“When applying for talent admission at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, I thought there would be many candidates more accomplished than me. Still, I applied because of my passion for programming and my dream of studying data science and artificial intelligence,” said Khanh.

Khanh was directly admitted into the specialized English class at Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted after winning first prize in the provincial competition twice, in 8th and 9th grade. He credits these early successes for giving him a solid foundation in English. However, in middle school, his English learning was mainly textbook-based, focused on grammar and vocabulary.

It wasn't until 10th grade that Khanh began to view English differently. He stopped treating it as just a school subject and began learning it as a living language-immersing himself in international news, entertainment, and content that sparked his curiosity.

“I realized studying English could be interesting when I moved beyond textbooks. Learning with a relaxed mindset made me far more effective, and I began to embrace that method completely,” he shared.

Khanh emphasized that language learning is a long-term process, requiring a solid foundation, but not through rote memorization. Real-world contexts, he believes, are key to vocabulary acquisition.

Though he had already won two national awards in English during 11th and 12th grade, Khanh chose to pursue additional certifications like the SAT and IELTS to strengthen his application. Confident in his English foundation, he opted for self-study, sourcing materials from online communities and focusing solely on real test papers to practice.

Khanh found the SAT’s “Command of Evidence” section the most challenging, requiring logical reasoning and the ability to match textual evidence with specific arguments. However, his training in national competitions had prepared him well for these types of questions.

“In practice tests, I always scored 1,550 or higher. On my final mock test, I hit 1,590. So when I sat the official exam, I allowed myself just one mistake. Walking out of the test room, I was confident I had scored 1,600,” Khanh recalled.

Despite coming from a specialized English background, Khanh applied to the Data Science and Artificial Intelligence program. He admitted that peers from specialized Math or Computer Science backgrounds might have an edge. Still, with his passion for programming and experience creating games as a hobby, he hopes to be admitted and tackle complex algorithms.

Dr. Vu Duy Hai, Head of Admissions and Career Guidance at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, described Khanh as one of the most exceptional “Idols” among roughly 5,000 talent admission applications this year.

In this group of international certificate applicants, some achieved SAT 1600 with IELTS 8.0, AP scores of 15/15, or A-Level 30/30 with IELTS 7.5 or higher.

Dr. Hai noted that more students are pursuing international certificates, leading to a surge in such applicants. He added that recent restrictions in countries like the U.S. on international student admissions may also be driving high-achieving students to apply domestically.

Thuy Nga