Shaoran
06-10-06, 10:50 AM
Sau đây Shaoran sẽ giới thiệu 1 số bài viết của các bạn du học sinh bên Viet Abroader cho các bạn. Như vậy các bạn sẽ có 1 khái niệm sơ lược về essay khi nộp đơn vào các trường ĐH ở Mỹ. Lưu ý, cấm chỉ việc sao chép ở đây. Chỉ cần các xếp phát hiện ra thì bạn coi như tới số. Wa những bài viết sau, hi vọng các bạn có thể nhận ra 1 điều: ở đây các admission officer ko cần biết bạn phân tích hay bình luận hay đến đâu. Điều họ cần là bạn thể hiện được về mình đến đâu? Đó là tiêu chí quan trọng nhất. Ngoài ra 1 tiêu chí nữa ko kém là phải viết rõ ràng ngay từ đầu. Cấm chỉ viết lăng nhăng mà chả đâu vào đâu cả. Nhân đây cũng xin cám ơn & ngả mũ trước các bạn/anh chị bên Viet Abroader.
Nguyễn Thu Trang, Batesie, class '07, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine.
WHY BATES:
The girl in the mirror opposite me glows like a child when she argues about the war in Iraq or the tax-cut policy. I love public speaking, for the pure joy of it. At Bates, I would gladly roll up my sleeves with the school’s national-recognized debaters to confront some perky eyes, shoot back a quick tongue, or just to swap ideas.
Such simple skills set the basis for my career choice as an international business lawyer for foreign companies in Vietnam. I would like to major in Economics, with secondary concentrations in Chemistry and either French or Rhetoric. Bipolar as they seem, Economics and Chemistry complement each other for the task as Vietnam is attempting to morph its traditional Eastern identity into Western free market. The economy is hungry for private investment, while overused historic sights and beautiful resorts cry out for protection and awareness. At Bates’ renowned economics department, I plan to get to the bottom of this fascinating era of East-West crossroad by building social insights on a scientific foundation of nature, the uniting force of our identity.
Vietnam is on the other side of the world, thus college is home. Only here can I plow through the vast library network, research in top-notch facilities, explore American democratic enterprise and then set off to Japan to learn about the only first-world economy in the Asiatic rim. Later on, abundant research and internship opportunities like the senior’s thesis and the Ladd program will weave those experiences into solid, real life solutions. Besides the “brain” factors, I am also looking for a liberal and engaging students body, with the rigorous Debate Council, the active Multicultural Center, even something as bizarre as Zenstruck Juggling. My Daoist subconscious specifically lobbies for the sapphire oceans and golden leaves of coastal Maine (a perfect setting for Buddhist contemplation).
Bates is it. Glancing at the mirror, I see a jaw-dropping, all-for-it version of the same girl, glowing at the possibilities ahead. Still intrigued, but now spunky like New Orleans’ jazz and crisp like the Midwestern air, she wants to bring it over to your place for the next wild time.
TIPS:
- Be hip, be cool. Bates LOVES ORIGINALITY.
- Be reasonable - as you can see, my rambling on Economics and Chemistry is pure crap :D
- Read the BATES MAGAZINE: http://www.bates.edu/bates-magazine.xml
You can find the best information about the awesome-ness of Bates here.
- DO NOT READ OFF THE CATALOGUE
---> Awesome, isn't it? No color, no bull****. Just go straight to the question, even at the beginning :->
Chu Lan Anh, student at University of Richmond, Virginia
Essay for Duke (she's admitted by both Duke and U of Richmond, and choose Richmond)
-So, you said you want to go to Duke next year. Are you ready? Are you fearless?
-Yes. I can proudly say that I am fearless. Not only for the kind of fear toward ghosts. It’s true that darkness or ghosts don’t scare me; however, this is not what I want to tell you.
It was a mid November night and I burst into tears again. I could not remember how many times I had done so in the previous two months. I was so stressed. “You are putting too much pressure on yourself, girl”, my host father, Mr. Aboud, said. True. But I couldn’t help it.
I used to be a girl at the center of the world. All of my family’s attention was on me, so were their expectations. I always excelled in school, receiving the highest or at least second highest grade on every test. A class monitor, an organizer, a leader, I did everything the way I wanted, and somehow my instinct never failed me. I had good friends and a modest but admired family. My parents not only cared for me but also gave me a loose rein in running my own life. Everything was so perfect that it hatched a problem. Having a wild nature, I wanted something imperfect. I sought a challenge.
It took nine months for me to finally get what I wanted. I became an exchange student in America. When I got off the plane, my host mom greeted me with a gorgeous smile. I was off to a good start. The school I would be attending, Collegiate School, was one of the best private schools in Virginia. Could I have been luckier? Having heard that the courses in America are much easier than those back home, I took as many AP classes as possible. My English was better than most of the other exchange students; I was more than confident. Here came the American sky where I would freely soar! I was so excited about my new life full of challenges in making friends, studying in English, taking standardized tests and applying to colleges.
It was that November night when I fully understood what my mother meant by nagging: “Be careful what you ask for, or you might get it!” That night I cried from pressure. I had had to move to a new family, but they didn’t seem as nice as they were when I first visited either. The tension between my former and current host families made me the one who suffered. I could feel the coldness from my new host mom, and my little host sister called me evil for no reason, despite all my efforts to be nice to her. Being sensitive made the situation even worse for me. However, home wasn’t the biggest problem. School was. I was too used to spending no more than an hour or two on homework a day, but was still the best at my Vietnamese schools. Now it could take forever. I had to handle schoolwork, start the college application process, and study for the standardized tests all at the same time. I had to succeed this year. What a shame if I had to go back to Vietnam and repeat my senior year! I had to be as exceptional as I used to be. The last straw came with my SAT score. The friend who knew me best said that I could do much better, provided I had time to study. TIME. That’s the problem. That November night, I couldn’t hold it anymore. For the first time in my life, I had to admit that stress was killing me. Something had to change, and I made that change.
-Anyway, that November night is over. Now I am fearless.
-You mean you are back to exceptional and therefore you are not scared of anything?
-No sir. I’m not trying to tell you I’m fearless because I’m exceptional. In fact, it’s simply that now I know I’m just an ordinary girl. For an ordinary girl, I know I can succeed as well as fail. I expect joy from life, but I know sadness is unavoidable. Sir, if you are aware that anything can happen, what can frighten you?
-You said the school you place your heart in is Duke University, but your parents cannot fund your education at Duke, although they wish to. Out of hundreds of international students applying to Duke each year, about only twenty five will get in with financial aid. Do you fear that our admission office will reject you this year?
-No. Duke has graduate schools, right?
Another essay for Miss. Trang Nguyen
BEHIND THE CURTAIN OF THE CLINIC
“Keep his head cool! Let's go!" My mother strained her voice above the cries of the boy and his parents as they prepared to leave for the hospital. Sitting uncomfortably on the bed, I peered through the small holes on the white curtain at the aging farmers with panicked eyes. A cold wind rushed in as my mother opened the door and ushered them out of the Hanoi Emergency Clinic, where she received cases during her nightshifts.
An only child of a divorced doctor, I accompanied her four nights a month to the clinic, a fifteen feet by ten feet room with the acrid smells of alcohol and antibiotic. A white curtain divided the room in halves. On one side, the doctor’s private wooden bed cluttered up with piles of fading medical records. A big table, three chairs and a sink occupied the rest of the space, where my mother met patients. The murmuring of their talks always triumphed over my curiosity, as I pressed my sleepy eyes against the tattered holes. With an eleven year-old imagination, I often fancied the white curtain as the Great Wall separating my mother from me, and the emergency clinic as a resting stop for tired travelers. Many patients came and left happily, with only grateful handshakes and austere smiles as the doctor's fees. My mother was their healer. But that night, I saw her urgent face. She did not return until the next morning and, as I insisted, told me that the boy had flown away with the incense on his altar. It was the first time she had lost a child.
After that, she left me at home. I knew she was afraid for my young mind in the heavy environment of the clinic, but I could not help feeling deserted. It gradually dawned on me that we were separated not just physically by the white curtain but also mentally by the lives we lived. The clinic symbolized my mother's toil and the time we had lost because she was always too busy. Like a doll, I could only watch with a curtain in front of my eyes. Once the curtain lifted up, reality surged forth, smashing against my face: the dying boy, my mother's veined hands and the three dollars she was paid for one night at the clinic. I could not afford to be a doll; I wanted to tell her I understood.
My first attempt at making dinner took my mother aback, not because of the burned rice but because of my sudden eagerness. In hope to spare her three hours of driving me back and forth everyday, I learned to ride my own bike seven miles to school and to advanced classes, sticking out my chest and tossing up my chin as if I were going out to conquer the world. I pleased her with my perfect grades at school, knowing that only education would lead me to success. From time to time, she seemed to get lost in her own world, and I knew she was confronting a serious case. When I told her I wished I could do something, she always inspired me with an old college joke, "Life is like a surgery in medical school: faint first, but get up and seize the knife hard."
She lived by her words. She seized the chance and brought us to America. Now, a student at Tulane University on a full scholarship, she does not have to suffer from any more restless nights. But the awareness of cheap knowledge and of opportunities has become our reality. Like her, I want to get an education and struggle out of the old path. I want to be a part of Vietnam's changing force, not just a spectator, blindfolded behind the outworn white curtain of fantasies.
Trần Tuấn Vinh, student at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
1. It was the last day that I lived in Sa Pa. This town lies a mile high on the Hoang Lien Son mountain range along the Chinese border in Northwest Vietnam. Three main tribes inhabit the region: Hmong, Tai, and Red Zhao. Because the province lacks teachers, volunteer students from the University of Ha Noi arrive each year to share their knowledge in different subjects. As one of these volunteer students, I taught mathematics, my favorite subject and my concentration in high school. The 45 days spent there went by so quickly. Now on my last day, I realized that I had learned more during that experience than I had ever expected.
My daily routine started at six in the morning when the fog still covered the mountainous village. I walked to the stream down in the valley and washed my face with cool water running from the top of the mountain. A feeling of freshness embraced me. Then I came back to my house and prepared for my lecture one hour later. On the first few days, I had to use body language to communicate with my students because, though we were of the same nationality, they spoke only limited Vietnamese. We quickly came to understand each other, however, through the language of mathematics. Problems that related closely to their lives, such as counting the number of buffaloes and oxen, attracted them more than I had expected. Day by day each young learner tried to show up for class, although some of them had to walk across a mountain to reach the school. By looking into their eyes I could see that the children had a true thirst for knowledge.
While the children learned from my math lectures, they also taught me lessons of life in the Highlands. As a 17-year-old man who had lived all his life in the city, however, I found it difficult to complete the daily tasks to which the children were accustomed. They showed me how to lead a buffalo from the terraced rice fields. When I tried to lead the animal, it was intractable in my hands. It pretended not to hear my commands and bounded off in a completely different direction. Only when my small students told me to shout “Tac-Tac-Tac” did the buffalo obey my orders. Five days later, leading a buffalo felt like a familiar activity to me; my little tutors even coached me to ride it. All of my expectations were exceeded when I managed to climb onto the large back of this mammal successfully on the first try. The feeling of this unique experience still remains in my mind.
Life is never boring in this land despite the lack of television, computer games, or other entertainment media. Smiling never ceases on the faces of the children. During the first few days in Sa Pa, I wondered how the children could feel so much joy when they lacked the variety of toys and games and other material things which seem to preoccupy the more “fortunate” children. But within a short period of time, I understood. The richness in simplicity creates their happiness. The distraction of entertainment media and material possessions, which so many of us take for granted, focuses our attention on things that cannot bring us true joy. Closer fellowship with family and community nurtures us in ways we cannot fathom, and that “hands-on” connection with things of the earth (dirt beneath our feet, water in the stream, rice growing in the fields) and with the earth’s creatures (like the buffalo) produces a sense of larger connection that we, as human beings, need.
The following day, I would go to the train station and return to my home. My bag was full of traditional presents from my students: a full black dress of the Hmong, wooden toys of the Tai, and silver rings of the Red Zhao. But the most wonderful gift was the image of the tribal people in Sa Pa: “Many people in this world live happily without what many of us assume to be indispensable material comfort."
2. Black clouds cover the blue sky. Strong winds blow the last leaves of autumn off the branches. I stand alone in a familiar position, at a window in my classroom. The new school year is approaching but I will no longer be here. The United States, which is half the world away from this place, is my destination. My dream of studying abroad is coming true; yet it will mean that I will be separated from my closest friends.
Two years ago, on a rainy day like today, in the same classroom, at the same chair, I also stood alone. But the difference from that day two years ago to today is that then, I had no friends. My friends had all gone to different schools. I was the only one of my close peers to attend this institution in University of Viet Nam, which was known for its top ranking in mathematics education as well as for its heavy workload. My classmates in this new school scored the highest math scores of all the students in their provinces. Their only goal, it seemed, was to rank within the top ten students of the country, and so they studied mathematics every spare moment of the day. It seemed the words “playing” and “chatting” simply did not exist for them. I barely had the chance to talk to them. I felt terribly lonely in my new school.
To me, school is not only where students come to gain knowledge but also a place for them to communicate and to discover other people and themselves. As class president, I came up with a plan to bring my classmates together. The plan consisted, quite simply, of holding a music competition. At first no one, besides my music teacher, supported the plan. Over time, however, people began to warm up to the idea.
The competition began with a performance from my music teacher and me. With the sonorous sounds from the T’rung (a traditional instrument) played by Mrs. Tinh, I sang the song, “Dance in Highlands”:
In the beauty of nature and mountain,
Under the light of the sun
Beside the greatness of the forest
We sing and dance together....
My attempt to dance and sing as tribal people do in the Highlands roused the true Highlanders in my class. They came straight to the stage. Hand-in-hand, shoulder-to-shoulder, we soon became a flood of melodies and friendship. The performance ended in a roar of applause.
Before long, others began to feel free to express themselves. A boy from Northern Mountain picked a leaf. He kept it near his mouth and used it skillfully as an instrument. Four girls from Me Kong Delta participated with a southern folk song. They were the most impressive performances that I had ever seen in my life. In this competition, everyone turned out to be a winner.
The success of the competition surpassed all of my expectations, and was the topic of many conversations later. Because of this one event, the distance between my classmates was shortened, the relationship was tightened, and the atmosphere in the classroom from that point on became warm and friendly.
Two years have passed swiftly by. The morning my peers and I discussed mathematics problems, the noon we had lunch, and the afternoon we played soccer together now belong to the past. Soon I will be attending a university in the United States, half the world away. But the promise to sing the folk songs of my friends in Swarthmore College, and to play the leaf horn that I made before leaving, will forever persist.
Hồ Lam Sơn, student at Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts
1. August 2003. I spent two weeks with six other Vietnamese students in Thousand Oaks, California. We are exchange students. We had never been to the States, or even abroad, before. We had never been away from our family before. We had never communicated in a second language before. We were a group of scared, inexperienced, timid kids. Each of us stayed with an American host family. Together we visited many places in California. Two weeks was too insignificant a time period in one’s life, yet it meant something to me. Actually it meant a lot to me. It probably even changed my life.
I can still remember that evening, in the departure meeting. The party took place in the classroom where we had English lessons everyday. All host families and their students were present. Each student had to make a speech of at least four-minute long about two places that we had visited during our time there. I was the last one. All of my friends did fine, they had all prepared a piece of paper to read from. I had not. But I had to speak anyway. I was walking up to the place where Sandra – our teacher – usually stood teaching. Everybody was looking at me attentively. I avoided looking at anyone. I was too nervous. I walked slowly, trying to keep my heart from jumping out of my chest. I stopped, took a deep breath, and started:
“Hi everyone! First, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Son, I’m sixteen years old.” – I noticed that my voice sounded unusual – “Second, …umm, I think I need some water…”
I went to the food table and got myself a glass of water. Everybody was laughing. I was relieved to see how my clumsy words had spurred a laugh and turned into a successful joke that everybody enjoyed. Getting another glass of water, I slowly walked back.
“I’m good now… So, I’m the last student to speak, and probably will be the least.” They looked at me for a second, and burst into laugh again.
“As you can see, I have no paper…”
“Sandra wanted each of us to have a four-minute speech, hmm, I think it’s been one minute now.”
I was still keeping my face straight while people were laughing, maybe for more than half a minute.
“I’m going to talk about our trip to the Universal City and the Getty Center. In the Universal City, I can remember running around and taking a lot of pictures. We went into every store, looked at everything, but bought nothing… Honestly, I didn’t like that place much, it’s too commercial, and apparently not suited to my finance…”
“Then the Getty Center. I liked this place better, more things to see and less to buy… We saw some beautiful paintings. There was one that everybody looked at and took picture of. It must be famous. I looked at it and found it hard to understand. I thought maybe that’s why it’s famous. I took its picture anyway, hoping I’ll figure it out someday…”
“At Getty Center we found a place from where we could see the whole city of Los Angeles. It was beautiful. But there’s another place much more beautiful for me, right here, in Thousand Oaks. The trees, the hills that go up and down, everything. Above all, here I feel just like home, because I have a family, Judy C. and Sky.” – I looked at my host family – “There’s not enough words to express how grateful I am. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. Thank you for being my family.”
I received a hug from my host mother and my handicapped host brother.
Two weeks before that memorable evening, I would have been scared to death if I had to speak English in front of a crowd of strangers from another country. I was shy and timid. Vietnamese children are not brought up to make great speeches. I didn’t feel comfortable being with strangers. I enjoyed my own company, safe under my parents’ protective home. I was afraid to voice my opinion with other people, even in the classroom. I didn’t want to reveal myself. But soon I realized it was time for a change, maybe many changes. If I don’t try to make my qualities known, nobody would care to discover them. I felt the urge to see new things, to experience the world, to strive for success despite myself. It was like the feeling of an adventurer longing for a journey, seeking challenges. At that time, I knew that becoming an exchange student will make the journey I dreamt of come true. I have traveled half the earth to get to the U.S., but more importantly, I have come a long way within myself.
So it was the two weeks that have transformed me. After that departure meeting, I was amazed at the different person I have become. My values, my perspectives will remain the same, but how I convey them will be different. I discovered that I actually had some sense of humor. I have showed myself to others, seen my image in others’ eyes. They are neither my parents, nor my sister, nor my close friends, but strangers from another country. We speak different languages, come from different cultures. But I told myself the only thing I need to do is open my heart.
My journey has just begun; this is the moment I truly step into life. A whole new world is opening up before me; it may be bitter, may be sweet. My parents have many times warned me of the consequences if I fail to achieve my college dream. I thought: “Failure, I definitely don’t want it. But…” – I smiled – “… I don’t know yet how it tastes.”
2. “Keep going, Son, keep going…”
I repeated that sentence to myself while I was running around the training field. The coach required six laps, which is a huge challenge for me. I forced my body to keep moving. I’ve never had good athletic ability. Breathing heavily, I concentrated my mind to keep my body from doing the thing it wanted the most: give up and drop down on the grass… Finally, I kept up with my teammates and finished the track.
That was one of my soccer practices. The practice and game schedule was intense I hardly had time to relax if I wanted to keep up with school work. At first I asked myself “Why do I make myself suffer from all these physical and mental “tortures”? Why should I waste three precious hours a day with this?” There were games that I had to sit on the bench all the time, and got to play for only about five minutes. And we lost more games than we won! The thought of giving up has cropped up more than once in my mind. But something stronger in me said that I had volunteered to join so I had to stay with the team till the end. My teammates needed me, although I didn’t play a very important role. I made up my mind and was determined to contribute my best to the team till the end of the season.
The soccer season has now ended. I’ve really got more out of it than I had thought. My teammates remain my good friends. As an exchange student from another country, I don’t know whether I would have made so many friends if I hadn’t joined the soccer team. Soccer became a kind of cross-cultural language among us. More importantly, soccer has taught me a lot: the commitment to stay with the team, the importance of teamwork, the determination to keep trying till the end.
“Keep going, Son!”- I wrote a note on my window.
Phạm Thùy Khanh, student at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut. Winner of Wesleyan Freeman Scholarship (there are only 2 winner of a nation in a certain year, she's one of them in 2004, ****!)
1. Entabeni
I have read, seen pictures and watched many video clips of Wild Africa. But I never got the chance to enjoy the real beauty of it until July 2002. I was lucky to be one of the three Vietnamese representatives to join the "International Wilderness Experience Programme" organized by the Cathay Pacific and UNESCO in Johanessburg, South Africa. The nature reserve, named Entabeni, or “friendship” in native south african, was totally isolated from the busy and crowded streets of the city. It was just the whole team of 60 teenagers age from 16 to 18 from 12 different nations, our officers, and nature itself!
The twelve days there were significant. We did and learned so much about the environment. But most of all, I discovered the real me, the me that was still hiding inside. I managed to take care of myself, and found myself much more confident although it was the first time traveling alone. We tackled many problems, unimportant or serious, which enhanced my leadership and ability to work successfully in a team with others. I was more outgoing and eager to share my thoughts.
Besides knowledge, the trip gave me wonderful friends from Asia and South Africa. We were strangers at first but were so close finally, as young people with dreams to build a better world and healthier environment. Each country had the chance to introduced its culture by showing maps, performing traditional songs or dances. At the mini earth summit, we Vietnamese shared our present environmental problems and available solutions.
Although we can not involve ourselves in big national projects but we realized how valuable our environment is and the need to save it. The trip left me with an unforgettable experience that I will bring with me throughout my life. Returning home, my desire to protect our environment grew stronger. Africa has lions and rhinos that need to be protected, Vietnam has sea turtles and many endangered species. We have put much effort to improve our lives, but have accidentally destroyed the habitat of others. Nature is something we are privileged to have, yet not everlasting. We, young generations, are highly responsible to "think globally and act locally", to save the most precious gift of life.
2. My father passed away when I was only two. One year later, I accompanied my mother to Bangkok, Thailand and then to UC Berkeley to do her masters in Environment and Public Policy. In 1995, we returned to Vietnam and my mother started working in the environmental field. As a single mom, she has always tried to provide me with the best education and all the love she could give. Therefore, she has had great impact on my way of thinking and personalities.
Working on environment, she always reminds me to protect it. At first, they were only small things that I thought were obliged, like throwing trash in the right place, or using water/electricity economically. But later on, from our everyday conversations and from traveling quite a lot around the country, I realized how important the environment is to us. I began to care more about nature and especially about what we can do to protect our environment. Vietnam is a beautiful country with rich natural resources and wonderful bio-diversity. However, environmental protection is now one of the most important things here since the country is heavily dependent on natural resources for its economy growth and poverty reduction. The air, water and soil are getting more polluted and if we do nothing, our future generations will not sustain their living or have the chance to contemplate our country’s beauty.
I am applying to Wesleyan University with the hope to have better education and the chance to meet new people to learn and exchange ideas on how to build a better environment while we are developing. Although it is only my view on the environment, I wish to share a part of developing countries’ current difficulties and believe that by learning different nations’ measures to protect the environment, we could find solutions to save our earth. Most of all, I would like to bring the knowledge and experience from studying at your university and from friends back to Vietnam to contribute to the development of my country, to protect the environment and overcome the difficulties Vietnam has been facing in protecting its environment.
Hồ Thu Trà, a former student for Chuyen Ngu Ha Noi highschool. Now she's a student in Connecticut College, New London, Connecticut, class '08 ---> **** it again :-w
As we walked along the streets, they were silently glancing around, exchanging meaningful looks. Then they started complaining about how much litter was on the pavements. They pointed at houses, murmuring: "They exclaimed at how many motorbikes here were, and asked how we ever managed without cars. I was still too confused to speak as we turned a corner I wish we had never turned. We suddenly found ourselves surrounded by nearly a dozen beggars, in rags, stretching out their hands, asking for money in a pathetic tone. Alas! I will never forget the sight, the way they disgustedly threw money on the pavement, staring with astonishment and scorn at those miserable beggars vying with one another for the handout. In retrospect, I can still feel my shock at those people’s attitude toward my hometown.
It was on a Saturday morning back in 2001, when some students from my class, including myself, were appointed to be the tour guides for a group of students from Aubury High School, Australia. We were expected to show them around Hanoi and tell them about Vietnamese culture and people. How much I looked forward to their coming, as I assumed this would be a great chance to travel, relax, and make friends. These thoughts, to a girl whose sole interests were chatting on the phone and going to parties, were so stimulating. I could never expect that things would turn out to be so unpleasant. I don’t remember what happened next, since my mind had been wandering from that moment until the end of the tour. That night, for the first time I found myself pondering about something really serious, my head was full of questions. Why didn’t those foreigners recognize the historical value of pagodas and mausoleums, but could see only litter and ramshackle buildings on the streets? Why should we be considered inferior when we didn’t live in magnificent houses and drive in convenient cars? Why were there so many penniless people among us? What would they tell their friends and families when they return home? Would they keep forever in their minds such bad impressions of Vietnam? Did all foreigners despise my country? Would we always be looked down upon? As I sank deeper and deeper in questions and doubts, more new thoughts flooded my mind. I panicked at the limitation of my knowledge. I had been studying since age six, yet now I was unable even to explain issues that directly related to myself and my country. I questioned the meaning of all my perfunctory learning hours during the past few years. The changes produced by significant events are not always immediately apparent. In this case, however, I have been able to see how the tour with the Australians directly altered me. By the end of the year, I found inside me a strong determination to make up for years of rote learning, motivated by a burning desire to answer the "haunting" questions, which had echoed in my head since that unforgettable day. In the pursuit of knowledge, many times I have found circles around my eyes due to late night study, yet I also realize that when learning is inspired by real enthusiasm and consideration, it can be the most sincere happiness. My efforts are paying off. Throughout the two years of maturing and serious studying, the answers to many of those questions have been shaped in my mind. The Australians I met that day were just kids and were too inexperienced to understand the plights of developing countries. Not all foreigners are scornful of my country; many do recognize and appreciate Vietnamese values. I have also realized how much its economic status affects a nation: Vietnam can be respected; Vietnamese can be seen as an equal when we can build a wealthy and prosperous country. But one of the miracles of learning is that the more you know, the less satisfied you are with your knowledge. As I came up with answers to my previous questions, new more complex ones were raised. How can a poor country lift itself up? Surely there are many things to do, but where should we start? Where should we go? Why is it that even when the same amount of energy and time is devoted, our work is never as effective and our results are never as rewarding as compared to other countries? The experience with the Australians has taught me a lot, and I’m anxious to learn more from foreigners. What else does the rest of the world know about developing countries, about poverty, about world religions, about peace and war, about discriminations, about environmental pollutions…?
Last month, at a career advising workshop, students in my class shared their future plans. Surprisingly, I am the only one who intends to study somewhere so far away as the US. When asked why I replied: "I want to answer the questions of my life".
Phạm Anh Khoa, another Batesie, class '07, a classmate of Miss Trang Nguyen. Ai từng tham gia diễn đàn du học hồi hè của Viet Abroader đã gặp bạn này rồi
Describe the most meaningful activities you have participated in.
HALLOWEEN ROCKzzzz...
In my final year at high school I became the chairman of the English language club. My primary aim was to generate some genuine interest as well as to promote foreign cultures in the club. Prior to my election it was not a popular meeting point for students who wanted to practise their English. My initiative was to suggest then coordinate the organisation of a Halloween Show night for all students. It was my intention to give the club some credibility, increase its popularity and to have some fun in the process!
Convincing people that the show would be great fun at first seemed extremely difficult. Our advantage was the idea was very new and appealing to students because they were very curious about what Halloween actually was. Publicising the “ghost performances” proved to be very successful. Ticket sales were unexpectedly high.
Now let me have a look at Halloween, one of America’s greatest fests, which first took place in my high school, probably in my city. Each homeroom class decorated their classrooms, and students and teachers dressed for the occasion in a variety of creative costumes. Originally I planned to go as Elvis so I went to the costume store and got myself a pair of golden rock star sunglasses, fake jewellery, sideburns and fake chest hair. But despite all my desperate attempts to look like The King (eating pounds of sweets and wearing a polyester shirt and white plastic slippers), I ended up looking like "the seventies pimp who wants to look like Elvis". However, the classroom decorations were fabulous and the costumes were fantastic – everything was absolutely beyond our expectations.
Perhaps the most difficult task was to convince ourselves to take the risk of not recovering the costs of the show. I ensured that everyone in the team was genuinely committed and capable of performing their various functions. The prospect of management experience and personal development were considered an adequate return to outweigh the potential monetary loss.
Despite making a small loss the show was thought by all to have been a huge success. The creative idea captured many people’s attention and the commitment and determination of the team meant that the event was well run. More importantly the club became viable in the long term for the benefit of future students.
Đàm Minh Hiếu, student at Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana. This is an all-male school
CHALLENGES
Looking back 2 years ago, I never thought one day, i would have to go far away from my family and my friends, going to a strange new country alone, have to take care myself and coping with all the problems in life. My life would have never changed if i had never seen my friends, one by one, going abroad to countinue filling up their thirst of knowledge. I started thinking about studying outside my home country but i could not get rid of the thought about being less confident then my friends. Having more discouragement than encouragement, I almost gave up. But a crucial thing happened to me, i received a scholarship by Cambridge Tutors College to enroll 2 years A-level course. My life has really turned to a new page from now on.
Time goes by, two years of studying in England swiftly passed with many of my memories. A fop of two years ago was replaced by a guy who is confident that being yourself and standing on your own feet are two criteria to make success. I replaced my usual answer “No” by “Yes” in confidence when people asked me to join in a club or just doing some volunteer jobs. Two years have changed my character, my thought also my life.
The first time going to an European country, standing in one of the biggest and busiest airports in the world, Heathrow. I feel so small in the huge airport. Ten minutes have gone, the queue became just a bit shorter than before, thirty minutes and then forty minutes, it did not improve that much. I dragged my feet slowly step by step with the heaviest backpack that is almost as twice as my size. My shoulder could ***** at anytime; I decided to put it down before realizing I was in the first row already. Lucky me! The friendly officer asked me to give him my passport and all the documents that he needed. Swiftly, all the procedure have done and I left the airport to go to my host family in my school taxi. The first stage in England was not that bad for me. Significantly, I haved realized my first lesson in this new country, patience.
My host family was very friendly and they treated me like a real member in their family. Everything seemed to be all right until the day I had to go to school. My new college was totally different from my oriented-college in Vietnam. Each group only had about nine students or maybe less than this especially; we were from various parts of the world. Like a thousand of overseas students, I must be acquainted with the new European method of studying. I could forget the usual nigh-study but replacing by the library-study, forgetting to have my own shell of books at house and using the public books in library. However, these are not big problems for me, but for a student from an undeveloped country on the other hand, using a new modern technology was not easy at all. Experimenting with a new method, indeed, was an ill time. Amazingly, giving up never weighed on my mind, selecting how to carry on is much more difficult. As the matter of fact, in the first two weeks B and C grades were usual for me and a study of using laboratory equipment like one more subjects that only me needed to take.
If there was a concept that I have learned from this European education, it was fairness and self-motivation. Teachers always tried to give their students a chance to do their best; also, student could freely express what they thought. We always made own impression that is unique in our project or course work. Here, I did not need to take any extra classes and replaced by long hours in library during the exam time. The teacher always encouraged me to make my self –decision. They readily listened to me every time that I need and appreciated my effort. I became more confident without inferiority complex about an unskilled student from a developing country before.
Being a capable and all-round student, I like taking myself academic as well as social challenges. The greatest challenge since I graduated my secondary school in Vietnam has been to finance my extra living cost in England. It was not a big amount of money but for a young and inexperienced boy, it was not easy at all. Apart from schooling, every Saturday, I worked in a Chinese restaurant in my town’s center. I knew how difficult to earn money though they were just a few quid. Appreciating the difficulty of my parents in earning money in order for a new good life of their children is the best lesson that I have learnt . This job not only helped me to earn money but also improved a lot my experience in social life.
Two years of my challenge have gone. Although i know, there would be more difficult challenges in my life, two years in England is an enough time for me to test and confirm my abilities. Now, I am more confident than any other time to say, I am ready to conquer all the new challenges to come.
1 tip rất quan trọng dành cho ai phải viết những bài bị limit số từ. Đây là thông tin do bạn Khoa Phạm post, vô cùng cám ơn bạn đã viết điều này. Bản thân mình cũng đang bí đây B-)
Câu Hỏi: bài viết trong commonapp chỉ cho phép tối đa 500 từ, viết lố được ko?
Trả lời:
Khi nói về word limits, lo lắng lớn nhất của hầu hết thí sinh VN thường là: làm sao viết nhiều/thoải mái nhưng essay vẫn không bị 'truncated'. Mấu chốt của vấn đề hoàn toàn không phải ở space - adcoms đặt word limits vì 2 lý do chính:
1-Tiết kiệm time và resources của adcoms. Cứ lấy một ví dụ nho nhỏ: mỗi admissions officer đọc tầm 30 500-word essays một ngày, nếu mỗi essay dài hơn quy định 200 từ thì số từ extra là 30x200=6000 words=12 500-word essays. Nghĩa là thay vì đọc 30 essays thì mấy chú admissions phải đọc thêm 12 essays nữa trước khi có thể về nhà với vợ con . Đùa, nhưng mà vào admissions office rồi mới thấy họ làm việc cực như thế nào. Do đó, tâm lý của adcoms khi đọc những bài dài là (1) sẽ expect rất nhiều/cao vào bài viết (chắc ai cũng biết câu "Hy vọng nhiều, thất vọng nhiều") và (2) họ sẽ có tendency là đọc lướt qua nhanh hơn>>>đơn giản chỉ là vấn đề tâm lý con người.
2- Concise writing is crucial for a liberal arts education. So adcoms expect prospective students to keep it short, straight to the point.
Một vài tuần trước mình phải viết một essay khoảng 450 từ cho một internship prog. Lúc đầu viết essay dài 700 từ. Revise lần đầu thì kéo nó xuống 630. Revise thêm lần nó xuống được 550. Và revise thêm lần cuối thì còn được 480 từ. Điều thú vị ở đây là mình cảm thấy bài ngắn 480 từ hay và powerful hơn bài dài 700 từ (lưu ý là ở đây chủ yếu biến đổi các dạng câu, cấu trúc đoạn văn...chứ không hề cắt bỏ ý nào). Cho chắc ăn mình đem đi hỏi một bác English prof và một bác ở Writing Center thì cả 2 bác cũng cho là vậy. 2 bác còn lecture cho một lúc là tại sao viết ngắn gọn thường là hay hơn dài dòng văn tự, và tại sao business/law schools/firms thường test khả năng diễn đạt súc tích của applicants. Nếu ai apply internship hay full time job ở Anh hay Mỹ thì thường được hỏi gần chục câu hỏi ngắn (150 words or less), mà đối với từng câu hỏi này thì có thể viết được cả bài essay dài 5,6 trăm từ .
---> Các bạn cứ từ từ đọc. Lưu ý các bạn là tất cả những bài viết này, các bạn ấy đều có full financial aid, tức là ko tốn 1 cắc khi học ở Mỹ. Wa những bài trên, có ai thử chép 1 bài ra giấy tập ko? Bảo đảm ko wá 3 mặt giấy đâu. Tựu trung 1 bài chất lượng chỉ khoảng 1200 từ là hết ga. Để ý xem, họ nói ngay vào vấn đề từ đầu bài kìa, ko hề loanh hoanh. Về chủ đề, nhìn xem có ai viết cao xa ko? Ko đâu, chính là từ những thứ bên cạnh mình đây nè B-) Cho nên đừng có chế biến cho cao siêu mà make no sense with yourself B-)
Nguyễn Thu Trang, Batesie, class '07, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine.
WHY BATES:
The girl in the mirror opposite me glows like a child when she argues about the war in Iraq or the tax-cut policy. I love public speaking, for the pure joy of it. At Bates, I would gladly roll up my sleeves with the school’s national-recognized debaters to confront some perky eyes, shoot back a quick tongue, or just to swap ideas.
Such simple skills set the basis for my career choice as an international business lawyer for foreign companies in Vietnam. I would like to major in Economics, with secondary concentrations in Chemistry and either French or Rhetoric. Bipolar as they seem, Economics and Chemistry complement each other for the task as Vietnam is attempting to morph its traditional Eastern identity into Western free market. The economy is hungry for private investment, while overused historic sights and beautiful resorts cry out for protection and awareness. At Bates’ renowned economics department, I plan to get to the bottom of this fascinating era of East-West crossroad by building social insights on a scientific foundation of nature, the uniting force of our identity.
Vietnam is on the other side of the world, thus college is home. Only here can I plow through the vast library network, research in top-notch facilities, explore American democratic enterprise and then set off to Japan to learn about the only first-world economy in the Asiatic rim. Later on, abundant research and internship opportunities like the senior’s thesis and the Ladd program will weave those experiences into solid, real life solutions. Besides the “brain” factors, I am also looking for a liberal and engaging students body, with the rigorous Debate Council, the active Multicultural Center, even something as bizarre as Zenstruck Juggling. My Daoist subconscious specifically lobbies for the sapphire oceans and golden leaves of coastal Maine (a perfect setting for Buddhist contemplation).
Bates is it. Glancing at the mirror, I see a jaw-dropping, all-for-it version of the same girl, glowing at the possibilities ahead. Still intrigued, but now spunky like New Orleans’ jazz and crisp like the Midwestern air, she wants to bring it over to your place for the next wild time.
TIPS:
- Be hip, be cool. Bates LOVES ORIGINALITY.
- Be reasonable - as you can see, my rambling on Economics and Chemistry is pure crap :D
- Read the BATES MAGAZINE: http://www.bates.edu/bates-magazine.xml
You can find the best information about the awesome-ness of Bates here.
- DO NOT READ OFF THE CATALOGUE
---> Awesome, isn't it? No color, no bull****. Just go straight to the question, even at the beginning :->
Chu Lan Anh, student at University of Richmond, Virginia
Essay for Duke (she's admitted by both Duke and U of Richmond, and choose Richmond)
-So, you said you want to go to Duke next year. Are you ready? Are you fearless?
-Yes. I can proudly say that I am fearless. Not only for the kind of fear toward ghosts. It’s true that darkness or ghosts don’t scare me; however, this is not what I want to tell you.
It was a mid November night and I burst into tears again. I could not remember how many times I had done so in the previous two months. I was so stressed. “You are putting too much pressure on yourself, girl”, my host father, Mr. Aboud, said. True. But I couldn’t help it.
I used to be a girl at the center of the world. All of my family’s attention was on me, so were their expectations. I always excelled in school, receiving the highest or at least second highest grade on every test. A class monitor, an organizer, a leader, I did everything the way I wanted, and somehow my instinct never failed me. I had good friends and a modest but admired family. My parents not only cared for me but also gave me a loose rein in running my own life. Everything was so perfect that it hatched a problem. Having a wild nature, I wanted something imperfect. I sought a challenge.
It took nine months for me to finally get what I wanted. I became an exchange student in America. When I got off the plane, my host mom greeted me with a gorgeous smile. I was off to a good start. The school I would be attending, Collegiate School, was one of the best private schools in Virginia. Could I have been luckier? Having heard that the courses in America are much easier than those back home, I took as many AP classes as possible. My English was better than most of the other exchange students; I was more than confident. Here came the American sky where I would freely soar! I was so excited about my new life full of challenges in making friends, studying in English, taking standardized tests and applying to colleges.
It was that November night when I fully understood what my mother meant by nagging: “Be careful what you ask for, or you might get it!” That night I cried from pressure. I had had to move to a new family, but they didn’t seem as nice as they were when I first visited either. The tension between my former and current host families made me the one who suffered. I could feel the coldness from my new host mom, and my little host sister called me evil for no reason, despite all my efforts to be nice to her. Being sensitive made the situation even worse for me. However, home wasn’t the biggest problem. School was. I was too used to spending no more than an hour or two on homework a day, but was still the best at my Vietnamese schools. Now it could take forever. I had to handle schoolwork, start the college application process, and study for the standardized tests all at the same time. I had to succeed this year. What a shame if I had to go back to Vietnam and repeat my senior year! I had to be as exceptional as I used to be. The last straw came with my SAT score. The friend who knew me best said that I could do much better, provided I had time to study. TIME. That’s the problem. That November night, I couldn’t hold it anymore. For the first time in my life, I had to admit that stress was killing me. Something had to change, and I made that change.
-Anyway, that November night is over. Now I am fearless.
-You mean you are back to exceptional and therefore you are not scared of anything?
-No sir. I’m not trying to tell you I’m fearless because I’m exceptional. In fact, it’s simply that now I know I’m just an ordinary girl. For an ordinary girl, I know I can succeed as well as fail. I expect joy from life, but I know sadness is unavoidable. Sir, if you are aware that anything can happen, what can frighten you?
-You said the school you place your heart in is Duke University, but your parents cannot fund your education at Duke, although they wish to. Out of hundreds of international students applying to Duke each year, about only twenty five will get in with financial aid. Do you fear that our admission office will reject you this year?
-No. Duke has graduate schools, right?
Another essay for Miss. Trang Nguyen
BEHIND THE CURTAIN OF THE CLINIC
“Keep his head cool! Let's go!" My mother strained her voice above the cries of the boy and his parents as they prepared to leave for the hospital. Sitting uncomfortably on the bed, I peered through the small holes on the white curtain at the aging farmers with panicked eyes. A cold wind rushed in as my mother opened the door and ushered them out of the Hanoi Emergency Clinic, where she received cases during her nightshifts.
An only child of a divorced doctor, I accompanied her four nights a month to the clinic, a fifteen feet by ten feet room with the acrid smells of alcohol and antibiotic. A white curtain divided the room in halves. On one side, the doctor’s private wooden bed cluttered up with piles of fading medical records. A big table, three chairs and a sink occupied the rest of the space, where my mother met patients. The murmuring of their talks always triumphed over my curiosity, as I pressed my sleepy eyes against the tattered holes. With an eleven year-old imagination, I often fancied the white curtain as the Great Wall separating my mother from me, and the emergency clinic as a resting stop for tired travelers. Many patients came and left happily, with only grateful handshakes and austere smiles as the doctor's fees. My mother was their healer. But that night, I saw her urgent face. She did not return until the next morning and, as I insisted, told me that the boy had flown away with the incense on his altar. It was the first time she had lost a child.
After that, she left me at home. I knew she was afraid for my young mind in the heavy environment of the clinic, but I could not help feeling deserted. It gradually dawned on me that we were separated not just physically by the white curtain but also mentally by the lives we lived. The clinic symbolized my mother's toil and the time we had lost because she was always too busy. Like a doll, I could only watch with a curtain in front of my eyes. Once the curtain lifted up, reality surged forth, smashing against my face: the dying boy, my mother's veined hands and the three dollars she was paid for one night at the clinic. I could not afford to be a doll; I wanted to tell her I understood.
My first attempt at making dinner took my mother aback, not because of the burned rice but because of my sudden eagerness. In hope to spare her three hours of driving me back and forth everyday, I learned to ride my own bike seven miles to school and to advanced classes, sticking out my chest and tossing up my chin as if I were going out to conquer the world. I pleased her with my perfect grades at school, knowing that only education would lead me to success. From time to time, she seemed to get lost in her own world, and I knew she was confronting a serious case. When I told her I wished I could do something, she always inspired me with an old college joke, "Life is like a surgery in medical school: faint first, but get up and seize the knife hard."
She lived by her words. She seized the chance and brought us to America. Now, a student at Tulane University on a full scholarship, she does not have to suffer from any more restless nights. But the awareness of cheap knowledge and of opportunities has become our reality. Like her, I want to get an education and struggle out of the old path. I want to be a part of Vietnam's changing force, not just a spectator, blindfolded behind the outworn white curtain of fantasies.
Trần Tuấn Vinh, student at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
1. It was the last day that I lived in Sa Pa. This town lies a mile high on the Hoang Lien Son mountain range along the Chinese border in Northwest Vietnam. Three main tribes inhabit the region: Hmong, Tai, and Red Zhao. Because the province lacks teachers, volunteer students from the University of Ha Noi arrive each year to share their knowledge in different subjects. As one of these volunteer students, I taught mathematics, my favorite subject and my concentration in high school. The 45 days spent there went by so quickly. Now on my last day, I realized that I had learned more during that experience than I had ever expected.
My daily routine started at six in the morning when the fog still covered the mountainous village. I walked to the stream down in the valley and washed my face with cool water running from the top of the mountain. A feeling of freshness embraced me. Then I came back to my house and prepared for my lecture one hour later. On the first few days, I had to use body language to communicate with my students because, though we were of the same nationality, they spoke only limited Vietnamese. We quickly came to understand each other, however, through the language of mathematics. Problems that related closely to their lives, such as counting the number of buffaloes and oxen, attracted them more than I had expected. Day by day each young learner tried to show up for class, although some of them had to walk across a mountain to reach the school. By looking into their eyes I could see that the children had a true thirst for knowledge.
While the children learned from my math lectures, they also taught me lessons of life in the Highlands. As a 17-year-old man who had lived all his life in the city, however, I found it difficult to complete the daily tasks to which the children were accustomed. They showed me how to lead a buffalo from the terraced rice fields. When I tried to lead the animal, it was intractable in my hands. It pretended not to hear my commands and bounded off in a completely different direction. Only when my small students told me to shout “Tac-Tac-Tac” did the buffalo obey my orders. Five days later, leading a buffalo felt like a familiar activity to me; my little tutors even coached me to ride it. All of my expectations were exceeded when I managed to climb onto the large back of this mammal successfully on the first try. The feeling of this unique experience still remains in my mind.
Life is never boring in this land despite the lack of television, computer games, or other entertainment media. Smiling never ceases on the faces of the children. During the first few days in Sa Pa, I wondered how the children could feel so much joy when they lacked the variety of toys and games and other material things which seem to preoccupy the more “fortunate” children. But within a short period of time, I understood. The richness in simplicity creates their happiness. The distraction of entertainment media and material possessions, which so many of us take for granted, focuses our attention on things that cannot bring us true joy. Closer fellowship with family and community nurtures us in ways we cannot fathom, and that “hands-on” connection with things of the earth (dirt beneath our feet, water in the stream, rice growing in the fields) and with the earth’s creatures (like the buffalo) produces a sense of larger connection that we, as human beings, need.
The following day, I would go to the train station and return to my home. My bag was full of traditional presents from my students: a full black dress of the Hmong, wooden toys of the Tai, and silver rings of the Red Zhao. But the most wonderful gift was the image of the tribal people in Sa Pa: “Many people in this world live happily without what many of us assume to be indispensable material comfort."
2. Black clouds cover the blue sky. Strong winds blow the last leaves of autumn off the branches. I stand alone in a familiar position, at a window in my classroom. The new school year is approaching but I will no longer be here. The United States, which is half the world away from this place, is my destination. My dream of studying abroad is coming true; yet it will mean that I will be separated from my closest friends.
Two years ago, on a rainy day like today, in the same classroom, at the same chair, I also stood alone. But the difference from that day two years ago to today is that then, I had no friends. My friends had all gone to different schools. I was the only one of my close peers to attend this institution in University of Viet Nam, which was known for its top ranking in mathematics education as well as for its heavy workload. My classmates in this new school scored the highest math scores of all the students in their provinces. Their only goal, it seemed, was to rank within the top ten students of the country, and so they studied mathematics every spare moment of the day. It seemed the words “playing” and “chatting” simply did not exist for them. I barely had the chance to talk to them. I felt terribly lonely in my new school.
To me, school is not only where students come to gain knowledge but also a place for them to communicate and to discover other people and themselves. As class president, I came up with a plan to bring my classmates together. The plan consisted, quite simply, of holding a music competition. At first no one, besides my music teacher, supported the plan. Over time, however, people began to warm up to the idea.
The competition began with a performance from my music teacher and me. With the sonorous sounds from the T’rung (a traditional instrument) played by Mrs. Tinh, I sang the song, “Dance in Highlands”:
In the beauty of nature and mountain,
Under the light of the sun
Beside the greatness of the forest
We sing and dance together....
My attempt to dance and sing as tribal people do in the Highlands roused the true Highlanders in my class. They came straight to the stage. Hand-in-hand, shoulder-to-shoulder, we soon became a flood of melodies and friendship. The performance ended in a roar of applause.
Before long, others began to feel free to express themselves. A boy from Northern Mountain picked a leaf. He kept it near his mouth and used it skillfully as an instrument. Four girls from Me Kong Delta participated with a southern folk song. They were the most impressive performances that I had ever seen in my life. In this competition, everyone turned out to be a winner.
The success of the competition surpassed all of my expectations, and was the topic of many conversations later. Because of this one event, the distance between my classmates was shortened, the relationship was tightened, and the atmosphere in the classroom from that point on became warm and friendly.
Two years have passed swiftly by. The morning my peers and I discussed mathematics problems, the noon we had lunch, and the afternoon we played soccer together now belong to the past. Soon I will be attending a university in the United States, half the world away. But the promise to sing the folk songs of my friends in Swarthmore College, and to play the leaf horn that I made before leaving, will forever persist.
Hồ Lam Sơn, student at Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts
1. August 2003. I spent two weeks with six other Vietnamese students in Thousand Oaks, California. We are exchange students. We had never been to the States, or even abroad, before. We had never been away from our family before. We had never communicated in a second language before. We were a group of scared, inexperienced, timid kids. Each of us stayed with an American host family. Together we visited many places in California. Two weeks was too insignificant a time period in one’s life, yet it meant something to me. Actually it meant a lot to me. It probably even changed my life.
I can still remember that evening, in the departure meeting. The party took place in the classroom where we had English lessons everyday. All host families and their students were present. Each student had to make a speech of at least four-minute long about two places that we had visited during our time there. I was the last one. All of my friends did fine, they had all prepared a piece of paper to read from. I had not. But I had to speak anyway. I was walking up to the place where Sandra – our teacher – usually stood teaching. Everybody was looking at me attentively. I avoided looking at anyone. I was too nervous. I walked slowly, trying to keep my heart from jumping out of my chest. I stopped, took a deep breath, and started:
“Hi everyone! First, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Son, I’m sixteen years old.” – I noticed that my voice sounded unusual – “Second, …umm, I think I need some water…”
I went to the food table and got myself a glass of water. Everybody was laughing. I was relieved to see how my clumsy words had spurred a laugh and turned into a successful joke that everybody enjoyed. Getting another glass of water, I slowly walked back.
“I’m good now… So, I’m the last student to speak, and probably will be the least.” They looked at me for a second, and burst into laugh again.
“As you can see, I have no paper…”
“Sandra wanted each of us to have a four-minute speech, hmm, I think it’s been one minute now.”
I was still keeping my face straight while people were laughing, maybe for more than half a minute.
“I’m going to talk about our trip to the Universal City and the Getty Center. In the Universal City, I can remember running around and taking a lot of pictures. We went into every store, looked at everything, but bought nothing… Honestly, I didn’t like that place much, it’s too commercial, and apparently not suited to my finance…”
“Then the Getty Center. I liked this place better, more things to see and less to buy… We saw some beautiful paintings. There was one that everybody looked at and took picture of. It must be famous. I looked at it and found it hard to understand. I thought maybe that’s why it’s famous. I took its picture anyway, hoping I’ll figure it out someday…”
“At Getty Center we found a place from where we could see the whole city of Los Angeles. It was beautiful. But there’s another place much more beautiful for me, right here, in Thousand Oaks. The trees, the hills that go up and down, everything. Above all, here I feel just like home, because I have a family, Judy C. and Sky.” – I looked at my host family – “There’s not enough words to express how grateful I am. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. Thank you for being my family.”
I received a hug from my host mother and my handicapped host brother.
Two weeks before that memorable evening, I would have been scared to death if I had to speak English in front of a crowd of strangers from another country. I was shy and timid. Vietnamese children are not brought up to make great speeches. I didn’t feel comfortable being with strangers. I enjoyed my own company, safe under my parents’ protective home. I was afraid to voice my opinion with other people, even in the classroom. I didn’t want to reveal myself. But soon I realized it was time for a change, maybe many changes. If I don’t try to make my qualities known, nobody would care to discover them. I felt the urge to see new things, to experience the world, to strive for success despite myself. It was like the feeling of an adventurer longing for a journey, seeking challenges. At that time, I knew that becoming an exchange student will make the journey I dreamt of come true. I have traveled half the earth to get to the U.S., but more importantly, I have come a long way within myself.
So it was the two weeks that have transformed me. After that departure meeting, I was amazed at the different person I have become. My values, my perspectives will remain the same, but how I convey them will be different. I discovered that I actually had some sense of humor. I have showed myself to others, seen my image in others’ eyes. They are neither my parents, nor my sister, nor my close friends, but strangers from another country. We speak different languages, come from different cultures. But I told myself the only thing I need to do is open my heart.
My journey has just begun; this is the moment I truly step into life. A whole new world is opening up before me; it may be bitter, may be sweet. My parents have many times warned me of the consequences if I fail to achieve my college dream. I thought: “Failure, I definitely don’t want it. But…” – I smiled – “… I don’t know yet how it tastes.”
2. “Keep going, Son, keep going…”
I repeated that sentence to myself while I was running around the training field. The coach required six laps, which is a huge challenge for me. I forced my body to keep moving. I’ve never had good athletic ability. Breathing heavily, I concentrated my mind to keep my body from doing the thing it wanted the most: give up and drop down on the grass… Finally, I kept up with my teammates and finished the track.
That was one of my soccer practices. The practice and game schedule was intense I hardly had time to relax if I wanted to keep up with school work. At first I asked myself “Why do I make myself suffer from all these physical and mental “tortures”? Why should I waste three precious hours a day with this?” There were games that I had to sit on the bench all the time, and got to play for only about five minutes. And we lost more games than we won! The thought of giving up has cropped up more than once in my mind. But something stronger in me said that I had volunteered to join so I had to stay with the team till the end. My teammates needed me, although I didn’t play a very important role. I made up my mind and was determined to contribute my best to the team till the end of the season.
The soccer season has now ended. I’ve really got more out of it than I had thought. My teammates remain my good friends. As an exchange student from another country, I don’t know whether I would have made so many friends if I hadn’t joined the soccer team. Soccer became a kind of cross-cultural language among us. More importantly, soccer has taught me a lot: the commitment to stay with the team, the importance of teamwork, the determination to keep trying till the end.
“Keep going, Son!”- I wrote a note on my window.
Phạm Thùy Khanh, student at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut. Winner of Wesleyan Freeman Scholarship (there are only 2 winner of a nation in a certain year, she's one of them in 2004, ****!)
1. Entabeni
I have read, seen pictures and watched many video clips of Wild Africa. But I never got the chance to enjoy the real beauty of it until July 2002. I was lucky to be one of the three Vietnamese representatives to join the "International Wilderness Experience Programme" organized by the Cathay Pacific and UNESCO in Johanessburg, South Africa. The nature reserve, named Entabeni, or “friendship” in native south african, was totally isolated from the busy and crowded streets of the city. It was just the whole team of 60 teenagers age from 16 to 18 from 12 different nations, our officers, and nature itself!
The twelve days there were significant. We did and learned so much about the environment. But most of all, I discovered the real me, the me that was still hiding inside. I managed to take care of myself, and found myself much more confident although it was the first time traveling alone. We tackled many problems, unimportant or serious, which enhanced my leadership and ability to work successfully in a team with others. I was more outgoing and eager to share my thoughts.
Besides knowledge, the trip gave me wonderful friends from Asia and South Africa. We were strangers at first but were so close finally, as young people with dreams to build a better world and healthier environment. Each country had the chance to introduced its culture by showing maps, performing traditional songs or dances. At the mini earth summit, we Vietnamese shared our present environmental problems and available solutions.
Although we can not involve ourselves in big national projects but we realized how valuable our environment is and the need to save it. The trip left me with an unforgettable experience that I will bring with me throughout my life. Returning home, my desire to protect our environment grew stronger. Africa has lions and rhinos that need to be protected, Vietnam has sea turtles and many endangered species. We have put much effort to improve our lives, but have accidentally destroyed the habitat of others. Nature is something we are privileged to have, yet not everlasting. We, young generations, are highly responsible to "think globally and act locally", to save the most precious gift of life.
2. My father passed away when I was only two. One year later, I accompanied my mother to Bangkok, Thailand and then to UC Berkeley to do her masters in Environment and Public Policy. In 1995, we returned to Vietnam and my mother started working in the environmental field. As a single mom, she has always tried to provide me with the best education and all the love she could give. Therefore, she has had great impact on my way of thinking and personalities.
Working on environment, she always reminds me to protect it. At first, they were only small things that I thought were obliged, like throwing trash in the right place, or using water/electricity economically. But later on, from our everyday conversations and from traveling quite a lot around the country, I realized how important the environment is to us. I began to care more about nature and especially about what we can do to protect our environment. Vietnam is a beautiful country with rich natural resources and wonderful bio-diversity. However, environmental protection is now one of the most important things here since the country is heavily dependent on natural resources for its economy growth and poverty reduction. The air, water and soil are getting more polluted and if we do nothing, our future generations will not sustain their living or have the chance to contemplate our country’s beauty.
I am applying to Wesleyan University with the hope to have better education and the chance to meet new people to learn and exchange ideas on how to build a better environment while we are developing. Although it is only my view on the environment, I wish to share a part of developing countries’ current difficulties and believe that by learning different nations’ measures to protect the environment, we could find solutions to save our earth. Most of all, I would like to bring the knowledge and experience from studying at your university and from friends back to Vietnam to contribute to the development of my country, to protect the environment and overcome the difficulties Vietnam has been facing in protecting its environment.
Hồ Thu Trà, a former student for Chuyen Ngu Ha Noi highschool. Now she's a student in Connecticut College, New London, Connecticut, class '08 ---> **** it again :-w
As we walked along the streets, they were silently glancing around, exchanging meaningful looks. Then they started complaining about how much litter was on the pavements. They pointed at houses, murmuring: "They exclaimed at how many motorbikes here were, and asked how we ever managed without cars. I was still too confused to speak as we turned a corner I wish we had never turned. We suddenly found ourselves surrounded by nearly a dozen beggars, in rags, stretching out their hands, asking for money in a pathetic tone. Alas! I will never forget the sight, the way they disgustedly threw money on the pavement, staring with astonishment and scorn at those miserable beggars vying with one another for the handout. In retrospect, I can still feel my shock at those people’s attitude toward my hometown.
It was on a Saturday morning back in 2001, when some students from my class, including myself, were appointed to be the tour guides for a group of students from Aubury High School, Australia. We were expected to show them around Hanoi and tell them about Vietnamese culture and people. How much I looked forward to their coming, as I assumed this would be a great chance to travel, relax, and make friends. These thoughts, to a girl whose sole interests were chatting on the phone and going to parties, were so stimulating. I could never expect that things would turn out to be so unpleasant. I don’t remember what happened next, since my mind had been wandering from that moment until the end of the tour. That night, for the first time I found myself pondering about something really serious, my head was full of questions. Why didn’t those foreigners recognize the historical value of pagodas and mausoleums, but could see only litter and ramshackle buildings on the streets? Why should we be considered inferior when we didn’t live in magnificent houses and drive in convenient cars? Why were there so many penniless people among us? What would they tell their friends and families when they return home? Would they keep forever in their minds such bad impressions of Vietnam? Did all foreigners despise my country? Would we always be looked down upon? As I sank deeper and deeper in questions and doubts, more new thoughts flooded my mind. I panicked at the limitation of my knowledge. I had been studying since age six, yet now I was unable even to explain issues that directly related to myself and my country. I questioned the meaning of all my perfunctory learning hours during the past few years. The changes produced by significant events are not always immediately apparent. In this case, however, I have been able to see how the tour with the Australians directly altered me. By the end of the year, I found inside me a strong determination to make up for years of rote learning, motivated by a burning desire to answer the "haunting" questions, which had echoed in my head since that unforgettable day. In the pursuit of knowledge, many times I have found circles around my eyes due to late night study, yet I also realize that when learning is inspired by real enthusiasm and consideration, it can be the most sincere happiness. My efforts are paying off. Throughout the two years of maturing and serious studying, the answers to many of those questions have been shaped in my mind. The Australians I met that day were just kids and were too inexperienced to understand the plights of developing countries. Not all foreigners are scornful of my country; many do recognize and appreciate Vietnamese values. I have also realized how much its economic status affects a nation: Vietnam can be respected; Vietnamese can be seen as an equal when we can build a wealthy and prosperous country. But one of the miracles of learning is that the more you know, the less satisfied you are with your knowledge. As I came up with answers to my previous questions, new more complex ones were raised. How can a poor country lift itself up? Surely there are many things to do, but where should we start? Where should we go? Why is it that even when the same amount of energy and time is devoted, our work is never as effective and our results are never as rewarding as compared to other countries? The experience with the Australians has taught me a lot, and I’m anxious to learn more from foreigners. What else does the rest of the world know about developing countries, about poverty, about world religions, about peace and war, about discriminations, about environmental pollutions…?
Last month, at a career advising workshop, students in my class shared their future plans. Surprisingly, I am the only one who intends to study somewhere so far away as the US. When asked why I replied: "I want to answer the questions of my life".
Phạm Anh Khoa, another Batesie, class '07, a classmate of Miss Trang Nguyen. Ai từng tham gia diễn đàn du học hồi hè của Viet Abroader đã gặp bạn này rồi
Describe the most meaningful activities you have participated in.
HALLOWEEN ROCKzzzz...
In my final year at high school I became the chairman of the English language club. My primary aim was to generate some genuine interest as well as to promote foreign cultures in the club. Prior to my election it was not a popular meeting point for students who wanted to practise their English. My initiative was to suggest then coordinate the organisation of a Halloween Show night for all students. It was my intention to give the club some credibility, increase its popularity and to have some fun in the process!
Convincing people that the show would be great fun at first seemed extremely difficult. Our advantage was the idea was very new and appealing to students because they were very curious about what Halloween actually was. Publicising the “ghost performances” proved to be very successful. Ticket sales were unexpectedly high.
Now let me have a look at Halloween, one of America’s greatest fests, which first took place in my high school, probably in my city. Each homeroom class decorated their classrooms, and students and teachers dressed for the occasion in a variety of creative costumes. Originally I planned to go as Elvis so I went to the costume store and got myself a pair of golden rock star sunglasses, fake jewellery, sideburns and fake chest hair. But despite all my desperate attempts to look like The King (eating pounds of sweets and wearing a polyester shirt and white plastic slippers), I ended up looking like "the seventies pimp who wants to look like Elvis". However, the classroom decorations were fabulous and the costumes were fantastic – everything was absolutely beyond our expectations.
Perhaps the most difficult task was to convince ourselves to take the risk of not recovering the costs of the show. I ensured that everyone in the team was genuinely committed and capable of performing their various functions. The prospect of management experience and personal development were considered an adequate return to outweigh the potential monetary loss.
Despite making a small loss the show was thought by all to have been a huge success. The creative idea captured many people’s attention and the commitment and determination of the team meant that the event was well run. More importantly the club became viable in the long term for the benefit of future students.
Đàm Minh Hiếu, student at Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana. This is an all-male school
CHALLENGES
Looking back 2 years ago, I never thought one day, i would have to go far away from my family and my friends, going to a strange new country alone, have to take care myself and coping with all the problems in life. My life would have never changed if i had never seen my friends, one by one, going abroad to countinue filling up their thirst of knowledge. I started thinking about studying outside my home country but i could not get rid of the thought about being less confident then my friends. Having more discouragement than encouragement, I almost gave up. But a crucial thing happened to me, i received a scholarship by Cambridge Tutors College to enroll 2 years A-level course. My life has really turned to a new page from now on.
Time goes by, two years of studying in England swiftly passed with many of my memories. A fop of two years ago was replaced by a guy who is confident that being yourself and standing on your own feet are two criteria to make success. I replaced my usual answer “No” by “Yes” in confidence when people asked me to join in a club or just doing some volunteer jobs. Two years have changed my character, my thought also my life.
The first time going to an European country, standing in one of the biggest and busiest airports in the world, Heathrow. I feel so small in the huge airport. Ten minutes have gone, the queue became just a bit shorter than before, thirty minutes and then forty minutes, it did not improve that much. I dragged my feet slowly step by step with the heaviest backpack that is almost as twice as my size. My shoulder could ***** at anytime; I decided to put it down before realizing I was in the first row already. Lucky me! The friendly officer asked me to give him my passport and all the documents that he needed. Swiftly, all the procedure have done and I left the airport to go to my host family in my school taxi. The first stage in England was not that bad for me. Significantly, I haved realized my first lesson in this new country, patience.
My host family was very friendly and they treated me like a real member in their family. Everything seemed to be all right until the day I had to go to school. My new college was totally different from my oriented-college in Vietnam. Each group only had about nine students or maybe less than this especially; we were from various parts of the world. Like a thousand of overseas students, I must be acquainted with the new European method of studying. I could forget the usual nigh-study but replacing by the library-study, forgetting to have my own shell of books at house and using the public books in library. However, these are not big problems for me, but for a student from an undeveloped country on the other hand, using a new modern technology was not easy at all. Experimenting with a new method, indeed, was an ill time. Amazingly, giving up never weighed on my mind, selecting how to carry on is much more difficult. As the matter of fact, in the first two weeks B and C grades were usual for me and a study of using laboratory equipment like one more subjects that only me needed to take.
If there was a concept that I have learned from this European education, it was fairness and self-motivation. Teachers always tried to give their students a chance to do their best; also, student could freely express what they thought. We always made own impression that is unique in our project or course work. Here, I did not need to take any extra classes and replaced by long hours in library during the exam time. The teacher always encouraged me to make my self –decision. They readily listened to me every time that I need and appreciated my effort. I became more confident without inferiority complex about an unskilled student from a developing country before.
Being a capable and all-round student, I like taking myself academic as well as social challenges. The greatest challenge since I graduated my secondary school in Vietnam has been to finance my extra living cost in England. It was not a big amount of money but for a young and inexperienced boy, it was not easy at all. Apart from schooling, every Saturday, I worked in a Chinese restaurant in my town’s center. I knew how difficult to earn money though they were just a few quid. Appreciating the difficulty of my parents in earning money in order for a new good life of their children is the best lesson that I have learnt . This job not only helped me to earn money but also improved a lot my experience in social life.
Two years of my challenge have gone. Although i know, there would be more difficult challenges in my life, two years in England is an enough time for me to test and confirm my abilities. Now, I am more confident than any other time to say, I am ready to conquer all the new challenges to come.
1 tip rất quan trọng dành cho ai phải viết những bài bị limit số từ. Đây là thông tin do bạn Khoa Phạm post, vô cùng cám ơn bạn đã viết điều này. Bản thân mình cũng đang bí đây B-)
Câu Hỏi: bài viết trong commonapp chỉ cho phép tối đa 500 từ, viết lố được ko?
Trả lời:
Khi nói về word limits, lo lắng lớn nhất của hầu hết thí sinh VN thường là: làm sao viết nhiều/thoải mái nhưng essay vẫn không bị 'truncated'. Mấu chốt của vấn đề hoàn toàn không phải ở space - adcoms đặt word limits vì 2 lý do chính:
1-Tiết kiệm time và resources của adcoms. Cứ lấy một ví dụ nho nhỏ: mỗi admissions officer đọc tầm 30 500-word essays một ngày, nếu mỗi essay dài hơn quy định 200 từ thì số từ extra là 30x200=6000 words=12 500-word essays. Nghĩa là thay vì đọc 30 essays thì mấy chú admissions phải đọc thêm 12 essays nữa trước khi có thể về nhà với vợ con . Đùa, nhưng mà vào admissions office rồi mới thấy họ làm việc cực như thế nào. Do đó, tâm lý của adcoms khi đọc những bài dài là (1) sẽ expect rất nhiều/cao vào bài viết (chắc ai cũng biết câu "Hy vọng nhiều, thất vọng nhiều") và (2) họ sẽ có tendency là đọc lướt qua nhanh hơn>>>đơn giản chỉ là vấn đề tâm lý con người.
2- Concise writing is crucial for a liberal arts education. So adcoms expect prospective students to keep it short, straight to the point.
Một vài tuần trước mình phải viết một essay khoảng 450 từ cho một internship prog. Lúc đầu viết essay dài 700 từ. Revise lần đầu thì kéo nó xuống 630. Revise thêm lần nó xuống được 550. Và revise thêm lần cuối thì còn được 480 từ. Điều thú vị ở đây là mình cảm thấy bài ngắn 480 từ hay và powerful hơn bài dài 700 từ (lưu ý là ở đây chủ yếu biến đổi các dạng câu, cấu trúc đoạn văn...chứ không hề cắt bỏ ý nào). Cho chắc ăn mình đem đi hỏi một bác English prof và một bác ở Writing Center thì cả 2 bác cũng cho là vậy. 2 bác còn lecture cho một lúc là tại sao viết ngắn gọn thường là hay hơn dài dòng văn tự, và tại sao business/law schools/firms thường test khả năng diễn đạt súc tích của applicants. Nếu ai apply internship hay full time job ở Anh hay Mỹ thì thường được hỏi gần chục câu hỏi ngắn (150 words or less), mà đối với từng câu hỏi này thì có thể viết được cả bài essay dài 5,6 trăm từ .
---> Các bạn cứ từ từ đọc. Lưu ý các bạn là tất cả những bài viết này, các bạn ấy đều có full financial aid, tức là ko tốn 1 cắc khi học ở Mỹ. Wa những bài trên, có ai thử chép 1 bài ra giấy tập ko? Bảo đảm ko wá 3 mặt giấy đâu. Tựu trung 1 bài chất lượng chỉ khoảng 1200 từ là hết ga. Để ý xem, họ nói ngay vào vấn đề từ đầu bài kìa, ko hề loanh hoanh. Về chủ đề, nhìn xem có ai viết cao xa ko? Ko đâu, chính là từ những thứ bên cạnh mình đây nè B-) Cho nên đừng có chế biến cho cao siêu mà make no sense with yourself B-)