Wei Xing is a T'16 from Beijing, China. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering from the Beijing Institute of Technology and a Master of Engineering Management from Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering. Prior to Tuck, Wei worked in finance in New York City, at an education management firm in Beijing, and most recently, with EF Education First China, also in Beijing. After Tuck, he plans to pursue a career in management consulting.
What were you looking for in an MBA program?
To me, an MBA is not just a degree. Besides the goal of enhancing my career development and general management skills, I wanted to leverage two years at an MBA program to do some self-reflection. I am trying to find out what truly matters to me, both personally and professionally. Tuck’s close-knit community and “everyone knows everybody else” culture really allow me to do that. I have been learning how to explore different ideas from my classmates with diverse backgrounds and how to integrate their perspectives with my own.
What concerns did you have as an international applicant?
Before Tuck, my concern was how much value I would get from some of Tuck’s quantitative courses that I already took in college. Trying to get full exposure of my study group, I didn’t attempt to exempt Statistics for Managers, a core course in our first term, Fall A. Very different from the course I took in engineering school, Statistics for Managers was focused on thinking as a general manager and how to make business decisions with available data. I ended up enjoying each mini case in this course as well as Professor Neslin’s unique sense of humor!
Why Tuck?
I came to Tuck mainly because of its people. When I pursued my Master of Engineering Management at Dartmouth in 2006, many Chinese Tuckies voluntarily did mock interviews with me when I was applying for jobs. When I asked Ying Wang, T ’06, who interned at McKinsey to give me a 45 minute mock case interview, that 45 minutes turned into over two hours. Not letting me treat him to dinner, Ying wanted me to return the favor by supporting fellow Tuck and Dartmouth students. I didn’t forget my promise to Ying when I came back to Hanover and I am eager to pass the torch by mentoring classmates and future Tuck students.
As an international student, how has Tuck supported you?
During my first couple of months at Tuck, I found that the Career Development Office (CDO) was extremely helpful. Before Fall A starts, each student is assigned to a career coach (a CDO member) who maintains active communication and provides thorough career guidance. I recently returned from a consulting trek, led by Associate Director of the CDO, Stephen Pidgeon, where I had the opportunity to visit major consulting firms in Boston, learn their business, and interact with Tuck alumni during receptions. The CDO also organized career sessions designed for international students that occur every two weeks and cover various topics from cultural differences and networking to resume workshops and mock interviews.
Any surprises?
My Tuck Outward Bound experience (aka OB), which was a five day sailing trip in the Gulf of Maine. Ten Tuck students shared one boat and went through a daily rotation program to be captain, navigator, sailor, chef, and so on. Every evening we had a reflection session to give the captain feedback and share our personal stories. Without a laptop or a cell phone and after sleeping in a confined space for five days, I formed a strong bond with the people on my boat even before school started. They still remain my closest friends at Tuck!
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to an international applicant?
When international applicants have the privilege of choosing among schools they have been admitted to, they should talk to as many people as possible from each MBA program. Though all leading business schools offer top-notch business training and incredible career development resources, the people and culture can be very different. If visiting the schools is not an option, international students should attend information sessions, coffee chats with alumni, and get a sense what type of people they want to learn from, trust, and build friendship with not only throughout two years, but their lifetime.