MBA Student Profile: Herman Chein, University of Michigan

TopMBA.com talks to Herman Chein about his decision to do an MBA, why he chose the University of Michigan and his future career plans. 

Why did you decide to attend your Business School?

I decided to attend Michigan for the following reasons:
As a career changer, I needed an MBA program that would offer a solid academic training as well as opportunities to gain hands-on corporate experience during those 2 years in order to show corporate recruiters that I was able to perform well in my new function. Michigan is the only top MBA program that offered both. Particularly, its corporate programs (MAP, IMAP, the William Davidson Institute) allowed me to work with top institutions such as the World Bank and Citibank, on 3 projects (8 months total), in addition to my regular summer internship. This has enabled me to be competitive in moving onto a new career path.      

What research did you undertake in selecting your school?

While preparing for my application, I was living in the San Francisco area. I spent a lot of time speaking with the alumni of different schools at occasions like the MBA forum. Also, I called the different schools to see if they would put me in touch with their current students. I also visited 3 different campuses when I knew which were my favourites. Web sites, friends who are MBA graduates, and business journal articles were also good sources of information.      

What are the benefits of studying outside your home country?

I believed that studying at Michigan would enable me to work with a diverse student body that no other schools in Asia could match. Also, the school would gave me a global perspective on business issues and best practices.      

How are you financing your studies? 

Personal savings, student loan, and scholarship.      

Did you apply for any scholarships? Which ones? Were you successful? 

Yes, I did. I applied for Michigan's merit-based scholarship awarded upon my admission. My application was successful.      

What are your career objectives after your MBA? What were you doing before your MBA?

I wanted to help medium-sized Asian companies to better grow their businesses and capabilities after my MBA. I ran my own urban design and landscape architecture practice before attending Michigan.