Surpassing 10,000 applicants, female student from Amsterdam High School for the Gifted wins US scholarship worth 8.7 billion VND

The University of Richmond was founded in 1930, located in Virginia, USA; ranked 23rd in the best liberal arts universities in the US in 2025, according to US News & World reports.

This year, the school's acceptance rate is around 23%. However, to win a full scholarship under the Rickmond Scholars program, the competition is not small. The school only selects the 25 best students from a total of more than 10,600 candidates who applied in the 2025 Early Application to award scholarships, including full tuition, housing, and living expenses.

At first, Ngan did not know about this scholarship, so she was quite surprised when she received an email with a notice that she had entered the final round of the full scholarship. After that, Ngan went through an interview with the admissions board and successfully received a scholarship worth 340,000 USD (about 8.7 billion VND).

“If it weren't for Richmond, I would have to consider going to university in Vietnam to avoid spending a lot of my parents' money,” Ngan confided.

Khanh Ngan was born in 2007, is an English major student at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted. As a child, Ngan lived with her family in a small house in an old apartment building on Mai Dich Street, Hanoi. The house was on the first floor, and the female student could not forget the scene of the flood season. Ngan's whole family was in a panic, wading through the floodwaters, and cleaning their belongings every time the water receded.

“The old house was quite small so my parents had to move things to the kitchen shelves, but now the kitchen has all the space for me to put my books,” Ngan laughed about the unforgettable memories of the whole family.

It was her difficult childhood that showed her the great sacrifices and the desire for her children to study in the best environment of her parents. From the story of the old collective house, the Ams student connects to her own journey of change in the present. Ngan has both developed herself and helped the young people around her to have more confidence in themselves and dare to dream, just like the way her parents helped them when they were young.

“She showed the school her growth in awareness, from a girl who was shy because of her family's economic situation to an independent, confident and compassionate person,” Ngan said.

Ms. Duong Thi Minh Nguyet, Ngan's mother, confided that her daughter is a studious, understanding and kind girl. "She is a good student, so she has won 100% of the awards her parents have given her. Knowing that our family is not financially well-off, she always chooses awards related to books, stories and school supplies, and rarely chooses toys," she said.

Ngan is always full of positive energy in both studying and in daily life, making Ms. Nguyet always feel that her daughter is never sad or appears sad.

At the end of 9th grade, Ngan studied hard day and night to be determined to enter her dream high school. As a result, she passed the English major exams at all 3 schools: Pedagogical High School (with scholarship), Foreign Language High School and Hanoi - Amsterdam High School. Entering 10th grade at Ams, Ngan soon set her goal of studying abroad in the US, starting with preparing for standardized tests such as IELTS and SAT. Continuously maintaining good academic performance at school, Ngan achieved an average GPA of 9.8, IELTS 8.0; SAT 1540.

The student also joined student clubs and projects early to learn about her strengths and passions, thereby determining the direction of building a profile that matches what she is good at and loves.

In August 2023, Khanh Ngan established the Phan Hoa Tutor project to advise on 10th grade high school entrance exams, with a team of tutors who are excellent students from specialized schools in Hanoi. The lesson plan for the project is designed from Ngan's and her colleagues' specialized review materials, combined with personal experiences and secrets to help 9th grade students approach this exam comfortably and achieve the best results.

Because it is a true business project, requiring real customers and profits, the group encountered many difficulties at first. The lessons and experiences from the Pollen project not only helped Ngan be more certain that she wanted to study Marketing at the undergraduate level, but also inspired the female student about community activities in the future.

Khanh Ngan and artisan Dao Dinh Chung, at the last house still making Kim Hoang paintings in Kim Hoang village, Van Canh commune, Hoai Duc district, Hanoi.

Currently, Ngan founded and participates in the operation of the Hong Dieu project, which specializes in restoring and promoting Kim Hoang folk paintings. The group organizes exhibitions at the 22 Hang Buom Center and has sold many notebooks printed with Kim Hoang paintings. From learning how to make paintings from artisans, Ngan researches the history and production of traditional paintings, creating new products inspired by this genre of paintings.

The female student sent the school an art portfolio presenting more than 15 works that Kim Hoang restored and created, to show the admissions office her passion for folk art, research ability, creativity and sharp business mind.

In the secondary essay, Ngan shares about her journey of promoting Vietnamese folk paintings to foreign tourists, as well as her business and creative journey in the Hong Dieu painting selling project.

Ngan said that the essay writing process requires both unique personal experiences and good and expressive writing skills so that the admissions committee can understand the passion and dedication in each of her activities. Ngan had to write nearly 40 main and secondary essays before submitting the two best completed versions.

Ngan introduced to international visitors at the Kim Hoang Painting Exhibition at the 22 Hang Buom Art Center, Hanoi, in June 2024.

According to Ngan, the school granted her a full scholarship because her profile clearly demonstrated her passion and future orientation in the combination of business - economics and art in a coherent and consistent manner. Khanh Ngan will pursue a major in Marketing at the Robins School of Business - affiliated with the University of Richmond.

In the future, Ngan wants to work in the field of Marketing in the cultural market in Vietnam, to be able to promote traditional cultural values in a modern way and reach many young people at home and abroad.

“Looking back on my journey to win a scholarship to an American university, I am proud that I have never given up in the face of pressure and expectations, never collapsed in the face of immediate difficulties, and always continued to try after nights of breakdown,” Ngan confided.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thom, Physics teacher at Hanoi Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, commented that Khanh Ngan is an excellent student in the class. She left a deep impression on her learning ability, strong will and outstanding leadership skills.

Le Thu

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/vuot-10-000-ung-vien-nu-sinh-thpt-chuyen-amsterdam-am-hoc-bong-my-8-7-ty-dong-ar933219.html