Đặng Hà Quốc Bình - Princeton University '09
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Personal information
Full name: Đặng Hà Quốc Bình
Hometown: An Giang
High school: The Mahindra United World College of India
Colleges admitted: Princeton University (ED)
College enrolled: Princeton University
Prospective field of study: Chemistry
Activities (sport, leadership, etc):
- Community and campus services: Active English for Kids, Art for Kids, First Aid, Child Development and Library Service.
- Sport: Yoga, Tennis, Swimming, Judo and Aikido.
- Musical performances: Piano, Keyboard and Guitar.
Q&A
1. When and how did you decide to apply to US colleges?
- Honestly, I had never thought of applying to US colleges before coming to MUWCI (The Mahindra United World College of India). Coming to MUWCI, I simply wanted to experience something new. I was sometimes scared since I had no idea of what I was going to do after MUWCI. I even thought of coming back to Vietnam. - However, since IB is not widely accepted in Vietnam, if I want to study in Vietnam, I have to take the university entrance examinations which I am not very sure that I will pass ^_^! Also, when in MUWCI, I found out the advantages of being an UWCer – with these, I mean the special Davis scholarships for UWCers who gain admission to US colleges. Hence, I decided to apply to US colleges (I was also planning to apply to Canada and Singapore as backups).
2. When did you start your college planning? Do you agree that the sooner the better?
- I started my college planning during the summer between my junior and senior years. - I do not agree that the sooner (during junior year or even much earlier) the better because the admission process changes every year. Although the difference is not that much, I do not really see the point in getting obsessed by colleges all the time. Instead of being distracted, one should enjoy one’s school-days (in Vietnam or wherever) and especially, concentrate on one’s study to obtain the most outstanding academic results.
3. What are the best sources for finding out about schools?
I would say:
- USNews: to have a rough idea of US colleges and their rankings.
- Colleges’ websites: to look for more information about the schools that strike one most.
- When it is time to shortlist the schools, Vietabroader (www.vietabroader.org), HAO (www.hn-ams.org), and Collegeconfidential (talk.collegeconfidential.com), etc. are definitely the best places for one to be given pieces of advice. Members of these forums are really experienced and helpful.
4. How did you pick schools? What were your specific criteria?
1. Financial aid.
2. Financial aid.
3. Financial aid.
- To me, the most important thing that I always kept in mind when applying to US colleges is how generous the schools are. I was about to apply to Princeton, Harvard, Yale, MIT, Williams, Bates, Lafayette and Colby – schools that I think would definitely meet my expectations about financial aid once I get in.
- I wanted to apply either ED or EA and was hence confused for a while about which school I should apply to. I was considering Princeton, Harvard, and Yale (Although I really like MIT, unfortunately, it does not allow international students who seek for financial aid to apply ED). Here comes the next criterion: how much care is given to undergraduates and how happy are they? Harvard loses me for this (just kidding ^_^!). However, I was still stuck between two stools: Princeton and Yale. I finally went for Princeton because one of my best friends also applied there; and if I get to Princeton, my financial aid, unlike that of Yale, would not include loan, campus job and summer work (Davis scholarship for UWCers) – this makes Princeton slightly better than Yale for me. One may ask why I did not apply to Yale for EA and then RD to other schools including Princeton; I would then have had choices. Reasons:
- Having choices sucks! Choosing schools is very painful; I would rather go through this when I am not very sure whether I will get in or not.
- I wanted to enjoy my last term in MUWCI instead of… working my *** off to maintain my grades!
5. What was the best thing that happened to you during college application experience?
- Getting to know more (amazing) people would be my answer. I tried to get in touch with Vietnamese students in schools that I was interested in to know more about the schools. Honestly, bro Khang, Khoa, Viet; sis Lan, Trang, etc., they are just amazing! They gave me useful pieces of advice, from filling application forms to college interviews. They really helped me a lot. Without them, I would not have pulled it off!
6. What was the worst thing that happened to you during college application experience?
- My laptop crashed and I did not have any backups 02.gif. Imagine, the deadline was coming and I had to write about 6 essays for Princeton and 4 for Emory (I got nominated for the Emory Scholars Program whose deadline was also Nov 1st). How terrible it was for me 02.gif!
7. What would you have done differently during your college application process?
- I would have made hard copies of everything in my laptop! - I would have used FedEx instead of the stupid DHL! - I would have insisted on having face-to-face interviews instead of phone ones. Believe me; one would be able to express oneself more easily when facing the interviewers directly (or at least to see how the interviewers react). All my face-to-face interviews went really well whereas the one with Bates (phone interview) was terrible!
8. Do you have any final words of wisdom or inspiration for Vietnamese students applying to US colleges in the coming years?
- Aim higher and be more ambitious. Top-notch schools are not that scary as you think. Even if you cannot get in, you would at least not regret since you have tried.
Source: VietAbroader (www.vietabroader.org)
