Yingzhi Tang

Pre-MS Job Title and Company:

Investment Banking Summer Analyst at Morgan Stanley

Post-CBS Goals:

Gain industry experience and further practice and hone fundamental analysis skillsets

CBS Activities or Clubs:

MS Peer Advisor, Columbia Student Investment Management Association, Quantitative Markets and Trading Club

Favorite NYC Activities:

Trying new food and connecting with friends

Fun Fact about yourself:

I design interactive workshops for an education organization in China to advocate for more and equal educational opportunities for underprivileged youths. In 2024 summer, I co-designed and facilitated a three-hour workshop for 30 participants during a seven-day immersive camp. I am now working on an introductory workshop series about business and finance.

What drew you to pursue a Master of Science degree at Columbia Business School?

I was at a point where I would like to slow down and rethink career choices. MS program at Columbia Business School offers me the platform and resources to be exposed to more career options. Given my background in finance, math, and stats, it made the most sense to expand and hone my skillset at Columbia Business School, which is in line with my past experiences and stands out in finance and investing among other business schools.

Which courses or professors have had the biggest impact on your learning so far?

Mergers & Acquisitions (Professor Luigi Rizzo): Professor Rizzo has had profound industry experience and is very articulate. He used transactions in which he had direct involvement as case studies, sharing insights that are hard to obtain elsewhere. He explains M&A in a multifaceted manner and often invites guest speakers who have also worked for decades on relevant matters in leading financial institutions. 

Have you taken electives outside your core MS program? If so, what stood out?

• Financial Statement Analysis and Valuation (Professor Kalash Jain): The course is structured with very thorough case walk-through. We go over at least one case per class to analyze companies’ financial statements from a practical standpoint. It is a great extension to a core class, which focuses more on the theoretical aspect.
• International Political Economy (Professor Markus Jaeger): I also seized the chance to cross-register this class offered by School of International and Public Affairs. I view this class as a great opportunity to apply business knowledge in a global context and to learn how international political regimes can in turn influence the business world as well as decision making processes.

What’s been the most valuable insight or skill you’ve gained from learning at Columbia Business School?

A mix of qualitative and quantitative analysis, rather than solely focusing on one single methodology, provides the soundest answers or solutions. Studying mathematics in college, I have always found myself comfortable dealing with numbers. Being able to bridge the gap and understand multiple aspects of the story, to me, is a critical skill to start in the first place in the context of problem solving. MSAFA offers rigorous training in fundamental analysis to understand how companies perform operationally and stresses numbers-driven financial statement analysis to assess another side of the story. MSAFA puts lots of emphasis on a well-balanced thought process, and I am continuing working on it.

To facilitate the transformation, Columbia Business School offers resources such as lunch panels and distinguished speaker series so people can network with industry insiders or experienced professionals. They often share great insights and experiences in their careers that might directly or indirectly shape my perspectives, refine my thinking, and sometimes solve my problems. I find myself learning a lot in these sessions, and sometimes I was able to leverage what I learned from these sessions in interviews. I always appreciate those moments where I discovered unrealized value during times that I deliberately made myself exposed to some unfamiliar topics and conversations.

What have been some of the most valuable relationships or connections you’ve built through this program?

I am very fortunate to be in a very close-knit community and, because of this, built meaningful relationships with peers. Being in the same classroom with most of the cohort in the first semester facilitates much of the relationship building. From discussing academic problems to stock investments, we pursue similar passions and embrace diversity in backgrounds, developing friendship at Columbia Business School and beyond. Working as a peer advisor during orientation also allows me to interact with new MSAFA students, peer advisors from other MS programs, and faculties at Office of the Student Affairs.

During my first semester, I also made efforts to connect to some second-year MSAFA classmates, primarily starting from those in the same class. Despite that most of them graduated within a few months, I still made some great friends with whom I still keep in touch now. All such relationships are so incredible that I am willing to maintain in the long term.

How has access to Columbia Business School’s resources and alumni network shaped your professional opportunities or mentorship experiences?

When I just started at Columbia Business School, I scheduled a meeting with career management center to polish my resume. I was working with Christina, who ended up providing very constructive feedback on the flow and structure, exceeding my anticipation of a regular resume workshop. When I received an interview for a job that I really thought was a match, I immediately reached back for preparation advice. She also walked me through some key information that the group shared during an information session that I could not attend and gave me suggestions on how I could prepare. I was also fortunate to have connected to an upperclassman who interned in this group, so I also contacted him when I received the interview invite and learned much more of his responsibilities and the nature of the job. I am very grateful for all the help that I have received. CBS faculty and alumni are extremely helpful.

I also connected to an alumnus who graduated before I started studying at Columbia Business School. We met in person in NYC and had a great conversation about work, career, and life. When he was back on campus as a panelist of an information session, we reconnected and chatted more about some changes in views of his jobs. Those who have been in our shoes often give some of the best advice.

What would you tell a prospective student about managing the fast-paced structure of the MS program? Any application tips you would like to share?

The MS program is indeed rigorous, so it is critical to manage time allocated to different activities. Aside from schoolwork, which has always been one of my priorities, recruiting also plays a great part. Starting early is never a wrong practice, but what is often overlooked is to be consistent.

Recruiting is not something where hard work would immediately turn into certain concrete results. I did not realize this much later in the process, so I had always felt frustrated by the efforts that led nowhere. It is totally okay to feel disappointed by the results and overwhelmed juggling between tasks at the same time; it could not be more normal. My solution to this is to maintain consistency, for this would minimize friction and energy between waves of impulsive diligence. I aimed to apply for x jobs and network with x people in a week (make sure of the quality for each application and networking calls!) and slightly adjusted based on the intensity of that week. Getting enough sleep helped me better focus on classes, which turn out to be the best long-term technical training preparation for prospective interviews. Look out for frictions that erode your productivity!

As for application, I would recommend thinking along the lines of where MSAFA, which puts emphasis on fundamental and qualitative analysis and investing, could take you and how this program might align with your past experiences and future pursuit. Therefore, being genuine and authentic about yourself is important, and how much you know about MSAFA also matters, as this showcases the extent to which you are interested in the program and understand how you might be a fit.

What has been the most rewarding part of your MS journey so far?

I really love the distinguished speaker series, forums hosted by student organizations, and guest speaker sessions. It is truly fascinating to listen to how top executives in world leading companies and well-known scholars navigate through some of the most challenging and widely discussed questions. These events shed light on some critical problems and significantly broadened my view and understanding of the world through the lenses of these speakers. It is an advantage to study at Columbia Business School, be in New York and have the exposure to these amazing opportunities to learn from the great minds and gain insights into the industry and various fields.

Post-MS career interests?

I will be joining the Transaction Economics Group at EY after completing a summer internship in this team. I find this position matching my interests and skills, and I enjoy applying the knowledge that I gained during the program, such as financial statement analysis, to the job. Upon starting my MS journey, one of the objectives that I would like to accomplish was to figure out what I would love to pursue, I am glad that I am one step closer. As such, I am thankful for getting to explore different career opportunities, hone my finance skillsets, and receive lots of help during the job application process in MSAFA.