On June 24, 2026, Miss Bao Ngoc spoke out regarding the recent discussions about her acceptance into Columbia University. In a statement, she affirmed that her admission to the Master's program in Environmental Science and Policy at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) was accurate and that all application processes were conducted according to the university's official guidelines.

Initially, Bao Ngoc received a financial aid offer of $15,000 for the summer 2026 intake. However, due to her prior commitments to participate in Miss World 2026, she proactively requested to defer her admission to 2027, which the university approved. This means that the financial aid conditions will be reassessed when she begins her studies in 2027.

In her statement, Bao Ngoc explained that the management of her fan page had utilized AI technology to process images for privacy reasons. Unfortunately, this led to some discrepancies in the displayed information, including the phrase "no tuition" being misrepresented as "ho tuition." Bao Ngoc emphasized that this was a technical error and not an intentional alteration of the admission letter.

She took full responsibility for the oversight and expressed her sincere apologies to her audience for any misunderstandings that arose from the initial post. Bao Ngoc clarified that the omission of complete information regarding her financial aid was not meant to imply that she received a full scholarship or greater support than what was actually offered.

Following the public scrutiny, Bao Ngoc updated her social media post with a corrected image of her admission letter, which included the financial aid details. She reiterated that the information shared was genuine and that the discrepancies were unintentional, resulting from the image processing.

Prior to this clarification, Bao Ngoc's announcement of her acceptance into Columbia had garnered significant attention online, but some users pointed out unusual details in the admission letter, questioning its authenticity. The controversy has since highlighted the importance of accuracy in public communications, especially regarding prestigious institutions.