Baoyan's experience has made me grow a lot. Now, when I think back to my half-year participation in insurance research, my heart is full of emotion. From preparing all kinds of materials and certificates in the early stage, to attending summer camps in various schools, and then waiting patiently for the admission results, I stumbled all the way, experienced some setbacks and refused many temptations. Every day is full of worries and expectations. This kind of mood can be described as impetuous, but it must be experienced. But I am a confident person. Although I don't stand out from the crowd, I am also practical and enterprising, with excellent results. It is the persistence and sincere dedication of this university over the past four years that has enabled me to reap today's achievements and step into the ivory tower in my heart-Tsinghua campus. Here, I just want to share a word with you, as long as you have perseverance and perseverance, everything is possible!
Next, I would like to introduce my personal situation to you. I studied in Dalian University of Technology as an undergraduate, majoring in software engineering (Japanese intensive reading). Ranked sixth in 256 major in four years, with a score of 543 in CET-6 and a score of10 in Japanese. In addition to the study of specialized courses, in terms of scientific research and innovation, I have completed some software projects with others in the laboratory and won the first prize of mathematical model, the second prize of acm and so on. Scholarships, won the national scholarship, a number of first-class scholarships and other individual scholarships. In social work, I also actively participated in and served as the monitor.
First of all, I am not a super cow, as can be seen from the professional ranking. Secondly, in front of me, there are top student, who has a stronger academic record, the great god of mathematical model who has won national and international awards, the great god of ACM, and the great god who has won patents and published many papers. So, at first, I didn't expect to go to a school like Tsinghua Peking University. But with the harvest of one offer, my ability is gradually affirmed and my confidence is gradually enhanced. Finally, I submitted my application materials to Tsinghua. However, it must be pointed out that the behavior of excluding some colleges and universities in the later period is really not worth learning. It is better to do less things that harm people's quality. I hope all the students will take this as a warning.
First, the preliminary preparation
1. My preliminary preparation
My insurance research started from 2065438+April 2004. I only knew that I had to apply for research before, but I knew nothing about the specific time and preparation of relevant materials. It was not until April that I chatted with a senior in our college who went to Shanghai Jiaotong University that I knew I was going to prepare for the postgraduate entrance examination. She introduced me to the research forum. Open the forum of Baoyan, which is full of all kinds of scholars, and I deeply feel my smallness. By reading various experience posts on the forum and comparing my own situation, I summed up my three shortcomings: 1. Lack of scientific research experience. I have participated in practical projects in the laboratory, but not in scientific research projects. I haven't even read a paper, and I'm not clear about all kinds of so-called research directions. 2. English is very poor. I majored in software engineering (Japanese intensive). I studied Japanese as a foreign language in college. I didn't take an English class in college. Although my CET-6 score is ok, my oral English is poor. I'm very worried about the English interview in summer camp. 3.ACM has almost no competition experience. I have not received professional ACM training, and I have only a little knowledge of various algorithms. I'm rather timid about the computer exam, which is necessary for insurance research.
At this time, there are only two months left from the application materials in June. Considering that I have to set aside some time to prepare materials, I only have about 1 month to improve myself and make up for my shortcomings. As for the scientific research experience, I feel that I can't improve it in a short time, so I gave up the idea of improving the scientific research experience; For programming ability, all I can think of is brushing questions every day; In view of my English ability, I thought of a cruel trick-taking the TOEFL. I don't want to get more points in TOEFL. I just want to improve my English listening and speaking ability quickly by preparing for the exam. This is the only way I can think of to improve my English quickly. So for the next month, I was isolated from the world. I get up at 6 o'clock every day to recite words, do simulation problems during the day, and go back to sleep at night 10:00. So a month passed. In the process of preparing for the exam, I also witnessed the improvement of my English level. From the beginning, I hardly understood it. In the end, I understood most of it. I'm glad that this is exactly what I want.
After taking the TOEFL test, take a short rest and return to normal life. I didn't go online for more than a month because I was preparing for the exam. At this time, I opened the Baoyan Forum, and the school had informed me of the summer camp. Combined with the time of summer camp and my own situation, I applied to four schools-Fudan University School of Software, China University of Science and Technology School of Computer, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Software and Peking University Institute of Software and Microelectronics. I got summer camp qualifications from four schools. Later, because of the time conflict between CUHK and Fudan, I gave up the summer camp of CUHK and actually went to the summer camps of three other schools.
2. Preparation experience
(1) It's still early to prepare for the investigation.
At that time, I began to prepare for the postgraduate entrance examination in April, leaving only 1 month to improve my ability. It is suggested that students should make preparations early if they want to prepare for the postgraduate entrance examination.
(1) Freshmen and sophomores should strive to improve their grades and professional rankings;
(2) CET-4 and CET-6 must be passed, and the score of CET-6 should be as high as possible. Generally, better schools have certain requirements for CET-6. You can know in advance and work hard according to the required scores. You must pass CET-6 at the latest in your junior year, otherwise you will not be able to catch up with the summer camp.
(3) Take part in more science and technology competitions after school and win at least provincial and national awards. Although this is not a rigid requirement, it is a pity when others have prizes and only you don't have them.
(4) Have certain project experience or scientific research experience, participate in scientific research projects as much as possible, read more papers, publish papers if possible, and use these experiences to introduce yourself in the interview.
(5) Social practice and work should also be involved. For example, in addition to academic performance, social practice and social work will be added up in a certain proportion when our school ranks in the insurance research, and the final score is the comprehensive ranking, so some aspects should also participate.
(2) Take as few courses as possible in the next semester of junior year.
This should be my personal experience. There are no compulsory courses in our major next semester, only elective courses. Because I have taken more credits before, I still need 6 credits next semester in my junior year. Therefore, I only took three elective courses in my junior year next semester, all of which were concentrated in the first few weeks, so I have plenty of time to prepare for TOEFL later, and I am also very calm when preparing materials. At the same time, there is no course selection in the later period, which also avoids the conflict between the summer camp and the final exam time, and ensures the participation of the summer camp as much as possible.
(3) Always watch Baoyan Forum (this should not be considered as an advertisement).
When I first saw the forum, I felt that I was a treasure. When I first started preparing for the insurance research, he let me know the process of the insurance research, let me know that there is a summer camp for the insurance research, and let me know my gap by reading various experience stickers. Later, the summer camp informed that it was normal to brush the forum every day and read the gossip of various altar friends. When preparing the materials, I first downloaded several templates from Baoyan Forum, first to see how others wrote them and what the format was, and then to complete the materials according to my own actual situation. After getting the qualification of summer camp, I read the experience post again, looked at the process and form of the school summer camp, and made some preparations appropriately.
(4) Prepare materials carefully.
I divide the materials that need to be prepared into two types. One is objective, mainly including transcripts, ranking certificates, copies of CET-4 and CET-6 and various certificates. These materials can be easily obtained by printing or copying. It is suggested that these materials can be prepared in advance. For example, at the beginning of the third semester, you can copy the transcripts and certificates of CET-4 and CET-6 to avoid the school's print shop being crowded when you register.
There is also a kind of materials that need to be written by yourself or teachers, mainly personal statements, letters of recommendation and application forms. These materials need to be carefully written by yourself. It is usually recommended to prepare a copy in advance, and then make some changes according to the characteristics of different schools when applying for different schools.
Don't be afraid of trouble when applying for a school. Unless you are absolutely sure, try to invest in as many schools as possible, considering both the school you particularly want to go to and the school you sponsor. When preparing materials, you must carefully read the requirements of the school summer camp application. Some schools will require registration in their system, and then print the template in the system. Some schools will give templates directly on the website of summer camp application. Some schools don't require templates, so be sure to look carefully. In addition, some schools will require teachers with associate professors or above to fill in letters of recommendation, which should also be noted.
Second, summer camp activities
1. The summer camp I attended.
In mid-June, I received admission notices from summer camps one after another. I confirmed my participation in all three schools except the summer camp rejected by the Chinese University of Science and Technology. In early July, I left for Shanghai to attend the first summer camp.
First stop: Fudan University School of Software
Fudan University School of Software is in Zhangjiang Campus. We stayed in a hotel near our school. The hotel provides breakfast for free. Lunch and dinner are provided by the school. The school provides meal tickets for each meal 15 yuan, which we can spend in the canteen. Two days before the summer camp, all the laboratories and project teams in the college introduced their research directions. On the third day, we visited the teachers' laboratory freely. At that time, many students contacted their tutors in advance. I did not contact them in advance. I was worried then. On second thought, this kind of worry is completely unnecessary. On the third day, I returned to my residence early to prepare for the computer test and interview the next day.
On the fourth day, we will have a computer test in the morning and an English interview and a professional interview in the afternoon. I have seen some experience posts before, and the computer test topics in the summer camp of Fudan University School of Software are generally related to the data structure, so I specially reviewed the data structure the day before the computer test. Sure enough, on the fourth morning, the topic of our computer test was stack-related. We input four arithmetic operations and output the results, which requires us to recognize addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, brackets and decimal points. The total computer test is ***2.5 hours, only this question. After the exam, the teacher will conduct a white box test. If you don't make it, you can give the teacher some advice, and the teacher will deduct points as appropriate. This problem is not difficult, but about half of the students didn't work it out.
Interview in the afternoon. We sat in a big conference room waiting for an interview. It's your turn to go to one classroom for an English interview before going to another classroom for a professional interview. After each student comes back from the interview, everyone will ask him what questions he asked in the interview. Everyone is chatting with each other, which is very lively. No nervousness before the interview. I feel that we are not competitors, but good friends. Based on everyone's experience, English interviews mainly ask questions about hometown, hobbies and family, and involve little professional knowledge. In the professional interview, introduce yourself first and then ask about the project experience. If you have no project experience, you will ask some professional knowledge, such as data structure, software engineering and operating system. I was the last person in line for an interview, about 4:30. After my interview, the teacher asked us not to leave. 10 minutes later, the teacher came, read a list and got the certificate of agreeing to accept the exemption. Sure, I'm here.
In this way, the summer camp of Fudan University School of Software ended. I was happy when I left. It's my first time to attend a summer camp, but I didn't expect to get an offer so easily. I stayed in Shanghai for two days the following weekend, and went to Shanghai Jiaotong University for a summer camp on Monday.
Second stop: School of Software, Shanghai Jiaotong University
The School of Software of Shanghai Jiaotong University is in Minhang District. I have to say, Shanghai is really big. I went from Zhangjiang Campus of Fudan University to Minhang Campus of Shanghai Jiaotong University. I take subway line 2 to 1 and then to line 5. After sitting in the subway for nearly three hours, I have to take a bus when I get off the subway. We stayed in the hotel opposite Shanghai Jiaotong University, and the college provided a meal ticket for 120 yuan, which was used in the canteen during the summer camp.
The first day of the summer camp is an all-round introduction, then the teacher gives 22 topics, and on the last day each student chooses a topic to defend. The second day and the third day are used for consulting materials and preparing PPT, and the fourth day is defense.
Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Software always has six directions. In the summer camp, each direction is given a number of defense topics, and students choose a topic, which means they choose this direction. The topic I choose is cloud architecture in the direction of smart cities. Many students contacted their tutors in advance and found them during the period. Every time I hear that classmate say that his tutor promised him, I always feel Mao Mao in my heart. I didn't contact my tutor, and this assessment is a form of defense, not a computer test. I don't know if it will be hopeless. But I also decided to prepare my defense carefully.
On the fourth day, I defended all day and came last again. I am very calm when I see the students' defenses in front of me, both good and bad. It was already four o'clock in the afternoon when it was my turn. I explained the cloud architecture with an innovative project I have done. I didn't expect that all the questions the teacher asked me later were about this project. A lot of questions about cloud architecture teachers were prepared before, but this project was not prepared. I did this project earlier, and I forgot a lot about it. Besides, I'm nervous. When the teacher asked questions, I didn't answer them fluently, giving people the impression that I didn't do this project.
I was in a bad mood when I left Shanghai Jiaotong University, mainly because my defense was not very good. I don't care about the results of the summer camp for another week. I left Shanghai for Beijing on the same day.
Third stop: Peking University Institute of Software and Microelectronics.
The first impression I got from the School of Software and Microelectronics of Peking University was the small area. In Daxing District, Beijing, you have to take a black car when you get off Metro Line 4. The campus is also very small, and it takes about 10 minutes to walk from one end of the campus to the other. We lived in the dormitory of the school, and each of us was given a meal card with 50 yuan money for the summer camp.
The summer camp at Peking University is very tight. After going there, there was an admission ceremony in the afternoon, and all directions were introduced the next morning. The next afternoon, we were interviewed-in the form of a debate. On the morning of the third day, we had a written test and graduation ceremony, and received the summer camp graduation certificate. Then we left.
About three weeks of summer camp experience made me feel very tired. I planned to have a good time in Beijing for a few days after the summer camp, but in fact I went home as soon as the summer camp in Peking University was over. A week after I returned to China, I received a notice-I got the A-file discount from Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Software (I can be exempted from re-examination in September). A few days later, I received a notice from Peking University that I passed the summer camp. Even if my summer camp activities come to an end, it is gratifying that I have all got the offer, and the click rate is 100%.
2. Summer camp experience
(1) Always be confident.
In the summer camp, we will meet different classmates and meet all kinds of Daniel. For example, when Shanghai Jiaotong University defended, a classmate published three undergraduate SCI papers, which immediately shocked the teacher. But after all, this is still a minority. Most students have the same undergraduate life as themselves, so as long as they maintain a confident attitude and go all out to prepare for each assessment, they will certainly achieve ideal results.
(2) Attend summer camp with familiar friends.
When I signed up for summer camp, I studied with my classmates who wanted to sign up for graduate school. Everyone tried to sign up for summer camp in the same school. This is safer, because the school generally won't tell you when the summer camp application is not passed, but when a classmate receives the notice that the summer camp application is passed and he doesn't receive it, it means that his summer camp application is not passed. And if you go through the same summer camp, everyone can prepare together, and many hands make light work; At the same time, you can also go to the summer camp by train to avoid the monotony of the journey. When I attended the summer camp in Shanghai Jiaotong University, I was with my classmates. Compared with other summer camps, the summer camp of Shanghai Jiaotong University and my classmates obviously impressed me more.
(3) About contacting the tutor
It is beneficial to contact the tutor before the summer camp, but it is not necessary. Many students contact their tutors before the summer camp and meet them when they attend the summer camp, which is relatively safe. However, this is not absolute. In the summer camp of Fudan Soft Institute, some students contacted the tutor in advance, but they were not admitted because of their poor computer test results. I think the last thing to do is to contact the tutor during the summer camp, which is a temporary cramming behavior. At this time, most of the emails sent by the teacher will not be answered, which will make the teacher feel that the classmates are too utilitarian.
In March and September, the exemption test was pushed, which impacted Tsinghua.
1. My experience
After receiving three offer, my family and I had a serious disagreement about which school to choose. I hope to go to Shanghai Jiaotong University, because I have been staying in an independent campus during my undergraduate period, and I hope to feel the feeling of a real university in the main campus during my postgraduate period; My family wants me to go to Peking University, which is very famous. My home is in Liaoning, and Beijing is closer to home than Shanghai. In this way, we have been discussing which school to choose throughout the holiday.
I came to school in September. After scholarship evaluation and ranking, I finally got the exemption qualification. At this time, we all decided to give it a try when we saw a brochure on Tsinghua's enrollment exemption. After all, this is our ideal university.
After sending the materials, we began a serious preparation process. For Tsinghua's second interview, all we can prepare is the computer exam, and it's only two weeks before the second interview. Neither my classmates nor I have received professional acm training, so we can only improve our programming ability by desperately brushing questions. In the first two weeks of September, compared with my TOEFL preparation, it was even worse. I still get up at six in the morning and go back at 10:00 in the evening. The difference is that I didn't disconnect this time-because all the questions need to be submitted online. We don't have time to regret why we didn't start preparing for the computer exam in the summer vacation, because time goes by little by little, and squeezing out 10 minutes may lead to one more question. We helped each other, from not knowing the algorithm at first to being able to explain each other later, and we also witnessed each other's growth. After preparing for the exam for two weeks, we went to Beijing.
The arrangement of the second interview in Tsinghua Institute of Software is the computer exam on the first afternoon and the interview on the second morning. After a night's train ride, we arrived in Beijing that morning and then went to the hotel we had booked. I brushed a few questions in the morning and went to Tsinghua East Main Building to take a computer test in the afternoon.
The total computer test is ***2.5 hours, with 3 questions. The first problem is related to large numbers, the second problem is recursion, and the third problem is dynamic programming. The scoring rule is to give points according to test cases, and each test case will be given a corresponding score, which is slightly different from the ordinary acm competition. After the computer test, we came out to check our thinking and found that many places were not considered, and the three questions were the same. It is estimated that if judged according to the rules of acm competition, all three questions will fail. My classmates are the same, so I have to hope for the interview the next day, hoping that the interview can be played well.
The next morning, we checked out and went to Tsinghua University East Main Building for an interview. Due to the large number of people, the interview was conducted in groups. I got the fourth place. After I went in, I faced five teachers. First of all, I introduced myself. After introducing myself, the teacher first took out my report card and asked me why both courses were over 60 points (these two courses were selected in the next semester of junior year, and I went to summer camp for a long vacation, so both courses were over 60 points), so I had to tell the truth. Then the teacher asked me what direction I like, and then asked some basic information about Dalian University of Technology. Finally, a teacher asked me the difference between quick sorting and selective sorting in English, and I also answered.
After the interview, I asked my classmates and they were all asked similar questions. My classmates and I have participated in several summer camps. General interview questions are about project experience or professional knowledge, but the second interview of Tsinghua Institute of Software did not ask these questions. We are all surprised at this. However, Tsinghua's second interview is finally over, and we can relax again.
I went back to school that night and it turned out to be an email. We are very excited to see me and my classmates. The excitement at this moment is unprecedented. Our efforts finally paid off, and everything was not in vain!
Later, I sent emails to the teachers of Fudan University School of Software, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Software and Peking University Institute of Software and Microelectronics, explaining that I chose other schools and expressing my sincere apologies.
Then, according to the time when Tsinghua University accepted the enrollment, he filled in his volunteers on September 28, accepted the re-examination notice on September 29 and accepted the waiting admission notice on September 30. Everything went according to the planned process, and my heart was calm.
At this point, my research road has come to an end, but my life will continue, and my life road has just begun.
2. My experience
(1) With regard to programming ability, it is still recommended to train from freshman year. Although I participated in some acm competitions during my freshman and sophomore years, they were all very simple and had no contact with real algorithms at all. When I came into contact with the algorithm problem, it was already the third semester of junior year, and it was very late, which led me to practice the algorithm problem hard in the later period. If you get in touch with the algorithm earlier, you can not only participate in the acm competition in your freshman and sophomore year, but also win some prizes and easily complete the computer examination of Baoyan. Why not? Here, it is recommended to use poj of Peking University to brush the algorithm. I've used other websites, but some think it's too simple and some think it's too inappropriate, so I still recommend poj.
(2) The exemption in September is far more intense than the summer camp in July. I hope students who want to learn insurance can attend more summer camps if they can. In the summer camp, I will stay in school for a long time, so I can get to know the school better. But in the process of exemption, I just went to the school to take the exam, and I probably didn't know enough about other aspects of the school.
(3) Regarding contacting the tutor, I don't think it is necessary to contact the tutor before the second interview. Some of my classmates contacted the tutor before the second interview, some didn't get a reply, and some teachers just replied "I hope to get good grades in the second interview" and so on. For example, the second interview of Tsinghua Soft Institute is conducted in groups. Even if you contact the tutor, there is no guarantee that you and the tutor you contact are in the same group, so I don't think it is necessary to contact the tutor before the second interview.
Postscript:
After receiving the letter of admission, I went home. After returning from the eleventh, life is dull again. Gradually, everyone went to the internship post, some went to Beijing, some returned to China, and I stayed in the teacher's laboratory of our school for internship. Looking at the little friends who have struggled together, they have to separate again. Looking back on Baoyan's days, I miss it a little. Miss those days that I fear and look forward to every day, or miss those hard experiences of preparing for the exam, or miss those classmates who struggled together, or both?
Through half a year's postgraduate study experience, I have grown a lot. I learned to be alone during the TOEFL preparation for more than a month. In the process of preparing materials, I learned patience, carefulness and carefulness. In the summer camp, I experienced the unique campus culture of different universities. In preparing for the exam in Tsinghua, I understood the power of unity. In a series of exams, I learned interview skills, and my professional knowledge was further improved ... all these were brought to me by the postgraduate entrance examination experience.
People will encounter many choices in their life, and so will insurance research. From the initial choice of which schools to apply for, to whether to participate in the summer camp, and then to whether to accept the offer, the wisdom of choice is everywhere. When faced with a choice, what I want to say is, follow your heart. Since the so-called choice is to choose a better one among two similar ones, then you should choose what you like and what suits you better. Therefore, if there are two choices, then both must be acceptable, just a question of which is better. I think at this point, we must follow our hearts and don't follow others' advice. The choices made by others may not be suitable for you. Of the two options, find the one you value most, and choose according to that condition, which must be the most suitable for you. This is what I realized in this insurance research experience.
In short, every student engaged in insurance research has his own experience in insurance research and will certainly have his own understanding of insurance research. I want to share these with you and help my brothers and sisters. Finally, I wish my brothers and sisters a smooth study!