Village school girl has near-perfect SAT score, 8.0 IELTS

Nguyen Ngoc Anh, a 12A1 student at Thanh Oai B High School (Hanoi), scored 8.0 on the IELTS on her first attempt last year. Recently, she continued to score 1590/1600 on the SAT, including 800/800 on the Math section and 790/800 on the Reading and Writing section. This is also a score in the top 1% in the world.

A representative of Thanh Oai B High School said that to achieve this result, Ngoc Anh has made constant efforts, studied seriously and had strong determination. The female student is also the school's valedictorian in 2022.

Nguyen Ngoc Anh, student of class 12A1, Thanh Oai B High School. Photo: NVCC

Having a passion for English from an early age, Ngoc Anh often listens to music and watches movies in English, as well as practices reading comprehension through books and stories. “This helps me to be able to interact with and use English to the fullest through listening, speaking, and reading,” Ngoc Anh shared.

Since grade 10, the female student decided to try IELTS and SAT because many universities in recent years have used these two certificates in their admission methods. To win a ticket to her favorite university, Ngoc Anh has made a serious study plan.

The female student officially took the IELTS test at the end of grade 11 and achieved 8.0 IELTS, then switched to studying for the SAT certificate.

Assessing the IELTS test, Ngoc Anh said that the skill she is most confident in is Reading. “Instead of applying the skimming and scanning methods, I often divide the reading into small texts, and as I read, I answer all the questions in the text,” Ngoc Anh said.

This method helps Ngoc Anh save time and avoid getting “confused” while doing the test. After finishing the test, the female student often reviews and notes the wrong answers to learn from her own experience. Ngoc Anh also often summarizes unfamiliar vocabulary for easy review.

With Listening skills, Ngoc Anh often practices through short videos and podcasts in English, in addition to watching movies and listening to music every day. The female student believes that with this skill, there is no more effective way than listening and practicing questions regularly and consistently.

With speaking skills, because there are not many opportunities to communicate with foreigners, Ngoc Anh often practices with a friend on a topic, thereby helping to increase speaking reflexes. In addition, to learn more about how to answer and understand the requirements of each score level, in her free time, the female student often watches mock speaking tests on Youtube.

One mistake Ngoc Anh made when practicing Speaking was writing the answer on paper and then answering. According to the student, this will make her reflexes fade away. “The best way is to force yourself to answer right after reading the question or find a partner to practice and correct with you,” Ngoc Anh said.

Of the four IELTS skills, Ngoc Anh considers Writing to be the most difficult. Therefore, candidates need to have a firm grasp of how to write each type of essay, learn vocabulary by topic, and then apply it to their writing. For task 1, Ngoc Anh often refers to how to structure, select information, make strong, convincing arguments, and use coherent sentences from high-scoring sample essays online.

For task 2, Ngoc Anh spent a lot of time reading newspapers to expand her vocabulary and add current events on a variety of topics to apply to her writing.

“During my preparation, I often study two skills in one day such as Listening and Speaking, Reading and Writing. Having an effective and regular study strategy and schedule can help improve my IELTS score,” Ngoc Anh said.

Ngoc Anh and her mother. Photo: NVCC

As for SAT, Ngoc Anh believes that it will take more effort to prepare than IELTS because it requires a wide vocabulary, and the reading and grammar sections are more difficult. Ngoc Anh also starts by mastering how to do the types of questions, from there practicing the questions, reviewing the wrong answers and learning from her own experience. While practicing the questions, the female student always keeps the habit of timing herself to create pressure like in the exam room.

In the reading comprehension section, Ngoc Anh often prioritizes doing easier types of questions like vocabulary and grammar first, then goes back to doing difficult reading comprehension questions, and finally reviews the marked sentences.

“The part I am confident in on the SAT is math skills,” Ngoc Anh said. Thanks to her good reading comprehension foundation with an 8.5 IELTS Reading score and her strength in math, Ngoc Anh believes that the SAT Math section is not too difficult for her and many Vietnamese students.

“The knowledge in the SAT test is easier than the high school math program. However, candidates should not be subjective, they need to review regularly to achieve the best score.”

According to Ngoc Anh, candidates with an advantage in English can shorten the time to study and take these two types of certificates. Therefore, learners need to be diligent, persistent, and have a suitable roadmap to improve their English proficiency.

According to Ngoc Anh, not studying at a specialized school or in a big city is not a barrier to studying for a foreign language certificate. “There are many free online resources available for learners to access. In addition, on social networks there are many groups sharing experiences and materials for studying for SAT and IELTS,” Ngoc Anh said.

With high scores in these two certificates, Ngoc Anh plans to apply for admission to the Foreign Economics major at the Foreign Trade University in the near future.

After graduating from high school, Y Un Diem had no choice but to go to the city to work for money. After 2 years of saving, the female student was determined to return to her studies. However, a traffic accident forced Diem to drop out of school for the second time.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nu-sinh-truong-lang-co-diem-sat-gan-tuyet-doi-dat-8-0-ielts-2390665.html