Experts predict that university admission cutoff scores for 2025 will decrease.

Candidates check their high school graduation exam scores. (Photo: Thanh Tung/TTXVN)

Immediately after the announcement of the 2025 High School Graduation Exam results, from July 16th to 5 PM on July 28th, candidates will register, adjust, and add their university and college admission preferences on the Common Admissions System.

Besides admissions based on academic transcripts, aptitude tests, thinking skills assessments, and foreign language certificates, students nationwide are still focusing their efforts on the high school graduation exam to use the results for university admissions.

Therefore, assessments and predictions of cutoff scores from experts and training institutions are an important reference source for candidates to choose and register for suitable majors and schools.

Cut-off scores decreased in subject combinations including Math and English.

As an expert in the score distribution analysis group, Professor Dr. Nguyen Dinh Duc, from the University of Technology - Vietnam National University, Hanoi , said that the predicted university admission cutoff scores this year will be lower than last year, due to several reasons.

Although the number of candidates taking the exams for these subject combinations is lower, the exams are more differentiated, resulting in lower scores; the average scores and the percentage of high scores in each subject are also lower, unlike previous years when there was a surge of high scores. Therefore, the cut-off scores may be 2-3 points lower depending on the field.

The average scores for Literature and Geography this year remain relatively high, so the cutoff scores for subject combinations including these will not differ significantly from last year; for example, the scores for the C00 group will remain relatively stable.

However, combinations that include Math and English scores will see a reduction of 2-3 points.

According to Professor and Doctor Nguyen Dinh Duc, this year, many candidates and teachers were "shocked" by the differentiation in exam questions, especially in Mathematics and English.

In fact, when the Ministry released the sample exam questions, experts commented that they were more difficult. Therefore, teachers, parents, and students need to be aware of this to prepare more thoroughly in the coming years, aiming for genuine and effective learning, and a solid grasp of the knowledge.

To ensure fairness for candidates, Professor and Doctor Nguyen Dinh Duc highly appreciated the Ministry of Education and Training's application of regulations on converting equivalent scores between different admission methods starting from this year's admission season, introducing an adjustment coefficient when considering entrance examinations, especially for majors that consider multiple subject combinations.

For example, in fields like Law or Social Sciences and Humanities, where admissions considers all subject groups (A, B, C, D), converting scores to equivalent levels is an appropriate and scientifically sound method.

Emphasizing the need to maintain stability in the Ministry's admission regulations and the universities' admission plans, Professor and Doctor Nguyen Dinh Duc stated: Admission plans should remain stable over many years and should not be changed every year, causing difficulties for candidates.

For example, in the medical field, admissions used to be based on traditional subject combinations including Chemistry and Biology, but now there are unusual combinations that need to be considered to align with international practices.

The choice of major in university will determine the choice of subjects for the high school graduation exam; therefore, careful consideration and evaluation are necessary to ensure the quality of incoming students.

The Ministry of Education and Training and training institutions also need to announce admission plans early, instead of waiting until March or April as in recent years, which has caused candidates to be "shocked" by sudden changes.

We also need to follow international practices and adopt better methods for assessing competence, initially through a 2-in-1 exam, but in the long term, we need standardized tests similar to those in the United States (SAT, ICT, etc.) to ensure standardization and allow candidates to take the test multiple times a year.

Offering advice to candidates after receiving their high school graduation exam scores, Professor and Doctor Nguyen Dinh Duc shared: Based on the score distribution, universities will set the admission thresholds for each major.

Candidates need to carefully research each school and field of study to register their preferences accordingly.

There is a large difference in admission scores between schools.

Looking at the score distribution, Mr. Nguyen Vinh San - Head of Administration Department, University of Education, Da Nang University - predicted that in 2025, the high school graduation exam score distribution will be well-differentiated, with the score distribution shifting more towards the middle and showing a balance on both sides.

It can be said that this is the most suitable score distribution in recent years for an exam whose results are used both for high school graduation assessment and to provide reliable data for higher education and vocational education institutions to use in admissions in the spirit of autonomy.

A better-differentiated score distribution helps universities group candidates and select students with suitable abilities, especially for universities with high entrance requirements or top-tier institutions.

It is predicted that universities will have significant differences in admission cutoff scores. For top-tier universities, the cutoff scores are not expected to change much, except for those with Mathematics as a subject combination, which may see a slight decrease.

For lower-ranked schools, the cut-off scores this year will decrease significantly (2-3 points or more).

Concurring with this view, Dr. Nguyen Trung Nhan, Head of the Training Department at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, believes that the average scores in 2025 will decrease across all subjects, leading to a decrease of 1-2 points in the average scores for traditional subject combinations such as A00 (Mathematics - Physics - Chemistry), B00 (Mathematics - Chemistry - Biology), A01 (Mathematics - Physics - English), C01 (Mathematics - Literature - Physics), and D01 (Mathematics - Literature - English).

Therefore, the admission scores based on high school graduation exam results will decrease in all fields. In particular, fields that include Mathematics, Chemistry, and Biology will see a significant decrease, possibly up to 2-3 points compared to 2024.

Dr. Vo Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of Duy Tan University, shared: "In all the exam subjects, the average and median scores have decreased compared to last year (except for Physics)."

The biggest drop was in Mathematics, with the median score falling by 2.2 points and having the lowest average score among the 12 subjects. Meanwhile, Mathematics is one of the two compulsory subjects in the High School Graduation Examination, and also one of the two compulsory subjects in each university admission combination.

This year, English is an elective subject, chosen by candidates with above-average academic ability. However, the average and median scores for this subject this year are both lower than last year, indicating the difficulty of the exam.

However, looking at the score distribution, it's clear that the subjects are well-differentiated. It's predicted that the admission cut-off scores for top-tier majors like medicine and artificial intelligence will remain stable because there are still many perfect scores this year.

According to statistics, over 15,000 candidates achieved a perfect score of 10, which is higher than last year.

However, fluctuations in cutoff scores may occur in the group of majors with an average score of around 6-7.5 points per subject; majors in this range may see a decrease in cutoff scores.

(VNA/Vietnam+)

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/chuyen-gia-du-doan-diem-chuan-xet-tuyen-dai-hoc-2025-se-giam-255022.htm