Hanoi female student receives 6 billion VND scholarship from American university

Pomona College - top 6 Liberal Arts College - has just accepted to award a scholarship to Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, class president of English 12 class at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted. The school is over 130 years old in California, along with Stanford University, California Institute of Technology... is considered a world-famous private non-profit university.

“I burst into tears of happiness when I received the reply letter with the fireworks effect and the wordsWe accept youPomona College. The financial aid the school provided me was more than 254,000 USD, equivalent to 6 billion VND," said the female student from Ams school.

Minh Phuong received a 6 billion VND scholarship from Pomona College (USA). Photo:NVCC

At Pomona, there is one instructor for every eight students (according toUS news). Minh Phuong imagined that she would be able to interact and receive support and attention from the professors when the class had only about 10-15 students.

“Education must be close like that to develop students’ full potential. I feel happy to study at my dream school, with a wonderful space near the sea, mountains, and sunny weather all year round,” the female student shared.

Pomona College was Phuong’s risky choice because this university has never accepted Vietnamese students. Including the Ams female student, there are currently two Vietnamese studying at this multidisciplinary school, the dream of many students.

Majored in English but passionate about Physics

At Pomona College, Phuong plans to study Physics. This is a rather unusual choice because English majors often choose Social Sciences. “I am passionate about Physics because it has many applications in life, helps logical thinking, and solves many practical problems. In the advanced education system of the US, I want to experience and discover new things in this field of study,” the female student explained.

Phuong determined that studying Physics at an American university would be difficult and stressful. To prepare knowledge in advance and avoid being overwhelmed, the Ams student took AP (Advanced Placement). The program includes courses corresponding to the first year of university training, allowing students to get acquainted and get started. In the near future, she will take the AP exam developed by the College Board (the organization that organizes the SAT and TOEFL exams) to get college credit in advance.

Previously, Phuong took the SAT in Physics and scored 780/800. In Chemistry and Math, she received a perfect score of 800. Although she took the SAT a year earlier than most students applying to study in the US, the first time she took it, the Ams student scored 1,560/1600. "I mainly self-studied, didn't put too much pressure on the score, but tried my best so I wouldn't have any regrets," Phuong shared.

The 18-year-old female student is not sure whether after the first 2 years of experiencing the subjects at Pomona College, she will change her decision to choose a major or not. However, she affirms that the major she chooses will be a field of passion and happiness, and will be able to handle the pressure of studying and working in the future.

Although she was an English major, Phuong decided to study Physics based on her passion. Photo:NVCC

Good-natured class monitor, active president of many extracurricular activities

“Everyone in the class has to admit that Phuong is very good at studying. Her total score for each subject and her average score are always close to perfect, around 9.8, and she is at the top of the class. But what I am most impressed and admire about Phuong is her extracurricular activities. She is the head of the organizing committee for many events and does everything well and wholeheartedly. Phuong is a kind class monitor and is loved by her friends,” said classmate Ho Thu Anh.

Homeroom teacher of English 12 class Le Thu Thuy expressed her pride in her class monitor who is “excellent in both studying and extracurricular activities”. Phuong won second prize in the national excellent student competition and first prize in the city in English in 2018.

She was the head of the organizing committee of the 2017 Storm Career Fair with a variety of career booths, attracting more than 1,000 students and parents. Phuong also served as the head of the organizing committee for one of the school's major annual events - Ams Got Talent.

Minh Phuong will enroll at Pomona College in August. Photo:NVCC

Having many concerns after reading many stories about children being ashamed of their parents working as manual laborers, when she was in 10th grade, Phuong and her friends founded the projectWhite and Bluewith the desire to raise awareness about occupational discrimination. The group of 5 students then went to elementary schools and taught the 2nd-3rd graders the initial awareness of the profession, the reasons for respecting both manual and intellectual work. Some seminars and exhibitions demonstrating the necessity of these two occupational fields were also organized by the students.

“Many children are taught that they cannot become manual workers without being taught that they should try their best to help such people. I want to change that stereotype by helping them approach the right way of thinking,” Phuong said.

The project of the Ams school group later won the championship of the Impact Creation competition (Dash For Impact)2015 for high school students in Hanoi city.

With excellent academic and extracurricular achievements, Phuong's receiving a 6 billion VND scholarship from Pomona College, according to many students and teachers of Ams school, is "completely deserved and not surprising".

Currently, the female student has completed the national high school exam with the best results, and is the head of the content department of the farewell program for students - Made in 12. Next August, she will go to the US to become a student at a prestigious university.

Summary of achievements of Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong

- Passed ED I to Pomona College - top 6 LAC schools in the US

- 1,560/1,600 SAT 1 points

- 800/800 SAT 2 scores in Math, Chemistry; 780/800 in Physics

- Second prize in National Excellent Student English for Grade 12

- First prize in the city's excellent English competition for grade 12 and second prize for grade 11

- Head of the organizing committee of the 2017 Storm Career Fair

- Head of the organizing committee of Ams Got Talent 2016-2017 school year

- President of Leaders Of The Future Organization Club

- Head of content Made in 12

- Head of Content Department of Ams Advisor Club

- Editor-in-Chief of Ams Writer's Guild

- Champion of Dash For Impact 2015