Vietnamese female student admitted to Harvard Medical School

Born and raised in Bao Loc city (Lam Dong), Thu Phuong chose to study at university in Ho Chi Minh City. However, after only one year of study, the young girl realized that she did not belong there. The female student asked for leave to retake the exam and was admitted to the Foreign Economics major at the Foreign Trade University, "packed up" and went to the North.

At the same time, Thu Phuong also received an email announcing that she had won a full scholarship to study Nursing at the Institute of Health Sciences , Vin University (VinUni). After much deliberation, her family encouraged Phuong to choose to study two majors at the same time, not wanting to miss any opportunities that came her way.

Nguyen Do Thu Phuong was admitted to the master's program at Harvard Medical School.

“People often wonder why I chose to study two unrelated majors at the same time, one in economics and one in medicine . In fact, when I decided to apply for a Nursing scholarship at VinUni, I didn’t think much about it. I just thought that I liked taking care of people, so choosing to study Nursing was the right choice,” Thu Phuong said.

According to Phuong, nursing is a tough profession, with a tight schedule as she has to constantly travel between school and hospital, each place being dozens of kilometers apart, not to mention the medical terminology is difficult to understand in many places.

“At first, I felt quite pressured and tired, trying to complete two different study programs at two schools at the same time. Meanwhile, nursing is a very hard profession, going to practice at the hospital and studying at school regularly, I had no time to rest,” the female student said.

While she was disoriented, the young girl accidentally joined a volunteer trip to teach English to Mong ethnic children in Sa Pa (Lao Cai).

After more than two months of teaching and living with the children, Phuong realized that the highlands lacked everything. The dirty images of the children were deeply ingrained in her mind, making the female student ponder the question "how can we help them go to school, learn and play?"

After the trip, the Lam Dong native gradually regained her balance and determined more clearly the goals she needed to pursue. She studied hard, completed her subjects well at both schools, and also researched and decided to apply for the Master's program in Global Health Distribution at Harvard Medical School. She hopes to continue her studies and gain more experience to bring that knowledge back to help the community, children, and people in the highlands.

Thu Phuong on a volunteer trip in Sapa (Lao Cai).

In addition to her outstanding academic achievements, Thu Phuong made a good impression on the Harvard Medical School admissions board with her essay "Reconnection" about the reality and desire to change the environment and living conditions for Mong ethnic students.

In her essay, the female student expressed her desire to use the knowledge she learned at Harvard to return to Vietnam to participate in mental health projects, using her voice to call for resources to help the community.

“One of the factors that make an essay successful is the emotional and personal experience. For the main essay applying for the global medical distribution industry, it only took me 1.5 days to complete,” the female student said.

Top universities in the world always want to find candidates with clear goals, life experiences and most importantly, understand where they are and what they want for the future. Therefore, the female student advises students to always try their best, be themselves in their essays and do what they truly love.

After completing a two-year program at Harvard Medical School, Phuong plans to return to Vietnam to apply the knowledge she has learned to her life and carry out some community projects. The girl born in 2001 believes that the core of contributing to the community must first come from helping those close to her.

“After completing the healthcare projects in my hometown, I will expand them to the entire community. Including the village in Sa Pa - where I volunteered more than 3 years ago,” the female student said.

Phuong has just completed her studies at Foreign Trade University with a GPA of 8.7/10. She is also trying to complete some final subjects at the Institute of Health Sciences, VinUni, and is expected to graduate next June. According to the roadmap, Phuong will start studying abroad from August 2024.

Snow Anh

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