Education policies exert huge impacts on people's behavior in schools. Moreover, the social attitudes conveyed by these policies could have far-reaching effects on the labor market. Upon my graduation, nearly 80% of my fellow students launched their careers in accounting firms—big name companies and high paying jobs. It was the first time that I felt the power of education on cultivating standard talent to the labor market. Equally, the other side of the standardization should not be neglected: while improving efficiency in job matching, such educational mode may discourage the pursuit of personal values and reduce diversity.

The road to [University Name] began when I researched education policies that abolished double degrees in China. Before these policies, double degrees allow students to dabble in area of interests, despite of the high threshold to change majors in Chinese universities. To study the impacts of these policies, I surveyed 200 students and extrapolated qualitative factors that influence their choices for a second major. Besides, I compared their academic performance before and after the announcement of policies. According to field investigation, enrollment in minor courses decreased by 28%. In questionnaires, 60% of students attributed this change to “decreased credibility”, because double degree was no longer officially endorsed. Also, the policy had negative effects on attendance rate and raised fail rate by 7.5%. The result indicated that by increasing obstacles or reducing incentives, education policies could make huge impacts on people’s behavior and their academic performance. If mobility among majors is strictly inhibited, how can students confirm the majors in college would lead them to specific fields for life-long pursuit? Are there other ways to compensate for the trial-and-error process?

The exchange experiences in Spain gave me a glimpse of the difference between European and Chinese education system—the western world lay greater emphasis on liberal education. My exchange was support by Erasmus Mundus, a program aimed to enhance academic co-operation in the European Union. Not only undergraduate students were encouraged to study in more than two countries to get joint degrees, but also professors rotated to partner countries in terms of visiting scholars or temporary lecturers. Exposed to unfettered academic atmosphere and students with diverse backgrounds, I began to treat conflicts as sparks of different perspectives, rather than obstacles to reach consensus.

My official job in Johnson & Johnson changed my perspective on education, pushing me to ponder over the long-term effects of education on labor market. As a management trainee, the most appealing part of my job is that it encourages cross-sectorial rotation, which mirrors American education’s emphasis on diversity. However, I noticed a dilemma in campus recruiting. While the company advertised prospective development through the trainee program, most Chinese graduates paid more attention to the fast track for promotion. Going through education experiences in China and Spain, I realized this dilemma stems from different notions in education system. Without a process to discover their life goals, Chinese students are more likely to cater to the mainstream standard for success.

As I espouse the philosophy of inclusive education, I hope students are entitled the right to explore his/her passion, and develop comprehensive self-understandings. Deep down in my heart, I am aware that there is still a long way to go before being an excellent education policy consultant, who contributes insights to Chinese education reforms from standardization to all-around development. During the postgraduate program, I will focus my research on the impacts of education policies on academic and labor market outcomes. My undergraduate in economics has equipped me with econometrics knowledge and statistical skillsets to conduct empirical researches, which are applicable to my research at [University Name], [University Name].

M.A in Economics and Education program is ideal for me. What attracts me most is [University Name]’s wide range of courses. I have flexibility in choosing courses such as Microeconomic Theory with Applications to Education and Data Analysis for Policy and Decision-making, which exactly meet my needs develop frameworks to interpret education policies and apply advanced economic tools to policy evaluation. I am also interested in workshops which introduce frontier researches on current education and economics in the US and the globe, since the balance of theoretical study and practical context insights is crucial for IP project. Besides, I am excited to learn more about Prof. Alex Eble’s work on children beliefs formation and human capital development, especially his empirical studies on analyzing long-term effects of early exposure to erroneous messages on individuals’ later life outcomes. These studies will hone my analytical skills to borrow sociological insights to understand people's behavior. I cannot wait to start this intellectual journey.