Female student 'lightly revises' to become valedictorian of aptitude test

Nguyen Phuong Thao, a student of class 12A6, Hoai Duc A High School, is the candidate with the highest score in the first round of the 2025 capacity assessment exam of Hanoi National University - Photo: NVCC

Nguyen Phuong Thao - a student of class 12A6, Hoai Duc A High School, Hanoi - is the candidate with the highest score in the first round of the Hanoi National University's aptitude test (HSA) with 126/150 points.

In the math and data processing exam, the female student scored 40/50 points; in literature and language, she scored 41/50 points. In the optional exam, the female student chose English as her strength, scoring 45/50 points.

Just extra math

Phuong Thao said she set a goal of 100-120 points for this exam. However, after more than 3 hours of taking the exam on March 16, the results exceeded expectations.

"After the exam, I was very happy to get 126 points, but I didn't think it would be the highest score of this exam. At 6:00 p.m. that evening, when I heard that the candidate with the highest score of the exam was 126/150, I was quite nervous, happy and surprised. My parents were also very happy, many friends and relatives also sent their congratulations and asked about me," Phuong Thao recounted.

Sharing about the process of completing the exam, Phuong Thao said that the most difficult part was math and data processing. In addition, she was also psychologically affected by the review "the math test was very difficult" from some candidates in previous exams, so before the exam day, she stayed up to review until 10pm.

Math is also the only subject that Phuong Thao attends extra classes once a week, from grade 2 until now to supplement advanced knowledge.

"Because of limited time, when doing the math part, I did the easy questions first, then came back to the difficult ones. The questions ranged from grade 10 to grade 12. The knowledge was broader and required higher application than the high school graduation exam.

During the practice tests, I mainly focused my time on math and got a score quite close to the official test," Phuong Thao said.

The English test is the part that Phuong Thao feels most confident in, and it did not take her much time to prepare. Because before that, Phuong Thao had taken the IELTS test and achieved 7.5; from grade 9 to grade 12, she also participated in many English competitions at school and district levels and won high prizes.

Phuong Thao (sitting in the middle) takes a yearbook photo with her classmates - Photo: NVCC

Don't learn by "cramming knowledge"

Phuong Thao said she had decided to take the aptitude test since grade 11 to apply to the Foreign Trade University and the National Economics University. However, it was not until after the Lunar New Year this year that Phuong Thao began to have time to focus on studying for the HSA exam.

The female student said that the process of reviewing for her own capacity assessment test became easier when she received official information that "if you study well in class, you can do well on the capacity assessment test" - this is what she still maintains every day.

About 1-2 months before the exam, Phuong Thao spends 1-2 hours/day practicing test questions. The remaining time is spent completing homework in class.

"I will sleep before 11pm, not cram, but accumulate knowledge right from class so that when I return home I don't have to review," Phuong Thao said.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Diu, the homeroom teacher, said that Phuong Thao is a careful, intelligent, hard-working student, studies well in all subjects, and actively participates in the class and school's cultural and sports movements.

"Both teacher and student were overwhelmed with emotion when Phuong Thao became valedictorian," said Ms. Diu.

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Source: https://archive.vietnam.vn/nu-sinh-on-thi-nhe-nhang-tro-thanh-thu-khoa-thi-danh-gia-nang-luc/