With a difficult exam, will the Foreign Trade University lower its entrance score to below 24 points?

In its admissions information published in early May, the Foreign Trade University stipulated the minimum entry requirements for the academic transcript-based admission method. Accordingly, candidates must have a total score of at least 24 points in at least one of the subject combinations for the high school graduation exam. This score does not include priority or bonus points.

Many candidates taking the D00 (Mathematics, Literature, English) and A01 (Mathematics, Physics, English) exam blocks are worried about losing their chance of being admitted to the Foreign Trade University because they "missed" the 24-point mark in the recent high school graduation exam.

Nguyen Trung Kien (born 2007, Quang Ninh province ) won third prize in the provincial excellent student competition, and his high school transcripts for all three years had GPA above 9.0. He applied for admission to the Foreign Trade University. Kien was initially very confident about his target of 24 points, but now estimates he will only achieve 23-23.5 points.

"The math and English exams were unexpectedly difficult. I only got about 8 points in math, 7.75 in English, and 7 points in literature. Because I have an IELTS certificate with a score of 6.5, it was converted to 8.5 points in English without needing to use my high school graduation exam score. However, my total score still didn't reach 24. I'm very sad and worried, because foreign trade is my number one choice," Kien said.

Speaking to a reporter from Dan Tri newspaper , a representative from the Foreign Trade University stated that a new aspect of the quality assurance threshold is that it may be adjusted after the distribution of scores from the 2025 high school graduation exam is released.

"Since this is the first year of the high school graduation exam under the new general education program, the school anticipates potential fluctuations in the score distribution. Therefore, the school has clearly stated the entrance threshold in the admission information."

"Candidates can rest assured that the school will base its optimal selection plan on the official score distribution, ensuring that suitable candidates are selected for each training program in the fairest way possible," a school representative said.

In the event of a sharp decline in the score distribution, the Foreign Trade University may adjust its entrance threshold down to below 24 points.

A representative from a top university offering semiconductor programs also expressed a similar view.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Education and Training stipulates that the minimum entrance threshold for candidates applying to semiconductor majors is 24 points out of 30, and a minimum of 8 points in mathematics out of 10 in the high school graduation exam.

A school representative stated: "With this year's math exam, if the requirement remains that candidates must achieve 8 points in math to be eligible to register for the semiconductor major, then schools will be unable to recruit students."

This person stated that, once the official score distribution is available, if the average math score is lower than in 2024, the school will propose to the Ministry of Education and Training to allow a reduction in the entrance exam score for mathematics.

The 2025 high school graduation exam took place on June 26-27. The math, English, and literature exam papers were assessed as more difficult than the sample papers. The English exam, in particular, exceeded the Level 3 standard – the output standard for high school.

Recently, the website of the Academy of Finance shared the forecast of Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Dao Tung - Director of the Academy - regarding this year's admission cutoff scores. Dr. Tung predicted that the cutoff scores for top-tier universities will decrease by 3-5 points, while mid-tier universities will see a decrease of 3-4 points.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/de-thi-kho-dai-hoc-ngoai-thuong-giam-nguong-dau-vao-duoi-24-diem-20250630183442131.htm