The university admissions plan of universities in this year's admissions season is related to international certificates, which is expected to be of interest to candidates. However, because each school is converting this certificate and many other foreign language certificates according to its own scale, there are concerns about the lack of uniformity, causing unfairness for candidates.
Competition is getting fiercer
According to statistics from the British Council, in the period 2023 - 2024, 27% of candidates in Vietnam achieved 7.0 or higher for the IELTS Academic test, while 23% achieved this level for the General test. This score compared to the previous period has been significantly improved, showing that the English proficiency of Vietnamese IELTS candidates is increasingly improving as well as the interest and investment of families and candidates for this certificate in particular and for foreign languages in general is also increased. According to experts, this has a significant impact on the fact that more and more universities are using foreign language certificates in university admission methods. Especially before, with the early admission methods of the schools, candidates will have much less pressure on the high school graduation exam. If they possess a high-level foreign language certificate, they are almost certain to get into their favorite university.
Even if the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) abolishes the early admission rule this year, it is only a matter of time. Candidates with high scores in foreign language certificates will still have an advantage in entering university. Because according to the university admission plan that schools have announced, hundreds of schools give priority to candidates with foreign language certificates.
For example, in the announcement of the 2025 regular university admission plan of Hanoi University of Culture, candidates with IELTS 4.0 will be given 3 bonus points. This has raised many concerns because IELTS 4.0 according to the conversion table to the 6-level Foreign Language Proficiency Framework is only equivalent to level 3/6. If this score has been added 3 points, then candidates with IELTS 6.0; 7.0 or 8.0 certificates will also be given the same score, which is unfair.
Associate Professor, Dr. Truong Dai Luong - Head of Training Management Department (Hanoi University of Culture) said that 4.0 is the minimum threshold for the school to accept applications for candidates with IELTS certificates. Actual bonus points will be allocated based on each candidate's IELTS score. For example, candidates with IELTS 4.0 may only receive 0.5 or 1 point, while candidates with IELTS 5.0 or IELTS 6.0 certificates will be considered for higher bonus points.
Also converting IELTS from 4.0 and above, Saigon University informed that IELTS scores of 4.0 - 5.0 are converted to 8 points; 5.5 - 6.5 are converted to 9 points, and from 7.0 and above are converted to 10 points. In addition, this school also converts a number of other certificates such as TOEFL iT,. TOEIC, PTE Academic, Linguaskill; Aptis, VSTEP...
Thus, each school is converting the results of foreign language certificates and other certificates according to its own grading scale, leading to inconsistency, causing many to worry about unfairness for candidates.
Waiting for instructions
From the fact that each school has its own regulations on bonus points, priority for admission with English certificates, MSc. Pham Thai Son - Director of the Admissions and Communications Center ( Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade) said that the Ministry of Education and Training needs to soon have detailed instructions on this conversion so that schools have a basis to build a conversion table between admission methods such as high school exams, transcripts, international certificates... Mr. Son also proposed that the conversion of points must ensure fairness, not cause disadvantages or excessive priority for any group of candidates. For example, an IELTS certificate of 6.5 can be converted to 8 or 9 points for English in the D01 group. In addition, it is necessary to calculate additional coefficients to suit the exam questions and the number and quality of candidates each year...
Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh - former Director of the Department of Vocational Education (Ministry of Education and Training) said that adding points to candidates with IELTS certificates or other foreign languages will encourage students to practice the necessary foreign language skills in integration. However, the level of additional points needs to be carefully considered to ensure fairness, because not all candidates have enough finances or a learning environment to take the exam. Dr. Vinh suggested that schools adjust the additional points according to the field of study. For example, fields such as Tourism, Service Management and English Language should require a higher IELTS certificate than other fields.
Universities are currently waiting for the Ministry of Education and Training to issue the 2025 university admission regulations with detailed instructions on converting foreign language certificate scores and calculating bonus points. Accordingly, schools can convert foreign language certificates into foreign language subject scores in the admission combination, but the weighted score must not exceed 50%. The total bonus points from other achievements and certificates must not exceed 10% of the maximum score.
Experts say that this regulation helps candidates promote their strengths to increase their chances of admission, while ensuring fairness, avoiding abuse of foreign language certificates or giving too high bonus points, causing disadvantages to other candidates.
Source: https://daidoanket.vn/tuyen-sinh-dai-hoc-2025-tinh-toan-phuong-an-quy-doi-diem-phu-hop-10302431.html
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