Tran Ngoc Van Anh, a 12th-grade student in class 12E at the Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, described her overwhelming joy upon receiving news of her acceptance to Peking University with a Chinese government scholarship and Tsinghua University on 15/7.
"My mother jumped for joy and shared the news with all our relatives. I'm excited about the 4-year journey ahead," she said.
Tsinghua and Peking Universities are two of the top universities in China, ranked 12th and 13th globally, according to the 2025 THE rankings. Van Anh also received a scholarship from Chongqing University, another leading institution in the country.
She chose to study advertising at Peking University because of the full scholarship and her fondness for the university's historical charm.
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Tran Ngoc Van Anh. Photo: Provided by the subject |
Tran Ngoc Van Anh. Photo: Provided by the subject
Van Anh's connection with Chinese began with songs and movies in 8th grade while she was a student at Nghia Tan Secondary School. Gradually, she understood simple phrases and realized she could learn a new language this way.
Wanting to enjoy Chinese movies and music without subtitles, Van Anh enrolled in a language center for three months and then continued practicing independently. She found Chinese grammar quite similar to Vietnamese, but the writing system more complex due to the many strokes.
"I had to practice regularly and learn through radicals, analyzing why these components combine to form meaningful characters," Van Anh recalled.
Learning for leisure made the process enjoyable. She switched her phone's language to Chinese, listened to podcasts, and watched TV shows and news in Chinese.
Van Anh explained that her family initially encouraged her to specialize in English for high school. However, after some preparation, she felt less confident about her chances and switched to Chinese.
"I only had one year to focus on Chinese, so I hesitated. In the end, I decided to take the risk," she recalled. At the end of 8th grade, Van Anh started taking extra classes. In 9th grade, besides the three required subjects, she spent 2-3 hours each evening practicing Chinese, watching movies, and reading to learn new sentence structures. In 2022, she was admitted to the specialized Chinese language program with a score of 34.31/40.
Van Anh considered studying abroad in 10th grade but wasn't certain. It was in 11th grade, inspired by seniors who had gained admission to Tsinghua and Peking Universities, that she began pursuing this goal.
She dedicated that year to intensive Chinese study, taking proficiency tests, and participating in competitions to strengthen her application. Van Anh maintained a GPA of 9.5 or higher; achieved an IELTS score of 7.5; scored 250/300 on the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK); won third prize in the national excellent student competition for Chinese; earned a gold medal in the Coastal and Northern Delta regional excellent student competition; and won second prize in the Chinese Olympic competition organized by Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
When applying to Chinese universities, in addition to academic achievements and awards, applicants need a study plan, a self-introduction, explanations for their choice of major and university, and their plans for the four years of university, according to Van Anh.
In her plan submitted to Peking University, Van Anh described how her connection with Chinese opened doors to the specialized high school and various competitions. She chose advertising due to her interest in media activities from extracurricular involvement at school. She also outlined her study plan and her intention to participate in extracurricular activities to interact and make friends.
Three months later, she entered the interview round with 5 judges. The content of the interview is confidential. According to Van Anh, the judges generally asked about personal information, tested her Chinese speaking ability, and sought to understand her better. Thanks to thorough practice, she performed well.
The Tsinghua University interview, however, surprised her. She applied for economics but didn't expect such in-depth questions about the field. Van Anh was taken aback by questions about probability, its real-world applications, and math and physics concepts.
"I took time to formulate answers and tried to explain the terms within my understanding," she said.
Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, Van Anh's homeroom teacher in 12E and also in charge of the school's Chinese excellent student team, has been working with Van Anh since 10th grade. She commended Van Anh's strong foundation, having been the top scorer entering the Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted. Throughout her studies, Van Anh consistently ranked among the top students.
"Van Anh is talented and a capable self-learner, yet humble, unassuming, and thoughtful. I always trust her with any task," Ha said.
Based on her experience, Van Anh believes that to gain admission to top universities, applicants need to maintain academic excellence, engage in extracurricular activities, and win awards in competitions. Besides Chinese, knowing another language can impress admissions committees.
At the end of August, Van Anh will travel to China to begin her study abroad journey. She is currently improving her speaking skills through AI, previewing the curriculum, and reading materials related to her chosen major.
Binh Minh
