Scholars

In our founding memorandum of understanding UNIS Hanoi was established to assist in the development of Vietnam. In honour of these founding principles, the recipients of UNIS Hanoi scholarship have been talented local students from low income families who have benefitted or are benefitting from accessing an international education. The Scholarship Programme was established in 2011 and guarantees a full (100%) fees waiver from Grade 7 until graduation. To date, nine scholars have successfully graduated from UNIS Hanoi and a further six students are currently members of our student body.

Meet our Graduate Scholars

Ha Nguyen, Class of 2020
"Before I joined UNIS Hanoi, I took my Vietnamese identity, culture and language for granted, mainly because I didn't know anything else existed. Then I found myself sat in class with students and adults who'd express their love of Vietnam and it made me so proud of who I am and my people. It took being in an international environment to really appreciate my country and culture. I'm so thankful to UNIS Hanoi for giving me the skills and the opportunities to enable me to become a well-rounded person."

**Ha is now a proud student, studying Liberal Arts at Fullbright University Viet Nam. She is UNIS Hanoi's first scholar to successfully gain a scholarship at a Vietnamese university.**

Hong Giang, Class of 2019
"Being at UNIS Hanoi changed my life completely. I changed the way I think which has affected the kind of future I want to have."

Giang is a second year student at Washington and Lee University in the USA.

Ngan Phung, Class of 2019
"A successful education values diverse angles. UNIS Hanoi has given me an opportunity to discover all of that and to be creative and open minded."

Ngoc Anh, Class of 2019
"At UNIS Hanoi I came to know some of the most important people in my life. I also got to study subjects that I'm truly passionate about and that I was able to freely be who I am."

Linh Nguyen, Class of 2018
"I've grown from being a shy girl who could barely understand her teachers or barely talk to other students, to becoming a girl who has the power to help others."

**Linh is now a third year student, majoring in Communication Studies & Human and Organisational Development at Vanderbilt University in the USA.**

Linh Vu, Class of 2017
"Being a part of UNIS Hanoi made me more confident and helped me find my value as a person. I find I'm more open to accepting the differences in others."

Lam Luu, Class of 2017
"Now I can think critically, can reflect on things, and I know how to connect with people and work with others to achieve better outcomes. UNIS Hanoi has turned me into the person I am today."

Phuong Ly, Class of 2016
"Early on in life, I knew I was interested in pursuing a career in Global Health but I knew the Vietnamese system only had one way of achieving this goal and I wasn't sure it was for me. I realized that I needed to find a school that would allow me to explore my options more, offer volunteering experiences to me and give me access to a variety of people. UNIS Hanoi was the place that gave me that."

**Phuong Ly recently graduated from LaFayette College in the USA and is waiting to accept her place at the world-renowned Medical School for International Health in Israel.**

Nam Nguyen, Class of 2015
"By accepting the offer to study at UNIS Hanoi, I had the opportunity to step outside of my comfort zone and really break through limits that were imposed upon me just because of my family’s financial background. The programme has helped me go further than I ever would have imagined.”

**Nam Nguyen graduated from Williams College in the USA in 2019. He now works for tech giant, Microsoft as a Software Engineer.**

UNIS Hanoi Scholarship 2021-22 academic year intake

Students may apply to the UNIS Hanoi Scholarship Programme for entry to:

Grade 7
Grade 8
Grade 9
Grade 10

In all cases, the 100% Scholarship will be valid until they graduate from UNIS Hanoi*.

Applications Steps

Complete the UNIS Hanoi Scholarship Application Form in full and provide all required documentation.
Make a full financial declaration and be from a low income household.
UNIS Hanoi retains the right to waive academic and geographic eligibility requirements for applications received by invitation, through official Service Learning partners.

Eligibility criteria

The Students applying for the Scholarship Programme must:

Be a Vietnamese national. Applicants are required to provide a copy of their Household Registration Book (sổ hộ khẩu)
Be studying at a public Vietnamese district school/educational institution; have gained no less than 8.0 in English for the last two full academic years; have gained an average annual grade of 8.5 or above for the last two full academic years

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who are the scholarship students and how are they chosen/selected?

Our Scholarship Students are all talented local Vietnamese students from low income families who apply to the Programme. We currently have nine graduated Scholars, two in Grade 12, two in Grade 11, one in Grade 10, and one in Grade 8. Of the six scholars currently at school, there are two boys and four girls.

They were all selected through the completion of an extensive process including the application form, written and online non-verbal aptitude testing, school report and reference checks and interviews with a panel. The process is coordinated by the Scholarship Officer in the Advancement Office. It is a rolling application acceptance process that closes in February for the coming school year intake and also included rigorous background checks, official and ‘surprise’ home visits and meetings with the family. A Scholarship Selection Advisory Committee which consists of teachers, counsellors and administrators advises the Head of School.

2. What happens to the Scholars when they graduate from UNIS Hanoi?

Our first Scholar graduated from UNIS Hanoi in June 2015. Our college guidance counsellor works with our Scholarship Students to help find the best solution for them for onward study. The IB Diploma is not currently recognized as an entry qualification for Vietnamese Universities, however most of our scholars have ambitions to study abroad and seek further scholarships to support them. Interest in our Scholars has been high from the scores of visiting Universities from Australia, US and Europe and there are also international universities based in Hanoi who are also interested in attracting our scholars.

All families are informed very clearly of this uncertainty surrounding University acceptance In Vietnam and availability of onward scholarships when the UNIS Hanoi Scholarship is awarded, and in all cases the families believe the benefits to their children in attending UNIS Hanoi until graduation outweigh concerns about their future studies.

3. How can we guarantee that the Scholars will make a difference in Vietnam in the future?

There are no guarantees. The Ministry of Education and Training has recognized the value of the UNIS Hanoi Scholarship Programme for the “investment in the future of our country that the programme represents” and we are confident that our Scholars will contribute positively to the future of their country but this will be something that can only be observed with a long term view. However, pride in our scholars as they develop in an international setting and the positive reflection on Vietnam that they bring, has already been voiced by members of the Vietnamese community who have been involved.

4. Why is a scholarship programme important for UNIS Hanoi?

We are proud of our scholars; the inspirational impact that they have within our student body and the hope for change and capacity building that they represent for Vietnam. The programme’s impact is too young to be measured by any meaningful metrics, we can only share the words of others. The Ministry of Education and Training has recognized the value of the UNIS Hanoi Scholarship Programme for the “investment in the future of our country that the programme represents.” (UN Day, 2014). We are confident that the Scholarship Programme is a powerful way in which “our learning community will be an inspirational role model for a better world.”

And our teachers see daily the enrichment the scholars bring to our own students. HS Math Teacher Neil Fairbairn shares, “There is never a conversation about Maths in High School that Nam’s name is not mentioned. And not only because he is a gifted student, but because he is a generous and gifted teacher who takes time to help his peers.”

The Scholarship Programme improves the diversity of our student body, provides increased opportunities for our existing students for enrichment and continues to honour our founding principles and hopes for the development of Vietnam.

5. Why is the Scholarship programme only geared towards Vietnamese students?

In our founding memorandum of understanding UNIS Hanoi was established to assist in the development of Vietnam. In honour of our founding principles, the first recipients of UNIS Hanoi scholarship are talented local students who would most benefit from accessing an international education. The Board may choose to extend the Scholarships in the future, but the current programme eligibility criteria restrict the programme to Vietnamese students.

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