Valedictorian graduated with honors, 4 years of university still 'bringing money home to mom'

Doan Thanh Tra has just excelled and become the valedictorian of the Business Administration major at the University of Economics - Vietnam National University, Hanoi in 2025. Having continuously won scholarships from the school, the female student does not have to pay tuition fees but still has money left over to "bring home to her mother".

Doan Thanh Tra (class QH-2021-E High-quality Business Administration 4) graduated with honors and became valedictorian with a cumulative average score of 3.89/4.

In the female student's transcript with a total of 142 credits, there are only 12 credits with B or B+, the rest she got A and A+. Of these, most of her subjects got A+. Tra's strengths are Marketing and specialized subjects, although specialized subjects are often very difficult and must be studied entirely in English. The few subjects Tra got B or B+ were mainly general subjects that required a lot of memorization. Her graduation thesis also got an A+; if calculated on a 10-point scale, it would be 9.5 points.

Doan Thanh Tra became the valedictorian of the Business Administration major at the University of Economics - Vietnam National University, Hanoi in 2025 with a cumulative score of 3.89/4. Photo: Thanh Hung.

Sharing with VietNamNet , Tra said she was very happy and pleased that her efforts were rewarded.

The female student from Hanoi said that right from the moment she entered university, she was determined to study seriously and concentrate so that after graduating, she would have solid knowledge and a stable job.

With that in mind, Tra came up with a clear learning strategy.

Before registering for any subject, the female student often joins student associations and groups at the school to listen to seniors “review” each subject and research carefully. “The school publicly announces the training program and subjects on the website, so I go there to research. Through the sharing of seniors, I carefully study those subjects and try to arrange a suitable study schedule. The strategy I come up with is that in one semester, you should not study too many specialized subjects and divide them evenly. I take notes and print out on a piece of paper the subjects I need to study first,” Tra shared.

With a high-quality program, Tra believes that when studying in English, many new and specialized terms are difficult. “Even though we have reached level B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) for English, when studying a major, there are terms we do not know and have to look up,” Tra said.

Tra's way of studying is to focus on listening to lectures in class. After taking notes as usual, she summarizes what she has learned. At home, she will review according to the framework listed.

In addition to knowledge from the classroom and textbooks, Tra goes online to read news and books related to her major.

When the exam is near, Tra often draws a diagram of the knowledge that needs to be remembered for the entire subject on an A4 sheet of paper. "I will write down the knowledge that needs to be remembered on that A4 sheet and set a goal to master it," Tra said.

Associate Professor Dr. Le Trung Thanh, Rector of the University of Economics - Vietnam National University, Hanoi, awarded the bachelor's degree to Doan Thanh Tra. Photo: Thanh Hung.

She considers herself a very hard-working person. “Every day I feel unmotivated to do something is an unsuccessful day and I feel sad. Usually, I set goals for each day, for example, I have to learn this, finish that... Sometimes, when I don't follow the schedule I set, I have to explain to myself the reason, by writing it down as a self-criticism. I consider it a way to control myself,” Tra shared.

With great determination, after 4 years of studying, even though the final semester has not been considered (there is a high possibility that she will receive a type A scholarship because her thesis score is the highest in the course), Tra has won the school's highest level of study encouragement scholarship in 6/7 semesters. The type A scholarship for students with excellent academic and training results is equal to 125% of the tuition fee of the semester. Therefore, Tra almost did not have to pay tuition fees during her university years. The tuition fee for Tra's major is about 35 million VND per year. Thus, if she wins a scholarship in 7/8 semesters, the bonus will not only be enough to cover the tuition fee, but Tra even jokingly said "can bring money home to her mother".

Not only is she a good student, she also actively participates in activities such as the Southeast Asian Youth Forum SEAYouth Festival 2022; does charity work,... Tra has good drawing skills and is an artist who contributes paintings to the Em's Highland Children project organized by UNESCO in 2024.

Sharing her future plans, Tra said she wants to continue her studies at a higher level. In the near future, Tra will prepare her application and hopes to win a scholarship from a university in Europe to study for a master's degree specializing in Marketing.

While waiting for an opportunity, she will still look for a job to challenge her abilities.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/thu-khoa-tot-nghiep-loai-xuat-sac-4-nam-dai-hoc-con-mang-tien-ve-cho-me-2428472.html