Nguyen Hanh An, a student at TH, an international school in the Vietnamese capital, chose to pursue a dual major in business administration and political science at IE University’s Business School in Spain since it offered her the highest financial support, of 135,000 euros (US$153,211), or 90% of her five-year tuition.
Nguyen Hanh An in a photo she provided.
The scholarship was awarded based on academic records, entrance test results (30%) and interviews (60%).
“I didn’t expect the biggest joy would come from the last school to announce its decision,” An says.
IE’s business program ranks 32nd globally in 2025 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject by Quacquarelli Symonds, a British analytics firm.
An had for long dreamed of studying abroad, inspired by her English-language curriculum and peers with similar goals.
A key influence was her aunt, a former international student, who taught her English and encouraged her to apply for a scholarship to TH School, which she later got.
An prepared early and consistently worked to achieve the highest possible grades in the Cambridge curriculum.
In the AS-Level (Advanced Subsidiary Level) exam, a U.K. qualification that’s part of the two-year A-level curriculum, she scored an A in sociology and psychology and a B in business.
She also participated in extracurricular activities aligned with her interests in reading and business.
Her proudest achievement was founding the Irma Pince Book Club in 2021, an initiative she later highlighted in her main college essay.
Passionate about English books but unable to afford them, she was thrilled to discover her school library well stocked, and launched the club to share this resource.
Initially, the club operated online with book reviews and quizzes, but a low engagement rate, at around 50 interactions per post, was discouraging.
An turned to online book communities to understand readers’ needs and build connections. Two years later engagement grew 10-fold and membership rose.
Still, her main goal, to donate books, remained out of reach due to financial limitations.
Her team sought sponsorship and successfully secured support from the American Center. With this, they hosted book-related workshops, reading skill sessions and creative activities like bookmark decoration, eventually raising funds to donate books to children in remote areas.
This effort earned An the 2024 Diana Award from the U.K., which honors youth for impactful social contributions.
To highlight her passion for business, An shared her experience in a national startup competition for high school students.
Nguyen Hanh An (L) introduces modern North American literature to visitors at an event in March 2024. Photo courtesy of An
In 2024 she won second prize individually and first place with her team at Aspiring Vietnam, where she worked on real-world business challenges, further fueling her love for entrepreneurship.
Understanding her family could only afford a few hundred million dong (VND100 million = US$3,850) for her to study abroad, An researched schools thoroughly to maximize her scholarship opportunities.
“I didn’t want my dream to become a burden on my parents,” she says, revealing that, even with TH School’s financial support, her parents had to struggle to put her through secondary and high school.
She prepared a core application package with transcripts, personal essays, IELTS scores, AS and A-Level results, and one to three recommendation letters.
For U.S. schools, she wrote dozens of supplemental essays in the month before Early Decision deadlines. She also applied to universities in Canada and Europe, where deadlines were typically in January 2025.
For scholarships, she submitted financial documents and additional essays as required.
“I was so determined that I could complete one application per day even after revising each essay multiple times,” she says.
IE Business School had the most unique admission process, lasting four months, she says.
After the initial application there, she had to take math and economics tests followed by two rounds of interviews and then the scholarship round.
The school required two additional essays about her motivations and what she could contribute if selected. She also submitted a video narrating her journey to make her case.
By then she had received scholarship offers from three Canadian universities – the University of Toronto (ranked #1), University of Alberta (#4) and York University (#17) – ranging from CA$60,000 to CA$125,000 (US$43,400-91,145) for her five-year programs.
She also received offers from six U.S. universities worth $176,000-208,000, including DePauw College and Gettysburg College, ranked 50th and 55th among U.S. liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report.
But even with these generous offers the out-of-pocket costs remained beyond her family’s means and so she chose IE University.
Career counselor Dang Thi Ngoc Huyen described An as independent, determined, decisive, and perfectionistic.
“There were moments of exhaustion, but she always bounced back quickly and continued chasing scholarships.”
Brett Grant, associate principal at TH School, gushed about An, saying her openness and social awareness would not only help her excel academically but also allow her to make a positive impact wherever she goes.
Dinh Tien Dat, founder of Arinet Education and An’s mentor for the last two years, said her excellent extracurriculars and essays showcasing her personality and potential were the reasons for her success.
Looking ahead An hopes to work for international organizations that focus on education and sustainable development.
For now she is eager to start her next chapter in Madrid.
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Communications, September 22, 2021
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