University Admissions 2025: Concerns about how to add bonus points and convert foreign language certificates

University Admissions 2025: Concerns about how to add bonus points and convert foreign language certificates

According to the 2025 university admission regulations, universities are allowed to add incentive points and bonus points but not exceeding 10% of the maximum score of the admission scale (3 points/30-point scale). In particular, bonus points and incentive points are for candidates with special achievements and international language certificates. In fact, some schools allow candidates to choose the highest bonus point, some schools allow candidates to use many different bonus points as long as it does not exceed 3 points.

And with this point-adding policy, there are candidates who only scored 27 points in the high school graduation exam, but because they were given 3 additional incentive points and bonus points, they exceeded 30 points. This explains why in the 2025 high school graduation exam, although the whole country did not have any candidates who scored 30 points in the Math-Literature-English combination, this year there were 4 majors of two major Foreign Language Universities that recruited this combination with a standard score of 30/30.

Candidates need to confirm their admission on the system on time to ensure their rights. Illustrative photo.

In addition, many universities also allow candidates with international language certificates to convert them into foreign language scores in the admission group. The conversion score varies depending on the specific regulations of each school, but commonly, candidates with an IELTS certificate of 6.5 are converted into 9.5 points in English when applying, and an IELTS certificate of 7.0 is converted into 10 points in English. This conversion of scores has led to candidates who only scored 6 to 7 points in English in the high school graduation exam, but because they have an IELTS certificate of 6.5-7.0 or higher, when applying for university, their English score is 9.5-10 points, a difference of 3-4 points compared to the graduation exam score.

In the context of tightening regional priority points, students in remote areas are only given a maximum of 0.75 priority points, while many universities are giving up to 3 points to excellent students and students with IELTS certificates, raising concerns about the risk of unfairness in enrollment, especially between students with international language certificates and students in areas with difficult economic conditions who do not have the conditions to study and take exams for these certificates.

Mr. Vu Khac Ngoc, a high school teacher in Hanoi, said that among the nearly 850,000 candidates applying for university admission this year, the number of excellent students with IELTS certificates is only a minority but is given special preferential treatment. On the contrary, the majority of candidates who do not have the conditions to study and take international certificates, especially in remote areas, are at a disadvantage. According to Mr. Ngoc, the bonus points and certificate conversion, which are applied by most universities in this year's admission season, have pushed the benchmark scores to skyrocket, continuously breaking the records of previous years.

“The Ministry of Education and Training has repeatedly emphasized fair competition and has reduced regional priority points, which are a lever for students in remote areas to create balance with city candidates. However, at the same time, the regulations allow 1-3 points to be added for excellent students with international certificates. It is clear to see the contradiction when tightening priority points for the majority of candidates but expanding priority for a minority with conditions. Is that fair?”, Mr. Ngoc asked. Mr. Dinh Duc Hien, Vice Principal of FPT Bac Giang Inter-level High School, also said that while regional priority points are being tightened, bonus points for certificates are flourishing. University admissions need to consider this issue for next year to ensure the most fairness for all candidates.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son said that the innovations in the 2025 admission season, from the regulations on score conversion, the limit on bonus points to the implementation of virtual filtering in multiple rounds, are all aimed at a common goal of creating more fairness and convenience for candidates. In previous years, there were situations where the benchmark scores were different between methods in the same field, but considering the transcripts was much lower than considering the exam scores, or even vice versa.

This year, that situation is no longer common. Although there are still many conflicting opinions about the conversion, in reality, there is no perfect formula. However, universities are required to publish clear conversion principles and take responsibility for their practices because autonomy cannot be separated from accountability.

Deputy Minister Hoang Minh Son also said that this year, some training institutions applied the policy of adding bonus points and converting foreign language certificates which was not really reasonable, causing the total score to be pushed up to an absolute level. Although the Ministry of Education and Training has issued regulations limiting priority points to not exceeding 10% of the total score and not exceeding the maximum threshold, the appearance of many 30/30 levels in some industries shows that this issue needs further consideration and evaluation.

Candidates must confirm admission on the system before 5:00 p.m. on August 30.

According to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, after knowing the university admission results, all candidates must confirm their admission on the system, the deadline for confirming admission is 5:00 p.m. on August 30. In case the candidate does not confirm and does not have a valid reason, the admission results will be canceled. Candidates should note that after confirming admission, candidates cannot cancel on the system. If they want to cancel, candidates must contact the university directly for consideration. From September 1 to December 2025, training institutions can consider additional admission if there are still quotas.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/giao-duc/tuyen-sinh-dai-hoc-nam-2025-ban-khoan-ve-cach-thuc-cong-diem-thuong-quy-doi-chung-chi-ngoai-ngu-i779443/