Teenage Prodigy Skips Grades to Join Brother in University Entrance Exam, Gains Admission to Top Global School

In central Vietnam, 15-year-old Hoa Linh has achieved a remarkable feat by skipping two grades to sit for the national college entrance examination (Gaokao) alongside her elder brother. She has secured admission to the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University, which ranks 13th globally. Her score placed her in the top 100 in Anhui Province. Her brother, 17-year-old Hoa Thien, was admitted to the School of Physical Sciences at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, his home province's capital. Both siblings studied at Chizhou No. 1 Middle School in Chizhou city. The Gaokao is typically held in early June and scored out of 750 in most provinces. Admission cut-off scores and quotas are set province by province, not nationally. This year, 12.9 million candidates registered for the exam nationwide, a decrease of 450,000 from the previous year, according to China's Ministry of Education. Hoa Linh's accelerated path to the exam involved skipping the second and sixth grades in primary school, a decision made to be in the same academic year as her brother and to ease her mother's logistical burden. Upon entering secondary school with him, she ranked first in their first mid-term exam. Her brother expressed his astonishment at her score, joking that he would be able to boast at his new university about a sibling two years younger studying at Guanghua. Their parents have been sharing the results on social media, receiving a flood of congratulations. While social media users have hailed Hoa Linh as a "genius girl," she has rejected the title. "I don't think my talent and intelligence meet the standard for that title," she stated. The siblings emphasized that studying efficiently and identifying learning gaps early were more critical than working through vast numbers of practice questions. They highlighted the importance of resting when needed, maintaining a level head under pressure, and building their results through steady accumulation. In Vietnam's educational landscape, academic achievement is highly valued, and exceptional students can sometimes find opportunities for advanced education. However, cases of significant grade skipping to enter top-tier universities, like Hoa Linh's, are extremely rare, suggesting that individual ability and dedication can indeed transcend age and conventional educational timelines. Information Source: VnExpress International