Upon learning the results on the morning of 23/6, Nguyen Minh Thu, a student from Pham Van Chieu Secondary School in Go Vap District, immediately called her mother and teachers.
"I informed my teachers right away to express my gratitude," Thu said. "When I checked the math answers, I saw that I had everything correct, but I was still worried about losing points for presentation or reasoning. So, I was overjoyed to learn about the perfect score."
Thu shared that after the first exam day, she anticipated achieving maximum points in English and at least 8 points in Literature. On the second day, she was determined to perform well, aiming for the top or second-highest rank.
In addition, Thu also took the specialized math exam, scoring 4.25 points. With a total admission score of 37.25, she secured a place in the math class at Tran Dai Nghia Specialized High School. Previously, she was also admitted to the interdisciplinary math class at the High School for the Gifted, Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City.
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Nguyen Minh Thu, a student from Pham Van Chieu Secondary School, achieved the highest score in the Ho Chi Minh City 10th-grade entrance exam with 28.75 points. Photo courtesy of the subject. |
Nguyen Minh Thu, a student from Pham Van Chieu Secondary School, achieved the highest score in the Ho Chi Minh City 10th-grade entrance exam with 28.75 points. Photo courtesy of the subject.
Thu recounted that her love for math began in 7th grade when she found her teachers' explanations clear and engaging. From then on, she sought out challenging math problems to practice, setting her sights on the city-level excellent student competition. Every time she solved a geometry problem, she felt a sense of accomplishment and eagerly looked for more. In the summer of 8th grade, she decided to pursue specialized math and started taking extra classes. Winning third place in the city-level math competition for excellent students in 9th grade boosted her confidence.
Thu explained that during the exams, she carefully calculated and allocated time for each question. Her strategy was to tackle the easier questions first, followed by the more difficult ones, ensuring each answer was correct before moving on to avoid having to recheck.
With English, thanks to her extensive vocabulary and practice with numerous exam papers, she didn't encounter many difficulties. During the exam, she read carefully to determine the correct word form and to understand the real-life scenarios presented in the questions.
As a specialized math student, Thu still achieved a relatively high score in Literature – 8.75. She attributes this to regularly listening to news and reading books and newspapers, which helped her accumulate social knowledge and gather diverse examples.
A month before the exam, Thu intensified her Literature practice by outlining essays, identifying key arguments and supporting evidence, and then seeking feedback from her teacher. Every day, she tackled 3-4 math papers and two English papers, sometimes staying up until 2 a.m. In her free time, she listened to music or watched movies in English, both to relax and to improve her pronunciation and learn new vocabulary.
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Thu (far right) with her friends after completing the 10th-grade entrance exam on 7/6. Photo courtesy of the subject. |
Thu (far right) with her friends after completing the 10th-grade entrance exam on 7/6. Photo courtesy of the subject.
Phan Thi Song Phuong, Thu's homeroom and Literature teacher in 9th grade, wasn't surprised to learn that Thu achieved the top score in the city's 10th-grade entrance exam. She described Thu as a student with excellent academic abilities, a confident approach, and sharp thinking. Despite specializing in math, Thu also excelled in Literature and English.
"What's admirable is that despite her abilities, she never boasts or shows off, and sometimes even downplays her own achievements. When I encouraged her to take the specialized math exam, Thu said she would try but was afraid she wouldn't pass," Phuong said.
Thu stated that she will choose the specialized math class at Tran Dai Nghia Specialized High School. She sees it as an environment that will allow her to pursue her passion for math while still regularly practicing English, aligning with her goal of studying abroad.
Le Nguyen