Meet Ohio State’s MBA Class of 2017

Jingchen (Lucy) Liu

Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business

Hometown: Jinan, China

Education:

Pennsylvania State University (University Park), Nutritional Sciences

The Ohio State University, Medical Dietetics

Employment:

Clinical Research Center, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Bionutritionist intern/assistant

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and affiliated health services, Intern Dietitian

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE? Take several practice tests in a simulated environment as close to the actual testing environment as possible.

Based on your own selection process, what advice do you have for applicants who are trying to draw up a list of target schools to which to apply? I made a comparison chart listing all the factors that were important to me, such as location, tuition, university rank, class size and employment rate. I would definitely recommend a campus tour of a few of your final schools to further evaluate.

What advice do you have for applicants in actually applying to a school, writing essays, doing admission interviews, and getting recommenders to write letters on your behalf? Make sure to have a clear career goal in mind—that will help you to have a focused essay and interview. For recommendation letters, I usually send three items out at least one month before the deadline after my recommenders agree to help.

With résumés, I keep two sets of résumés on hand – one for job hunting and one for networking and recommendations. The résumé for recommendation is a more comprehensive list with more details. As part of my resume, I provide a short narrative stating my career goal and plan.

In terms of recommendation letters, some of my recommenders ask for an outline. And even if they don’t, I sometimes provide one to make sure two or three of my recommenders do not talk about the exact same thing.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? I finalized my decision with Fisher because I have been working in this area and I heard a lot of positive reviews about it from alumni. I also attended a campus tour and liked the culture and environment.

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate? Business is a new field to me considering my dietetics background. I’d like to enrich myself with business knowledge and experience and have a clear understanding of my potential in the business field in order to prepare for a professional career.