Phan School male student shares secret to being valedictorian at the Aptitude Test

According to An, the secret to getting good results while doing the test is to be proactive and make the most of your time, even if it's just a matter of seconds.

Don't waste time

Chu Van An has just received the results ofCompetency assessment testThe second time was held by Hanoi National University with a score of 120/150 points. With this result, An said: I am not surprised about my score of 120, because after finishing the exam, I had predicted it. However, I am quite surprised because I hold the position of "valedictorian" among about 8,000 candidates who registered for the second exam. Although this is the highest score, I am quite regretful, because in reality, there were questions that I could have done better but I let it happen.error...

Chu Van An is a student of class 12A4 - Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted. Before that, An studied at Ha Huy Tap Secondary School - Vinh City. Photo: MH

The Hanoi National University's aptitude test has 150 questions, including 50 quantitative thinking questions (Math), 50 qualitative thinking questions (Vietnamese - Literature) and 50 science questions (including a combination of questions from the subjects of Math - Physics - Chemistry - Biology - Geography). The test time is 195 minutes, equivalent to more than 3 hours. During that time, An said, between each test, candidates have 30 seconds to rest and regain their spirits. The rest, to be able to complete the test, An and many other candidates, seem to have no time to spare.

Recalling his exam, An said that all three parts required him to develop his own abilities and were not easy to complete. Compared to the High School Graduation Exam, this exam was really “too stressful”.

Quantitative reasoning is the first test that candidates must complete. In 75 minutes, candidates must answer 50 questions about algebra and geometry. In this year's test, An was quite surprised when he picked a test code with 25 questions related to spatial geometry.

Sharing about the process of taking the quantitative thinking test, An said: As soon as I received the test, I seemed to have to start working immediately and in order. I did the easy and simple questions first and allowed myself 3 seconds to do them. After completing these questions, I focused on the more difficult ones and allowed myself 7 seconds to do each exercise. Once I had basically completed the questions, I spent the remaining time on the more difficult ones and then did my best. With this part of the test, I got 44/50 questions correct.

With about 8,000 candidates taking the exam in the second round, An said that it was not a large number, because this exam was held at the end of March, when 12th grade students had not yet completed their high school program. Right in the class where An is studying, she is the only candidate taking the second round. Why did she decide to take the exam early? An said that she is "quite confident with the amount of knowledge she has learned". In particular, for Math, An completed the 12th grade program at the end of 11th grade and had nearly 1 year to practice the questions. In the quantitative thinking test, An said that the amount of knowledge was mainly in the 12th grade program. However, besides that, there was an additional question from 11th grade and candidates, in addition to studying and mastering the knowledge in the textbook, had to do a lot of advanced exercises to solve the questions in the test.

Since the end of grade 11, An has tried to complete the grade 12 program and prepare knowledge and mentality for the Competency Assessment Test. Photo: MH

In the Qualitative Reasoning section, candidates have 60 minutes to answer 50 questions for reading comprehension (20 questions), Vietnamese (20 questions) and reading text (10 questions). As a student majoring in Chemistry, An said that this was the most difficult section and she only completed 33/50 questions.

In the three parts of the test, An said, the reading part was not too difficult because the test only required students to read a text in the textbook and answer questions about the text's expression, meaning, and art... and only needed to have a firm grasp of the text to be able to do the test.

In the reading comprehension section, An was initially confused because there were questions with similar answers, making it easy for students to be "fooled". Meanwhile, in the Vietnamese section, An was really confused.Because there are words like antonyms and synonyms that An really doesn't understand. So, after finishing the test, An had to review the Vietnamese dictionary to understand the text better.

In the Science section, with 5 subjects, An said that for the History - Geography questions, as soon as he reads the question, he will tick the answer because the knowledge is mainly in the textbook. In the History section, there are some questions related to current practice but they are not too difficult, because if you have studied hard, you can answer them.

Reading books helped An do quite well on the questions in the Science exam. Photo: MH

In Chemistry, An was confident because it was his major. Meanwhile, in Physics and Biology, there were quite a lot of theoretical questions, the amount of knowledge was quite wide and it also took quite a long time to complete. In this part of the test, An got 43/50 questions correct.

Get used to the pressure

Chu Van An is not a strange name at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted. Because, when he was in grade 11, An was a student who won first prize in the Beyond the Knowledge contest - a contest likened to the Road to Olympia contest of Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted. After that, he represented the school to participate in the Road to Olympia contest in 2022 and entered the quarter-finals.

Before that, when deciding to join the Road to Olympia Contest, An also had to make many important choices for herself. Therefore, although since grade 10, An had been selected for the class team to participate in the national team selection, in the end, An stopped and wanted to spend time going to the Olympia playground.

Chu Van An won first prize in the Beyond the Knowledge contest – a contest likened to the Road to Olympia contest of Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted. Photo: NVCC

The failure of the Olympia competition in the quarter left An with many regrets. However, the knowledge and experience that An had gained from this competition later became favorable conditions for An to participate in the Competency Assessment Test organized by the National University, especially with questions in the subjects of History, Geography and Qualitative Thinking.

In the remaining subjects, in addition to the advantage of being a student majoring in Chemistry, An said that he must study the remaining subjects systematically and thoroughly, and the first secret is to "study diligently in class and have a firm grasp of the knowledge in the textbooks."

Chu Van An during his participation in the Road to Olympia contest in Hanoi. Photo: NVCC

Unlike many other students, An also said that she did not spend money on online review courses, because there are many documents and practice tests for online assessment tests. To do these exercises, An found that the amount of knowledge is quite similar to the High School Graduation Exam and just need to practice regularly and read documents to be able to complete well.

The biggest pressure in this exam is time and after two or three practice tests, An has learned from his own experience to do it quickly, correctly, accurately and not waste time. The experience of "3 seconds, 7 seconds" is also something he set for himself and learned from reality.

With 120/150 points, An now has many opportunities to apply to many top universities. However, despite having achieved the second prize in the provincial excellent student competition in Chemistry and IELTS 7.5, An is still not satisfied because her goal is to pursue Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

Experiences from the Road to Olympia competition helped An complete the Aptitude Test well. Photo: NVCC

Currently, An continues to review for the thinking assessment exam of Hanoi University of Science and Technology.and try to study all subjects for the High School Graduation Exam. In any exam, An will still try to achieve the best results so as not to disappoint herself, her teachers, her family and her school./.