Nhat, a 12th grader in the CA2 English-specialized class at Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted in Ho Chi Minh City, received his IELTS results last month. Two months earlier, he had secured a flawless SAT score, placing him among the top performers globally.
The IELTS result arrived at a memorable moment. Nhat was on stage delivering closing remarks at a Model United Nations event at his school when the email notification came through. Opening it moments later, he learned that his Reading and Listening scores were both 9.0, Speaking was 8.5, and Writing had climbed to 8.5, enough to lift his overall band score to a rounded 9.0.
“When I saw the results, my friends and I just burst with joy,” he said.
IELTS test-taker statistics released by the exam’s organizing partners show that in Vietnam, only about 1% of candidates achieved scores of 8.5 or higher during the 2024-2025 period.
According to the College Board, which administers the SAT, around two million students take the exam each year, and scores of about 1530 and above fall into the 99th percentile.
Nhat said he never formally studied for IELTS. Instead, his strength came from years of exposure to English, beginning in primary school and later reinforced through Ho Chi Minh City’s national-level English competition team.
Growing up in a middle-income family, he was introduced to English early by his mother, who prioritized education despite financial constraints. By middle school, he had become fluent enough to win city-level prizes in both English and mathematics.
Beyond the classroom, Nhat immersed himself in English through music, films, gaming videos and everyday online content. While not academic in nature, he said these experiences helped him develop natural reflexes with the language.
“Just studying and drilling for exams does not automatically make you better at English,” he said. “You have to actually use it.”
At high school, he took part in debates, speech contests and Model United Nations conferences, which he said helped him build a working knowledge of politics, economics and social issues in English, an advantage in academic tests such as the SAT and IELTS.
He began focused SAT preparation only about a month before the exam, noting that the Math section closely matched Vietnam’s curriculum. For IELTS, he concentrated on test stamina, often sitting full three-hour mock exams under real conditions.
On his first attempt, Nhat scored 1560 on the SAT and 8.5 on IELTS.
With U.S. early-admission deadlines approaching, he initially planned to move on. But the idea of retaking the tests kept resurfacing.
“I believed I could do better,” he said.
The second attempt proved tougher. The SAT Reading and Writing section featured longer passages and more demanding vocabulary, including a poetry comparison task that required careful analysis.
IELTS Writing also posed a challenge, asking candidates to respond to claims about whether people in earlier centuries enjoyed a higher quality of life.
Nhat disagreed with the premise, arguing that modern scientific and technological advances have reduced physical hardship while improving both material conditions and mental wellbeing. He wrote more than 400 words, focusing on clear reasoning rather than complex vocabulary, an approach that ultimately paid off.
Nguyen Thuy Lien, a teacher on Ho Chi Minh City’s national English competition team, described Nhat as persistent and highly motivated, noting that he consistently sought feedback and worked steadily to improve.
Nhat is now awaiting results from early university admission rounds in the U.S. He hopes to study political science alongside a STEM degree, believing English will remain a crucial tool on that path.
“English helps me access new knowledge and new opportunities to challenge myself,” he said.
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