Military schools raise IELTS admission score to 5.5

Candidates applying through a combination of academic transcripts and international English certificates must achieve a minimum IELTS score of 5.5 or higher, exceeding last year's requirement of 5.0.

On June 1st, the Military Admissions Board of the Ministry of National Defence issued guidelines for direct admission and priority admission for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Accordingly, the biggest change compared to last year is the English language proficiency requirement for candidates applying through the combined academic transcript method . Students must have achieved excellent academic performance and good conduct in grades 10, 11, and the first semester of grade 12. In addition, candidates must have an English language certificate with a minimum score of 5.5 IELTS or 55 TOEFL iBT, an increase from last year's minimum of 5.0 and 50 points.

Candidates using Chinese language certificates must achieve at least HSK4, and Russian language certificates at least TRKI2, similar to last year.

Another new development this year is that military schools are accepting SAT and ACT results (two standardized tests used for college admissions in the US) in combination with academic transcripts. The required scores for applicants to submit their applications are 1,068/1,600 SAT and 18/36 ACT, respectively.

For candidates applying with a combination of academic transcripts and awards, the criteria remain unchanged from last year. Candidates must have won first, second, or third prize in provincial-level student competitions in subjects belonging to the chosen subject combination. Note that military schools only accept awards obtained before or during the year the candidate graduates from high school; this does not apply to independent candidates or those who graduated in previous years.

For candidates admitted directly or through priority consideration, all criteria remain the same as in previous years.

Military schools still offer direct admission according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training . Candidates are eligible for direct admission if they are Labor Heroes, Heroes of the People's Armed Forces, or outstanding soldiers who have graduated from high school; have won at least a third prize in a national or international student or science and technology competition; are from a very small ethnic minority group; or live in a poor border or island district.

The priority admission group includes candidates who are eligible for direct admission but do not use this right; and those who have won a consolation prize (or fourth prize) in national-level examinations.

Students taking the 2022 high school graduation exam in Thanh Hoa, on July 6th. Photo: Le Hoang — Students taking the 2022 high school graduation exam in Thanh Hoa, on July 6th. Photo: *Le Hoang*

Regardless of which group they belong to, candidates must pass the preliminary selection round, meeting the general requirements of the Ministry of National Defense regarding character, ethics, and health. Therefore, candidates need to prepare two sets of documents: one for preliminary selection and one for final selection.

According to the Ministry of Defense's schedule, candidates must register for admission and submit preliminary application documents at the district-level Military Recruitment Board where they are registered as permanent residents no later than June 25th.

This year, 17 military schools are recruiting nearly 4,400 students, a decrease of about 450 compared to last year. Candidates can only register one military school as their first choice when submitting their preliminary application; the remaining choices can be registered for non-military schools. Selection is based on high school graduation exam scores.

Candidates who are not admitted to their first choice will be considered for their next choice in the order of priority of their registered preferences.

In 2022, more than 11,100 candidates applied for admission to military schools, while the total enrollment quota was approximately 4,800. The cut-off scores based on the high school graduation exam results for military schools ranged from 17.35 to 29.79, with four schools having scores below 20.

Thanh Hang

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