VietNamNet Bridge – Harvard has been well known as one of the few
universities in the world which set high requirements on students. However,
this way frightens small Vietnamese girls.

The
Vietnamese Harvard’s girls

In late March 2011, Ton Ha Anh, received invitations to study at five
universities with full scholarships, including the reputable Harvard University.
In 2011, Harvard had a record high number of candidates with 35,000 students
applying for studying at the school.

According to Tien Phong, Ha Anh not only is good at natural sciences,
but she also has deep knowledge of social sciences, which has helped Anh “go
farther” on her path of learning. The important knowledge helped Anh obtain the
highest marks in the history of St. Andrew’s School for her composition. The
result is really an important achievement, which helped Anh easily enroll in
the prestigious universities.

Ha Anh is now the Chair of the St.Andrew’s former foreign students
association, head of the organization board of the earth week program at St.Andrew’s 2010, member of
the organization board of Aids Walk– the event which aims to raise a fund for
HIV/AIDS patients in Delaware
State.

In 2006, the Nguyen family and local residents in the small hamlet Cau
Do, in Ha Dong district in Hanoi, felt so happy when hearing that Nguyen Le
Van, a small girl, became the second person of the Nguyen family and of the
small hamlet who was accepted to study at Harvard University. Prior to that,
Van’s cousin, Nguyen Tien Anh, also joined Harvard in April 2003. Therefore,
local residents called Nguyen family “Harvard family”.

The day when Van received the news that she was accepted to study at Harvard University
was also a happy day for the Vietnamese community in Poland, where Van and her family
live. Many Polish newspapers and Vietnamese newspapers in Poland reported
the important news, calling Van a perfect girl, because Van is not only very
intelligent, but she is also very beautiful. She once won the title “Miss
Elegant” of the Vietnamese community when she was in the 10^th grade
at Kopernik School
in Poland.

The two
Harvard’s girls who want to return to Vietnam

In 2009, Nguyen Bich Ngoc became the first student of Harvard University.
She got the invitation to study at the school in April 2009, with a full
scholarship of 50,000 dollars a year.

When asked about the recipe for success, Ngoc said that she spent four
years in Singapore, which she considered a very important time that helped Ngoc
improve her English.

After that, Ngoc became more mature and became more independent in her
thoughts. Those were the characteristics that Harvard University
wanted to see in its students.

Ngoc said on Dan Tri, that she will return to Vietnam after she graduates the
school. “I decide to return to Vietnam
because my father always says to me that the most important thing in going
studying abroad is to return after the graduation to serve the home country,”
Ngoc said. “He said there are many talented persons in the US. I would be
able to contribute more to the building of the country if I work in Vietnam. Vietnam is my
homeland”.

Tran Phuong Ngoc Thao has become a familiar portrait to Vietnamese
students after local newspapers reported her outstanding learning achievements.

According to Phu nu Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh newspaper, Thao only had 1.5
years to fulfill the curriculum of high school. However, she still could  finish high school superbly. With such a great
achievement, Thao was accepted to study at Oxford University
when she was 16.

Four years ago, Thao excelled in completing Oxford University
and she was invited by five reputable universities to study further to get a master’s
degree. Thao has chosen to study at Harvard, with a full scholarship worth
50,000 dollars.

Thao’s friends believe that she will stay to work in the US after she
gets a doctorate. However, Thao said to everyone before leaving: “I will
certainly return to Vietnam”.

Tu Uyen