逆境并不可怕，可怕的是在逆境中丧失了信心和希望。

Zhang Yang求学之路既曲折又顺利。说它曲折，因为一直没有按照自己既定的方向发展，或者在选择的时候就出现失误。然而，Zhang Yang却在跌跌撞撞中走出一条属于自己的成功之路：毕业于上海交通大学后, 成功申请SUNY-Buffalo 计算机硕士全奖资助，再成功申请美国顶级名校Rice University计算机博士。一路走来，虽说艰辛，却也精彩异常。Zhang Yang 非常乐意和大家分享这段曲折又精彩的人生经验，也希望帮助更多的同学少走弯路，顺利实现美好的人生目标。

zhang老师预约咨询专线：010-63907380,咨询邮箱：zhangyang@egoedu.cn

My story is about how important it is to have someone to give high level advices for your life. I got into Shanghai JiaoTong University (上海交通大学) in 1997 without taking the national entrance exam (免试直升联读班， 全市100名). This is an honor few would give up at that time but in retrospect, it is a mistake. The problem is the curriculum of the special talent class is ridiculous and the competition is fierce.  I wasted too much time on unrelated subjects like signal processing, physics, civil engineering, etc. However, I almost know from the beginning that I am going to be a computer science major. The result is my GPA for the first two years was barely 3.0 and I did not get enough  basic data structure and algorithms practices. At the same time, I prepared for GRE and got a 2310 score in my Junior year. In the next two years, I finally got the chance to really focus on what I like and brought my overall GPA back to 3.4 and my major GPA to 3.7. However, it is too late. During my senior year, I applied for 12 universities but only got three admissions and one half financial aid.  I decided to work for a year and apply again. The next year, I applied for eight universities and got two full financial aid. One is from State University New York at Buffalo and the other is from Florida State University. I chose to go to SUNY-Buffalo because it has higher department rank. This turned out to be another mistake. After I arrived at Buffalo, I realized it was a dead city and there was no industry in the vicinity at all. At the same time, the economy in Florida was booming and there were tons of job openings. After I got my Master degree, I decided to either get my Ph.D degree in a top university or go to work. I applied for ten top universities and got an offer from a very famous professor, who was president Clinton's advisor, from Rice university. At that time, there are not many good job opportunities, especially close to Buffalo. Therefore, I went on to pursue my PhD degree. This could be another mistake. However, my advisor was very busy and did not have enough time to give me academic guidance.  He passed away two years ago. I am about to graduate soon but without my advisor, my research quality is not as good as I had expected. I hope my experience would be helpful for the young students so that they could have someone to consult with and make good decisions for their life.