基本情况：杨同学， U of California, San Diego， Math，GPA 2.751， TOEFL N/A， GRE 308 

录取学校：Northeastern University MS in Data Analytics Engineering 

I have always looked for an area which can maximize my potential. Throughout my study at UC San Diego, I designed my own study plan that allowed me to learn a broad range of mathematical and statistical tools drawn from such diverse fields as mathematics, statistics, economic theory and computer science. I graduated from UC San Diego with a Mathematics degree and a minor in Economics. The study of statistics is closely interrelated with mathematics, and excites me due to its potential for practical applications to such varied academic fields as insurance and economics. I thoroughly enjoyed my course, Actuarial Mathematics, which exposed me to the statistical application of risk probabilities in the field of insurance and it ability to calculate everything from life expectancy, to homeowners insurance risk, to catastrophe probabilities and damage estimates. This course, combined with other courses in economics cultivated my interest in mastering analytical methodologies. 

Upon graduation, I successfully found a job of rate analyst. Through analysis work, I helped our customers to save cost, and also my conscientiousness and efforts in work guaranteed my good performance and earned the recognition of our company. This working experience gave me a strong sense of achievement and also motivated me to further explore my potential in data analysis so as to bring more profit for company and gain greater achievement. Meanwhile, I realized that although I have learned a series of mathematics, statistics, economics, and computer science courses, still, I need to upgrade my knowledge background in statistical analysis and computer applications in data analysis. To have a more systematical learning of statistics and data analysis methodologies, I can profoundly improve my ability to build models, collect and process data, and extract more useful information from data. Besides, I hope to strengthen my study of theories alongside sharpening my application skill. Therefore, I am motivated to apply to master’s degree in Data Analytics. 

I choose your MS Data Analytics Engineering program since I know it can fill the gaps of my knowledge and also challenge me to improving myself in every aspect. For instance, although I learned and mastered the utility of certain data analysis tools in work, I aspire to strengthen my study of the theories and academic knowledge of Data Analysis. So in graduate study, I will emphasize my study of statistics’ application in data analysis, big data analytics, customer and market analysis, prediction and etc. Also, since my current work is about extracting and analyzing information from finance and accounting data, I anticipate enhancing my study of apply statistics for Financial Analysis to reinforce my work capability. I will also endeavor to improve my mastery of data analysis programming and tools, such as Statistical Computation, R and SAS. Moreover, in work, I experienced data analysis with cooperation of different departments, so in graduate study, I expect to learn database and web, in order to advance my data analysis ability. 

Your program perfectly fits in with my academic goal and my professional goal is to hone my ability to utilize statistical and computing tools to process and analyze data, and to use this knowledge to create more business value for enterprises. After graduation from Northeastern University, I will devote myself to data analysis work in investment, finance or marketing companies. I have found my passion for analysis, to help customers and enterprises to maximize their profit, and I hope I could further improve my professional skills. In the long term, I want to work on providing support for decision making through data analysis, including financial analysis, risk analysis and control, and product development. I am confident that this program will augment my analytical and technical abilities and give me the ability to design effective studies, make inferences from raw data, and translate those inferences into meaningful solutions. I know the graduate experience in Northeastern University will be a great asset for my career development. 

As my preparation for graduate study, I finished my undergraduate study of Mathematics with a minor in Economics from UC San Diego. I have excelled in my mathematics training at UCSD especially in courses relevant to the use of statistics in economics and business. I gained substantial knowledge from courses like Actuarial Mathematics, Mathematical Statistics, Mathematical Reasoning and Microeconomics, and performed well in these courses. I also have practical experience in this field when working as a Finance Executive Assistant in the summer of 2015. In this position, I was responsible for analysis of financial data, and utilized Matlab and Excel applications to analyze large amounts of data in a commercial environment. This internship taught me the invaluable lesson of how rigorous and efficient handling of large amounts of data and patience are essential for data analytics to be used to identify actionable solutions. I also enjoyed the opportunity to work with other young professionals, and built my interpersonal and communications skills. 

After graduation, I work as a rate analyst in Conservice Company. I researched and analyzed utility provider’s current and proposed rates, rules and rates structure. I applied mathematics and analyzed the collected data to understand how rates affect cash flow and calculate for different sizes of enterprises, and to update rate sheet according to the utility provider’s approved rates, rules and government regulations. Based on the states’ different laws, I communicated with legal department and adjusted rate sheet into billable charge. When dealing with some peculiar rate sheet of utility provider, I contacted the provider to get and analyze relevant data, such as winter average consumption. Meanwhile, I would maintain close communication with the billing manager, like asking for tax bills, confirming account number, and checking construction status for new construction. At last, through the learning of provider’s billing structure and the analysis of obtained data, I would update rate sheet. 

In work, I also analyzed utility provider’s bill to make sure the accuracy of rates and billing structure on rate sheet. Once, I spotted a utility provider’s billing error. Through their customer service representative, I got contact with their financial manager and corrected the error. Also, after this incident, I checked the rate sheet and bills of this utility provider for other clients, identified and corrected several billing errors, which helped our clients to save $13,000. As I finished checking all the data and updating the rate sheet, I would upload it to our company system. The billing manager would also upload a billing summary regarding my rate sheet. Then, I would conduct quality control of the summary. By going through every charge and also contacting the billing manager to correct all the errors in new and previous rate sheet, I timely updated the information and also made the billing recovery rate become more ideal. Now, I am preparing for the training of rates audit or budget forecast, all of which will boost my strength in data analysis and statistics. 

This work experience greatly sharpened my data analysis ability, improved my communication skills, and upgraded my pressure resistance and time management abilities. Through daily work and company training, I advanced my comprehension of data analysis, gradually mastered effective ways to seize useful information, collect and analyze data, and also increased my work efficiency. Also, by communicating with customers, utility provider, government, and different departments, I improved my English speaking skills. Moreover, I boosted my ability to handle multi-tasks and special projects, and to meet my own deadline as well as assist my colleagues with their work. 

I am confident that I have the foundational skills and passion to take the next step on my path to become a data analyst. Yet, I am also aware of the necessity to equip myself with more statistical and computing training to meet the challenges of a dynamic environment overwhelmed by data. My goal is to use my statistical training received at Northeastern University to leverage my expertise in statistics to secure a successful career that contributes to commercial work.