LookAtVietnam – For many Vietnamese students, domestic universities are just a stepping stone to their ultimate goal - a foreign university.

T.Hai, a student of the Academy for Journalism and Communication, said he is seeking a teacher who can help him prepare for IELTS exam.

If he is going to get the opportunity to study at a university in Sweden or Finland, then he requires a 5.5 minimum from the exam.

Hoang Long, who is studying at a German university, was once a student of a Vietnamese university. Long never wanted to study in Vietnamese having decided when he still at high school that he would study in Germany.

“However, they (The German university) would only accept me if I showed good study results from my first year of studying at a Vietnamese university.

“Therefore, I decided to study at Thang Long University, which did not require very high scores on the entrance exam. The study schedule was flexible, which allowed me to study well while also arranging time for me to study German,” Long said.

These stories are common with increasing numbers of students, cherishing the hope of studying overseas.

What attracts Vietnamese students to these countries is the high quality of education and high support from the State.

Many students also think that one or two years of studying at Vietnamese universities can be really useful. Kieu Thanh, a former student of the Japanese faculty under the Phuong Dong University, studied two years before leaving for Japan.

She said that it was a good time for her to study at Phuong Dong University. This allowed her to gradually get adapted to the independent life instead of relying on parents.

“It is wonderful to follow two curriculums of two education systems,” Thanh said.

Taking roundabout to foreign lecture halls

For other students their roundabout trips to their dream overseas study destination may also take in yet more countries.

Ha My, 19, left Vietnam last summer for Singapore to study tourism and hotel management in Singapore. However, Singapore is not the destination My wants. She said that the time in Singapore will serve as preparation for her to study later in Switzerland, the country that can provide the best training courses on hotel management

Trong Viet, 20, who is studying in China, said that he wishes to study at an university in the US. “It would be better for me to register to study in the US or seek a scholarship as a student from a Chinese university,” he said.

VietNamNet/SVVN