After dropping out of three years of studying at Foreign Trade University, Thuan An studied abroad in Singapore and won a scholarship for a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from four top schools in the world at the age of 29.
Among them, INSEAD in France is ranked second in the QS World MBA Rankings. The other three are London Business School (LBS) in third place, the University of Cambridge in eighth place and Oxford in ninth place.
Thuan An chose London Business School, UK, which offered a 100% tuition scholarship, equivalent to 115,000 GBP (more than 3.5 billion VND). The remaining schools offered her 25-50% scholarships.
"LBS is more attractive to me because of its flexible curriculum and opportunities for connection, experience, and comprehensive development in the future," Thuan An said, adding that the UK has also been her dream destination for a long time.
Quang Thi Thuan An. Photo: Character provided
Thuan An is a former student of Phan Dinh Phung High School, Song Cau Town, Phu Yen Province. She had a desire to study abroad since she was young, but after finishing high school, An was unable to do so, partly because her family was not well off, her father was a worker, her mother was a retired teacher. She later entered the Foreign Trade University in Ho Chi Minh City, pursuing a major in International Finance.
However, in her third year, An still had her heart set on studying abroad. Knowing about the Singapore government's loan policy for international students, An quit Foreign Trade University and applied to Singapore Management University (SMU).
"That was the point after many years of observing the journey of people around me reaching their dreams. I wanted the same, and this idea had been brewing for a long time," Thuan An shared.
When she arrived in Singapore in August 2016, Thuan An brought 16 million VND borrowed from her aunt, along with a suitcase of belongings. After deducting the scholarship and support, she still had to borrow 50,000 SGD (about 920 million VND). Luckily, Singapore stipulates that this amount can be paid back within 20 years after graduation, so Thuan An was not too worried.
Thuan An went to school and worked many jobs as a teaching assistant, librarian, and gym worker. Thanks to the efforts and support from the Vietnamese student community such as exchanging books, documents, and finding accommodation, An gradually stabilized her life.
After graduating in 2022, An became a business manager at a software solutions consulting company and paid off her student debt in nearly two years. Currently, she works for a US-based company that specializes in providing connectivity and security platforms in cyberspace. Due to the nature of her work, the Phu Yen native interacts with many senior leaders and understands the problems in operating a business. Many of the difficulties stem from shaping a strategic vision, applying the right methods, and placing employees in the right positions. What makes An concerned is how to balance tools and human resource management for effective and sustainable development.
"I want to put myself in the shoes of such leaders in the future and make meaningful changes. Equipping myself with advanced knowledge, thinking, and management experience is essential," Thuan An explained why he gave up a well-paying job to study for an MBA.
Thuan An on his university graduation day in Singapore. Photo: Character provided
According to Thuan An, MBA schools usually require candidates to go through a profile and interview round. An’s profile includes a resume, recommendation letters, essays, and GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) scores.
With the GMAT, An focused on studying for 5 months and achieved a score of 720/800, which is a competitive score when applying to top schools. An's secret is to find out the strengths and weaknesses in specific sections and question types, focus on improving the weaknesses, and invest in buying a GMAT assessment report to plan a suitable study plan.
Regarding letters of recommendation, Thuan An believes that candidates should ask for letters from people who work directly with them and understand the specifics of their work, their abilities, and their qualities. Because in addition to the letter, the school will check again with additional questions to better understand the perspective of the person giving the letter.
“Choose people who really understand you and are willing to be your voice to the admissions board,” says Thuan An.
In her resume, Thuan An noticed that many candidates often listed their previous jobs without emphasizing their impact on the company. She demonstrated this by quantifying her role through specific numbers. In addition, An mentioned her hobbies and personality in the hope of highlighting herself among thousands of resumes.
"For example, I wrote that I like to go jogging, play table tennis and perform in concerts at school. These are small details, but quite important for the board to evaluate the candidate in addition to academics and work," An commented.
The essay that troubled An the most. London Business School required five essays, including two for admission and three for scholarships.
In the first two essays, one asks the applicant to state his/her career goals and reasons for wanting to pursue an MBA at the school, while the other allows the applicant to choose a topic. The three scholarship essays ask An about his/her financial situation and how it affects his/her life stages and future plans.
Before writing, An outlines. At each milestone, she notes down what she has experienced, what she has achieved, and the moments that made her change her mind and make decisions. An thinks this saves time because she only needs to select valuable details and arrange them into a coherent story.
To convince, Thuan An said that you should tell a story that has had a big impact on you and choose the strongest memory to write about. "When you open your heart and share the stories deep in your heart, that's when you create the greatest trust," An said.
In her first essay, An talked about her journey to find an opportunity to study abroad and her desire to have an MBA as a strong stepping stone for her career. She also shared her experiences growing up in the Central region and the failures she encountered. In her scholarship essay, An wrote about the pungent smell of kerosene and the burnt smell of her hair every time she studied and accidentally tilted her head towards the oil lamp at night; or how she, her mother and her two brothers kept quiet so that her father could sleep and go to work early the next morning.
In addition, school applications have short answer questions that are often ignored by applicants. An takes advantage of all of them and sees them as opportunities to express himself in many colors.
After the application round, Thuan An entered the interview round. Both LBS and INSEAD required her to arrange one or two face-to-face appointments with alumni designated by the school, instead of interviewing with a panel like at Oxford or Cambridge.
“This is probably a way to test the candidate’s ability to connect and organize, and also helps the candidate verify the level of suitability from insiders,” An said. She was impressed when a former student asked her what she hated most about Singapore, where she studied at university, and the interview turned into a fun conversation.
An said she did not prepare much for this round, only rereading her outline when writing her essay and reviewing what she had written in her application. In fact, she found that the interviewer read and understood what she had written carefully and developed topics around the candidate's life to get a comprehensive view.
Looking back on her journey, Thuan An considers her strength to be honesty, because the admissions board is often interested in personal stories.
“I don’t try to make my profile flashy. I’m honest with myself, and it takes a little courage to say the things that are deepest without fear of judgment,” An said.
Doan Hung - Vnexpress.net
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