Minh, 25, is pursuing a full scholarship master's program at Fudan University (China), a top 30 global school per QS 2026 rankings. Nearly three months ago, the Thai Nguyen native became the top graduate of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) with a 3.91/4 GPA.

At the graduation ceremony, before friends and teachers, Minh shared his journey leaving China to return to Vietnam and the "invisible pressures" in deciding to retake the university entrance exam in Vietnam.

Pausing to find "my own path"

After high school, Tran Quang Minh, a former student at Thai Nguyen High School for the Gifted, received a full scholarship to study International Law at Chongqing University (China). The Thai Nguyen youth yearned to step into the world and study in the international environment. But after two years, Minh realized it wasn't his desired path.

“While in China, I started tutoring Chinese and Vietnamese online. I’ve always loved languages, and the more I had to study to teach, the more curious I became about the structure and differences between the two. That’s when I realized I was more passionate about linguistics than law,” he recalled.

In 2020, Minh returned to Vietnam for the Lunar New Year holiday and got stuck due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. At the same time, his mother was diagnosed with bone cancer. The unexpected pause gave Minh time to reflect deeply on his life, family, and future.

"I weighed it heavily. The scholarship was an opportunity; earning it took effort. But the more I studied, the less it fit," Minh shared.

At that time, the family respected his decision. The biggest pressure, according to Minh, came from himself.

“What haunted me the most was the fear of falling behind, especially seeing friends already employed or pursuing their master’s or PhDs, while I was still drifting.”

Fortunately, a friend, who was a PhD student in Linguistics in the US encouraged him to explore the field. Thus, Minh learned about Linguistics, an academic field rarely introduced in high school.

“Linguistics helps explain language phenomena I’ve always been curious about, like why some people mix up ‘l’ and ‘n’ sounds, or why Vietnam has three dialect zones. I also got to explore syntax, etymology, and especially phonetics, which really fascinated me,” he said.

His multilingual environment in Chongqing only deepened his interest. After six months of soul searching, Minh decided to give up his scholarship and restart in Vietnam.

A journey of "going slow to go far"

In 2021, Minh took the high school graduation exam, scoring over 27.5 in D78 exam group (Literature, English, Social Sciences), becoming the top entrant in Linguistics at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Taking "slower" steps than peers, Minh "occasionally felt pressure but soon felt balanced, as everyone has their own pace."

His goal was earning study encouragement scholarships each semester to self-fund tuition. "Previously, I neglected disliked subjects; now, even uninteresting ones, I study properly. I know some things must be done well to not affect others," Minh said.

In class, Minh learned and discussed with lecturers. "Frequent knowledge exchanges deepened my perspectives. I grasped essence over rote learning, no cramming needed."

This helped Minh research language principles. He's particularly passionate about Vietnamese phonetics and dialects/subdialects, fields with much unexplored potential. Thus, Minh planned a course for a master’s degree in linguistics in China.

Applying abroad the second time, Minh was accepted by Fudan and Peking Universities, China's top two programs in Linguistics. For their nods, Minh credits his application's "authenticity."

Ultimately, Minh chose Fudan. Returning to China, he says he's "much more mature."

"Graduate studies are tougher; some Vietnam areas are underexplored so I will double the effort to catch up," he said.

Minh has no regrets suspending his studies abroad. "Two years in China gave me life skills, language capital, and clarity that Law wasn't for me. Without that, I might not have found the right path," Minh said.

Most importantly, Minh learned not to compare himself with anyone as each has their own road and pace. Focus on what you do, and do your best.

Currently, Minh is studying for his master's at Fudan. The Thai Nguyen youth hopes to pursue teaching and language research after graduation.

Thanh Hung