The SAT becomes a journey of self-discovery for a top 1% global scoring student
“The SAT is an opportunity for me to discover and elevate myself" is a sincere and profound share from Nguyen Doan Duc Vinh, who conquered the SAT test with a score of 1560/1600 in the summer of his tenth-grade year. This is also a score recognized in the top 1% worldwide.
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A journey of maturity, wherein Duc Vinh strives to improve himself with each passing milestone, may be one of the most significant things remaining, in addition to the immense delight of earning a desirable score.
Pressure creates diamonds
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| Nguyen Doan Duc Vinh conquered the SAT test with a score of 1560/1600 in the summer of his tenth-grade year. |
Vinh considers himself highly fortunate to have had the opportunity to receive a quality education since childhood. However, this also puts him under a lot of pressure due to the expectations from his family, teachers, and friends. Vinh had to endure considerable pressure to achieve the SAT score of 1560/1600.
Even though he attended an international school from a young age and possessed English proficiency and foundational knowledge according to the American education curriculum, Vinh still encountered certain obstacles when preparing for the SAT.
Vinh felt exhausted when confronted with various types of SAT knowledge, questions, and exam practice sets. Having no prior test prep experience, he spent an average of 3 hours per day studying. However, the deeper he dove into knowledge, the more challenging it became. He said, "The initial stage was tough for me." In addition, the vast number of books, unclear study plans, and difficulty finding reliable learning resources all contributed to Vinh's confusion.
Fortunately, on his journey of "scouting" the Internet, Vinh found and joined the community of SAT self-study groups to gain more experience. A new door opened as he received many test prep experiences, including a self-study plan following the Khan Academy curriculum - the official partner of College Board - the organization that provides SAT prep courses in the US.
Joining the test prep community, besides gaining study competencies, Vinh also received encouragement and strong peer support. Moreover, Vinh had chances to make friends with students from all over the country, expanding his network of connections after the exam.
From an uncertain and clueless tenth-grader, Nguyen Doan Duc Vinh is determined to overcome the difficulties in the SAT to discover a more improved, better version of himself.
A journey opens up horizons of opportunities
"As if it were a globalizing experience for candidates" is the exciting perspective of Nguyen Doan Duc Vinh about the SAT. This feature of the SAT could be seen in the Reading Comprehension section, where candidates need to analyze and answer questions related to knowledge from various fields and cultures in different forms, such as paragraphs and verses. Therefore, Vinh found that the SAT prep process helped him gain a "massive" amount of knowledge.
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| Duc Vinh has become a "class monitor" in the Free Online SAT Open Class powered by The Vietnam Foundation and Khan Academy Vietnam. |
Furthermore, to conquer an impressive score on the SAT, Duc Vinh asserts that students must develop and practice critical thinking. To maximize the possibility of choosing the correct answer, candidates need to form a multi-dimensional view to deconstruct, analyze, and identify the problem in the question.
Logical and critical thinking and a diverse knowledge base gained from the SAT have supported Duc Vinh in conquering his professional passions, such as debating, attending the Model United Nations conferences, and joining different business case competitions.
Realizing how the community has shaped him, Duc Vinh is pleased that the SAT certificate can support him in contributing value to society. With a score of 1560 SAT, Duc Vinh has become a "class monitor" in the Free Online SAT Open Class powered by The Vietnam Foundation and Khan Academy Vietnam. Alongside nearly 20 other class monitors from all over the place, Vinh directly teaches and guides hundreds of Vietnamese students to conquer the SAT test. This meaningful project allows Vinh to promote equal education and accessible learning opportunities for everyone across the S-shaped country.
Sharing with reporters about his plans, Vinh said he would continue participating in community classes to promote free knowledge to his peers. On top of that, he has also applied to some universities in the US. However, no matter where he studies, Vinh still wants to contribute more value to the community.
Value leads to value. Hopefully, with a solid foundation derived from the journey of conquering the SAT, Nguyen Doan Duc Vinh will continue to promote and assert himself and spread the essence of Vietnam to the world as he aspires.
