Duc Tung, 18 years old, was admitted to a school with an acceptance rate of only 1% in the US, and can study in 7 countries and territories, after passing 6 tests and other requirements.
Tung is a 12th grader at Kim Lien High School in Hanoi. During the early admissions round of American universities, Tung applied to 11 schools. So far, he has received acceptance to 8 schools, with financial support ranging from 11,000-59,000 USD per year (0.27-1.45 billion VND), including his favorite school - Minerva University.
"I was very emotional when I was accepted to Minerva University. When I applied, I didn't think I would be chosen because the school is famous for having the lowest acceptance rate in the world," Tung said.
Minerva University is a non-profit school based in San Francisco, USA. Although not on the prestigious university rankings, Minerva receives a large number of applications every year, leading to the highest competition rate in the US and the world. Last year, with nearly 25,000 applications, the school's acceptance rate was 1%, according to Niche - a consulting organization that connects students with US universities. Typically, at top universities, this rate is 3-7%, many other universities can accept 15-70%.
Students spend four years studying in seven locations, including San Francisco (USA), Taipei (Taiwan), Seoul (Korea), Hyderabad (India), Berlin (Germany), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and London (UK). Classes are taught in a seminar style with no more than 18 students per class, with a diverse range of nationalities. The school is ranked number one in the 2023 World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI) of the 100 most innovative universities in the world.
"It's the diversity that makes me love Minerva. Being able to visit many countries will help me gain more experiences," Tung said.
Nguyen Duc Tung. Photo: Character provided
In 10th grade, while studying at Kim Lien High School, Tung was told by his cousin about studying and living in America. He found it interesting and began to set a goal of studying abroad.
To be admitted to an American university, the application usually consists of three main parts: academic records, essays, and extracurricular activities. When he submitted his application for early admission in October, Tung had a GPA of 9.4, SAT 1490/1600, IELTS 7.5. He also prepared a main essay and 15 supplementary essays to submit.
Regarding extracurricular activities, because he started late and there weren't many friends in school who were planning to study abroad, Tung participated in many extracurricular activities to strengthen his profile.
The male student is the President of Education for Vietnamese Youth - a non-profit organization that helps Vietnamese youth have equal access to education. This organization is collaborating with LabXchange - an online science teaching platform of Harvard University.
In addition, Tung is the President of the Student Council of Friends of Vietnam Heritage - a non-profit educational organization that aims to raise awareness and preserve Vietnamese heritage and culture. He has participated in 11 United Nations simulation programs in many roles such as delegate, chair, and secretary general, learning about the economics, politics, and society of many countries.
The above achievements were enough for Tung to be admitted to many schools, but the admission process at Minerva University required more than that.
Instead of submitting an essay, Tung had to take a test consisting of 6 parts. Part 1 is "Understanding" with a reading passage and 7 questions, to be completed in 7 minutes. Part 2 is "Creativity" lasting 8 minutes with questions requiring creative thinking and good association skills. Part 3 is "Math" with 20 Math questions to be completed in 8 minutes, with a difficulty level equivalent to grade 11 in Vietnam or below, and does not allow the use of calculators.
The remaining three parts include "Critical Reasoning" with 13 IQ questions to be done in 21 minutes; "Writing" requires writing a situational essay in 20 minutes; "Expression" tests speaking skills about personal experiences and knowledge about the school with 5 questions, each with 15 seconds to prepare and 2 minutes to speak.
"I've never taken such a comprehensive test before," Tung said. After this test, Tung had to share six of his most impressive achievements, describe their impact, and submit evidence.
Tung (far left, front row) in a United Nations simulation program. Photo: Character provided
Ms. Hong Vu, Director of Hola Academy Study Abroad Consulting Center, assessed that Minerva University's admission method aims to select students who appreciate diversity, are proactive in change, adaptable, and have the ability to connect with the community to create common values.
"Therefore, this school's exam questions change every year to ensure that students can fully express their creativity and thinking ability, instead of practicing in advance," said Ms. Hong Vu.
Supporting Tung in the process of preparing documents, she assessed that Tung knows how to accept opinions and is always creative. He is always the one who asks the most questions and is very careful and perfectionist when doing anything. As the head of many projects and clubs, Tung knows how to connect people and complete work with a team mindset instead of focusing only on his own abilities.
"Tung's performance shows that he meets the criteria that Minerva School desires," said Ms. Hong.
Looking back on the application process, Tung said he learned a lot and had interesting experiences. For example, he started slowly and encountered many challenges, but in return he learned how to organize his time.
Currently, Tung spends time learning more about some majors, and practicing skills to easily adapt when studying in many countries in the future.
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