About your study choice:

 What are the 3 main reasons you choose this study programme
(Economics & Business Economics or Business Administration or
Econometrics or Actuarial Science or Business Analytics
 What are the doubts you had when signing up for this study?
 Why did you choose Amsterdam as a city to study?
 Why did you choose University of Amsterdam?

One thing I can put my finger upon is that going abroad to study, especially after dropping from a
bachelor’s program in China, is nothing but a huge step for me. It is a path taken by few in my
country so I suppose that going through tons of stuff in my mind is a normal reaction. Having
been learning English since I was pretty young, studying overseas is like a long-cherished dream
to me. At the year I entered the university in China, I happened to come across a chance of
studying in UvA as a freshman in China. UvA is, in fact, one of the few top universities in Europe
which render English financial courses. Hence the application. Actually, it was my only
application. Before that, the impression of me about Netherlands is, to be honest, considerably
limited. So, in this way I would say, instead of I chose Amsterdam, Netherlands, it chose me.
Naturally, unfamiliarity casts shadow of fear mixed with excitement on me. Therefore, the doubt is
rather about studying in a foreign distant country. Last, as for the rationales why I chose this
specific program, I reckon that I am a versatile fellow. Business Analytics, as far as I am
concerned, is a combination of finance and programming. Finance and Economics are about
making the world a not only better but also fair and just place. With knowledge on programming, I
can literally do concrete stuff to get to know and utilize data in order to make decisions for me and
even, more people.

About your study skills:

 What are two things you are good at when focusing on study skills? What
will help you in a positive way in the coming study years?
o Please give a specific example of when you showed this skill
 What is your pitfall when studying? What might slow you down or work
against you in the coming study years?
o Please give a specific example of when you showed this pitfall

When I really zero in upon the project or study, I suppose I have an edge of finding connections
between knowledge. As an easily-fascinated guy, I am into multiple subjects as well as areas.
Understanding can be considerably easy once I figure out the similarity between something I am
learning and have learnt. What will boost my study is, I guess, my curiosity to novel stuff. That is
to say, my desire of learning new stuff will motivate me to strive hard. For instance, last week, the
assignment of ABW seemed to be a little tricky to me since I have zero knowledge about some of
the packages in Python, inter alia, Pandas. Yet once I find out that pandas is a necessity of dealing
with data, Matplotlib, making graphs with data and Numpy, tackling numbers, they are
immediately charming. Thus by far, I have been learnt most of the syntaxes. With that, I will
practise with exercise to solid the knowledge. As could be, somehow, inferred, I am easily
distracted, to be frank. Therefore, once I get frustrated by the difficulty of the knowledge or get
bored if I find no difficulty, it would be a bit tough for me to concentrate. Firstly, on the flip side
of the coin, it can serve as a barometer to detect whether what I am learning is suitable. Secondly,
I should try to find my mode of studying and endeavor to be able to control it in the future.

About goals in the past:

 When did you set a clear goal for yourself in the past? Can be short-term
or long term
 What was the outcome? Did you achieve the goal or not?
 Why did you (not) achieve it?

The most recent goal I think I can recall is to pass the IELTS test in order to apply for the
university. The outcome was pretty stunning if I may say so. I expected a 7.0. 6.5 is also
acceptable. But it turned out to be a 7.5. I would ascribe the achievement to the effort and time I
had put in. Plus, I was pretty motivated and focused.

1 > Career goals:

 What is your career goal in 5 years? What do you hope to have achieved
by then?
 What goal do you want to achieve in 1 year to work steadily towards your
5-year goal?
 What goal do you want to achieve in 3 months (end of Period 2) to work
towards your 5-year goal? (Please know we will reflect on this goal in
assignment 4)

I think someone, Steve Jobs maybe, said something like, people tend to
overestimate what can be achieved in 1 year yet underestimate what can be
achieved in 5. 5 isn’t a small number compared to our limited lifespan. I have a
really handsome expectation about myself in half a decade. I hope I can be an
expert on both finance and data science. For the annual plan, I suppose I can try
my best to perfect the skills I have now but dipped a bit. Moreover, I will be extra
sedulous to earn a good grade by the end of the term. In this following 3 months,
I will, firstly, adhere to the suggestions of the lecturers and read materials and
secondly, enhance my programming skill.
2 > Personal Development goals:

 What is your personal development goal in 5 years? Which skills and

experiences do you hope to have, making you a better or smarter person?
Can be business related, but also sport, hobby, personal interest
 What goal do you want to achieve in 1 year to work steadily towards your
5-year goal?
 What goal do you want to achieve in 3 months (end of Period 2) to work
towards your 5-year goal? (Please know we will reflect on this goal in
assignment 4)

I consider myself easily affected emotionally, going through mental fluctuation

frequently. In 5 years I will be 25 which is the golden age of one’s life. I hope I can
still be curious about life, albeit mature as a man. I hope I can really master the
plenteous hobbies that I have including basketball, tennis, guitar and filmmaking.
In a year’s time, I can also spare considerable time with my personal interests I
believe, since I have more time in comparison with that in China. If I have
something I want to achieve in 3 months, for guitar, I want to perfect skills for
this new song I have been practicing. For filmmaking, I happen to have some idea
in mind. Hopefully I can find someone who is also interested so that we can work
together.

3 > Social life and relationship goals:

 What is/are your social life and relationship goal in 5 years? What do you
hope to achieve with the people around you? Can be related to friendships,
love relationships or business relationships.
 What goal do you want to achieve in 1 year to work steadily towards your
5-year goal?
 What goal do you want to achieve in 3 months (end of Period 2) to work
towards your 5-year goal? (Please know we will reflect on this goal in
assignment 4)

I would not expect to be married. Just joking. That I have, actually, yet to consider too often. I
think I would very likely have a girlfriend. Friend-wise, as a guy who love nothing but their
friends, joking again, I would try my best to obtain the relationship with my present friends. On
top of that, I will continue to meet a whole bunch of new interesting fellows. Business partners are
also someone I expect to have by then. To break it down, I guess I will simply be myself. What is
quite exciting is that I can meet friends from all corners of the world. And I hope to learn a lot
about the world and its crazily diversified culture.