Percentile table helps candidates have more basis to predict their chances of admission

The Ministry of Education and Training has just announced detailed statistics on the comparison of scores of some combinations of high school graduation exam scores in 2025, high school study scores, and percentiles between subject combinations. This is considered the basis for universities to determine the difference in scores between combinations, if any, to ensure fairness between admission methods. The issue of concern now is what does the percentile table mean to candidates and what should they pay attention to when applying for university admission this year?

Percentile tables help universities have a fairer basis for evaluation.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, from 2024 onwards, the basic limitation of university admission is that there are too many admission methods and many different admission combinations. Each admission method has its own scoring scale.

The 2025 University Admission Regulations stipulate that universities using multiple methods and admission combinations for a major and training program will have to convert scores to a common scale and an equivalent standard score to ensure fairness in admission. And to avoid unfairness among candidates, the Ministry of Education and Training has introduced a statistical method of percentile.

Based on the detailed statistical results in the percentile table between popular admission combinations of the Ministry of Education and Training in 2025 (including: A00 - Math, Physics, Chemistry; A01 - Math, Physics, English; B00 - Math, Chemistry, Biology; C00 - Literature, History, Geography; D01 - Math, Literature, English; C01 - Math, Physics, Literature; D07 - Math, Chemistry, English), it shows that combination C00 has a much higher score than other combinations.

For example, 22.75 points of combination C00 is equivalent to 20.25 points of combination A00; 19 points of combination B00; 16.25 points of combination D01 and 14.75 points of combination D07...

Sharing with reporters, Associate Professor Dr. Do Van Dung, former Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education, said that percentile is a statistical concept that helps determine the relative position of an individual in a group based on scores or measurement values.

It's like a "ranking scale" that helps students know where they stand compared to all other candidates, rather than just looking at absolute scores like 8/10 or 25/30.

For example, if a candidate scores at the 90th percentile, it means that this candidate's score is higher than 90% of the remaining candidates, with only about 10% of the other candidates being better than this candidate.

According to Mr. Dung, the greatest significance of the percentile table is to help universities have a basis for fairer evaluation. In addition, the percentile table also helps candidates have more basis to predict their chances of admission.

For example, this table shows you that this year's score range is 28.75 points for block A00, which is equivalent to 27.5 points for block D01 at the same percentile. Based on that, you can look it up to estimate your score compared to other students. From there, prioritize your wishes accordingly to be able to pass the entrance exam to your dream school.

This is especially useful when the number of candidates this year is very large and the score distribution between admission groups has a large difference, such as block A is 1-2 points higher than block D at the same percentile.

In addition, the percentile table also ensures that students’ scores are “balanced” when considering admission, and that they are not disadvantaged because the exam is more difficult than the subject they choose. In other words, the percentile table is like a “ranking map” that helps students feel more confident, reduces disputes about the difficulty of the exam, and makes the admission process more transparent and fair; there is no longer a situation of “high scores but still failing”.

Candidates can predict the cut-off score based on percentile

Note to candidates in this year's university entrance exam based on the percentile table, Mr. Dung said that candidates need to look up the conversion table and specific score conversion framework of universities to calculate accurately.

In addition, based on the percentile table, students can choose the appropriate subject combination when registering. The reason is that currently, each separate exam school will choose the high school exam combination as the "base" for conversion.

For example, competency assessment exams often use the A00 combination, so if candidates take a separate exam, check to see if that combination matches their wishes and avoid "indirect" conversion from competency assessment exam scores to A00 and then to D01 because this can cause errors.

In addition, candidates can also predict the standard score based on percentile. For example, if a candidate is in the top 10% (percentile 90), the chance of passing the top school will be higher.

In particular, to avoid unfortunate mistakes in the admission process, Mr. Dung advised candidates not to convert their scores themselves, just submit their exam results as usual when registering for admission, the general admission software system of the Ministry of Education and Training will automatically process based on the conversion framework.

Students also need to diversify their wishes by applying to many schools and using many different methods to increase their chances of admission. If their high school scores are low, separate exams can be a “rescue” through conversion. However, students also need to be mentally prepared, although percentiles help ensure fairness, competition in admission is still very high.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tien Thao, Director of the Department of Higher Education , Ministry of Education and Training, said that the difference in university admissions this year compared to previous years is that the admission scores will be converted to the same scale between admission methods and use the percentile method to convert as well as determine the level of similarity between combinations to ensure maximum fairness for candidates.

Thus, a training program can be recruited using many combinations and many methods, but the difference in scores between the combinations will be adjusted according to the percentile method. Parents and candidates do not need to worry because universities must adjust according to the percentile method to ensure the highest benefits for students.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/bang-bach-phan-vi-giup-thi-sinh-them-can-cu-du-doan-co-hoi-trung-tuyen-post741360.html