The journey to conquer a scholarship in Italy

"I can't believe I got into the University of Messina. I prepared my application hastily and only intended to try my hand at it so that I would have no regrets, but the result was really unexpected," Ngoc Anh said. The school Ngoc Anh attends has a long tradition of more than 500 years. Among the top 15 universities in Italy, the University of Messina ranks 11th in terms of the sustainability of training programs, and 14th in terms of competitiveness in scientific research.

Being oriented by her parents to study abroad after graduating from high school, Ngoc Anh planned to study domestically because she felt she was not psychologically ready. "At first, I chose to study domestically because I was familiar with the pace of life here, but when I had time to seriously think carefully about the direction in the future, I felt that studying abroad would bring more good things for myself.

In addition to being exposed to knowledge and a quality training environment, studying abroad will be a challenge that I set for myself to step out of my comfort zone when living and studying in a foreign country. That challenge makes me excited and curious to experience new things for myself."

With the encouragement of her parents, Ngoc Anh boldly submitted her application to the University of Messina to try her hand when there were only about 2 weeks left until the deadline. She went through 3 rounds: online application submission, interview and consideration of the national high school graduation exam scores.

The application submitted to the school includes: GPA scores for 3 years of high school (from 8.0 or higher), English test scores (IELTS), reference letters and other documents as required by the school. Only 1000 candidates have the opportunity to pass the application round to move on to the interview round.

In the 1-on-1 interview round, Ngoc Anh perceived that the questions were relatively difficult to answer for a person of her age. However, she always maintained a comfortable and confident spirit, answered the questions and emphasized what she could contribute to the school.

In the group interview round, Ngoc Anh was arranged to be interviewed with 9 other students. The candidates were introduced to the way of studying, played games related to a real class hour and were assigned to complete the challenge given by the Admissions Committee. Ngoc Anh's teamwork skills were well used when performing the challenge and she received praise from the Admissions Committee.

In July of this year, Ngoc Anh received good news when she won a full scholarship from the University of Messina. The school's scholarship covers 100% of tuition fees, insurance costs and 1/3 of living expenses for 4 years of study (equivalent to nearly 4 billion VND).

Be confident to choose the major you like

"I have carefully considered the majors and from the advice of my parents, I have become more certain with my decision. The Data Analytics major that I am pursuing is one of the few majors that the University of Messina grants scholarships. This is also a major that is suitable for the current trend and suitable for my personality" - Ngoc Anh shared.

Choosing Ngoc Anh's major is not an easy decision. Initially, she wanted to pursue Human Resource Management because she liked to do communication work with people, focusing on details. But then, Ngoc Anh decided to change direction because she realized her strengths in logical thinking and problem-solving ability when pursuing this field with high applicability in life.

Ngoc Anh said she likes to play decoding games and things that have to arrange and process information logically. Besides that, in the era of digital transformation, the Data Analytics industry has become a high-demand industry. More and more companies are realizing the great benefits of data mining and analysis for their business operations. Recognizing those potentials, Ngoc Anh chose her major in Data Analytics proactively and understood the opportunities that opened up before her to be able to succeed.

"Choosing a major or an environment that you will study in for the next 4 years has never been easy, there will always be certain hesitations in the moment of transition between high school and university. Choosing a school, choosing a major you like, you will encounter certain barriers anywhere, but if you dare to think, dare to do, live with a purpose and pursue your passion to the end, you will surely reap sweet fruits" - Ngoc Anh shared.

Looking back on her time studying at Greenfield School, Vu Do Ngoc Anh is grateful for the wonderful opportunities that the school has brought her to make her who she is today. "I had the opportunity to participate in charity trips, organize music programs, become a volunteer in big and small events. From the wonderful opportunities that the school brings, I develop not only the breadth of knowledge about fields outside the classroom, but also cultivate the necessary skills. Leadership, communication, self-confidence, are also significant progress I have gained, partly thanks to the learning process and experience at Greenfield School," Ngoc Anh shared.

Congratulations to Ngoc Anh and wish her to continue to have more happiness and success on her university journey as well as when working in the future.

*According to the prediction of Dr. Robert M. Goldman.