Vietnamese student wins $63,000 Ivy League scholarship after near-perfect GPA, pandemic research

Hoang Duc Minh, 21, has secured a coveted spot at Brown University’s Master of Public Policy program, along with a 75% scholarship worth more than $63,000.

The Ivy League school, ranked ninth in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report, seldom awards such generous financial aid for master's students, especially as funding grows more competitive at top American universities.

Minh's journey began as a physics prodigy at Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted. But after missing out on Brown's Applied Physics program, he discovered a passion for public policy and social sciences. Pivoting quickly, he double-majored in Political Science and Economics at Northeastern University, graduating summa cum laude with a near-perfect 3.99 GPA.

"Political science requires critical reading, writing, and analysis; it was intense," Minh recalled, describing weekly assignments of up to 150 pages of reading and in-depth essays. But microeconomics came easier thanks to Minh's strong math background, he said.

His academic record is only part of the story. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Minh helped produce hand sanitizer for Vietnam's Central Lung Hospital and won first prize at Vietnam's national Science and Engineering Fair for his cancer-fighting nanomaterials research.

But Minh believes soft skills made the difference; skills many Vietnamese students struggle to develop in traditional classrooms. "Public speaking, debate, creative problem-solving... these are crucial in the real world," he said. "Even AI can't replace hands-on experience and diverse perspectives."

His U.S. graduate school application process was a marathon: months of essays, recommendation letters and standardized tests.

Minh called the essays the toughest part, requiring hours of research to craft compelling, personal narratives tailored to each school.

The GRE posed its own challenge, especially the Verbal Reasoning section packed with obscure academic vocabulary. Minh studied over 1,500 advanced words to earn a 160/170 score, while his math skills secured a perfect 170/170 in Quantitative Reasoning.

In addition to Brown, Minh received offers from several top global universities, including UC Berkeley, the University of Chicago, NYU and the London School of Economics, all offering scholarships. Berkeley and Chicago rank among America's top public policy programs.

Minh chose Brown for its accelerated one-year timeline, allowing him to start his career sooner without sacrificing academic rigor.

His sights are set on making an impact back home. "I want to apply what I learn abroad to policymaking in Vietnam," Minh said. "Even small changes can help build a stronger, more sustainable future."