Quang Anh, a senior at St. Paul, recently woke up to a dream come true. As Spring was blooming in Hanoi, he woke up his entire family at 6:00am with the news of his acceptance to Cornell University, an Ivy League school in the US.
Quang Anh, a senior at St. Paul, recently woke up to a dream come true. As Spring was blooming in Hanoi, he woke up his entire family at 6:00am with the news of his acceptance to Cornell University, an Ivy League school in the US.
We spoke with Quang Anh to discuss his future studies, his passion for the environment, and the grueling application process that led him to success.
A Passion for Sustainability
Quang Anh is heading to Cornell University with intention. He intends to major in Environmental Engineering within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
“I’m interested in the environment and sustainable development. I want to do work that helps mitigate the impacts of air pollution and environmental degradation.”
Hanoi has become known for poor air pollution. While at St. Paul, Quang Anh took his passion outside the classroom through impressive independent projects:
Drone Innovation: He collaborated with mentors on their project to build, code, and fly drones equipped with sensors to monitor air pollution levels.
Independent Research: He conducted a research project on construction waste evolution, which is currently in the professional review process for publication.
Many Acceptances, Some Rejections
Cornell wasn’t the only school to recognize Quang Anh’s potential. By the end of the application cycle, he had received 12 acceptance letters, including offers from:
Duke (Kunshan), Boston University, University of Southern California, UC San Diego, UC Davis,
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Northeastern University
Despite the stack of “Yes” letters, Quang Anh is candid about the stress of the process. He recalls the morning of the Cornell decision, as a moment of great relief after facing rejections from other institutions and enduring the disappointment and apprehension.
Growth at St. Paul
Quang Anh credits much of his readiness to the environment at St. Paul. He did a few extracurriculars, serving as house leader to co-organizing a TEDx event, but really he worked on challenging himself academically. He became a confident public speaker.
“I was very afraid to present in front of a crowd. At St. Paul, we present probably every week. They prepared me very well for situations where I have to speak in front of people.”
Quang Anh has taken 10 AP exams with plans to complete 14 in total,covering everything from Calculus BC and Physics to Psychology and Human Geography, and on to English Literature and Language Composition. However, for others, he advises: Quality over quantity.
“My advice is to take less. Focus on the subjects you are really into and invest more time to get a 5 [the top AP score]. Managing the workload between APs, extracurriculars, and college applications is a lot.”
Looking Ahead
He is excited to experience the holistic American college culture, where personality and activity outside the classroom are valued as much as lectures. Quang Anh also has an eye on the future.
After he finishes his degree at Cornell, he plans to return to Vietnam to apply his skills in environmental engineering to help his home country develop sustainably.
Congratulations, Quang Anh! We can’t wait to see the impact you make at Cornell and beyond.
