Nhat Quang is a Hanoi native who proved it’s never too late to “lock in” and achieve more than he ever thought possible.
Nhat Quang is a Hanoi native who proved it’s never too late to “lock in” and achieve more than he ever thought possible.
When Nhat Quang first walked through the doors of St. Paul in Grade 10, he wasn’t very familiar with the College Board or AP Advanced Placement courses and tests. Fast forward to this year, and he was selected by the school and College Board to speak about AP Course systems, SAT test preparation, and has been accepted to Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. In just a few years, Nhat Quang went from facing a big challenge of catching up with some of his peers in AP courses to being selected as a school representative on the College Board stage in Hanoi.
We sat down with Nhat Quang to discuss his transfer from a local school in Hanoi to the doorstep of a Top 25 American university.
Catching Up with a Locked-In Mindset
Starting at a new school in Grade 10 is challenging enough, but realizing your peers are already racking up college-level credits can be daunting. After learning about the importance of AP courses for university admissions and academic growth, Nhat Quang didn’t panic, he got locked in.
“I had the mindset to catch up with people… some of my peers had taken four AP courses already, and I had none,” he recalls. “I got a locked-in mindset for 11th and 12th grade to catch up with everybody.”
He went from zero APs in Grade 10 to a staggering number of subjects by graduation, including heavy hitters like AP Calculus BC, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Statistics, AP Computer Science A and AP Biology. He rounded out his education with some humanities: AP English Language Composition, AP English Literature, AP Psychology, and AP Chinese. He will start college with the maximum allowance of AP credits.
His strategy? A disciplined “March to May” sprint. While he learns the material throughout the year, he dedicates the two months before exams to an intensive mock test regime, treating every practice session like the real deal.
Representing St. Paul on the Big Stage
Nhat Quang’s rapid success didn’t go unnoticed. Last fall, he was selected by St. Paul and the College Board to speak to Vietnamese families in Hanoi. Alongside Mr. Gus, AP Coordinator and University Guidance Counselor at St. Paul, he shared his personal experience on how to effectively prepare for the SAT and AP exams.
He offered inspiration: the student who once didn’t know about AP was now the expert teaching families in his hometown how to navigate the system.
Beyond the Classroom: Basketball and Business
While his academic record is impressive, Nhat Quang is as strong in activity as he is in academics. He has been a consistent athlete and dependable teammate for the St. Paul Eagles basketball team, as well as an assistant coach for the middle school boys team, mentoring younger athletes.
His passion for Business and Data Science (his intended double major at Emory) is deeply personal. Inspired by his family and an uncle who built a successful restaurant in Germany from the ground up, he views business as a tool for growth. As part of his application to Emory and other U.S. universities he was accepted to like University of Washington and UC San Diego, he shared his intentions for what he would do with a top-tier education and how he would use the resources provided by the college.
He has some ideas about his direction in life.
Advice for Younger Classmates:
Nhat Quang’s advice is aligned with how he achieved so much in just a few years at St. Paul.
He credits St. Paul with helping him become a more disciplined person, teaching him that advanced courses are actually manageable once you dive in.
As Nhat Quang prepares to head to the U.S., where he’s looking forward to finally seeing an NBA game in person, he leaves behind a legacy of hard work and a reminder that it’s never too late to start if you’re ready to lock-in.
Congratulations Nhat Quang on your acceptance to Emory University and more. We can’t wait to see what you achieve next.
“Focus on what you have, focus on your goals and don’t get distracted.”
