Education

• 2013–2015: Anhui Normal University – Software Engineering (GPA: 2.9)

  Yes, I took the GaoKao (College Entrance Exam) and was ranked about 50,000 out of 280,000 students in my province. I am not smart and I did not work hard enough either. I went to the No.1 High School in Tongling City, I ranked about 400th out of 900 people on average.

• 2015–2018: University of Nebraska–Lincoln – BSc Computer Science (GPA: 3.42)

  I transferred from AHNU to UNL in 2015. Why UNL? Because the tuition was affordable and UNL offered me the earliest. I was also accepted to other schools like the University of New Hampshire and the ASU. Wait-listed at U of Minnesota.

• 2022–2024: University of Nebraska–Lincoln – MSc Computer Science (GPA: 3.89)

  I couldn’t find a job at the time and was also accepted to Boston University. I chose UNL again because of the scholarship, and I love the city of Lincoln.

My Perspective on Education

I think nowadays, all knowledge can be learned by ChatGPT — anyone can build something great with the help of AI. The key is being adaptive.

Going to class is mostly meaningless. I'd say I learned 90% of what I know by myself(search the answer and practice it, remember it first then intuitively get used to it). Attending class is more about connecting with classmates and professors.

However, standardized tests like GaoKao, SAT, or TOEFL — and LeetCode-style interviews — are still extremely important. They reflect your intelligence and work ethic. They're the most efficient way to filter talent. I got 494 in Gaokao, 82 points in TOFEL(2014), 320 points in GRE (153 and 167). I roughly did 200 questions on Leetcode, I want to honestly say that I don't have the talent doing Leetcode, maybe I am not working hard enough? I don't know. Failed Microsoft SDE Interview 2 times.