Ams female student admitted to 3 Ivy League universities, won 7 billion scholarship

Le Ha Anh - Photo provided by character

Writing an essay about her journey to pursue her passion for music, Le Ha Anh (a 12th grader at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted) received acceptance to 14 universities, all in the field of economics, including 3 schools in the elite and prestigious Ivy League group of the US - including the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College and Cornell University.

This female student from Ams school is also a 9/9 student in the intermediate piano department at the Vietnam National Academy of Music.

Studying at two schools at the same time has never been easy for me, but doing what I love will be the motivation to overcome it all.

Le Ha Anh

Choose economics because of love

* How do you feel when being welcomed by a series of prestigious universities?

- March 29 is Ivy Day - the day the top universities in the US announce their admission results. The results are out at 6am, but because I promised my close friends, I waited until school to open them with them.

I decided to open them in order and Dartmouth College was the first to open. When I saw the acceptance results, my friends cheered and congratulated me, but I burst into tears of happiness. Cornell University was the next school to congratulate me on my acceptance, and UPenn was the last school I opened the letter to.

There are many schools that accept scholarships for students to study, but the school with the most generous scholarship is Dartmouth University with an amount of about 280,000 USD (equivalent to 7 billion VND) for 4 years of study.

* What do you think helped you get into many prestigious American universities?

- In my opinion, most candidates who have applied to prestigious universities have good academic results and impressive extracurricular records. But I understand that universities will choose candidates who match their "color".

I also made a good impression on the admissions committee because I had good academic results with a GPA of 9.9; my standardized scores were also quite high with SAT 1,560/1,600 and IELTS 8.5. I won second place in the national English competition in grades 11 and 12.

Besides, your diverse extracurricular profile also shows your efforts in the long journey.

Ha Anh participates in the RSIAF competition, performing with the orchestra - Photo provided by the character

In her essay to American universities, she wrote about her passion for the piano and the journey of a girl born into a family with no musical tradition who entered a top music university in Vietnam at the age of 9.

This could also be a factor for universities to see in you the qualities of a piece in their picture. And finally, I cannot deny the role of luck.

* Having been passionate about music since the age of 4, spending a lot of time and passion on the piano, why did you choose to study economics?

- When I was in high school, I joined the business club, participated in organizing business summer camps, business-startup related competitions and received some awards. One of the awarded projects was later put into practice for implementation.

In particular, in grade 11, I chose to conduct research on the impact of immigration on the economy under the guidance of a graduate student from the University of Michigan. All of these experiences helped me realize that I have a passion for economics, so I decided to choose this major.

Don't force yourself to study.

Ha Anh (standing in the middle) participates in Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp in Bangkok, Thailand - Photo provided by the character

* Can you share the secret to being able to study in two different environments at the same time?

- Many times my mother advised me to keep my results at the conservatory to focus on studying culture, especially during the time of reviewing for the 10th grade specialized entrance exam, but music has been a part of my life, if I quit it would be very lacking so I was determined to follow it to the end.

I am also really grateful to my teachers at the Vietnam National Academy of Music for always helping and creating the most favorable conditions for students like me to pursue my passion.

Regarding studying, I do not force myself to study until late at night. When I am tired, I can go to bed early and wake up in the morning to do my homework. I only go to extra classes at certain times, such as when I am reviewing for the specialized exam or taking extra math classes for the graduation exam.

English is a very special subject and is associated with many awards that I have won. To learn English effectively, I approach it by learning communication first and then building grammar and vocabulary. When you interact and communicate a lot, you will accumulate a lot of new vocabulary.

* Does your busy schedule of classes and extracurricular activities make you lose your childhood?

- I don't really understand the definition of "lost childhood". I just know that I had very happy years with my family, teachers and friends.

I also realize that I am busier than some other friends, for example, while my friends can do sports after school, I have to wake up early in the morning to go swimming, go to basketball practice and can only sleep in on the weekends.

The school year schedule is always busy, but every year my parents set aside about a month to take my sister and I on long trips so we can learn about the history, culture and people of new lands.

* Does not pursuing music at university level mean putting your passion aside?

- Next August, I will study abroad in economics. Among the schools I have been accepted to, I am considering between the University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth College. Not choosing to study abroad in the field of music does not mean that I have to put my passion aside. At the university, there are still facilities and classes to practice music.

I'm thinking about pursuing music in a different direction, learning about theory, analysis, learning more about composition or maybe trying my hand at music in many different genres other than modern music, pop music... because up until now I've mainly studied classical music.

Responsible, careful and meticulous

When I heard that Ha Anh was accepted into many top universities in the US, I was very happy and emotional but not surprised.

The final period of completing and submitting the study abroad application was also the period when Ha Anh participated in a concentrated training session with the national team to prepare for the exam.

Pressure piled on pressure but Ha Anh never complained once, still fully participated in all team lessons and excellently recorded her name with second prize in national excellent student English in both 11th and 12th grade.

Looking at Ha Anh working hard in the team class, I wondered where she got the energy to complete so much work and solve so many difficulties at the same time. Only an outstanding spirit and persistent determination can help her take such steady steps.

What I appreciate in Ha Anh is her sense of responsibility, carefulness and meticulousness in everything; once she decides to do something, she will try her best to complete it to the best of her ability.

Ms. Bui Thanh Huong (homeroom teacher of English 1 class 12, Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted)

"Huge" achievement list

Although studying culture and art at two different schools since grade 4, Ha Anh has demonstrated her ability to "do anything" with a series of outstanding achievements such as being the valedictorian of the English major at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, passing the IT major at Amsterdam, and passing the English major at the Foreign Language major at the University of Education.

I also won second prize in English for excellent students in Hanoi in grades 9 and 11; second prize in national English for excellent students in grades 11 and 12; and several piano awards at home and abroad; several math awards, statistics awards, and business awards...

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nu-sinh-truong-ams-trung-tuyen-3-dai-hoc-ivy-league-gianh-hoc-bong-7-ti-20240418013504153.htm