tsinghua MBA classroom, you also see people from many different parts of the world. More than half of the students are Chinese, the rest are foreigners. The class composition was also a criteria to come to Tsinghua. I wanted to get to know China and study together with Chinese students. When you hang out with your classmates from China, you realize that you should not only look at China as a whole, but as a country with many different areas and cultures. One of my friends comes from Ningxia province, another friend from Guangzhou. Their cultural backgrounds are probably more different than cultures within Europe, and you will only get to know them when you live in places like Tsinghua.
Other universities like Peking University create MBA programs only for foreigners. I personally think that studying in China without having Chinese classmates is a pretty bad approach. I am glad to have Chinese friends and you would not have the same opportunity to meet them in a “foreigners-only” program.
4. Everybody supports each other in all kinds of situations
Tsinghua MBA is like a big family. Everybody knows and supports each other, doesn’t matter whether you have health issues, want to open up a business or need help to study. I was in a hospital for some time I and never expected that the whole class supported me and helped me to recover. It might just be luck that my class has such a strong cohesion but I also think that you find a perfect environment to get to know the whole class and to make friends with classmates. I also think that team players get attracted by a university like Tsinghua and it might be part of the culture that you only rarely meet arrogant people. The class connection was visible in many situations. The good students gave review sessions for the whole class right before the exam, some classmates already found a business together or create networking and weekend trips for the whole class. You come alone to China but Tsinghua makes you feel like home and you won’t leave alone.
5. Business and Jobs in China
Of course, the main reason we all start an MBA is to find a good job afterwards. China is a growing market with almost endless potential. In contrast, the markets in Europe or the US are pretty rigid and saturated. Still, some people in China are worried about the current development due to exploding house prices and rising labor costs. In contrast, there is an atmosphere of departure, especially at Tsinghua. It is comparatively easy to get funding, and many classmates already founded a business, from a satellite that a classmate wants to shoot in the sky, to a coffee business with several hundred coffee machines in public places.
Tsinghua is actively supporting entrepreneurs with its X-Lab incubator program. Furthermore, the “Chinese Silicon Valley” Zhongguancun is three blocks away and Tsinghua also runs an X-Elerator program there. Besides that, there are several classes that help you to start up, including the Facebook Silicon Valley class. In this class, you build groups with students from different faculties so that you can work on ideas together with students from computer science, architecture or engineering. The startup environment is outstanding and you will also find a great number of VC firms in Beijing.
If you don’t want to startup but join the corporate world, you will find help at the Career Development Center. They are actively looking jobs that fit to your personal profile, both inside and outside China. PE is currently huge in China and I think that the majority of my classmates ends up in this business field. With an MBA from Tsinghua, you have great opportunities in all Asia related businesses and you will be qualified for a great number of new jobs. Tsinghua is one of the elite schools in Asia, and as Chinese companies are more and more going global, they seek for foreigners in their international business divisions. Another common step is to end up in the big Western companies in their Asian markets divisions afterwards. As soon as you apply, you will benefit from the Tsinghua brand and its great reputation.
If you are willing to shift your focus on Asia, you will find top working opportunities and have an unforgettable experience. You will dive into the Chinese culture and spend your time with Asian people. Going to Tsinghua is a “real” Chinese experience on the highest educational level. It probably takes years to understand China as a foreign person but the program definitely brings you very close to the country. At some points you even start feeling Chinese, which shows that Tsinghua is doing a great job for its foreigners.
Of course, there are also some negative points, but I think they are negligible. The language barrier has been a problem outside the campus but you will learn the basics fast. Especially when a cab driver rips you off because you are not able to negotiate or when you are not able to talk to a cute girl. You learn from your mistakes and you get great incentives to become better in Chinese.
Pollution is also one of the common problems but I think the air quality is improving. This year, the pollution has only been high in December and January, and I did not even wear a mask from March to June. Hence, I don’t see any serious health problems that prevent anyone from coming to Beijing.
I hope that you got some interesting impressions about Tsinghua MBA from the point of view of a foreigner. The text might sound a bit biased as there are no real negative points. But for me, the Tsinghua experience has been very positive and I definitely see this as one of my life changing steps. Maybe it is also the right step for you. If you are keen on going to Tsinghua, better apply now than waiting two or three years. Tsinghua is getting a lot of international recognition and I would bet that it gets even harder to get accepted in the upcoming years.
⚠ This discussion has been closed due to inactivity. Please start a new topic in the Business School Applications Forum if you have a similar question or a comment.
Thank you,
GMAT Club Moderator Team.
I just finished my first year at Tsinghua and I think it is time to leave a few words about my MBA experience in China. Maybe some foreigners are also willing to take on this challenge and my impressions might help to get a first overview how Tsinghua life is like.
I will first give some general information about the application and the teaching style in class. After that, I will give personal reasons why I think going to Tsinghua is a unique chance in your life.
My application
To be honest, I did not give myself high chances to get accepted. I knew that Tsinghua is one of the hardest schools in the world to get in, at least for undergraduates. Around 9 million people take the national entrance exam every year in China and only the absolute best students get into Tsinghua. For MBA students it is easier to get in, but the people you study with are still China’s elite.
Fortunately, I applied in December already. For internationals, there are seven application rounds and I already applied in round two. The earlier you apply, the higher the chances to get accepted and I think that the chances to get a scholarship are also higher. But also without scholarship, the MBA is comparatively cheap (even though it is in cooperation with MIT).
You need a GMAT (or take the entrance exam in school) and take an interview in front of three interviewers, including a person from the MBA office, an MBA professor and an alumni. The interview was a bit challenging, especially because one of the interviewers tried to test how you react under stress.
When you are interested in applying for the MBA, make sure that you find enough reasons why you want to shift your focus to China and why Tsinghua fits perfectly to you. Maybe you share similar values like me, then you can refer to some of the arguments mentioned below.
Inside the classroom - teaching style
The teaching style is a mix between American and Chinese. The way the program is structured is very American and I guess MIT has a great influence here. You usually don’t have more than 50 students in a classroom. Furthermore, you have study groups that you need to build every semester in order to make presentations or to do some of the homework together. The grade is composed of a lot of homework, presentations, midterms and final terms. Especially the first semester is pretty busy. School and students are ambitious, therefore you might need to study a bit more than usual in the beginning. You definitely don’t fail but you should stay on the ball.
Personal reasons why China and Tsinghua is not just a usual place to study
There are many ways to take in your life. For me, I was seeking the opportunity to get myself out of the comfort zone as far as possible with the opportunity to benefit from this step later in life. If you are willing to get an international profile and differentiate yourself from the Western world, China and especially Tsinghua is probably the best step to take.
The following points summarize some of the reasons why I think Tsinghua is not just usual:
1. High-class education and world leaders at Tsinghua
It is very unique to receive education on an Ivy League level in a booming country like China. The university is known to be very close to the Chinese government. Therefore, Tsinghua receives great support but it also has the side effect that world leaders are constantly coming to Tsinghua. They need the government to do business in China and Tsinghua is a great channel for them to make an impact. Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Tim Cook are just one of many leaders that are members of the Tsinghua SEM board and regular guests on campus.
Due to the presence of world leaders and the great job of researchers and professors, Tsinghua is getting great international recognition. This is also reflected in the current world rankings. Nevertheless, the university is not well-known outside Asia yet and it is still an insider tipp in the Western world. However, this is changing and I guess it will get more competitive for the upcoming applicants to get in this program.
As an MBA student from Tsinghua, you also benefit from Tsinghua's global connections. You will be able to go to MIT, to take a short-term exchange at Stanford or you can also go to other top schools around the world for a semester (including Yale, HEC, Singapore, etc.). I guess Tsinghua SEM has one of the best connections globally, in terms of the number of partner schools, but also in terms of the number of world leaders coming to Tsinghua.
2. International students from literally every corner of the world
Tsinghua is located in Wudaokou, which is probably one of the most international places on earth (not in absolute terms, but in terms of the number of people from different countries and cultures).
On campus, you play football with students from North Korea and support your neighbours from Pakistan during Ramadan. You hang out with the African crew from Eritrea after classes and go for dinner with your classmates from China. People literally come from all corners of the world as China supports students from emerging countries in Africa, Asia or Central America to come to Beijing. This is a great approach as the area around Tsinghua becomes an interesting melting pot of different cultures. This diversity is very unique and it is unlikely to find such a mix of China and the world in any other student area.
3. Diversity in the classroom
When you take a look into the Tsinghua MBA classroom, you also see people from many different parts of the world. More than half of the students are Chinese, the rest are foreigners. The class composition was also a criteria to come to Tsinghua. I wanted to get to know China and study together with Chinese students. When you hang out with your classmates from China, you realize that you should not only look at China as a whole, but as a country with many different areas and cultures. One of my friends comes from Ningxia province, another friend from Guangzhou. Their cultural backgrounds are probably more different than cultures within Europe, and you will only get to know them when you live in places like Tsinghua.
Other universities like Peking University create MBA programs only for foreigners. I personally think that studying in China without having Chinese classmates is a pretty bad approach. I am glad to have Chinese friends and you would not have the same opportunity to meet them in a “foreigners-only” program.
4. Everybody supports each other in all kinds of situations
Tsinghua MBA is like a big family. Everybody knows and supports each other, doesn’t matter whether you have health issues, want to open up a business or need help to study. I was in a hospital for some time I and never expected that the whole class supported me and helped me to recover. It might just be luck that my class has such a strong cohesion but I also think that you find a perfect environment to get to know the whole class and to make friends with classmates. I also think that team players get attracted by a university like Tsinghua and it might be part of the culture that you only rarely meet arrogant people. The class connection was visible in many situations. The good students gave review sessions for the whole class right before the exam, some classmates already found a business together or create networking and weekend trips for the whole class. You come alone to China but Tsinghua makes you feel like home and you won’t leave alone.
5. Business and Jobs in China
Of course, the main reason we all start an MBA is to find a good job afterwards. China is a growing market with almost endless potential. In contrast, the markets in Europe or the US are pretty rigid and saturated. Still, some people in China are worried about the current development due to exploding house prices and rising labor costs. In contrast, there is an atmosphere of departure, especially at Tsinghua. It is comparatively easy to get funding, and many classmates already founded a business, from a satellite that a classmate wants to shoot in the sky, to a coffee business with several hundred coffee machines in public places.
Tsinghua is actively supporting entrepreneurs with its X-Lab incubator program. Furthermore, the “Chinese Silicon Valley” Zhongguancun is three blocks away and Tsinghua also runs an X-Elerator program there. Besides that, there are several classes that help you to start up, including the Facebook Silicon Valley class. In this class, you build groups with students from different faculties so that you can work on ideas together with students from computer science, architecture or engineering. The startup environment is outstanding and you will also find a great number of VC firms in Beijing.
If you don’t want to startup but join the corporate world, you will find help at the Career Development Center. They are actively looking jobs that fit to your personal profile, both inside and outside China. PE is currently huge in China and I think that the majority of my classmates ends up in this business field. With an MBA from Tsinghua, you have great opportunities in all Asia related businesses and you will be qualified for a great number of new jobs. Tsinghua is one of the elite schools in Asia, and as Chinese companies are more and more going global, they seek for foreigners in their international business divisions. Another common step is to end up in the big Western companies in their Asian markets divisions afterwards. As soon as you apply, you will benefit from the Tsinghua brand and its great reputation.
If you are willing to shift your focus on Asia, you will find top working opportunities and have an unforgettable experience. You will dive into the Chinese culture and spend your time with Asian people. Going to Tsinghua is a “real” Chinese experience on the highest educational level. It probably takes years to understand China as a foreign person but the program definitely brings you very close to the country. At some points you even start feeling Chinese, which shows that Tsinghua is doing a great job for its foreigners.
Of course, there are also some negative points, but I think they are negligible. The language barrier has been a problem outside the campus but you will learn the basics fast. Especially when a cab driver rips you off because you are not able to negotiate or when you are not able to talk to a cute girl. You learn from your mistakes and you get great incentives to become better in Chinese.
Pollution is also one of the common problems but I think the air quality is improving. This year, the pollution has only been high in December and January, and I did not even wear a mask from March to June. Hence, I don’t see any serious health problems that prevent anyone from coming to Beijing.
I hope that you got some interesting impressions about Tsinghua MBA from the point of view of a foreigner. The text might sound a bit biased as there are no real negative points. But for me, the Tsinghua experience has been very positive and I definitely see this as one of my life changing steps. Maybe it is also the right step for you. If you are keen on going to Tsinghua, better apply now than waiting two or three years. Tsinghua is getting a lot of international recognition and I would bet that it gets even harder to get accepted in the upcoming years.
⚠ This discussion has been closed due to inactivity. Please start a new topic in the Business School Applications Forum if you have a similar question or a comment.
Thank you,
GMAT Club Moderator Team.
11 Jun 2018, 10:06
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi Niklas09,
Thanks for your review. I'm wondering if you could update your/other 2016-18 cohort international students' status now, since many of you have likely graduated and (hopefully) moved on to interesting jobs in China/elsewhere. How have the GMBA exposure to top companies/leaders, Tsinghua network, and entrepreneurial focus/competitions in the program translated into post-graduation jobs? Also, thanks for your feedback on the below shorter questions:
- when you say entrance exam in school as opposed to GMAT, do you mean their customized analytical reasoning test? And is it frowned upon to go that route instead of use GRE/GMAT (I assume samples are available somewhere)?
- Did you/many other int'l students pursue Mandarin fluency rigorously while in the program, and if so how were Tsinghua's teaching resources and receptiveness of such efforts? Do they offer advanced Mandarin courses for int'l students, or are they mostly beginning/intermediate level offerings?
- Relatedly, were there many int'l students who upon matriculation already had HSK 5 or 6 fluency and noticeably got further ahead thanks to that? If so, does that allow them to take many Mandarin-based classes and thus get more out of the experience (and would those have been taken with the part-time Mandarin-based cohort, presumably involving Friday/weekend classes?).
Thanks, and good luck with your journey!
Thanks for your review. I'm wondering if you could update your/other 2016-18 cohort international students' status now, since many of you have likely graduated and (hopefully) moved on to interesting jobs in China/elsewhere. How have the GMBA exposure to top companies/leaders, Tsinghua network, and entrepreneurial focus/competitions in the program translated into post-graduation jobs? Also, thanks for your feedback on the below shorter questions:
- when you say entrance exam in school as opposed to GMAT, do you mean their customized analytical reasoning test? And is it frowned upon to go that route instead of use GRE/GMAT (I assume samples are available somewhere)?
- Did you/many other int'l students pursue Mandarin fluency rigorously while in the program, and if so how were Tsinghua's teaching resources and receptiveness of such efforts? Do they offer advanced Mandarin courses for int'l students, or are they mostly beginning/intermediate level offerings?
- Relatedly, were there many int'l students who upon matriculation already had HSK 5 or 6 fluency and noticeably got further ahead thanks to that? If so, does that allow them to take many Mandarin-based classes and thus get more out of the experience (and would those have been taken with the part-time Mandarin-based cohort, presumably involving Friday/weekend classes?).
Thanks, and good luck with your journey!
10 Nov 2018, 00:19
Kudos
Bookmarks
Great write up niklas09. Wondering how has your 2nd been, especially recruiting experience and job scenario in China.
