Male student passed 16 American universities

VnExpressVnExpress11/03/2024

Le Minh Bao, 17 years old, was accepted into 16 schools in the US, including the University of Connecticut, which offered a full scholarship worth nearly 6.4 billion VND.

Le Minh Bao is currently a 12th grade student at Viet-Uc Primary, Secondary and High School in Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City. He received news that he was accepted to the University of Connecticut's Engineering program with a full scholarship worth nearly 258,000 USD (6.37 billion VND) at the end of January.

The scholarship covers all tuition, books, room and board, and insurance for four years of study. In addition, Bao is given an additional $12,000 to attend seminars and leadership courses.

In a letter to Bao, the school's admissions representative said he was the only Vietnamese student among five scholarship recipients this year, selected from more than 50,000 applications worldwide.

The University of Connecticut (UCONN) is currently ranked 58th in the US university rankings, also in the top 26 best public schools. For Engineering, the school is ranked 69th, according to US News & World Report.

In addition, Bao was also accepted into 15 other American universities, most of which are in the top 100. Of these, 8 schools offer scholarships ranging from 40,000 to 105,000 USD for four years.

Le Minh Bao at the school library. Photo: Provided by the character

Le Minh Bao at the school library. Photo: Provided by the character

Since 6th grade, Bao has dreamed of studying abroad to explore the world. Bao's father, an expert in the electrical industry, took him to many fairs and exhibitions in fields such as economics, education, engineering, construction, technology, mechanical engineering, medicine, information technology, and energy. During a visit to an automatic packaging line, Bao became curious about its operating mechanism. From then on, he decided to pursue a career in Engineering, specializing in the design and manufacture of industrial machinery.

After determining his passion for the industry and career, Bao started choosing a school. He wanted to go to the US because he thought there would be many opportunities to learn and find a job in the Engineering field.

"I aim for highly ranked schools because they often have many research achievements and strong student communities. In addition, research labs at top schools are linked together and are recruited by many companies," Bao shared.

Based on his academic performance, the male student chose schools that required SAT scores of 1450/1600. He also filtered other information such as tuition, scholarships, acceptance rates, school locations, and employment rates after graduation... Finally, the male student narrowed down his application list to 16 schools, divided into top 30-50, top 50-70, 70-100, and outside the top 100.

With the support of his parents, Bao made a detailed plan of things to do and specific goals, from the end of grade 10 (May 2022) to the beginning of grade 12 (October 2023).

In terms of studies, the male student maintained A and A* grades in all subjects in the A-Level program (international high school program). Bao's average score for all three years was 9.4, with IELTS 7.5 and SAT 1510/1600.

In addition to studying, Bao has experienced many sports. Since 2019, Bao has been running regularly, participating in many Marathons at distances of 10 and 21 km, running to raise funds for charity. The male student also founded the Unstoppable Feet group, currently with 17 students practicing together.

"Running is a physical activity that brings many spiritual values, which is perseverance in completing goals," the 18-year-old male student shared.

Bao chose to write his main essay on sports activities, specifically running. However, he realized that he was not connecting with his motivation and desire to pursue engineering.

So, Bao rewrote his essay, describing the process by which he researched, discovered, and developed his passion for industrial robotics. He sees Robotics as the perfect combination of mechanics, technology, and automation programming.

He told about his internship experience at a 110kV transmission transformer manufacturing plant in Nhon Trach, Dong Nai, when he was in 11th grade. Every day, the male student woke up early and traveled two hours by car to get to the factory. Here, Bao was introduced, observed, and learned about the transformer manufacturing process. The factory's engineers guided him on how to read manufacturing design drawings, how to present technical design documents, and design software...

In addition, the male student joined a research group with students from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education to build a robot running on a sand track. Bao also participated in designing and building a three-level robot arm with the guidance of Dr. Tran Duc Thien, Faculty of Electrical and Electronics of the university. To do this, Bao diligently studied courses on technical drawing software (ACAD, Solid Works) and robot motion programming.

Bao participated in making a robotic arm at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education, August 2023. Photo: Character provided

Bao participated in making a robotic arm at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education, August 2023. Photo: Character provided

"Perhaps the quality that gives Bao the best advantage for studying abroad is his ability to balance life, studies and extracurricular activities," commented Ms. Shella Amba, Bao's Physics teacher.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kieu Mi, the homeroom teacher, also assessed that Bao has developed comprehensively from studying to sports and community activities. At school, the male student is sociable and very responsible for the assigned work.

"Bao's success is also partly due to the constant support of his family. His family has never been absent from extracurricular activities that encourage parental participation," Ms. Mi assessed.

According to Bao, throughout the application process, he did not try to show off but tried to demonstrate his passion, thinking ability, ethics, and health to make his dream come true, helping to improve the lives of others in the community.

From his experience, Bao believes that candidates need to answer important questions such as: reasons for choosing the major and school; stories or events that demonstrate leadership qualities; vision for the next 5-10 years; ability to contribute to the school and society.

The male student will come to the US in August, planning to pursue Mechanical Engineering and Robotics at the University of Connecticut.

Thoai Giang - Le Nguyen

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