Le Hoang Tien, a 12th grade English major student at the Foreign Language High School ( Hanoi ), has just received news that she has been accepted to Vassar College, the 12th-ranked liberal arts college in the US. Tien will receive about VND8.6 billion in financial aid over four years, including full tuition and a portion of living expenses. “During the early admission round, I applied to about eight schools, but this was the first school to announce the results and it is also my favorite school,” Tien said.

Le Hoang Tien is a 12th grade English major student at Foreign Language High School. (Photo: Bich Ngoc)

With a passion for music and art, since grade 4, Tien has studied piano at the Vietnam National Academy of Music for 9 years. At the same time, the female student also studied cultural programs at school. At first, Tien felt "quite tired and time-consuming". However, the female student never wanted to give up or choose to abandon either. "I love standing on stage performing as a real artist. However, I also realize that I have the ability in academics, so I still want to maintain both", Tien said. Since primary school, Tien has been a member of the Math and English teams. To balance her studies at the two schools, the female student created her own schedule, in which she maintained a fixed piano practice of about 1.5 - 2 hours per day and increased practice hours on weekends. Cultural studies and other activities will be arranged in the corresponding free time periods. Despite her busy schedule and constant travel between two schools, Tien still achieved a series of academic achievements such as Second Prize in the City's Excellent Student Competition in English in Grade 9, Third Prize in the Excellent Student Competition in the Coastal and Northern Delta Region in Grade 10, Third Prize in the High School Olympic Competition of Hanoi National University... In addition, the female student also won First Prize in the Singapore International Piano Competition (SIPC 2022).

Tien performs piano on stage. (Photo: NVCC)

At the end of 10th grade, Tien began to ponder her future path. She thought about studying abroad in majors related to music and art to develop her strengths. However, she later realized that majors in culture and communication were also her favorite fields, contributing to preserving culture and being able to help the community more. Therefore, Tien decided to learn about Communication and Asian Cultural Studies. She chose several schools in the US, including Vassar College - a liberal arts university. In addition to her major, students can also study other arts subjects. At the beginning of 11th grade, Tien officially started to prepare her application. Because of the time constraints, she prioritized developing existing activities. For activities that required more effort such as writing essays and doing research, she planned meticulously and divided her time to complete them gradually. In grade 12, the female student took the SAT and achieved 1540 and IELTS 8.0 on the first try. Tien did not retake the test to improve her score because she believes that “scores are not everything” in the application. Instead, she spent her time focusing on building other elements in the application.

(Photo: NVCC)

What Tien wanted to show throughout her application was that she was passionate about art and always had a multi-dimensional perspective. Therefore, in mid-July, the female student organized a personal charity concert, attracting 150 participants. As the head of the organizing committee and a performing artist in the concert, Tien and her friends spent 4 months writing the script and rehearsing. Although it was not the biggest stage Tien had ever appeared on, this was the performance that made the female student the most proud and honored. "We donated all the money from the concert to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)," Tien said. In addition, the female student also worked as a freelance translator for a leading newspaper and interned in the communications department at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. Because of her love for culture, Tien proactively connected with an associate professor at the Foreign Trade University, convincing her to let her join in researching this topic. Under her guidance, Tien participated in several studies related to “Developing market culture to create sustainable livelihoods for ethnic minorities” and “The impact of media and marketing on the preservation of traditional craft villages”.

Tien gives gifts at SOS Children's Village. (Photo: NVCC)

In her essay, Tien mentioned that she had previously only been exposed to cultural aspects through reading books and performing on stage. However, in reality, when digging deeper, there were still many controversial things that she could not fully understand. From there, Tien wanted to explore culture in a more multidimensional way, not only on the surface but also in depth. Interwoven in the essay, Tien told some details and stories she had experienced. The female student was satisfied because she had built an essay like a storyline, thereby creating a "cinematic" story. As Tien's homeroom teacher, Ms. Nguyen Thu Hang was not surprised when the female student achieved such achievements. "Tien always maintained top academic results in the class, was active in school activities with many different roles. To do all of these things while still studying piano at the Conservatory, Tien always arranged her time very scientifically and disciplinedly," said Ms. Hang. Having been accepted into her dream school, before going to the US, Tien plans to learn some skills such as cooking and dancing, and continue to study culture. The female student hopes to further her studies in Communication and Asian Cultural Studies, and discover new things while studying in the US.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nu-sinh-chuyen-anh-theo-hoc-tai-nhac-vien-gianh-hoc-bong-hon-8-6-ty-dong-2353974.html