22-year-old man wins PhD scholarships to 4 universities in the US

In early 2018, Tran Dinh Quang (2001) won second prize in the national competition for excellent students in Chemistry. That fall, surpassing thousands of candidates, Quang excellently won a scholarship covering all tuition fees (37,000 USD/year) for a 4-year program at Miami University (Ohio, USA).

Not stopping there, in his fourth year of college, while pursuing dual majors in Chemistry and Mathematics, the 22-year-old continued to receive acceptance letters to doctoral programs from four American universities. All four schools sponsored full tuition as well as paid annual salaries/stipends.

“At the end of 2022, when I opened the letter, I thought the school had made a mistake. I rushed to the lab to ask my predecessor and was confirmed that I had been accepted. I was almost stunned and almost cried out of joy because this was the school I had set my biggest goal for," Dinh Quang shared with Zing.

Four years of self-definition

Quang shared that the learning process at Miami University was quite easy, not too stressful, the curriculum was often linked to practice. Therefore, in nearly 4 years of study, Quang always maintained a GPA of 3.76/4.0.

However, life in America for Quang is not "rosy". In addition to studying and researching at school, Quang has an extra job as a tutor for American students to earn extra income to cover the expensive living expenses. Therefore, Quang hardly has much time for himself, going out early and coming home late is a common thing.

“When I first arrived, everything was strange to me, I had to take care of everything by myself. There were times when my study and work results were not as expected, I wanted to give up. But looking back at what I had done, I used that as motivation. Gradually, my spirit and mentality became stronger, everything went into orbit," Quang shared and commented that the past 4 years were the time that helped him shape himself when approaching research work.

Quang had the opportunity to do scientific research since his first year, but due to COVID-19, the male student was stuck in Vietnam for 1.5 years. At the beginning of his third year, he returned to school and conducted independent research on Inorganic Chemistry under the guidance of an American professor.

Last summer, for his research, he received an additional school scholarship worth2,600 USD/10 weeks. Quang aims to publish this research paper in the Journal of American Chemistry (JACS).

From just vaguely thinking about studying for a PhD when he was a freshman, to now, after nearly 4 years of cultivating his capacity and research experience, Quang has shaped and affirmed himself to pursue a scientific path.

Choose to study for a PhD instead of a master's or go to work

Having applied to 9 universities, Quang has so far received 4 invitations to study for a doctorate, all 4 schools agreeing to support full scholarships.

Specifically, the University of Michigan awards scholarships worth10.8 billion VND(91,000 USD/year), the University of Rochester awards12.3 billion VND(104,000 USD/year), Ohio State University with10.6 billion VND(89,000 USD/year) and the University of Iowa with4.6 billion VND(39,000 USD/year).

Sharing about studying straight to PhD, Quang said that normally, people will study for 2 years of master's degree after graduating with bachelor's degree to gain more research experience. However, in the US, the graduate system allows Quang to study straight for 5 years to get a PhD.

In addition, with 4 years of university, Quang has accumulated quite a bit of research experience. He has also been exposed to the working environment of a graduate student and clearly defined the amount of work he needs to do if he pursues the program. Therefore, the male student set a goal and was determined to pursue it.

“The 5-year PhD program is quite rushed, and many people are shocked when they go from a not-so-stressful undergraduate environment to a difficult and complex academic environment. However, I feel ready to pursue it. Therefore, choosing to study straight for a PhD is not too difficult,” Quang said.

The male student added that he did not want to work before or at the same time as studying for his doctorate because he wanted to focus completely on research.

Sharing about the application process, Quang said he started preparing since last summer. Throughout the process, he always proactively contacted Vietnamese PhD students who had recently received scholarships to learn about how to build an application.

In addition to GPA, research experience, activities over 4 years and finding a suitable research group, Quang assessed his essay as a key factor for schools to give results.

“School admissions committees can only rely on scores, profiles and essays to evaluate students, so an outstanding essay that fully demonstrates personal qualities is the key,” Quang confided.

According to Quang, his nearly 1,000-word essay did not write about what was already in his application. Instead, he shared about his research journey, the trade-offs he had to make, the things he had learned, and clearly defined what he would do in the 5 years of his research career.

Pursuing Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Michigan

Because he wanted to pursue a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry, Dinh Quang chose the University of Michigan as his destination for the next 5 years. This was also the school Quang had dreamed of, set a goal for from the beginning and received his first acceptance letter.

According to Quang, the Inorganic Chemistry major at the University of Michigan is highly regarded. This is also the school where his inspiration came from. More importantly, he found the right professor and research group here.

“I had the opportunity to come to the University of Michigan to experience and found the environment here very suitable, the facilities are good and the research labs are well invested. Above all, I found like-minded people in Michigan, all striving for the goal of serving science," the male student said.

In the next five years, Quang plans to pursue research on the role of metals in biological enzymes through various mimetics, and study the mechanisms of action and potential applications of these compounds in life. He also plans to seek postdoctoral research opportunities in the United States.

“I will pursue a professional research career, become a professor of Inorganic Chemistry and open my own research group. However, if I have the opportunity to work in a chemical company, I will also consider it,” Quang shared about his personal plans.

According to VTC