Following a year of unremarkable achievements during his time at university, an ambitious Vietnamese student studying in the U.K. decided to refocus and successfully gained entry into a master’s program at Oxford University.
Vu Minh Chau, who is 21 years old and currently a fourth-year biochemistry major at the University of Birmingham, got an admission notice two months back for a master’s degree in pharmacology from the globally leading institution.
For nine consecutive years, the United Kingdom’s eldest institution of higher learning has topped the global rankings as per Times Higher Education.
Once upon a time, Chau believed that Oxford was beyond her grasp, yet she started devising a strategy to gain admission during her sophomore year.
She states that she told herself there was nothing to lose.
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In a photograph provided by Vu Minh Chau. |
In 2022, she decided to pursue biochemistry studies due to her strong interest in the subject matter as well as her ambition to have a career in the pharmaceutical industry.
At the conclusion of her initial year, she resolved to continue with a master’s degree in pharmacology, a field centered on understanding how medications influence the human physique.
She was aware that Oxford provided this specific program, whereas other institutions only offered related areas of study.
It was then that she recognized her profile needed more depth in terms of research experience and additional extracurricular involvement.
Upon examining Oxford’s admissions criteria and the backgrounds of admitted students, she identified an opportunity and started getting ready.
During her sophomore year, she increased her involvement by cofounding an international food and cultural appreciation club at the University of Birmingham. She also joined a business finance club and took part in a strategy consulting contest (the Capgemini Community Challenge), which her team emerged victorious in.
When pursuing research and internships, Chau concentrated on areas aligned with her field of study; however, she encountered difficulties since many internship positions demanded previous work experience.
Given the three-year undergraduate course she was pursuing, her second summer essentially remained her selesai opportunity to secure pertinent professional experience.
As her dream at Oxford appeared to be cut short, Chau discovered a biochemistry research scholarship opportunity presented by the Wellcome Trust and UKRI.
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Vu Minh Chau (C) alongside her team members during the Capgemini Community Challenge event at the University of Birmingham. The photo was provided by Chau. |
The scholarship encompassed living expenses, travel, and research costs for an eight-week session.
One of the 11 students chosen for a study on genetic alterations in the placenta at the University of East Anglia was Chau.
She mentions that her professor offered guidance and oversight during the entire research journey. Unexpectedly, this experience turned out not to be boring as she had anticipated; instead, she found joy in innovatively exploring different approaches.
I believed my efforts were making a significant contribution to health science, which further fueled my motivation.
Her two-month research period enhanced her thoroughness, patience, and proficiency in analyzing scientific literature. Additionally, she acquired more profound insights into her area of study, particularly concerning protein purification techniques.
This stood out as the most impressive section of my application for the master’s acara and transformed everything.
When she started her last year at university, she kept her position as the leader of the business finance club.
She requested an earlier start for her research, aiming to spend those tambahantwo months getting acquainted with the procedures and acquiring new competencies.
Her study was centered around the architecture of an anticancer medication and how it influences a specific protein within the body.
When applying to Oxford, Chau detailed in her motivational letter how her numerous childhood hospital stays because of health problems fueled her interest in pursuing pharmacology.
“Whenever my mom joked, ‘Out of 30 days in a month, nearly 29 were spent sick,’ it would cheer up our household when I had to be admitted to the hospital,” Chau started.
She mentioned that she was found to have mesenteric lymphadenitis, which has the potential to result in blood infections.
The main reason I chose to study medicine and pharmacology was my poor health during childhood.
In early December 2024, she sent in her application and then patiently awaited about a month until she was notified that she had advanced to the interview round.
During the following fourteen days, she worked on responding to potential queries, doing so independently or alongside her advisor.
Due to her thorough preparations, she managed to respond confidently to most of the questions. However, one mathematics-related query threw her off, resulting in an incomplete response.
If I had handled that question effectively, I would have felt assured about my chances of succeeding. However, since things didn’t unfold as intended, I experienced anxiety for some time.
In the coming days, she often looked at her inbox, eagerly awaiting the outcome.
At the beginning of February, she was overjoyed when she received an acceptance letter from Oxford and promptly called her family to share the wonderful news.
Chu Cong Son, who graduated from Oxford and serves as the director of D.U.T Consultancy, has been advising Chau since August 2024 when she was preparing to start her third year.
He acknowledged her capabilities, observing that she ranked among the top five students in her class based on GPA and had participated in an eight-week research initiative.
Despite this, he estimated Chau’s likelihood of making it to the interview round at around 60-70 percent.
He recommended that she acquire additional research experience and participate in community events.
“At times, Chau found it challenging to determine her path, yet whenever provided with direction or given specific assignments, she consistently surpassed expectations,” he remarks.
Reflecting on her application process, Chau wished she had begun participating in internships, research, and social events sooner, ideally at the start of her first year.
She thinks her profile would have been even more impressive back then, enabling her to apply for additional scholarships.
In October, she begins her master’s program. Since the course duration is one year, she plans to make the most of all available research chances.
Her upcoming objective is to concentrate on how drugs influence protein structure and functionality.
She expresses her desire to get some scientific papers published shortly and eventually secure a position at a prominent pharmaceutical firm.