Continuously failing when applying, Phuong Nghi did not lose her enthusiasm and perseverance; finally successfully conquered Stanford University.
Phuong Nghi graduated from International University – Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, and then went to the UK to study for a Master’s degree at the University of Cambridge with a Chevening scholarship. Having won a research internship scholarship at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, Japan’s Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, the Austrian Institute of Science and Technology, Nghi wishes to study in the US and pursue scientific research.
Master Nguyen Phuong Nghi has just won a PhD scholarship to Stanford University, USA. Image: Characters provided
Choosing the US as the destination to study for a doctorate, Phuong Nghi felt like she was “dumped with cold water” when she failed repeatedly. At the end of 2020, she applied to 10 schools (including universities such as Johns Hopkins, Duke, Harvard, MIT, Columbia…) but were rejected. Once shaken faith in himself, but Nghi gradually recovered his spirit, finding out the reason why his profile was not convincing.
The female student gradually realized that the weakness in her profile was that she did not have much research experience related to the field of 3D bioprinting that she wished to pursue at the doctoral level, and did not have a clear research direction. long term. The next year, Nghi spent more time researching and writing scientific articles to make up for the shortfall. In addition, she also rewrote the essay to clarify her career goals.
The effort paid off, in 2021, Phuong Nghi applied for the second time, matriculating at Stanford University with a full PhD scholarship. The full scholarship is worth 530,640 USD (about 12.3 billion VND) for 5 years of doctoral research. Each year, Phuong Nghi will be granted a scholarship package worth 106,128 USD (full tuition fee 50,160 USD, expenses 49,200 USD and insurance premium 6,768 USD). Stanford University ranked in the top 6 in the list of the best national universities in the United States in 2022 (according to US News & World Report) and the top 3 in the list of the world’s top 100 universities in 2022 (according to QS ranking). In addition, she also entered the University of Southern California.
Looking back on two years of efforts, Phuong Nghi learned a lesson, never gave up hope and faltered in the face of failure. “Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm” – quoted by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Phuong Nghi affirmed, failure is only counted when you really give up.
In the essay, Phuong Nghi focuses on clarifying her motivation to study for a doctorate and pursue her favorite research direction.
Phuong Nghi said that, not only for Stanford but also for doctoral programs at any university, the most important thing is the relevance of research orientation and motivation to pursue this work.
Candidates must have a certain passion for a certain field, desire to spend time to deepen research on the issue, in order to create new knowledge.
In addition, experience in researching and writing scientific articles or presenting at conferences during undergraduate and master’s degrees is also a plus.
Phuong Nghi has accumulated research experience since 2014, participating in internship programs in many laboratories around the world.
Starting from the instructor’s idea of a needle-free suture kit for patients in remote areas who did not have the opportunity to access medical facilities, Phuong Nghi carried out her university graduation thesis on Bio-glue has the ability to adhere to the wound, support cell proliferation.
Nghi’s graduation thesis got an A+. In addition, the research results are arranged, analyzed and written into an article published in the journal Q1 (group of the most prestigious scientific journals) in the SCIE directory. Phuong Nghi is a co-author. The paper then also won the Global Undergraduate Award in the top 10% in the field of Biomedical Sciences.
Phuong Nghi concluded, it is extremely important to choose a good story with personal identity, experience and research orientation suitable for the university.
Phuong Nghi was interviewed by the Stanford Admissions Committee a total of four times. Once with a student studying at the Faculty and three times with three different lecturers. The main content of the interviews revolved around Nghi’s research orientation and goals, as well as the research environment at Stanford. “The interviews were not as stressful as I imagined, but mainly two-way dialogue, the atmosphere was quite comfortable,” Phuong Nghi said.
Nghi confided that even though she had gone through many interviews, she always had “her heart beat and her feet trembled”. Her tip is to listen to songs with positive energy before entering the interview, both to relieve stress and have a “fight” spirit. “As long as you believe in yourself, you can conquer anything,” Nghi said.
Phuong Nghi works in a laboratory at the university. Image: Characters provided
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Hiep, Dean of Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, International University – Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, instructor of Phuong Nghi, assessed: “I have the necessary qualities to become a talented researcher and prospects, such as the ability to solve problems, academic writing, self-study… I believe that Nghi will continue to achieve success in both her studies and career after her doctoral journey.”
Coming to Stanford, Nghi will pursue a major in Bioengineering, with a focus on tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
“I enjoy multidisciplinary research in biology and engineering. This field is essential in creating biomaterials that can be used to regenerate lost or damaged organs and tissues in the body. possible”, Nghi shared the reason for choosing the industry.
Clearly, research has never been an easy, leisurely, rosy job, Phuong Nghi was mentally prepared to face the “world” she was about to enter.
Le Thu
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vnexpress.net – Read the original article here
