As the school year drags on, courses only get harder as more tests approach and more prior knowledge is drawn upon. Many students become flustered or stressed out over grades in difficult classes. They often turn to inefficient ways of studying that take time but are not necessarily effective, such as reading the textbook multiple times or staring mindlessly at notes.

Sophomore Quan Vandinh, however, has been able to deal with this problem. While many other students spend hours studying and struggling to keep up with all their classes, he gets through more efficiently. On the surface, it would seem to be inborn ability.

Vandinh could be considered a whiz; however, he acknowledges that “natural smartness” does not necessarily mean that he automatically knows all the answers to what is being taught. Instead, his talent lies in the way he perceives presented concepts.

“I see patterns in information,” Vandinh said. “I use [this skill] to better understand and remember what I learn.”

Vandinh uses his natural ability to his advantage, and he feels that it has saved him a lot of time. He believes that by learning to apply himself on his own, his pacing for learning the curriculum becomes faster. With such a method, he is able to grasp lessons taught with more ease, especially in classes that are based more on conceptual ideas.

While Vandinh excels in all of his classes, he said it is for this reason that he especially likes math and chemistry.

“Application work is just easy for me,” Vandinh said.

Despite his intelligence, Vandinh is very modest, according to fellow sophomore Michael Ren.

“He never flaunts his academic performance,” Ren said.

Vandinh also said that his abilities enable him to understand concepts in a short amount of time and makes him more relaxed when doing homework and studying.

Sophomore Saro Acharya said Vandinh’s perceived smartness belies a strong work ethic.

“He is willing to go above and beyond and not just do the minimum amount of work,” Acharya said.

As he moves forward in selecting courses for his upcoming junior year, Vandinh believes he can get through a hard workload without having to sacrifice too much time.

“[My ability to understand more] gives me the chance to load up on challenging courses,” Vandinh said. “Although I may not have the same relaxed pace, I [should] be able to take [them] without injuring my sleep schedule too harshly.”