Is the academic transcript review process expected to be "strict"?

The draft regulations for university admissions in 2025 include many new points regarding early admissions, especially the method of admission based on academic transcripts.

On November 22nd, the Ministry of Education and Training announced the draft regulations for university admissions in 2025, which include several new points regarding early admissions. Accordingly, the Ministry of Education and Training proposes that the quota for early admissions should not exceed 20% of the total quota.

All admission methods must be converted to a common scoring scale. The admission score through the early admission method must not be lower than the cutoff score based on the 2025 high school graduation exam results.

Universities still have autonomy in their admission methods. However, specifically for the method of considering academic transcripts, the Ministry requires the academic results for the entire 12th grade year, along with a combined score of at least three compulsory subjects: mathematics and literature. A major or training program may use several subject combinations simultaneously. In that case, the number of common subjects from all combinations must account for at least 50% of the total score.

Students taking the 2023 high school graduation exam in Hanoi . Photo: Tao Nga

Therefore, if this regulation is approved, universities using the academic transcript-based admission method will not be able to announce the admission cutoff scores early before May as they do now. Universities can use an unlimited number of subject combinations for admission, instead of only being allowed to use 4 combinations as currently, but will be bound by the weighting of the scores of the subjects.

Similar to the academic transcript review method, the draft requires schools to use the student's academic results for the entire 12th grade year, instead of using scores from 3-5 semesters as is currently the case.

The draft also clarifies that training institutions are responsible for explaining the scientific and practical basis for determining admission methods, selection methods, selection combinations, and the conversion of equivalent scores for admission and acceptance; this must be based on analysis, evaluation, and comparison of the academic results of admitted students each year.

According to the views expressed by many Ministry leaders previously, early admission based on academic transcripts, as well as the use of multiple scoring scales in early admission, risks creating unfairness in the admissions process. Candidates with only high school graduation exam scores have their opportunities to enter university narrowed due to low quotas and high cut-off scores.

Currently, universities use more than 20 admission methods, mainly focusing on international certificates, aptitude test scores, thinking skills assessments, or a combination of these certificates.

The draft also stipulates the entrance requirements for teacher training programs and health-related fields that grant professional practice certificates. Accordingly, academic results in all three levels of high school must be rated as good or higher, or the high school graduation examination score must be 8.0 or higher.

For Physical Education, Music Education, Fine Arts Education, Early Childhood Education (college level), and Nursing, Preventive Medicine, Midwifery, Dental Prosthetics Technology, Medical Laboratory Technology, Medical Imaging Technology, and Rehabilitation Technology, the entry requirement is a GPA of "good" or higher for all three years of high school, or a high school graduation exam score of 6.5 or higher.

Source: https://danviet.vn/tuyen-sinh-dai-hoc-2025-du-kien-gat-gao-voi-xet-hoc-ba-20241122191902493.htm