However, to ensure fairness and efficiency, the problem of converting points between methods and combinations needs to be standardized and made more transparent at the system level.
Registration made easier
One of the improvements that candidates and parents have most enthusiastically welcomed in this year's admissions is the removal of barriers regarding admission methods and combinations. Instead of having to worry about choosing and considering each subject combination and admission method like before, candidates now only need to focus on researching and arranging their favorite majors. The system will automatically consider admission based on all the methods for which they are eligible.
The story of Le Hoang Long - a candidate living in Cho Lon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, is a typical example. With a passion for information technology since he was a junior high school student, Long soon determined his future path. Long devoted all 9 of his wishes to this group of majors. "I love information technology, want to study programming and technology applications. My orientation is clear, so I only focus on one group of majors," Long shared.
The Ministry of Education and Training 's admission system has helped the male student arrange his wishes in a scientific and simple way. His first and second wishes are Computer Science and Software Engineering at the University of Technology and the University of Information Technology, two member schools of Ho Chi Minh City National University. After that, Long continued to add other prestigious public schools to the list such as the University of Natural Sciences (Ho Chi Minh City National University), Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry...
Finally, to increase the chances of admission, Long added non-public schools with good training quality in this field such asFPT University, Van Lang University, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology...
Nguyen Phuong Mai, (My Phong ward, Dong Thap), also has a similar story. Her passion for business since childhood prompted Mai to decide to register for 12 wishes in majors related to Business Administration. "I have always dreamed of building my own business, so Business Administration is the number 1 choice," Mai confided.
Like Long, Mai felt the convenience of registering her wishes on the common system. “I don’t have to worry about registering incorrectly or missing a method. I just need to focus on carefully researching the training programs to find the school that best suits me,” Mai shared.
Dr. Nguyen Trung Nhan - Head of Training Department, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, said that the admission process on the system of the Ministry of Education and Training will take place in 2 main stages. In the first stage, candidate data will be returned to universities to calculate bonus points (including priority points, regions, subjects... according to regulations, not exceeding 10%). After the schools complete the points, the updated score data will be pushed back to the Ministry's system to begin the general admission process.
One of the key points of the admission process is how schools set the expected benchmark for each major, creating competition and requiring candidates to have a smart strategy for arranging their wishes. This year, the special point in this process is that all admission methods are considered at the same time. Candidates with the best scores in the method that meets the benchmark will be recognized as admitted. If they are unlucky in their first wish, the system will automatically consider the next wishes that the candidate has registered.
Score conversion problem: One answer per school
Although the admission registration process has been simplified, converting scores between admission methods and combinations has become a difficult "problem" for many universities.
On July 21, the Ministry of Education and Training issued a document announcing the score distribution comparison tables. This data includes a score distribution comparison chart of some common combinations from the High School Graduation Exams in 2025, 2024, and 2023; a table of the total score percentiles of some common combinations of the High School Graduation Exam in 2025 after calibration; and the correlation between the 2025 High School Graduation Exam scores and the average scores of subjects at the high school level. This is the data for training institutions to determine the difference in scores between admission combinations (if any).
Immediately after that, a series of universities analyzed, compared and proposed separate conversion formulas between admission methods or combinations. Notably, each university built different conversion formulas.
Banking Academy uses the original combination D01 (Math, Literature, English) to perform the conversion. Combinations C00 and C03 will have a higher admission score than combination D01 by 2.5 points on a scale of 30. Diplomatic Academy announced the difference between the admission combinations using the 2025 high school graduation exam results, stating that the admission subject combination C00 will be 3 points higher than the admission subject combination D01. The remaining admission subject combinations have no difference in scores.
At Vietnam Aviation Academy, this unit only converts the floor score and admission score between admission methods, does not convert scores between combinations within the same method and does not change the individual admission score of the candidate.
At Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, the school has built a correlation function to convert admission scores between admission methods, including: Conversion function equivalent to the 2025 high school graduation exam standard score to admission score using 12th grade transcript combined with outstanding achievements (if any); Conversion function using the results of the competency assessment test organized by Ho Chi Minh City National University in 2025. The school does not convert scores between combinations because in each admission combination, the school chooses two core subjects suitable for the requirements of the training industry, so conversion is not necessary.
Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law has built a conversion formula for each admission method, using high school transcript scores; V-SAT exam results... Each admission combination in each major also has a different level. According to the formulas announced by the school, candidates with a score of 28 points in the D01 subject combination (Math, Literature, English) of high school transcript will be equivalent to 24 points in the high school graduation exam or candidates with 115 points in Math in the V-SAT exam will be equivalent to 7.05 points in Math in the 2025 high school graduation exam.
In particular, the conversion of equivalent scores for admission methods still encounters "problems" in some schools. For example, on July 25, Saigon University announced that it would not conduct equivalent conversions and would not use the admission method using the results of the Ho Chi Minh City National University's competency assessment exam for admission majors with the original combination of A00 (Math, Physics, Chemistry) and C00 (Literature, History, Geography).
Because in the notice about the framework for converting admission scores based on the competency assessment test scores and high school graduation exam scores sent to the school, the Center for Testing and Training Quality Assessment - Ho Chi Minh City National University did not convert equivalently in the A00, C00 groups (only the A01, B00, C01, D01 groups). However, later (on July 28), Saigon University received an official dispatch from Ho Chi Minh City National University on supplementing the percentile table equivalent to the competency assessment test scores for the two admission groups of the high school graduation exam score method, which are A00 and C00.
From there, Saigon University has enough basis and will carry out equivalent conversion, continue to use the capacity assessment method with the original admission combinations of A00, C00; at the same time, issue a document withdrawing the previous announcement.
Need to maintain and improve
Dr. Le Dong Phuong - former Director of the Center for Higher Education Research, Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences, assessed that this year's university entrance exam has undergone "revolutionary" changes. In particular, he emphasized that for the first time, the Ministry of Education and Training issued guidelines for converting scores between admission methods and published the percentile table between popular admission combinations.
According to Dr. Phuong, the percentile table is a tool that helps universities have more basis to evaluate more fairly between admission combinations. Although this is not a perfect method, it is one of the best ways for society to visualize the correlation of high school graduation exam scores between subjects and admission combinations. “The Ministry of Education and Training has made efforts to create a basis for fair and transparent assessment in admissions. These changes have brought clear benefits to candidates,” Dr. Phuong commented.
To continue to improve the university and college admission process in the coming years, Mr. Phuong proposed that the Ministry of Education and Training should maintain and upgrade the percentile table system. Specifically, in the university and college admission guidelines, the percentile table issued by the Ministry should be identified as the sole basis for universities to use in calculating the conversion scores between admission methods and combinations.
Depending on the training characteristics, schools can add bonus points or additional criteria. This standardization helps schools be more proactive in developing conversion methods after the High School Graduation Exam ends and the Ministry of Education and Training announces the score distribution and percentile table. At the same time, candidates also have more information early to choose the right major and school.
In addition, university recruitment communication work needs to be strengthened. The announcement of conversion formulas between admission methods and combinations needs to be implemented early and synchronously, before the time when candidates have to "finalize" their admission registration wishes.
Sharing the same view, MSc. Pham Thai Son - Director of the Admissions and Communications Center, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, proposed that in the next year's admission period, the Ministry of Education and Training should consider announcing regulations on equivalent conversion of admission scores between admission methods and combinations at a common level for the entire system. This will limit the situation where each school builds its own conversion framework when determining the threshold to ensure input quality (floor score) and admission score.
According to Master Pham Thai Son, eliminating the early admission stage and having only one official admission round from 2025 is a positive change in university and college admissions. This will help candidates focus fully on the High School Graduation Exam and the competency assessment exam. After completing the exams, students will enter the admission registration round, so they will be more comfortable and confident.
Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/no-luc-chuan-hoa-quy-trinh-tuyen-sinh-post745632.html
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