“I still remember the day my father passed away in 2012. After he passed away, I spent most of my time at home alone because my mother had to shoulder the responsibility of both of them. That situation made me withdraw into myself, stay up all night, think a lot and communicate less to an alarming extent,” Doan Minh Quang, a student at the Foreign Language High School, recalled the time when he lived in “a flood of negative thoughts” when his father suddenly passed away.
To escape the feeling of loneliness, Quang read books about science, self-help and philosophy as a way to relieve his emotions. This situation lasted until the beginning of 8th grade, when the male student began to feel “unsettled” and had a desire to erase the shyness in himself.
“At that time, the person who influenced me the most was my mother. She always loved me and tried her best to ensure that I did not suffer any disadvantages in life. She also always wanted me to study in the best environment, even though it was beyond the financial means of a teacher like her,” Quang said.
Thanks to his mother's encouragement, for the first time while he was a student at Archimedes Secondary School, Quang decided to try his luck with a scholarship from the High School for the Gifted in Mathematics and Science, National University of Singapore. Although he only made it to the final interview round, it was still the motivation that urged him to have more confidence in himself.
In high school, while studying at the Foreign Language Specialized High School, Quang heard his friends talking about studying abroad, so he planned to save enough money and go after graduating from university. Until the summer of 11th grade, when there were only 5 months left before the early admission exam, a close aunt encouraged Quang to try studying abroad in the US. This person also convinced Quang's mother to let him apply because she saw his potential. Finally, with only a few months left, the mother and son decided to start working on the application by optimizing what was available.
Among the schools Quang applied to, most were liberal arts colleges such as DePauw University, Wabash College, Furman University, Kenyon College... Quang said there were many reasons for his decision, but the most important was that tuition at American universities was beyond his family's ability to pay.
Therefore, liberal arts colleges will be good choices to help me have the opportunity to get high scholarships. In addition, these schools also allow students to change majors if they feel it is not suitable. This is something that Quang is very satisfied with.
After determining the schools he wanted to apply to, in just 5 months, Quang began focusing on making his application, writing essays, asking for recommendation letters, and preparing the necessary documents.
Except for the SAT, Quang did not attend any extra classes, including studying core subjects at school. “I understand that each time I retake the test, it is a financial burden.
I didn’t want to put more pressure on my mother, so I set a goal and challenged myself by taking the exam only once for the certificates, using the money I earned to work as a teaching assistant, tutor, and waiter at a coffee shop,” Quang said. This determination helped Quang achieve 1540/1600 SAT and 8.0 IELTS on the first attempt.
During high school, Quang also changed himself a lot through participating in extracurricular activities, competitions, and scientific research. Because he had no intention of studying abroad early on, these things he did were not because he wanted to have a good profile but only to satisfy his curiosity, thirst for knowledge, and self-challenge.
Interested in participating in Math and Science competitions, Quang and two friends participated and won the 2023 Model Math Championship. In addition, the male student also has a study on the influence of parenting methods on students' interest in learning published in an international journal.
At school, Quang is the head of the CNN Science Intelligence club and founded his own band. In his profile, the student created an “art portfolio” including pictures of his participation in music competitions, performances with the band, songs he covered and danced to…
Quang believes that the things he does may not be related to each other, but they all clearly show who he is. For example, he used to use his vocal skills when talking, thereby attracting the attention of others. Gradually, he became “addicted” to the feeling of wanting to experience new things and often “refreshed” existing things in a different way.
Sharing in the essay, Quang also talked about each stage of his life's development, including rare memories between him and his father and the feeling of collapse after his departure. But then, from a child who always had to stay home alone, looking for his own pleasure, thanks to the things he read through the pages of books, he gradually "changed". Quang began to dare to express himself, reveal more of his interests, dare to try new things, thanks to which he had achievements and his first friends.
Writing about his personal journey, according to Quang, helped the admissions committee see his true self. “Perhaps, the admissions committee saw in me an eccentricity. I can be ready to jump into anything I find interesting to the point of forgetting to eat or sleep.
I can also combine seemingly unrelated things to create new things… All of these things make them feel curious and interested.”
Applying to 15 universities, Quang received a “nod” from many American schools, including some schools willing to give him scholarships of 4-6 billion VND such as DePauw University, Wabash College, Furman University...
However, Quang decided to study Mathematics at Kenyon College, a school that he thought had a culture that suited his personality. In particular, Quang had read and realized that the students there were very happy with what they did, while the school always respected the differences of each student. On the other hand, this was also the school that offered him the highest scholarship, about more than 7 billion VND.
Choosing to study at this school, Quang hopes that during his time studying here, he will have the opportunity to participate in research and internships for large businesses in the US.
To achieve this result, Quang also feels grateful to his mother and teachers who taught and helped him throughout his high school years. “I am lucky to live in the love, care and guidance of my mother and teachers. I always believe that when I live with gratitude and always have a clear plan, I can overcome all difficulties and take control of my own future,” Quang said.
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