The race to 'secure a spot' in university early.

With university admissions becoming less dependent on high school graduation exam results, more and more students are choosing alternative admission methods to secure their university places early.

Pressure from private exam preparation

In the context of significant changes to the high school graduation exam from 2025 onwards, universities will also make adjustments to their admissions processes to align with the 2018 general education program.

In particular, many top universities are expected to continue reducing their admission quotas based on high school graduation exam scores, such as the National Economics University and Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

Instead of relying solely on high school graduation exam results to enter university, many candidates seek opportunities for admission through early admission methods such as: admission based on academic transcripts, admission based on a combination of international language certificates, and admission based on the results of separate entrance exams…

With the desire to get into top universities, many candidates dedicate time, effort, and money to preparing for foreign language proficiency tests such as IELTS and SAT from a very early age.

Exam supervisors check candidates' information before the high school graduation exam.

Although she's only in her first semester of high school, Nguyen Ngoc Diep, a 10th-grade student at Pham Hong Thai High School ( Hanoi ), has already started looking for IELTS preparation classes. Diep aims to achieve an IELTS score of 7.0 and plans to take the exam in the second semester of 11th grade or the first semester of 12th grade.

"I plan to choose the admission method that combines my IELTS score with the results of the National University of Hanoi's aptitude test. Therefore, the earlier I start preparing for the IELTS exam, the less difficult it will be for me in 12th grade."

To achieve the aforementioned goal, Diep said she spends a lot of time practicing her listening and writing skills, two skills she is still weak in. She attends up to five English classes a week, not including time spent studying other subjects.

According to our research, the cost of studying for and taking the IELTS exam is not insignificant, ranging from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of Vietnamese dong, depending on each student's financial capacity.

Ms. Nguyen Thu Huong (Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi) recently registered her child for an IELTS preparation course costing 55 million VND, with a guaranteed IELTS score of 6.5.

Ms. Huong said: “In the current context where everyone is rushing to prepare for the IELTS exam, my child couldn't be left out. To increase her chances of getting into her favorite university, I spared no expense in investing in her education. An IELTS score of 6.5 is just the initial goal. If she wants to apply to top universities, she needs to prepare further to achieve a higher target.”

Besides the admission method combining foreign language certificates, many candidates choose the admission method based on aptitude and thinking skills assessment tests organized by universities.

Among these, a significant number of candidates are taking multiple separate exams simultaneously, leading to increasing exam pressure.

Early admissions have negative effects.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training, schools use a total of more than 20 admission methods, mainly early admission based on: academic transcripts, international certificates, aptitude tests, thinking skills assessments, and combinations thereof...

Last year, 214 out of 322 universities conducted early admissions. More than 375,500 students were admitted through this method (nearly 50% of the total number of university applicants).

Although early admissions are seen as helping students reduce exam pressure, in reality, the use of multiple early admission methods by universities has narrowed the quota for admissions based solely on high school graduation exam scores. Many students with high exam scores still fail to get into their preferred universities, creating negative social sentiment.

In the academic transcript-based admission method, many schools start reviewing applications from January using grades from 3 or 5 semesters, excluding the second semester of 12th grade. Some schools announce their admission cutoff scores based on academic transcripts as early as March.

Meanwhile, the high school graduation exam takes place at the end of June, the exam results are announced in mid-July, and the admission cutoff scores are announced in mid-August.

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son and many experts believe that this negatively impacts the final stage of general education, and the data used for admissions is incomplete because students have not yet completed grade 12.

In light of the above situation, Professor Huynh Van Chuong, Director of the Quality Management Department of the Ministry of Education and Training, proposed that the results of early admissions should be announced after the end of the academic year program and plan, i.e., after May 31st.

The cutoff scores for early admission methods should be announced after this time to avoid affecting the high school graduation exam and students' studies.

In addition, Mr. Chuong also proposed that the Ministry of Education and Training issue regulations to inspect and monitor the quality of competency and thinking skills assessment exams organized by universities themselves.

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son stated that the regulations for the 2025 high school graduation exam are expected to be issued in November 2024. The long-term stability of the exam regulations has also been taken into account during the drafting process to facilitate implementation for students, teachers, schools, and localities.

The Ministry of Education and Training is reviewing and finalizing the draft of the new admissions regulations for 2025, with the general spirit of simplifying the process, creating favorable conditions for students and society, ensuring the quality of admissions, and providing equal opportunities for candidates. Higher education institutions will continue to operate autonomously in admissions but will have to further enhance their social responsibility.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/chay-dua-san-ve-vao-dai-hoc-som-10293905.html