Tien enters the school, which ranks 12th among US liberal arts schools, with a scholarship of VND8.6 billion for four-year study.

"I applied to eight schools for the early admission campaign, and this was the first school to notify me and also the one I love the most," Tien said.

Having a passion for music and arts, Tien started studying piano under a 9-year intermediate training program at the Vietnam National Academy of Music, when she entered the 4th grade. 

While studying music at the academy, she continued following the general national education program. At first, she felt tired when going to both schools, but she never thought of dropping out or stopping one of the two education programs.

"I love performing on stage like a real artist. Nonetheless, I also recognize my abilities in academics, which is why I want to follow both," Tien explained.

At primary school, Tien was a member of the selected teams of students to attend national competition in Maths and English. In order to balance the study at two schools, she drew up a timetable of her own which allowed her to practice piano 1.5-2 hours a day under a fixed schedule, and more hours in the evening. Meanwhile, the lessons under the general national education program were scheduled for remaining hours.

Despite the busy timetable and the regular travel between two schools, Tien still gained academic achievements, including second prize at Hanoi’s competition for excellent students in English when she was in ninth grade; third prize at the competition for excellent students in coastal areas and Red River Delta when she was in the tenth grade, and the third prize at the Olympic competition for high school students organized by the Hanoi National University. She also won first prize at SIPIC (Singapore International Piano Competition) 2022. 

At the end of the 10th grade, Tien began thinking about the path she would follow in the future. She once thought that she would study subjects related to music and arts. But later, she realized that culture and media is also an interesting major which also allows her to make a contribution to community cultural development. So Tien decided to study communications and Asian culture.

The student decided to apply to schools in the US, including Vassar College, a liberal arts school. In addition to her major, she can also engage in art subjects.

She began preparing her application when she entered the 11th grade. One year later, she got 1540 score on the SAT and 8.0 IELTS on the first attempt. Tien decided to take exams once more to improve her results, because she believed that ‘scores cannot tell everything about a student’.

Tien wanted to show the school’s board of management that she was a person with great passion for arts and multi-dimensional perspective. Therefore, in mid-July she organized a private charity concert, which attracted 150 attendees. As head of the organizing board and an artist performing at the concert, Tien and her co-workers spent four months to write scripts and practice.

Though it wasn't the biggest stage she had ever performed on, the event held the most pride for her. “We donated all the concert proceeds to UNICEF,” Tien said.

Tien also collaborated with a leading newspaper in Vietnam, translating international news, and worked as an intern at the communications unit of the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology.

Tien connected with an associate professor at the Hanoi Foreign Trade University, persuading her to allow Tien to join her study. She participated in research on ‘Developing village fair culture for sustainable livelihoods among ethnic minorities’, and “Impact of media and marketing in preserving traditional craft villages’.

In her essay, Tien wrote that previously she had only learned about cultural nuances by reading books and performing on stage. However, she had realized that there were still many controversial issues which fuel her desire to explore culture more deeply. She also related some stories which she had witnessed.

Tien said she was satisfied about her essay, which resembles a narrative, creating a "cinematic" story.

Thuy Nga