Recently, Nguyen Ngo Anh Tuan (11 Physics at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School) received the results of the SAT with a score of 1540. With this achievement, he entered the top 1% of participants with the highest scores in the world.

For those who don't know, the SAT is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the American education system. Many people consider the SAT to be a difficult and classificational exam,with questions ranging from literature, sociology to the natural sciences. It often causes difficulties for both national and international students. Therefore, Tuan's achievements made many people can’t help but praise him.

Nguyen Ngo Anh Tuan, a 21-24 student of 11 Physics 1 studying at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School

Got into 3 top high schools in Hanoi but chose Ams simply because of… proximity.

Since middle school, Anh Tuan has nurtured his dreams to study abroad. To make his dream a reality, the schoolboy has relentlessly studied and worked hard. In grade 9, Anh Tuan even won the title of excellence in district-level and city-level Physics Olympiad.

Not long after, Anh Tuan scored a "hat-trick" when he got admitted to three of the top high schools in Hanoi: Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted; HNUE High School for the Gifted and HUS High School for Gifted Students. In the end, Tuan chose to study Physics in Hanoi - Amsterdam highschool because one of the reasons was... proximity.

Tuan has a great passion for guitar.

Right after getting admitted to Amsterdam, Tuan has built himself a solid study path to actualize his dream of studying in the US. However, in order to gain an edge in applying for scholarships of American universities, a prerequisite is to have an impressive IELTS and SAT scores.

"I took my first IELTS in 8th grade and got a band score of 6.5. However, this score needs improving if I want to study in the US. Additionally, I decided to prepare for the IELTS before studying for the SAT, since some SAT prep classes requires a minimum IELTS reading score of 7.5", Anh Tuan said.

Since setting the goal, Tuan has sped up to dedicate his time to English; he is especially focused on his weaknesses in the speaking and writing.

"The reading part seems quite 'unchallenging' to me, but the speaking part poses quite a few obstacles. Because I'm an introvert, I'm usually quite shy when it comes to communicating, especially with strangers. So, to combat that, a month before taking the IELTS test, I had a 1-on-1 extra session each week for speaking, " the schoolboy shared.

Aside from that, Tuan also constantly does practice tests while frequently getting on YouTube to listen to English videos of topics such as universes or scientific discoveries to optimize his skills. In the end, Tuan got an extremely impressive band of 8.0 IELTS.

To get a high SAT score, you must have a good strategy.

Upon the conquer of the first goal, Tuan did not give himself time to rest and immediately hastened to prepare for the SAT. According to Tuan, the most important thing in order to achieve a high SAT score is to have a test preparation strategy, among which good time control is a very important factor.

Besides, to have achieved his desired SAT score, Tuan also spent a lot of time and effort and "plowed" through countless mock tests. Thanks to this diligence, he achieved a SAT score of 1540 (which is the top 1% of highest-scoring candidates in the world). Here are the tips that he has to say during his process of studying and preparing for the SAT:

- Reading : This is the part that makes Tuan the most troubled. Candidates have to answer 52 MCQs related to short reading passages or long reading passages in just 65 minutes. The questions test one’s reading comprehension, sentence completion skills and reading on a sentence or paragraph level.

Strategies : The reading passages in the test often revolve around three themes: literature, history/sociology and science. Tuan often chooses to do the reading on a science topic first because according to him, passages of this topic are more accessible than the topic of history/sociology.

Moreover, because the time allotted is quite limited, we won’t have time to understand every sentence and word in the exam paper. Therefore, we can use Scanning and Skimming methods to get the main idea of ​​the passage. Then, we read the questions carefully to narrow down the information in the text and read it carefully again afterwards to choose the answer.

In particular, a prerequisite to being able to do well in this section is good vocabulary. People just need to take the vocabulary from the texts in the SAT practice tests. If you study in a rambling way without focus, you will waste time and effort.

Anh Tuan (middle) with his friends

- Writing : The exam will include 44 MCQs and you have 35 minutes to complete them. Multiple choice questions test grammar, usage and word choice by improving sentences and paragraphs and identifying sentence errors.

Strategies: Since this part is closely related to grammar, test takers should have a firm grasp of grammar in addition to vocabulary. Additionally, you must learn the technique for each specific type of exercise and practice intensively. "Rome isn't built in one day", and once you know the steps on how to do it, you will be able to pick the fastest and most accurate answer.

Another note that Tuan wants to share with everyone is to know the tips and know the "traps" that are likely to appear in the exam so as not to lose points unjustly.

- Math section : Includes the 55-minute section and the 25-minute section for a total of 80 minutes. The test questions are MCQs or essays. Exercise types include: numbers and manipulation, algebra and functions, geometry, statistics, probability and data analysis.

Strategies: According to Tuan, this is the "easiest way to gain points" because it only focuses on math knowledge in middle school. Therefore, Tuan's strategy is just being careful to get all the points in the section.

He used to learn programming in 7th grade

In the future, Tuan wants to study abroad in Information Technology and specialize in Artificial Intelligence. Sharing about the reason for choosing that major, Tuan said there are 3 main ones:

First, the student used to take a few programming courses in 7th grade and he himself was interested in this field. Secondly, male students have a tendency to do well in natural sciences such as Math, Physics, Chemistry, etc.. At the same time, Tuan is also a logical thinker, so he decided to study this major to make use of his strengths. And finally, Tuan believes that in pursuing Artificial Intelligence, he will have a stable life in the future.

Despite possessing heaps of respectable academic achievements, Tuan was never complacent and didn't let himself rest on his laurels. To him, winning scholarships at American universities requires you to put in a lot of effort.

"In the near future, I will participate in many more extracurricular activities to develop myself and be more well-rounded, especially in charity and environmental protection activities," said Tuan.

Translator: Phương Hạnh Thùy Dương - English 1 2225

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