Quang Anh and Quynh Anh – the talented “QA” couple of 12 English 1

Reporter: Thanks Quynh Anh and Quang Anh for joining this interview today. Firstly, can you two share your feelings when receiving the acceptance from universities?

Quynh Anh: Before receiving the results, my results of this apply season wasn’t as good as expected. University of Rochester (UR) was also one of the schools I liked and wanted to get in most. Therefore, on opening the acceptance letter, I was really surprised and overjoyed.

Quang Anh: Actually, there were only two most outstanding feelings: surprised and relieved. After receiving many rejections and waiting lists, I didn’t expect much, so an acceptance is enough!

Quynh Anh (outermost of the right) with students of 12 English 1

Reporter: Getting accepted is hard enough, but gaining such high finacial aid/scholarship is even harder. Do you have any secret tip on how to gain scholarship?

Quang Anh: First, you need to try to develop yourselves, improve your profile as much as possible; universities will be willing to accept and aid financially if the student is suitable for their culture and study environment. Second, talk with your parents, even with teachers, a lot to know your family’s financial condition to ask for the suitable aid. Most importantly, after graduation, you won’t have to pay enormous amount of debt, and while studying, you can feel comfortable with your spending. That is also a deciding factor for the quality of your studying time at university.

Quynh Anh: Firstly, we knew our family’s financial condition thoroughly and set up a suitable plan. While searching to apply, I chose schools that promised to offer meet-need 100% for international students, focusing more on schools that had accepted and financially aided Vietnamese students in recent years. When finishing the profile, I focused on researching the school’s types of scholarships, and applied for those on time. UR announed that they would prioritize considering scholarships for students applying before 1/12, so I finished my profile before that time.

Reporter: During the stressful application time, did you two often share your feelings and talk with each other?

Quynh Anh: Each of us had our own ‘helping network’, however, we still helped each other in everything.

Quang Anh: Expressing my own thoughts was a very important thing during the stressful time of application: usually, I would talk to my best friend. The most important thing we thought we had done for each other was to be there to support each other, answering each other’s questions, checking if the other had missed anything or had to send anything else. When sending the application, we sit with each other and pressed the ‘send’ button together.

Reporter: I get to know that both of you have a strong passion for arts. Are your majors related to arts and what are your reasons for choosing that major?

Quynh Anh: Although not very sure of the major, I am quite interested in majors related to visual arts, literature and politics. About extra-curricular activities, I will sure reseach about music and arts clubs in UR! I am glad to know that UR also has a club for rock music and I am very excited to be able to join in with seniors. Besides, UR has the famous Eastman School of Music – I also want to have the chance to join music courses so I can open my mind here.

Quynh Anh (outermost of the left) with her passion for rock

Quang Anh: To be honest, I still haven’t decided yet what I’m going to study at university, and I think I still don’t need to find out exactly at this time. When studying in the liberal arts system, I will have two years to join many different courses and learn more about different fields. I want to learn about architecture together with psychology and gender doctrine. And about arts, no matter if I study or not, I will sure join extra-curricular activities such as graphic designing, drawing, and try new kinds of activities.

 Quang Anh (third from left to right) with the organizers of NHAT 2019

Reporter: Lastly, do you two have any advise for students who dream of studying in America?

Quynh Anh: You guys should do what you truly like. The process of applying for American universities requires enormous amount of work, including exams, scores, recommendation letters, extra-curricular activities and essays. Instead of wasting time on what you don’t like just because your study centre or friends tell you that those activities will “beautify” your profile, you should work on activities that you truly care about. This will not only help your application process be easier but is also a more efficient way of spending your time, playing an important  role in deciding your future path.

Quang Anh: If you feel comfortable, then I think you really should talk and share with others, your friends, family, and teachers about your application process. Applying for universities abroad is not a competition, but it can be a time for you to grow up and discover your own selves. Sometimes, others will have a different perspective about you that you can learn from and write about in your essay, or advise that you may want to apply to your extra-curricular activities. The most important thing I think is to connect with people around you to not feel seperated from other factors of life, and you can feel relieved that there are companions to share your happiness and misery. In that way, after the application season, you will feel much warmer and more satisfied.

We hope that Quynh Anh and Quang Anh will always stay healthy and successful on their chosen paths!

Reporter: Do Hanh Nhi – CE 1720

Images: Provided by the interviewees

Translator: Truong Hai Ha – 10A2