BIS Hanoi Class of 2018 Student Ngoc Vi makes her way to Duke University

With an outstanding profile and application, Ngoc Vi has been accepted into 5 prestigious American educational institutions including Brown University, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University and Colgate University.

We would like to congratulate our Class of 2018’s alumna Do Bao Ngoc Vi for her results in the university applications season this year. With an outstanding profile and application, Ngoc Vi has been accepted into 5 prestigious American educational institutions including Brown University, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University and Colgate University. More remarkably, Duke and Colgate Universities awarded Vi scholarships valued at $69,000 & $63,000 respectively. Choosing Duke University over the prestigious Ivy League Brown University, Vi shared that she will be heading there in the fall to start her desired major in Environmental Sciences.

Ngoc Vi has spent most of her memorable academic life at BIS Hanoi when she joined us in 2012 and has been an active member of the school community through her enthusiastic participation in a variety of school programmes and activities. In 2015, Ngoc Vi successfully completed her Silver Duke of Edinburgh goal with a rigorous qualifying expedition to Da Lat. She also worked hard with her peers to build a new classroom in the Nazereti school in Tanzania in 2017 as part of the NAE Global Campus programme. The trip was a highlight of Vi’s CAS programme for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Furthermore, Vi was often involved in BIS Hanoi’s community service and charity activities.

Ngoc Vi is part of our very first IB cohort. The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a diverse and challenging curriculum, designed to prepare learners for the multidisciplinary workplaces of the future. Vi shared that the IBDP was a perfect, well-rounded and challenging curriculum for her as it helped give her a breadth and depth of learning, develop internationally-minded thinking and prepare thoroughly for university life.

Together with her extracurricular activities, Vi’s application also demonstrated a strong academic background. Asked about her experience with the application process, Vi said: “The process is gruelling and will take a lot out of you. That means putting a lot of effort into your essays and your extracurricular activities. Even if at times it might seem like it’s not worth it, I assure you that it is.”

Apart from keen devotion to school life, Ngoc Vi also took part in different projects after school such as Rach Vem Project. Vi happily shared with us: “Rach Vem Project is a project dedicated to helping the inhabitants of Rach Vem Fishing Village by bringing back an Indonesian fish species for cultivation at the village. I plan to continue the project and expand it to other areas in Phu Quoc, like Ham Ninh Fishing Village. I also hope to extend the project into providing clean energy for the villagers using solar cells, but that will be in the future.” During her 15-minute interview with Duke University, Vi mentioned these projects as well as the difficulties she met during the project’s implementation. She also shared with the university her ideas about how to improve the polluted environment in Hanoi.

To the BIS Hanoi community, Vi wanted to say:  “Your time in school is a time to be treasured. It’s both a chance to have fun as well as to find yourself and your place in the world.”  After graduation in June, Ngoc Vi is looking forward to commencing her exciting student life at Duke University and we wish her the best in the new journey at her dream destination!