When IELTS 'overturns' medical admissions

Most health universities use IELTS certificates for admission and admission consideration.

High school students visit, experience reality, and learn about 2025 enrollment information at Hanoi Medical University - Photo: N.TN

In medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and some other health-related fields, candidates have to compete fiercely to get an official place - 0.01 points is the boundary between passing and failing.

However, most medical universities today have countless ways to add points to candidates, creating unfairness in admissions.

This year, English scores are low, so candidates who convert IELTS to English scores will have more advantages and more options.

Head of training department of a university in Ho Chi Minh City

Add up to 3 points to your IELTS certificate

In the 2025 admission period, Hanoi Medical University will apply additional points for candidates with international language certificates. With IELTS certificate, from 5.5 - 6, 1 point will be added; 6.5 plus 1.5; 7.0 plus 1.75 and a maximum of 2 points for candidates with IELTS 7.5 or higher.

With hot majors at this school such as medicine, dentistry or psychology, the competition will be even fiercer as the school has many direct admission quotas.

For example, psychology directly admitted 35 candidates while the quota was 80, medicine directly admitted 160/400 candidates, dentistry 50/120 candidates. Thus, the remaining quota for admission based on high school graduation exam scores is not much.

Not only that, adding points to candidates with IELTS certificates makes the competition even more fierce and unfair.

For example, a candidate from region 1 has a high school graduation exam score of 27 points. With the formula for calculating priority points decreasing from 22.5 points to 27 points, this candidate will receive 0.3 regional priority points instead of enjoying the full 0.75 regional priority points like a candidate with an exam score below 22.5.

This candidate's total admission score is 27.03. A candidate in region 3 (not entitled to regional priority points) scored 26 points and had an IELTS certificate of 6.5, receiving an additional 1.5 points, for a total admission score of 27.5.

Thus, the actual exam scores of candidates in region 3 are lower, but the total admission score will be higher than candidates in region 1.

Similarly, in the method of considering high school graduation exam scores, the University of Medicine and Pharmacy ( Thai Nguyen University) allows candidates to convert IELTS scores into English subject scores in the admission combination: IELTS 5.5 converted into 8 English points; 6.0 into 8.5; 6.5 converted into 9; from 7.5 converted into 10 points.

In addition, this university adds points to groups of candidates with IELTS, national excellent students, and 3-year high school results. Accordingly, the bonus points for candidates with IELTS 5.5 - 6.5 are 2.5 points; 7.0 - 8.0 add 2.75 points and a maximum of 3 points for candidates with IESLT from 8.5.

Hai Phong University of Medicine and Pharmacy also applies bonus points for excellent students and bonus points for candidates with IELTS certificates from 1 to 3 points depending on the IELTS score the candidate achieves.

Thai Binh Medical University also applies bonus points for excellent students and bonus points for candidates with IELTS certificates.

The IELTS certificate bonus score ranges from 0.5 to 2 points. Hai Duong Medical Technical University adds points for candidates with IELTS certificates from 0.5 to 3 points.

Using IELTS certificate as an admission method is also applied by many universities in the South.

Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy also adds points to candidates with international certificates, however, the bonus level of this school is much lower. Candidates with IELTS 6.0 get 0.6 points added; IELTS 8.5 gets 0.85 points added to the admission score.

Statistics show that more than 1,700 candidates submitted international certificates to the school for admission, of which 300 candidates scored 7.5 or higher on IELTS alone.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Khoi, Head of Training Department, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, consults on medical admission registration at the 2025 Admission Selection Day - Photo: QUANG DINH

No sudden change in IELTS candidates admitted

This year, for the first time, the Ministry of Education and Training announced the percentile of 7 exam scores, requiring schools to convert them to a 30-point scale to consider the same graduation exam scores.

This is also the first year that admissions are not based on the test scores of candidates, so the university does not divide the quota for each method. Priority points are also tightened to create fairer competition based on scores.

All of the above are aimed at the goal of fair, equal and transparent admission for all candidates. However, the fact that schools give many preferential scores to candidates with IELTS certificates can create unfairness for other candidates.

Speaking with Tuoi Tre, Associate Professor Dr. Le Dinh Tung - Vice Principal of Hanoi Medical University - said that in previous years, the criteria for considering IELTS scores and high school graduation exam scores were separate, and the standard scores were separate.

This year, the criteria for these two methods are combined into one, with one common benchmark, not divided into two types of benchmarks like previous years.

In previous years, the IELTS combined test score was about 1.75 points lower than the high school graduation exam score.

"We have carefully analyzed the benchmark scores over the past 3 years to come up with a suitable bonus score for IELTS candidates this year, ensuring there is no sudden increase in the number of IELTS candidates admitted.

Therefore, this bonus score can both ensure the number of IELTS candidates admitted and ensure the rights of candidates who only consider their high school graduation exam scores," Mr. Tung explained.

One of the new points of university admissions this year is that there is no distinction between admission methods, only based on candidates' exam scores. Universities do not divide quotas for each method.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Khoi, head of the training department at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City, said that because there is no longer a quota division or separate standard score consideration, candidates with IELTS certificates have an advantage. However, Mr. Khoi said that the difference in scores will not be significant.

"The school has analyzed the benchmark scores of previous years for the high school graduation exam method and the international certificate combination method. The benchmark scores for the combination method are always lower than those for the high school graduation exam method.

Therefore, the international certificate bonus points given by the school this year are based on the difference in benchmark scores from previous years to ensure there is not too much difference between the two groups of candidates," said Mr. Khoi.

Minimum scores for medical and pharmaceutical schools reduced by 2 points

On the afternoon of July 23, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy announced the threshold to ensure input quality (floor score) for regular university admission in 2025.

This floor score applies to candidates in region 3 with the minimum score (without coefficient) of all combinations of 3 exams/subjects, without bonus points, regardless of the exam results of candidates studying the 2006/2018 program.

The school determines the floor score with 3 different score levels, in which the floor score for medical and dental majors has the highest score of 22 points; the floor score of 19 points has two majors, traditional medicine and pharmacy; all other majors have the same level of 17 points.

Thus, compared to last year, the school's floor score has decreased by 2 points corresponding to the above majors and scores.

On the same day, the University of Medicine and Pharmacy (Hanoi National University) announced the minimum score for admission based on high school graduation exam scores for medical and dental majors, with the minimum score set by the Ministry of Health as 20.5.

The four majors of pharmacy, medical laboratory technology, medical imaging technology, and nursing all have a minimum score of 19 - 2 points higher than the threshold score prescribed by the ministry.

The above floor score applies to all combinations, three subjects without coefficient, no bonus points.

At Dai Nam University, with the method of considering high school graduation exam scores in 2025, the school announced the minimum score for receiving admission applications from 20.5 points for the medical major - a decrease of 2 points compared to last year.

The minimum admission scores for the two majors of pharmacy and nursing this year also decreased by 2 points compared to last year, to 19 and 17 respectively.

Unfair

Commenting on this trend, Associate Professor Dr. Do Van Dung, former principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education, said that there are more candidates who are eligible for regional priority than candidates who are not eligible for regional priority, but regional priority points have been tightened.

Meanwhile, the group of candidates with less IELTS but are given maximum opportunities, getting added up to several points in medical admission is unreasonable and causes unfairness in admission. 1-2 points in medical admission is very large, benefiting one candidate, disadvantageous for another.

EXPLANATION

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/khi-ielts-khuynh-dao-tuyen-sinh-y-khoa-20250724082845069.htm