Registering for multiple university admission wishes: Waste from lack of direction

It is worth mentioning that registering many wishes does not necessarily come from careful calculation, but mainly due to insecurity and lack of career orientation, leading to waste of money, time...

Hanoi University of Industry staff provide career guidance to students. *Photo: Contributor*

In this year's university entrance exam, candidate Nguyen Van Long (Phuc Thinh commune, Hanoi) scored more than 90 points in the Hanoi National University's capacity assessment test, giving him the opportunity to be admitted to many of his dream majors. However, because he was concerned about the inconsistency in the way scores were converted between admission methods, Nguyen Van Long registered up to 30 wishes with the hope of being sure to pass a school. The fee for the 30 wishes alone was 450,000 VND.

As for candidate Nguyen Mai Lien (former student of Bac Thang Long High School, Thien Loc Commune), although she had submitted separate applications to several universities and paid the admission fee, when re-registering on the common system of the Ministry of Education and Training , Lien had to pay the admission fee again for those wishes. "An admission method that requires paying the fee twice is very wasteful," Lien expressed.

According to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, the university admission fee in 2025 is 15,000 VND/preference, candidates must pay online via the National Public Service Portal after completing the registration of their preferences. The total amount candidates need to pay will depend on the number of preferences registered. The amount seems small, only 15,000 VND for each preference, but according to statistics, the total admission fee that candidates nationwide have paid in this year's admission season is more than 114 billion VND, a large number compared to the actual cost of maintaining the existing online admission system.

The Ministry of Education and Training believes that allowing unlimited registration of wishes is to expand opportunities to enter university. But in reality, opportunities are only truly meaningful when accompanied by complete information, a transparent system and a unified coordination mechanism.

When the standard score calculation for each school, each combination, each method is different, candidates cannot predict the reasonable chance of admission, the system turns into a maze forcing many people to choose the most expensive way, which is to register for many wishes. Meanwhile, a healthy, economical and effective admission mechanism is an admission system that is designed to be stable, standardized and public. At that time, each candidate will only need to register for 3-5 wishes.

Students participate in career counseling at Hanoi University of Industry. *Photo: Contributor*

The deeper reason why candidates register for many wishes lies in the fact that high schools lack early career orientation for students, so they do not have full access to information about careers and the labor market.

Along with that, the lack of transparency in enrollment, especially in the way of converting scores between enrollment methods, makes candidates even more insecure, forcing them to register widely to "insure" for the future.

Registering multiple wishes to “guarantee” admission to university also leads to the consequence that many students do not really love the chosen major when they enter school. Some study for a few semesters and then drop out, others reluctantly complete but after graduation cannot find a suitable job. In fact, many bachelors and engineers have to make a living as technology drivers or manual laborers or labor exporters… causing a great waste of time and money for both families and society.

Faced with the current shortcomings, it is time for the Ministry of Education and Training to review and make timely adjustments, from standardizing exam questions, unifying the way to convert scores to providing early career orientation for students. Students cannot bet their future on dozens of “lottery tickets” of their wishes. They need a fair, transparent, and reliable admission system so that each decision to choose a school and major is truly a serious choice for life.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/dang-ky-nhieu-nguyen-vong-xet-tuyen-dai-hoc-lang-phi-tu-su-thieu-dinh-huong-715829.html