The petite girl became the top student in university.

(Baonghean.vn) - Despite being only 1.45m tall and weighing 35kg, Hong Thi Huong achieved a very high score in the university entrance exam with a total of 26.5 points, becoming the top student of the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy at Hanoi National University.

Hong Thi Huong poses for a commemorative photo with her homeroom teacher, Phan Thi Ly.

Before the university entrance exam, Huong and her parents hoped she would apply to a teacher training college or a school in the security or defense sector to help ease the tuition burden on her parents. However, due to her small stature, she didn't meet the requirements for the security or military fields. With the encouragement and advice of her homeroom teacher, Phan Thi Ly, Huong chose to apply to the medical and pharmaceutical program at Hanoi National University. “Last year, the entrance score for the pharmaceutical program at Hanoi National University was 26 points, so I applied but was very worried. After the exam, I graded myself using the Ministry's answer key and scored around 26 points, anxiously waiting for the results. Unexpectedly, I became the top scorer,” Huong confided.

Speaking about her secret to becoming the top student, the petite girl said that she practically had no secrets, nor did she have the means to attend extra classes or tutoring centers. She simply focused on studying the textbook material and diligently working through different types of exam questions. She strived to get the maximum score on each type of question and avoided putting too much pressure on herself during the exam.

Since receiving the results confirming her top score, Huong and her family have received encouragement and congratulations from relatives, friends, neighbors, and teachers. However, Huong's father, Hong Van Liem, said that the family's life has been largely disrupted except for one pressing worry. Mr. Liem's ​​family owns three acres of rice paddies, and his wife suffers from kidney stones, requiring surgery every few years when the stones grow larger. For many years, his family has been classified as a poor household, only moving up to near-poor status in the commune in early 2014. Their main occupation is farming, but to supplement their income, Mr. Liem works as a construction laborer. "We're so happy that our child got high scores, but when we think about him living in Hanoi for five years while studying, our family is very worried because we have to regularly provide about 3 million VND per month for his living and studying expenses. Our family doesn't qualify for tuition fee exemptions, so we're all quite concerned. However, for our child's future, we have to try our best," Mr. Liem shared.

Hong Thi Huong is one of the two youngest students in the class, but she consistently achieves impressive academic results.

Homeroom teacher Phan Thi Ly commented that Huong is a very well-behaved and diligent student. Although her health isn't as good as other students, she has excellent academic abilities and a confident approach to answering questions, so before the exam, her homeroom teacher and subject teachers were very reassured. Because her home is far from the school and she doesn't have the means to attend extra classes, Huong often stayed at her teacher's house for meals and rest during the provincial-level gifted student exam preparation and university entrance exam preparation, and was treated like a grandchild. "When I heard that Huong had topped the exam, I was so happy, it felt like my own child had just passed. Even though there are many difficulties ahead, I hope she will overcome them to become a pharmacist and fulfill her dream of changing her life," her homeroom teacher confided.

According to teacher Phan Thi Ly, at this point, about 40 out of 48 students in her 12D class have already secured their university admissions. Besides Hong Thi Huong, who achieved the top score, the class also has three runners-up who scored very high: Duong Le Toan (runner-up at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, with 28.5 points), Nguyen Huu Son (runner-up at Vinh University), and Trang Thi Giang (runner-up at Hanoi Pedagogical University 2).

“Thanh Chuong 3 High School is located in a poor commune, in Zone 1. Most of the students are from impoverished families and do not have the means to attend many extra classes, but they have made great efforts to achieve high results in the university entrance exam. This is a positive sign, showing the determination and hard work of the students, and also demonstrating the increasingly improved quality of education at the school,” shared teacher Phan Thi Ly.

Nguyen Khoa