• senior major in Accounting
• from Beijing, China
• participated in the American Culture & English program her first semester
• planning to attend grad school in Great Britain

"The ACE program is a good opportunity, because you can make friends and earn a lot of credit in your first year. In class you can relax, learn English, and absorb the American culture. Cherish your first semester at Miami in the ACE Program — it will be one of your best semesters at Miami."

Why Miami?

Yiwei Wang and a friend at Miami's Equestrian Center

"Back in China, a school guidance counselor helped me choose which university I wanted to attend, and they gave me a Miami pamphlet. I liked Miami most, and part of this was because of the American Culture & English (ACE) Program and the fact that it counts towards my total credit hours. I looked over Miami's website and really liked that tuition is not too expensive compared to many other schools.

"I started my first semester at Miami with ACE, and at the time there were a lot of students trying to get into the Farmer School of Business. I didn't know that Farmer was very famous, but a lot of my classmates and friends were looking at choosing a major like accounting. My mom, who's a retired accountant, encouraged me as well, so I thought, 'Hmm, accounting may be good for me.' Since then I've been working very hard to get a good GPA. Accounting isn't as easy as I thought!"

Best Miami Experiences

"The ACE Program helped me fit in at Miami very well. Without ACE, I wouldn't be as successful as I am now because that first semester was very hard. At the time I didn't feel very relaxed and was so tired, but it taught me a lot about American culture and helped me fit in. ACE also organized events for us, like taking a bus on the weekends to the shopping mall, so I really liked things like that to help me get more familiar.

"ACE also helped me meet a lot of friends. The first semester you only have 4 classes, including math, so I made lots of friends in these classes. I didn't realize how important GPA is until I got to the United States, because in China they don't really care about GPA that much!"

Learning the Value of Teamwork

Yiwei Wang at one of Miami's on-campus events

"Teamwork would be one of the first big things I learned at Miami. In the ACE Program, all my classmates were Chinese, so I felt comfortable talking with them, even in English. But later, after I completed ACE and took more traditional Miami classes with American students, at first I didn't feel comfortable talking with them. They seemed to think faster than me, and sometimes I couldn't understand them. However, after taking a business core of classes which involved a lot of teamwork, I really feel I improved on that. I learned skills that will be useful later in life.

"Many of my professors in ACE came from different countries, which was helpful to me because they too were not native English speakers. They could really understand how difficult it can be to use English as a second language. They helped me walk in others' shoes and be more open to trying new experiences.

"One of these experiences was working as an accounting intern this past summer in China. My superiors there often asked me to do things I didn't want to do, but my experiences as a Miami student really came to use. After I graduate, I'm planning to go to graduate school in Great Britain and try another new environment!"

Advice to Students

"The ACE program is a good opportunity, because you can make friends and earn a lot of credit in your first year. In class you can relax, learn English, and absorb the American culture. Cherish your first semester at Miami in the ACE Program — it will be one of your best semesters at Miami.

"Consider carefully as you choose your major, but the main thing is to cherish your time. As long as you do your homework on time and listen in class, it's not hard to pass. Just make sure you don't oversleep for exams, like some of my friends have. Do everything on time, and you'll be fine!"

[October 2019]