Nguyen Duc Tung, a 12th grade student majoring in French at the Foreign Language High School, has just received an acceptance letter to Stanford University, the second-ranked university in the world. Tung said that this is his dream school and also the last school to send him the results.
“I had been rejected by a lower-ranked school just 30 minutes before, so I didn’t have high hopes for Stanford, which has a 4% acceptance rate. But to my delight, the letter came back saying I had been accepted. I screamed with joy, and my parents were in tears.”
Stanford University is the 10th school Duc Tung has been accepted to in this year's US university admissions season.
Having intended to study abroad since middle school, Tung started preparing for the IELTS test while still at Doan Thi Diem School and achieved 8.0 on his first try. However, because he wanted to explore a new language, in high school, he decided to try his hand at French at the Foreign Language Specialized High School.
Starting to prepare the application from grade 11, Tung struggled to find a personal story that runs through each element of the application. With his father as a leading expert in the environmental field, since he was a child, Tung often listened to his stories and was inspired to work.
"He is very passionate about this job, so despite his old age, he still dedicates himself and contributes to the industry."
With the desire to understand and share his work, Tung began to learn about environmental issues in Vietnam. He realized that the environmental industry is not only limited to scientific issues but also touches on economics, society, and people.
“The more I learn, the more I find it interesting and I seriously want to pursue this industry long term,” Tung said.
“Striped Project” is the first environmental project that Tung signed up to participate in. This project was established by students in Hanoi to raise public awareness about environmental protection. In addition to activities to promote the reduction of paper waste, the project also encourages the use of plastic bottles, nylon bags, scrap paper, etc. for recycling.
These products are then sold at fairs, and the profits are used by the group to fund charity trips to schools in Hoa Binh and Tuyen Quang.
In addition, under the guidance of a PhD student at Oxford University, Tung also wrote a policy research paper related to air pollution in Hanoi, from which he proposed appropriate solutions based on sustainable development strategies of surrounding countries.
During the research process, he also supported Tung with resources, explained difficult concepts and gave comments and suggestions. The article was then published in the Environment magazine earlier this year.
In addition, the male student also participated in a number of international environmental competitions and had a field trip to Cat Hai Island (Hai Phong) to learn more about the importance of mangrove forests. Overall, the research and project activities that Tung participated in all had a "color" related to the environment and community activities.
However, the male student said that he did not do these activities to “beautify” his profile or try to build a perfect profile. The attachment and enthusiasm for each activity and project, according to Tung, is the factor that helps the admissions board recognize his true passion.
Compared to the average of those admitted to Stanford University, Tung admits that his scores are not too impressive. The male student achieved a GPA of 9.4/10, IELTS 8.5/9.0, SAT 1540/1600. "With a score that is not low but not too outstanding compared to the average, I think the score is not the biggest factor that helped me get accepted to the school."
Tung thinks that perhaps the factor that makes the admissions board "see" about a person is mostly based on the essay.
“Instead of using essays to show off achievements and grades - things that are already shown in the CV, I think this is an opportunity for candidates to show the “most real” things about themselves. Through the lines written, the admissions board can feel what kind of person you are.”
In the main essay, Tung told about his journey of participating in environmental projects. At first, the male student was not very interested in community activities because he thought that small things were not enough to create big changes. But after participating, seeing the enthusiasm and dedication of the people in the project, he realized the daily and very positive changes in the community. Tung shared his journey of changing his way of thinking and doing things sincerely, simply but also very true about himself.
In addition, Tung assessed that Stanford's minor thesis was also very interesting, giving him many opportunities to write about things he normally wouldn't pay attention to, such as the question asking him to list 5 things he finds most important to himself or write a letter to his future roommate.
Being a person who loves meeting and chatting with people around, when sitting in a taxi, Tung really likes to talk to the drivers. Therefore, the male student wants to listen to the story from his future friend.
In the letter, Tung also mentioned his passion for filming and photography. He hopes that during his time studying at Stanford University, if his roommate shares the same passion, they can both sign up for some school clubs. In addition, they can both have fun together or go to a hair salon near the school...
This supplementary essay was written by Tung in a very relaxed manner, expressing the most genuine things about himself. “Perhaps that is why my writing style is quite humorous and approachable, completely different from my previous essays,” Tung said.
Imperfection and truly personal stories, according to Tung, are sometimes the factors that make the admissions committee feel close because they help them “see through” the true personality of the candidate. This is also the experience that the male student learned after his journey of submitting his application to American universities.
This August, Duc Tung will be heading to Stanford University. He hopes that the new environment will help him develop his passion for economics and environmental policy.
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