Will stop recruiting early

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thu Thuy, Director of the Department of Higher Education - Ministry of Education and Training, spoke about the important changes expected to be applied in the 2025 university admissions season.

* Reporter: The draft Circular amending and supplementing some articles of the Regulations on university-level admissions is being finalized for promulgation. Could you tell us about the most important contents of these regulations?

- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thu Thuy: One of the points to note in this year's revised regulations relates to the early admission process.

The early admission quota is reserved for students with outstanding achievements, including significant national and international awards. Initially, our draft stipulated that early admission would be limited to approximately 20%. However, after considering feedback from experts, we anticipate that early admission may no longer be necessary.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thu Thuy

Most experts believe that early admissions should not be organized because all candidates' preferences must ultimately be entered into the Ministry of Education and Training's common admissions support system. Candidates will only be admitted to a single, highest-priority option within their capabilities, regardless of whether they participate in early admissions or not.

* So, if early admissions are abolished, how will the university application process for students this year change, Madam?

- There is only one difference between early admission and admission according to the general plan (i.e., after the student graduates from high school).

That means if applying through the early admissions process, candidates cannot use their high school graduation exam scores. However, with the general admissions plan, all admission methods and data that students already have, such as academic transcripts, high school graduation exam scores, scores from aptitude tests, independent exams from universities, international certificates, etc., are all applied. In reality, in the early admissions process, candidates can use fewer admission methods. If there were no early admissions process, candidates would still have to register during the general admissions period.

Candidates submit their applications for admission to Nguyen Tat Thanh University. Photo: TAN THANH

Therefore, the university admissions registration process for 2025 will remain the same as in previous years. Candidates will register their desired majors on the general admissions support system after the high school graduation exam. At this time, the Ministry of Education and Training's database will already contain complete candidate information to allow for admissions through all methods. In special cases, such as those with international or national awards, or those eligible for direct admission according to the Ministry of Education and Training's regulations, candidates may apply early. However, this will be a very small percentage, reserved for exceptionally talented students.

* Another notable change in this year's admissions season is that if universities use academic transcripts for admissions, they must use the student's academic results for the entire 12th grade year, instead of using scores from 3 to 5 semesters as before. According to you, why is this regulation in place?

- The main reason is to prevent students from neglecting their studies in 12th grade, especially in the second semester. They must still complete their studies well to achieve good overall grades before entering the high school graduation exam.

This change will have a positive impact, affecting students' learning at the high school level.

* 2025 is the first year that students will take the high school graduation exam under the 2018 General Education Program. Will the admission process based on high school graduation exam scores this year be affected, given that students have fewer subject combinations to choose from?

- This year, candidates will take two compulsory subjects, mathematics and literature, and two elective subjects in the high school graduation exam. How these subjects are used in the admission combinations depends on each university. However, we believe that universities all want to recruit the best candidates, those most suitable for their training programs, so they will use the most appropriate subjects.

This year, to prevent universities from offering too many admission combinations for a single major or group of majors, we stipulate that each admission combination must include at least one important subject, either Literature or Mathematics – one of the two compulsory subjects in the high school graduation exam. The score for this subject must also account for a significant and important proportion in the combination.

Instead of worrying too much about the subject combination, students should focus on studying hard to achieve the highest possible exam results.

Entrance requirements for teacher training and health-related fields remain in place.

Another point to note in the draft admissions regulations is that this year the regulations on the minimum quality standards for admission to teacher training programs and health-related fields that require professional certification will be adjusted. After the draft was published, the Ministry of Education and Training received many comments, especially from independent candidates.

Regarding this regulation, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thu Thuy stated that the Ministry of Education and Training still needs to set a quality assurance threshold for admission based on high school graduation exam scores, instead of relying solely on academic transcripts. Independent candidates no longer have the opportunity to return to high school to accumulate points, therefore, measures are needed to ensure they can still be admitted to teacher training and health-related programs.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/tuyen-sinh-dai-hoc-2025-se-bo-xet-tuyen-som-196250115220542816.htm