Ams student gets into Ivy League with essay on imperfection

Pham Gia Nguyen, 12th grade Physics 2 student, Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted - Photo: NGUYEN BAO

In addition to being admitted to Columbia University, the male student was also admitted to Georgia Tech University; University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign; Rochester with a scholarship of 3.8 billion VND/4 years of study.

The turning point of Physics major "bridges" the passion for robot design

"Of the four Ivy League schools I applied to, Columbia University was the one I thought I would definitely fail, so I chose to open the results first.

However, the unexpected happened when Columbia was the only school I was accepted to, all the other schools that I thought had a higher chance of passing failed. My whole family was overwhelmed with emotion," Gia Nguyen recalled.

According to Gia Nguyen, to convince the Columbia University admissions board, the male student chose to develop his "deeper than broader" profile, so that the admissions board could clearly see the extent of his passion for technology and robotics.

Gia Nguyen said that although he had planned to study abroad in the US since the beginning of middle school, choosing a major was quite difficult for the male student.

Around the 7th grade, his family oriented him to major in English so that his mother and sister could support him. While studying according to his family's orientation, the boy still maintained good academic results, but felt unhappy with what he was pursuing.

After a year of pursuing, the male student convinced his family to allow him to switch to physics. After that, he was admitted to the physics class of Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted.

"When I was in high school, I was once again guided to follow my father's career as an interior designer. Because I felt I had no artistic talent, I asked my parents to let me freely explore careers related to physics and applied science ," Gia Nguyen confided.

Pursue your passion tirelessly

To carry out the plan to apply to universities in the US, since grade 10, Gia Nguyen has focused on two important international certification exams, including achieving 8.5 IELTS and SAT score of 1,540/1,600 from grade 10.

Having completed two important certificates early, Gia Nguyen devoted all his energy to delving deeper into his passion for robotics and technology competitions.

The memory that Gia Nguyen will always remember is the final stage of the FIRST Tech Challenge 2024. Although there was only about a week left, the team's mechanical robot product was not yet as complete as expected, causing the whole team to work day and night.

To support students, the school board has also created conditions to open laboratories from 6am to 11pm.

"The last few days we assembled robots all night, working until 3-4am before sleeping. Because we were able to participate in activities we loved, we didn't feel tired, we just felt happy.

"When participating in making robots, I improved my skills in mechanics, 3D design, and mechanical thinking. At the same time, I made more close friends who had the same orientation as me," Gia Nguyen said.

Gia Nguyen is full of energy when sharing about his passion for robots - Photo: NGUYEN BAO

In response to their efforts, the team's robot product won two prestigious awards at the national round of FIRST Tech Challenge, including the alliance captain award and the innovation award. "I'm quite regretful that the team won the championship that year but did not get a place to participate in the world finals," said Gia Nguyen.

In 2025, Gia Nguyen continued to participate in FIRST Tech Challenge as a coach for the Amsterdam School team, helping the team win the national championship and qualify for the world finals.

At the world finals that took place on April 19, the team won the world runner-up prize.

Previously, Gia Nguyen participated in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2024 competition with a project on health technology and won second prize. The male student said that this project also helped him have material to write an essay to send to universities in the US about his future direction.

Gia Nguyen is also one of 10 students nationwide selected to participate in a 1-year intensive training course at Samsung, trained in data structures and algorithms - achieving advanced levels in Samsung's global software certification test; trained in AI, IoT, Big Data...

Gia Nguyen and team members participated in the World Robot Olympiad 2023 competition in the summer of grade 10 - Photo: NVCC

In addition to his academic achievements, Gia Nguyen also has a special passion for piano and is a defender on the Amsterdam School basketball team.

"The point that makes the application attractive to the admissions board is that the applicant clearly demonstrates passion, commitment to a field and the ability to pursue the commitment with all that he has. This is also what the admissions board is looking for," Gia Nguyen commented.

Gia Nguyen plans to study mechanical engineering at Columbia University, to satisfy his passion for robots; develop his strengths in hardware and 3D design.

Ms. Pham Vu Bich Hang - homeroom teacher of grade 12 Physics 2, and also the teacher in charge of the school's GreenAms Robotics Team club - commented that her students are innocent, intelligent, eager to learn, have creative thinking and leadership skills, and always inspire those who work with them.

According to Ms. Hang, although Gia Nguyen only joined the school's Robotics club from the summer of grade 10 to 11, in just nearly 2 months from theory to practice, Gia Nguyen led the team from a starting point with no knowledge of robotics to achieving a gold certificate and top 4 in the country at the World Robot Olympiad 2023 competition.

"After the competition, Gia Nguyen was elected by his clubmates as deputy head of the mechanical department, participating in many professional training activities and organizing many events in the club," said Ms. Hang.

Write an essay about imperfection

Gia Nguyen said that in his essay to Columbia University, he wrote about a friend he had played with since high school, but was not in the same class.

Despite showing signs of difficulty communicating, not liking to interact with strangers, and being bullied, this friend is a very good student, has national excellent student achievements, and participates in the Road to Olympia competition...

"When playing basketball, I always pursue perfection, strive to be the best, to be number 1. When I fail, I collapse, I can't accept it.

When I met this special friend, I realized that each person has their own strengths and weaknesses. In life, we should not use other people's weaknesses to put them down, but use our strengths to lift others up," Gia Nguyen said about the changes in life perspective shared in the essay.

Read more Back to Topics

NGUYEN BAO

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nam-sinh-truong-ams-trung-tuyen-truong-ivy-league-voi-bai-luan-ve-su-khong-hoan-hao-20250420230424282.htm