NEEC IS TRULY THE SECOND HOME OF OUR FAMILY

Ms. Truong Thi Hien, Architect, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Nam Long Thinh Co., Ltd.

Parent of Nguyen Thanh Long – Georgia Institute of Technology (#35 NU) majoring in Pre-Medical and Nguyen Thanh Nam – Shady Side Academy (#24 Best Boarding School in USA).

Why did your family decide to choose the US over other countries for your children’s education?
Both of my children attended Tran Dai Nghia School. As I share these thoughts, my eldest son, Thanh Long, has just arrived in the US a few days ago, and Thanh Nam is also about to leave his mother’s arms to study at one of the best high schools in America.
The story leading to the decision to study in the US is quite long. Before deciding to send Long to the US, our family initially planned for him to study in Europe three years ago, not the US. However, during the process of preparing the application for Europe, we added the US as a backup option in case of any unexpected issues. But during the European application process, we felt that their working style was too slow, conservative, and inefficient.
On the contrary, the US application process was quick, scientific, and everything was clear, with maximum support provided in a friendly and responsible manner by all admission departments. We believed that this one factor alone was enough to affirm the superiority of American education, as well as the country itself.
At that point, we completely changed our original plan and decided to send both of our sons to study in the US: the elder to college and the younger to high school, even though the application deadline was only two months away. Meanwhile, the children had to study and take English proficiency tests such as TOEFL, SAT, and SSAT, and write essays, making it truly a marathon against time.
After consulting with many friends, we chose NEEC as the organization to consult and handle the applications for our children. We almost entirely entrusted the school selection to NEEC after setting some criteria such as the East Coast of the US, compatible with their academic performance and test scores.
Finally, after receiving enthusiastic, dedicated, and professional support from NEEC (such as school guidance, essay editing, compiling academic achievements, social activities, and highlighting personal talents like photography, drawing, dancing, etc.), our children were accepted into good schools in the US. Thanh Long chose to attend Georgia Institute of Technology (ranked #35 National Universities) majoring in Pre-Medical, and Thanh Nam was accepted into three of the Best Boarding Schools in the USA: Cranbrook Schools (#12), Shady Side Academy (#24), and Maumee Valley Country Day School (#44).

What challenges and advantages did your family encounter during the process of preparing the US study abroad application?
First, I want to mention the challenges we faced during the application preparation. The preparation time was too short, only two months. The children had to urgently take various English proficiency tests, write dozens of essays, and create profiles showcasing their academic achievements and social activities. We even made albums of their drawings, photos, and dance video clips to emphasize their personal talents. At times, I had to let my children take nearly two weeks off from school to focus on these urgent tasks. It was truly a race against time! But now everything is behind us, and we and our children feel immensely happy because our efforts have yielded such beautiful results. Our children were accepted into dream schools with affordable tuition!
Challenges are inevitable, but we also had many advantages during the application preparation. First, the children’s abilities, academic results, and other achievements were the most crucial foundation for the admissions committee to recognize and evaluate their applications. Besides that, we were fortunate to receive the affection, dedicated support, and high professional expertise from the team at NEEC, especially Mr. Tran Duc Canh and Ms. Kieu Oanh. I can say that during the application preparation process, NEEC was like a second home for our family.

Could you share any memorable experiences or unforgettable emotions while accompanying your children in preparing for the US study abroad application?
During those two months, all our thoughts and activities revolved around preparing the application for our children. Now that the children have settled into their schools, we can finally relax a bit. We were not just preparing an application for one child but for both siblings at the same time. Friends and everyone around us kept asking why we didn’t let them go one by one instead of at the same time, warning that parents would be lonely at home. Although we believed that this was the best time for our children to study abroad, hearing those words still made us think about it, and we even felt psychologically shocked. But I had my own mindset, that the children needed each other more than they needed us, that if they could go together, they would have the opportunity to care for and support each other to stabilize their lives and studies. And the most important thing was that our children were very happy and excited to study in the US, a country with the world’s leading education system, where they felt most suitable and could fully develop their abilities. Therefore, we gradually gained confidence and continued to support our children. The joy kept growing as the children received acceptance letters from their schools, and the burdens slowly lifted.
Now that we have completed the process of preparing the study abroad applications for our children, I realize that the most crucial factor for achieving good results is time and a clear study abroad plan. If you are planning to send your children to study abroad, you should prepare early to avoid repeating our situation.
I would like to thank NEEC for the past few months of care, concern, and dedicated professional support in helping our family complete the two study abroad applications for our children. Special thanks to Mr. Tran Duc Canh and the NEEC family.