What did the valedictorians of two specialized schools say when asked "Are you a prodigy?"

(Dan Tri) - Bui Nhat Minh is the double valedictorian of the math class at the Natural Science and Pedagogical University. When asked "Am I a genius?", Minh had an interesting answer.

In the 10th grade entrance exam for the 2025-2026 school year, Bui Nhat Minh - a former student of Nguyen Tat Thanh Secondary and High School - attracted special attention.

He scored 10 points in the general math exam and 9.75 points in the specialized math exam when taking the entrance exam to the University of Education High School for the Gifted. With the formula of doubling the specialized exam score and adding the general exam score, Minh scored 29.5/30 points, becoming the valedictorian of the specialized math class at the University of Education High School for the Gifted.

Previously, Minh was the valedictorian of the specialized math class at the High School for the Gifted in Natural Sciences (Hanoi National University). He scored 9 points in the general math test and 10 points in the specialized math test. Minh's total admission score to the specialized math class at the High School for the Gifted in Natural Sciences was 29/30 points, 9.5 points higher than the school's admission score.

The choice of "double" valedictorian

Currently, Nhat Minh and his family have made initial decisions about choosing a school. Accordingly, the University of Education High School for the Gifted is closer to home and more convenient for commuting, so he will most likely attend this school.

At present, when the interest in male student Nhat Minh is quite large, Minh's mother - Ms. Nguyen Thi Tho, a philosophy lecturer at Hanoi Pedagogical University - said that the family has spent time talking with Minh.

Minh's parents advised him not to pay too much attention to compliments, criticisms, or comments on social networks, but to just consider everything... normal, so that he can stay calm and comfortable in his studies and life, and continue to maintain his pure love of mathematics.

According to his family, Minh was not interested or curious about what people were saying about him. He had a naturally calm personality and usually accepted everything with calmness and composure.

Male student Bui Nhat Minh with his mother (Photo: NVCC).

Regarding the results of passing the entrance exam to become the valedictorian of the math class of two prestigious specialized schools, Minh said he felt "comfortable as usual". He was happy but did not feel pressured because the results he had achieved were "no big deal". Minh affirmed that he did not pursue scores or achievements, so he accepted all the results he received with a calm mind.

For me, learning math is a persistent journey that requires the spirit of “winning without pride, losing without discouragement”. First of all, to “win without pride”, Minh sees all the achievements he has made as just milestones on the journey to create the future, what has been achieved is not yet the decisive steps.

I told myself I needed to try harder to develop my strengths, improve my knowledge, and prepare for big goals in the future.

Minh has now started to self-study high school math. His goal is to be on the national math competition team and compete in the International Math Olympiad.

In addition, I will actively participate in extracurricular activities at school during my high school years to have a better balance in life, increase skills and experiences, and prepare for future plans. Minh is determined to pursue mathematics, hoping to be able to contribute to the development of the country in the future.

In addition to “not being arrogant when winning”, Minh also trains the mentality of “not being discouraged when losing”. Minh said that he always sees unstable problems in his studies or life as opportunities to conquer new challenges. When he encounters a problem, he will stop to think about the cause of the problem, then find a way to fix it.

For example, in the math competition in grade 8, Minh won second prize. But for him, it was a disappointing result because his score was lower than he expected.

However, Minh did not feel sad or torment himself. He immediately started to identify the gaps in his knowledge to improve himself. In grade 9, Nhat Minh continued to compete in math competitions and won first prize at the city level. According to him, that is a real proof of "not being discouraged by failure".

I like taking exams because... it's fun.

During his secondary school years, Minh was very enthusiastic about participating in national and international math competitions. He participated in dozens of international math competitions held online and won dozens of awards. Participating in competitions is a way for Minh to position himself, to know how far he has progressed compared to the goals he set.

Male student Bui Nhat Minh with his classmates in secondary school (Photo: NVCC).

For Minh, exams, scores and achievements are not the things that make him feel pressured, because he does not place much importance on the results. He takes exams to know who he is and where he is. Minh looks at his exam scores to see his own level of improvement.

In fact, Minh participated in many math competitions because he wanted to know how interesting the competition organizers could make the questions, and how much knowledge he had to solve the questions. Minh always found joy in the competitions because he waited for the surprises that came from the questions.

Minh's parents added that during the recent 10th grade entrance exam, he arranged his time to take as many exams for specialized math classes as possible. He felt happy when taking the exam because he knew he would be exposed to interesting math problems. For Minh, taking the exam is... joy.

Whenever I achieve something, I never ask my parents to give me a reward. For me, participating in competitions is a meaningful spiritual gift.

In addition, when receiving prizes of great material value, Minh calmly accepted them, shared his joy with his friends, and then quickly "forgot" the prize he had achieved, to continue conquering new goals.

In this male student, the love for mathematics is very pure, he does not like to compete or vie with his friends, he even wants to spread the love of mathematics to them.

Minh is always willing to share valuable books and documents with you, and help you plan effective review sessions so that together you can pass the entrance exams to the desired math classes.

Many of Minh's classmates, after achieving their goals, called Minh with their parents to thank him, because he had shared and supported them very usefully during their review process.

Witnessing their son's good behavior, Minh's parents were very pleased because the teenager really had an open heart, knew how to share and help friends.

Are you a prodigy?

Bui Nhat Minh with his father and grandparents (Photo: NVCC).

When asked this question, Minh quickly answered that he was not a prodigy. He admitted that he was not good at math from the beginning, but because of his passion and perseverance in studying, he gradually improved. Because he was not “naturally good”, according to Minh, he was not a prodigy.

I don’t have any idols. I don’t want to rely on anyone for inspiration and motivation in my studies and life. However, I admire the people around me, those are my classmates with unique talents, and the teachers who have helped me progress in my studies and life.

In studying, Minh emphasizes the role of self-study. He does not go to many extra classes, only math classes. For the remaining subjects, Minh asks his family to let him study at home, because he thinks that studying in class has provided enough knowledge, he can review more on his own.

With less time spent in extra classes, Minh has more time to delve into the math problems that interest him.

Minh thinks that taking too many extra classes will cause confusion in knowledge, while self-studying will help him have time to effectively systematize knowledge in a way that suits him.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tho - Minh's mother - shared that many people often jokingly call Minh a "child prodigy", as for her, she only knows that she and her husband always feel lucky to have a child like Minh. Many people have come to her to ask for her experience in raising children, but in fact, she... has no experience to share.

Everything about Minh happened very naturally, it all belonged to the teenager's innate talent. Minh's parents did not interfere or influence anything. In addition, most of the things in studying and living were actively researched, arranged, and decided by Minh himself.

I shared with my parents so that they could understand, give me more advice and support me, but in the end, my parents always respected my wishes. Regarding my future plans, my parents will also let me have the right to decide for myself, to set my own goals to strive for.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/thu-khoa-2-truong-chuyen-noi-gi-khi-duoc-hoi-em-co-phai-than-dong-khong-20250624203550643.htm