Ngoc Hoa, from Vinh Phuc, is the top student in her Computer Science class at National Tsinghua University, Taiwan, and won a full scholarship from the European Union.
Pham Ngoc Hoa, 23 years old, a senior student at National Tsinghua University, Taiwan, has just won an Erasmus Mundus scholarship to pursue a master's program in Big Data Management and Analytics.
Hoa's scholarship is about 46,000 Euros (more than 1.2 billion VND) for two years, including all tuition and living expenses. Hoa will study in 4 out of 5 countries including Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, France and Italy.
"At first, I decided to study for a master's degree in Taiwan, so I didn't prepare carefully when applying for this scholarship. The result made me burst into tears," Hoa said.
Ngoc Hoa during a graduation photo shoot in Taiwan. Photo: Character provided
With a mother who is an elementary school teacher, Hoa has read many math books that her mother brought home since grade 2. The female student has won a series of national and international awards in this subject, despite only studying at a "village school" for 12 years. Most recently, in grade 12, Hoa won first prize in math at the provincial level.
At that time, Hoa planned to apply for a scholarship to study abroad in Taiwan because she heard that National Tsinghua University was opening an English-taught program in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Due to delays in some procedures, Hoa later transferred to the University of Technology, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. However, from the beginning, the female student determined that she had to improve her English and complete her application to achieve her goal of studying abroad.
At the end of 2020, Hoa received news that she had won a full scholarship to National Taiwan University - one of the two best schools in Taiwan. To maintain the scholarship, students need to be in the top 5 of their program.
"The condition is top 5 but I want to be in top 1-2. The competitive nature in studying has been ingrained in me since high school. I always want to be number one and always try my best for that goal," Hoa said. "I won first prize in math at the district level in grade 7 but still cried because I didn't get the highest score."
To do this, Hoa always concentrates on listening to lectures in class. She said that the classes last two hours and cover the equivalent of a chapter of a book. If students do not concentrate, it is difficult to grasp the problem.
The difficulty is that the curriculum is in English but there are some subjects that are taught in Chinese. Hoa has to meet with her teacher and assistant regularly to ask questions.
According to Hoa, to always get an A or A+, self-studying takes up 70%. In addition to class time, Hoa completes all homework. After each week, the female student summarizes what she has learned and does new exercises. She believes that not being able to do everything means not having a firm grasp of the knowledge, so she often goes online to find solutions, analyzes herself, and repeats the process until she understands it thoroughly.
Always wanting to get high rankings motivated Hoa to study by herself, but also made her stressed.
"Every time like that, I confide in my sister, then remind myself that I don't need to be first to get a scholarship. But then I study hard to get the highest rank possible," Hoa shared.
As a result, Hoa completed 7 semesters with a GPA of 4.23/4.3, ranking 1st in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science program taught in English at the school.
In addition to studying, Hoa was recruited as a teaching assistant in her second year, although this position is preferred for third-year students and above, and for master's and doctoral students. Her job is to support first-year students in subjects such as General Physics, Calculus, and Programming. From the second semester of her final year, Hoa also worked as a teaching assistant for her teacher in the Introduction to Computer Networks course. The salary she received was more than the living allowance of the scholarship.
Hoa also studied two foreign languages, Chinese and French. To serve her graduation thesis, Hoa went to the laboratory and did research from her third year.
Hoa received a certificate of merit for the school's outstanding student in 2023. Photo: Character provided
Fit with the environment and respecting her instructor, Hoa planned to continue her master's degree at the school. But many seniors advised her to change her learning environment to gain more experience.
Hoa spent a week thinking. Wanting to conquer a new challenge, Hoa decided to "apply" for the Erasmus Mundus scholarship program.
In her motivation letter, Hoa talked about her decision to study abroad amid the complicated Covid-19 situation, with an unstable scholarship while studying at a very good school in Vietnam. At that time, Taiwan was a challenge but also an opportunity for her to reach out to the world. Hoa expressed that if she received a scholarship in Europe, she would once again step out of her comfort zone and believed that she would adapt well.
In her recommendation letter, academic advisor Wei-Chung Wang said that despite having to take online classes in the first semester, Hoa tried her best to keep up with the lectures. Her instructor Te-Chuan Chiu rated Hoa as one of his best students. In addition to her academic achievements, he emphasized that Hoa has good research skills, sharp analytical thinking, and the ability to delve into topics with a creative approach.
"Perhaps the recommendation letters from two teachers confirming my top GPA in the program helped me win this scholarship," Hoa said.
She plans to return to Vietnam to visit her family and then go to Europe in early September. In the distant future, she wants to continue her PhD in France or England.
Source link
Comment (0)