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Thai Vu Duc Anh, grade 12 student at Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, won a full scholarship worth 8.3 billion VND to Yale University, USA.
In addition to Yale, Duc Anh also received scholarships from many top 30 universities in the world, with a level of 5 - 6 billion VND/4 years.
Yale University in Connecticut, USA was founded in 1701. After more than 320 years of development, this year, the school accepted 2,150 students, from about 57,400 applications, the most competitive rate in history. Yale is in the elite group of Ivy League schools - 8 most prestigious private universities in the US.
Duc Anh was worried when he applied to Yale University, partly because Ivy League schools are very competitive, especially for Yale, where the acceptance rate is only around 4% of the total student body. And if we only talk about international students (non-US citizens or students studying in the US), the rate is often several times lower.
"Each year, Vietnam only has a maximum of 2-3 students passing Yale, some years even none, the competition rate to get into the school is extremely fierce."Duc Anh said that his success in being admitted was due to his excellent academic record and outstanding extracurricular activities during his three years of high school. Duc Anh is also confident that he fits the criteria that Yale University looks for in candidates: leadership and the ability to change the community.
The reason he was so confident was because in 7th grade, when his parents sent him to the US to attend his older brother's graduation, Duc Anh was taken by his brother to visit famous schools and the male student was especially impressed with Yale University. Stories about studying abroad and American education were nurtured in the student from then on.
This young man understands that at a prestigious school like Yale, in addition to impressive academic achievements, the desire to change the community is also something they have always sought in each generation of students over the past 320 years.
Talking about where he lives, Duc Anh shared that in Ba Ria - Vung Tau, extracurricular playgrounds for students are still limited. Since his junior high school years, the male student has always wondered if students in his hometown could also participate in debate activities, United Nations simulation conferences, etc., they would be much more active.
By 2023, the young man founded the “Vung Tau Debate Community” debate community. The first event held was the “Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province Debate Summer Camp” which attracted more than 200 participants. Duc Anh and his group also invited debate coaches to train high school students. The total cost was 80 million VND, funded by the male student and his friends through sponsorship and ticket sales.
According to the young man, extracurricular activities are not just “throwing salt into the sea” or “eating at home and carrying the burden of the whole country”, they also help candidates gain experience and grow. More than having achievements that beautify the profile, extracurricular activities help Duc Anh develop skills and inspire the community in which he lives. This is also a big stepping stone in successfully conquering this top 9 university in the world (according to QS World University Rankings 2024).
During the last months of applying for the scholarship, Duc Anh stayed up late almost every night to try to polish his application. His parents reminded him out of pity, but Duc Anh just smiled and replied that he had to try hard so as not to regret it later.
In addition to community activities, Duc Anh strives to study and achieves the top 1 average score in the class for 3 consecutive years - GPA 9.6 - 9.7. The male student also achieved an SAT score of 1,530/1,600, IELTS 7.5, and second prize in the Math Olympiad of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province (grades 11 and 12).
In his journey to conquer the world's top prestigious universities, Duc Anh found that the essay was the most important challenge. He wrote about how his family circumstances influenced his curiosity, his ability to learn about everything around him, and his sense of action to change the community.
Duc Anh’s family sells traditional handicraft products made from snails from Vung Tau City. Since he was a child, he often helped his parents sell goods.
However, in recent years, the shellfish craft villages in Vung Tau have gradually faded away and traditional snail products are no longer as popular as before. Feeling sad and regretful, Duc Anh determined to establish the Vung Tau Traditional Craft project with the desire to promote the village products and spread the stories of local artisans.
“The project conducts interviews with local artisans, customers and businesses. Then, I edit and create videos myself and post them on social media sites,”Duc Anh said. In addition, the male student also built an e-commerce website to help connect local artisans and handicraft businesses, supporting them to sell their products online.
Currently, Duc Anh has convinced a number of local business owners to jointly develop a snail coffee model in the hope of building it into a unique feature for tourists visiting Vung Tau.
In the second half of the essay, Duc Anh focuses on expressing a fresh perspective revolving around the intersection between traditional values and modern solutions in the current era of digital transformation technology.
In a handwritten letter dedicated to Duc Anh sent with the acceptance letter on March 29, Professor John Yi, Associate Director of Admissions at Yale University, praised:“Your essay was my favorite essay in this year's admissions class. I was so inspired by what you did and I hope to see you do the same at Yale.”
Pursuing Economics, the Vietnamese man hopes that Yale University will be the cradle for learning and self-development, preparing for this long-term goal. Duc Anh plans to work for a while after graduation and then study for a Master of Business Administration in the US.
HA (Synthetic)