The boy won 3 government scholarships in one year

Vo Hong Nhat was overjoyed when she received three full government scholarships for master's degrees in one year, from Italy, Belgium, and New Zealand.

Vo Hong Nhat, 25 years old, from Quang Binh province, went to New Zealand at the end of January to study for a Master's degree in Development Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, under the Manaaki New Zealand Scholarship from the New Zealand government.

Nhat said the scholarship is worth approximately 2.7 billion VND for more than two years of study, covering all tuition, living expenses, and travel costs. In the middle of last year, Nhat also won two other government scholarships: the Invest Your Talent in Italy scholarship from Italy and the VLIR-UOS Scholarship from Belgium.

"I never thought I would win three government scholarships, and even less did I dare to turn down the first two to wait for good news from New Zealand. It was a long and arduous journey," Nhat shared.

Vo Hong Nhat. Photo: Provided by the subject.

Nhat is a former student of the National Economics University, graduating as valedictorian of the Planning major in 2021 with a GPA of 3.75/4.

His family, especially his parents, wanted him to have a stable job in a government agency. However, because he had already harboured plans to study abroad while still a student, he had no intention of returning home to work.

Due to Covid-19, after graduating, Nhat temporarily put aside his dream of studying abroad to work for a non-governmental organization whose main task was to support and improve financial literacy for people in the northern mountainous region. There, Nhat met several experts who had studied abroad. Impressed by their experiences, Nhat decided to apply for a scholarship to study for a master's degree.

Nhật shared his plans with his family, but they didn't support him because no one had ever thought about a "study abroad scholarship." He quietly quit his job to focus on applying for the scholarship.

"This was an extremely stressful period. While my friends had already settled into jobs or were nearing the end of their master's degrees, I was just starting to look for opportunities," Nhat said. "Not to mention, I had to manage on the meager savings I had accumulated from about a year of working before."

Nhat started by searching online. His target was full scholarships for Development Studies. He then created an Excel spreadsheet listing the deadlines and application requirements for each scholarship, comparing them to see which criteria he met and which he didn't, for easy tracking.

According to Nhat, scholarship requirements vary but revolve around three main parts: a CV (resume), a motivation letter, and letters of recommendation.

Regarding his CV, Nhat is confident that some of his former scholarship winners have assessed his achievements as quite strong, such as GPA 3.75/4, IELTS 7.0, having won the Student Scientific Research Encouragement Award, being the co-author of two articles published in prestigious journals of ISI and ACI, and 4 articles participating in domestic and international conferences. Nhat also had many teachers at the university write letters of recommendation.

Regarding the motivation letter, each scholarship has different requirements, so Japan spent the most time on this part. For example, with the Italian government scholarship, Japan had to create a one-minute video. The Belgian scholarship required an essay of about 1,000 words, while the New Zealand scholarship posed 15 questions.

Having prepared thoroughly, Nhật applied for five scholarships. However, he was rejected in the application stage with the first scholarship and failed the interview round with the second one.

"At that time, I doubted myself a lot," Nhật said.

Family members bid farewell to Nhat as he left for his studies abroad, at the end of January. Photo: Provided by the subject.

Feeling confused, Nhat confided in Professor Nguyen Van Dai, a lecturer in the Planning and Development Department at the National Economics University, who supervised his thesis and wrote the letter of recommendation.

Having won an Australian government scholarship, Mr. Dai reassured Nhat that getting a scholarship requires luck. He advised his students not to get too upset but to focus on improving their knowledge and English to strengthen their application.

The professor's encouragement helped Nhat regain his motivation, and he returned to support the research project the professor led, just like he did during his final two years of university.

Two months later, in June 2023, Nhat received notification of scholarship acceptance from Italy, followed shortly after by Belgium. With these scholarships, Nhat had to decide immediately whether to accept or reject them.

"I was very hesitant because the scholarship I wanted most, from New Zealand, wouldn't have results until October. But after consulting with everyone and reviewing my application, I declined it to wait for news from New Zealand," Nhat recounted.

New Zealand scholarships also have the most demanding requirements, from application submission and IQ tests to interviews. In October, after receiving notification of her scholarship award, Nhat couldn't celebrate immediately because she had to resubmit her CV and motivation letter to Victoria University of Wellington. The scholarship would only become effective if the university accepted her application.

In his motivation letter, Nhat explained his reasons for participating in the research and shared stories from his work experience during university. From there, he shared his shortcomings and expressed his desire to pursue a master's degree abroad. Nhat also included information he had gathered about the university, suggesting that the program would help him fill in his gaps.

Nhat was overjoyed when he was accepted, even happier after a long period of persuasion, with three scholarships secured and his parents' support.

Japan and Vietnamese candidates win Manaaki New Zealand Scholarship in 2023. Photo: Provided by the subject.

Teacher Nguyen Van Dai assessed that the results achieved by Nhat were well-deserved because his student had strived to achieve consistent success in both academics and research.

"Nhat is humble, serious, meticulous, and eager to learn in all his work. He's always attentive and asks his teacher frequently for advice to make appropriate adjustments," said Teacher Dai. "I'm also impressed by his quick learning ability. He can do almost anything with just one instruction."

In New Zealand, Nhat plans to spend his first year focusing on his studies and improving his language skills. Once he gets used to the new environment, he will spend time exploring New Zealand before returning to Vietnam to work, as per his scholarship agreement.

Duong Tam

Source: https://vnexpress.net/chang-trai-gianh-3-hoc-bong-chinh-phu-trong-mot-nam-4728678.html