How does college admissions work?

2025 will be the first year that many colleges participate in the common application review system with universities under the Ministry of Education and Training.

Students participate in a job fair at Cao Thang Technical College - Photo: TR.NHAN

During this year's admissions season, many schools are maintaining two admission methods: direct admission and online admission through a common system.

Two forms in parallel

Ms. Nguyen Thuy Vuong Khanh, Director of Admissions and Communications at Ho Chi Minh City College of Economics , stated that according to initial statistics from the Ministry's general admissions system.
According to the Department of Education and Training, the school received approximately 2,700 applications. However, detailed data regarding the order of these applications has not yet been released.

"We saw the information of the first 10 candidates, of whom 3-4 ranked Ho Chi Minh City College of Economics as their first, second, third, or fourth choice," Ms. Khanh said.

This is the first year that many colleges have returned to using the Ministry of Education and Training's common admissions system. Therefore, in addition to accepting applications in person, Ho Chi Minh City College of Economics has allocated quotas specifically for this method.

Some majors are currently allocating 10-20% of their enrollment quotas, while others allocate 50%. However, according to Ms. Khanh, the aforementioned figure of 2,700 applications doesn't fully reflect the situation. If around 30% of these applicants are accepted, approximately 900 candidates will meet the eligibility criteria. However, the actual enrollment confirmation rate could drop to 500, and the number of students who complete tuition payment is expected to be around 300.

Dr. Hoang Van Phuc, principal of Saigon Polytechnic College, reported that the college has received 1,045 applications through the Ministry of Education and Training's general admissions system. The Ministry of Education and Training is currently guiding schools through the process of eliminating fraudulent applications and informing candidates to complete the application fee payment as required.

This year, Saigon Polytechnic College is allocating 70% of its enrollment quota to direct admissions and 30% to online admissions. "Because this is the first year we are returning to online admissions through the Ministry of Education and Training's portal after many years, we cannot yet predict what the rate of 'ghost' applications will be."

"We allocate about 30% of our quota to this method," Mr. Phuc said. If there are still vacancies after the first round, the school will continue to implement supplementary admission rounds, mainly through the method of reviewing high school transcripts or good exam scores.
High school graduation.

Current recruitment trends are strongly focused on the electrical and electronics sector, especially industries closely related to the microchip and semiconductor industry boom. This also presents an opportunity for vocational schools to train personnel that closely match the actual needs of businesses.

Dr. Bui Van Hung (Principal of College of Engineering II)

Still relying on direct admission.

Dr. Dong Van Ngoc, principal of Hanoi College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, said that many colleges, including his own, are currently being guided by the Ministry of Education and Training on the process of eliminating "virtual" admissions (admissions that are not real) to serve as a basis for establishing appropriate ceiling and floor scores for each training program.

According to him, integration into the ministry's common admissions system makes things more convenient for schools, while also contributing to standardizing the process and making it easier for candidates to look up and access information. However, because they have only recently rejoined the system, many schools are still in the process of getting used to it, especially the process of eliminating fraudulent applications.

Meanwhile, universities are still maintaining the direct admissions process. To date, nearly 2,500 new students have confirmed their enrollment and will begin classes this weekend. This number accounts for approximately 50% of the total enrollment quota this year. The remaining quotas will be allocated to the online admissions system of the Ministry of Education and Training and subsequent supplementary admissions rounds.

Dr. Dong Van Ngoc added that, given the nature of vocational schools, enrollment is held year-round, therefore supplementary enrollment rounds will take place continuously. The school also plans to recruit more students than the permitted limit, approximately 10% of the quota, to account for the possibility of students dropping out during the training process.

"Regarding entry requirements, vocational education doesn't place a heavy emphasis on grades; for the most part, graduating from high school is sufficient to be eligible to study. Candidates with above-average academic performance can apply to high-tech fields such as automation and automotive technology, which are currently in high demand for highly skilled personnel," he said.

Dr. Bui Van Hung, principal of College of Engineering II, said that this year the school is not participating in the Ministry of Education and Training's common admissions system. The reason is partly because the school has recently transferred from the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to the Ministry of Education and Training, and needs more time to adapt to the new procedures. On the other hand, not joining the common system also allows the school to be more proactive in the admissions process at this time, from receiving applications to providing advice and calling students for enrollment.

To date, the College of Engineering II has recruited approximately 60-70% of its total enrollment target for 2025. According to Mr. Hung, the school expects to complete the remaining recruitment in the final stages of the admissions season, especially as universities have announced their admission results and candidates are increasingly opting for vocational training to enter the labor market sooner.

Among the training programs, automotive engineering continues to attract a large number of applicants. In addition, programs related to electronics, automation, and industrial electrical engineering are also seeing higher levels of interest compared to previous years.

Strengthening training for businesses.

Dr. Dong Van Ngoc stated that in the near future, several colleges will expand their training models for workers in businesses, especially foreign-invested enterprises (FDI) that require retraining to improve the quality of their workforce.

For example, at his school, full-time students still make up the overwhelming majority, around 95-97%. However, in the future, the proportion of students coming from businesses that need to upgrade their skills will increase.

The number of applicants increased by 115,892.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, by the time the university admissions registration portal closed (July 28), the system had received more than 7.6 million applications. More than 310,000 students did not register for admission. The Ministry stated that the number of candidates registering for admission in 2025 increased by 115,892 compared to last year due to some candidates registering for vocational education institutions as well.

TRONG NHAN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tuyen-sinh-cao-dang-ra-sao-2025073121525883.htm