The two friends were both valedictorians of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology.

On the morning of August 24th, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology - Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City held its opening ceremony for the 2024-2025 academic year.

At the opening ceremony, the Polytechnic University awarded prizes to four new students with the best entrance exam results.

Among these four new students, Pham Minh Tien and Nguyen Hao Thien are close friends, both students of Le Thanh Tong Primary, Secondary and High School (Ho Chi Minh City).

Both have participated in many major academic competitions in the city, and now Minh Tien and Hao Thien are both top-scoring students in the entrance exam for the Polytechnic University, studying Computer Science in the English-taught program.

adf — Minh Tiến (left) and Hạo Thiên were both top-scoring students in the entrance exam for Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology in 2024. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

Minh Tiến was the top-scoring student in the combined admission method with a total score of 95.62. Hao Thien was the top-scoring student nationwide in the A1 group and also the top-scoring student in the high school graduation exam admission process with 29.8 points.

Minh Tiến and Hạo Thiên studied together in 10th and 11th grade at Lê Thánh Tông Primary, Secondary, and High School. In 12th grade, they moved to different classes but still hung out together frequently.

Speaking about themselves, Minh Tien and Hao Thien are both very humble, but when mentioning each other, they both express admiration, especially for their friend's abilities.

Despite being top-performing best friends, the two valedictorians said that their meetings were mostly for casual conversations rather than academic discussions.

"We mainly study on our own. For homework assignments given by our teachers, each of us completes the task independently. If I encounter difficulties, I usually seek help from my teachers," Minh Tiến shared.

Hao Thien said that he has a passion for programming, so he decided to choose Computer Science at the Polytechnic University. "I set very high goals for myself, so I tried very hard to study. There were times when I studied from 6 am to 2 am the next day," Hao Thien recounted.

Regarding their future plans, both said they haven't made detailed plans yet, but will focus on learning and finding direction simultaneously to create flexibility for both their studies and other activities. However, their general spirit is to strive for academic excellence.

Photo: NVCC — Dinh Quoc Thinh and Pham Nhu Ha Linh. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

The other two outstanding new students are Pham Nhu Ha Linh (Nguyen Du Specialized High School, Dak Lak province), a female student with the highest entrance exam score of 93.02 in the comprehensive admission method, and Dinh Quoc Thinh (Nguyen Trai High School, Khanh Hoa province), the top scorer in the aptitude test with 1,080 points. Quoc Thinh is also the runner-up in the comprehensive admission method.