Graduation exam is difficult, will university admission scores decrease?

The 2025 high school graduation exam in math and English is considered quite difficult for candidates. So what will the expected university benchmark scores be?

An exam invigilator lets a candidate check the bag containing the multiple-choice answer sheet in the elective subject exam of the 2025 high school graduation exam at the exam site of Le Hong Phong High School (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City) - Photo: NHU HUNG

The general spirit is that the benchmark will decrease. Although this year all admission methods must be converted to the same scale, the benchmark will certainly be lower.

MSc. Phung Quan (admission consultant, University of Science , Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City)

The benchmark will be lower.

MSc. Phung Quan - admissions consultant at the University of Natural Sciences (Ho Chi Minh City National University) - commented: "The general spirit is that the benchmark scores will decrease. Although this year all admission methods must be converted to the same scale, the benchmark scores will certainly be lower."

According to the 2025 admission regulations, the Ministry of Education and Training requires all universities to convert their admission methods and combinations to the same standard score scale. This is to ensure fairness for all candidates, regardless of the admission method they choose.

At the same time, the general admission process also helps schools arrange candidates according to their actual abilities and core qualities, in accordance with the requirements of each training program.

A representative of a university training in medicine and pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City said that although this year's benchmark scores may fluctuate slightly compared to 2024 due to changes in the score range and admission methods, majors such as general medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry will still maintain their leading positions.

These are the majors that always attract a large number of candidates to register each year, with high appeal in terms of both career opportunities and the prestige of the training at the schools. Therefore, the ability to compete in these majors is still very fierce, and although the benchmark scores change, they are certainly still in the high group.

MSc. Pham Thai Son - Director of the Admissions and Communications Center of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade - commented that for social science subjects such as history and geography, the exam questions are considered to be within the range of ability, the expected score range is mainly around 7 - 7.5 points and many candidates achieved 7.5 - 8 points.

Therefore, it is predicted that majors that calculate scores for these two subjects using the high school graduation exam score method such as tourism , law, languages... are expected to be equivalent to the scores of last year.

Clear differentiation

Dr. Nguyen Quoc Anh - Vice Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology - commented that the 2025 high school graduation exam is assessed by many experts to closely follow the orientation of the Ministry of Education and Training and is part of the curriculum. However, the exam is more difficult than in 2024, clearly demonstrating the requirement to apply knowledge, synthesis skills and practical thinking.

For example, math has changed significantly according to the new program, with increased difficulty and high requirements for applied thinking, so it is predicted that the average score will be concentrated in the range of 6 - 7 points, with very few candidates achieving 9 - 10 points. Similarly, the exam questions for English and other subjects such as physics, chemistry... are also highly classified.

Mr. Anh commented that the appearance of new subjects such as information technology and technology helps to expand the choices for candidates, but the exams for these subjects are also of considerable length and complexity. With the general level of this year's exam, the overall score range for the entire exam is predicted to be mainly concentrated in the range of 6 - 7 points.

"I think traditional combinations like A00, B00, D01 tend to differentiate clearly, with common scores of 18 - 22 points, while the number of candidates achieving 25 points or more is not much. This score range basically meets the graduation assessment goal, and at the same time, it is predicted that university benchmark scores will remain the same or decrease slightly in some majors," he said.

MSc. Nguyen Hai Truong An - Director of Admissions at Hung Vuong University, Ho Chi Minh City - commented that according to observations from the press, social networks and many candidates, there were fluctuations in the difficulty of some exam questions such as math or English.

The total score of subject combinations using the scores of these two subjects may decrease compared to the previous year, leading to the benchmark scores of these combinations being lower than last year.

"But note that low here is lower than last year, but in general, it should be understood that for hot majors and hot schools, the benchmark score will still be higher than this year's exam score.

How much the difference is compared to previous years will have to wait until the scores and score distribution are available to be able to predict more accurately," said Ms. An.

More choices in college

MSc. Nguyen Thuy Vuong Khanh - Admissions Director of Ho Chi Minh City College of Economics - the "hotness" of popular training majors will remain stable at both top universities and prestigious college training institutions.

However, in the group of selective majors, many universities can enroll students with scores close to the minimum threshold, especially with admission combinations including two subjects: math and English.

According to Ms. Khanh, this opens up opportunities for colleges. With the same score, students can completely choose to study "hot" majors at quality colleges.

In particular, in 2025, more colleges will participate in the common admission system operated by the Ministry of Education and Training, thereby expanding opportunities and creating more choices worth considering for candidates between the two paths: university and college.

University and College Admission Choice Day 2025

The Ministry of Education and Training is expected to announce the high school graduation exam scores at 8:00 a.m. on July 16.

Just three days after the announcement of the high school graduation exam scores, the 2025 University and College Admissions Selection Day, organized by Tuoi Tre newspaper in collaboration with the Department of Higher Education (Ministry of Education and Training), with the support of Vingroup Corporation, will take place simultaneously on July 19 at the University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University) and Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

This is an important opportunity for candidates to update the latest information and receive direct advice from experts and admissions representatives at the key moment of the admissions season.

There are hundreds of consulting booths from universities, colleges, and vocational schools at home and abroad, along with many career guidance activities and 1-1 consulting with experts.

Back to topic

WEIGHT

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/de-thi-tot-nghiep-kho-diem-chuan-dai-hoc-se-giam-20250628230033565.htm