University Admissions 2025: Brainstorming to choose a major, apply for admission

GD&TĐ - To increase the chances of being admitted to the desired major and university, candidates need to clearly understand the principles of registration, adjustment and addition of wishes, and avoid mistakes.

Choosing a career wisely, suitable for your abilities and development trends is the key to helping you orient your future correctly.

Struggling to choose a major

After receiving the high school graduation exam results and entering the admission registration period, many 12th graders are still “standing at a crossroads” with anxiety and confusion. Choosing a major and choosing a school is still a difficult problem for many candidates. They not only face hundreds of majors, but also face pressure from parents’ expectations, social orientation and the fear of studying the wrong major.

Nguyen Ngoc Minh (a candidate in Dong Nai province) shared: “I want to study Graphic Design but my parents said that major is unstable and difficult to find a job. I am confused between pursuing my passion or choosing a major with a clearer output like Economics .”

The dilemma between personal passion and family expectations is not only Minh’s but also a common story of many candidates, such as the case of Mai Dieu Anh (former student of Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted, Ho Chi Minh City). The female student once set a goal of taking the entrance exam for Journalism at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City National University.

Throughout grade 12, she focused on studying for block D01 (Math, Literature and English), with the desire to become an editor as she had dreamed since childhood. However, after the 2025 High School Graduation Exam, Dieu Anh realized that her expected score would hardly allow her to be admitted to the Journalism major in her first choice.

“I see that the benchmark scores of previous years were high, but my score is only average. Now I don’t know whether to switch to another major that is close to journalism or try a completely new major,” Dieu Anh shared. Currently, the female student is undecided between majors such as Marketing, International Business or International Trade Law, because she thinks she can study and then switch to media or writing later. However, she feels regretful for not achieving her original goal and is afraid of choosing the wrong major, studying without really loving it.

Many students express their anxiety when reading the description of the major without understanding anything. Meanwhile, parents often tend to orient their children towards stable majors such as Medicine, Pharmacy, Pedagogy, Accounting, etc. There are many cases where students choose a major just because their friends are applying, their relatives are studying that major, or because they think it is a good major because of the high standard score. The inability to self-evaluate, lack of information, and early career orientation make this stage become a great pressure.

Candidates participate in the 2025 admission and career counseling festival. Photo: Minh Phong

How to arrange admission wishes?

Intending to choose combination D01 (Math, Literature, English) for admission to the English Language major, Hanoi University, but due to the results of the recent High School Graduation Exam not being as expected, especially in English, Nguyen Quang Anh (Noi Bai, Hanoi), decided to change. This candidate switched to combination A06 (Math, Chemistry, Geography) and adjusted the admission target for the Chemistry major, University of Natural Sciences (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) and some majors using combination A06 of other schools.

Currently, many candidates and parents are as concerned as Quang Anh after receiving their high school graduation exam results. Representatives of universities commented that this shows that candidates and parents do not fully understand the principles of university admission on the Ministry of Education and Training's General Admission Support System (System).

Mr. Nguyen Quang Trung - Deputy Head of Communications and Admissions Department, University of Commerce, emphasized that in 2025, candidates do not need to choose the admission method or combination code. The system will automatically consider admission based on the methods announced by the schools in the admission plan.

Accordingly, candidates only need to focus on choosing a major and prioritizing their admission wishes. To do this, candidates must provide complete data (according to the criteria, conditions, and registration process in the admission information of training institutions) corresponding to the registered major/program for schools to use for admission consideration.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Trung gave an example: Candidate B. wants to apply for admission to Information Technology at University A, where there are 4 admission methods, each method corresponding to a number of combination codes. Previously, if Candidate B was eligible to participate in 3/4 methods, the candidate had to register for 3 wishes, each wish corresponding to 1 method code and 1 combination code.

This year, candidates only need to register their wishes for the Information Technology major, and provide complete data such as high school graduation exam scores, foreign language certificates (if any), and separate exam results (if any)... The software will automatically arrange wishes so that candidates have the highest chance of being admitted to the chosen major. "Therefore, this year, candidates only need to register the major code, school code, and school name without having to register the admission combination or admission method code," Mr. Trung emphasized.

Candidates learn about careers and admission information at Hung Vuong University, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: HVU

Choose smart wishes

The pressure and confusion in choosing a major comes not only from a lack of information but also from common mistakes that candidates easily make when making this important decision. Dr. Ho Thanh Tri - Director of the International Institute, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade said that after many years of working in admissions and training, he has noticed that many students after entering university have to change their major because their initial choice was not suitable. According to Dr. Tri, there are 5 common mistakes that students often make in the process of choosing a major and a school.

Firstly, choosing a major based on trends, hot majors promoted by the media and social networks, but ignoring the factors that suit the individual’s abilities and personality. “Many students follow hot majors without really understanding whether they are suitable or not,” he shared.

Second, choosing a major is based solely on exam scores. Some students after the survey admitted that the reason for choosing a major was simply to get enough points to pass, but when they started studying, they quickly lost motivation because they did not really like it.

Third, another common mistake comes from choosing a major based on friends or family. “The Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade organizes a program for high school students to visit, and we see that many students choose a major just because their close friends also registered for that major,” said Dr. Tri.

Fourth, many students have not thoroughly researched their major, even just knowing the name of the major without knowing what the curriculum includes or what jobs they can do after graduation.

Finally, the training environment factor has not been properly considered by many students.

According to Dr. Tri, the learning environment has a great influence on the development of skills, thinking and commitment to the profession. From practical observations, Dr. Tri advises students to choose a major based on its suitability for themselves, while also considering the development trends of society and especially the training environment, which can support students to comprehensively develop both their capacity and professional attitude.

To avoid common mistakes and make wise choices, experts suggest specific methods to help candidates orient their careers scientifically and effectively. Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Anh Tuan - Director of the Center for Transport Research, Vietnam-Germany University, said that in the context of too many professions and training schools, candidates easily fall into a state of confusion.

At this time, the media, family and relatives can be a source of practical support information, helping children compare with real-life experiences. However, Mr. Tuan emphasized that "the final decision must still come from understanding oneself".

This expert “tells” candidates a simple and effective way to choose a major with the “3x3 formula”. Specifically, students list 3 career fields that they are interested in in the next 3 years (for example: Media - technology - logistics). For each field, choose 1 - 2 universities with corresponding strengths, thereby forming 9 feasible options. Then, based on learning ability, test scores and personal conditions, narrow down to 3 most suitable wishes.

“It is important that students choose a career, choose a major, and then choose a school. That means you must know what you want to do first, then find the best place to train in that major. Don’t choose the opposite just because of the school name or a temporary trend in the major,” Mr. Tuan concluded.

Besides the “3x3 formula”, experts also emphasize that self-understanding is the core factor to avoid wrong choices. MSc. Tran Thi Nhu Quynh - Deputy Director of the Admissions Consulting Center, Van Hien University, said that many candidates today are still vague in choosing a major because they have not clearly defined themselves and what they want in the future.

According to Master Quynh, a lack of orientation from the beginning can cause students to waste time and money if they have to change majors midway, or even fall behind their peers. Therefore, choosing a major needs to be seriously considered based on the student's own interests, abilities and personal goals, and should not follow the crowd or let others decide for them.

12th graders participate in the 2025 admissions consulting program in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: HCMUS

Be careful with the registration process

According to the 2025 Admission Regulations, all admission methods will be implemented at the same time after the high school graduation exam results are available. Based on the candidates' registration information, higher education institutions will download data from the System for admission, determine the benchmark for each method, and then return the admission results to the System for virtual filtering. The admission process takes place simultaneously, ensuring that the System processes all data so that candidates are admitted to their highest wishes.

Therefore, before registering for admission on the System, Dr. Cao Xuan Lieu - Deputy Head of the Department of Psychology - Education, Academy of Educational Management, advised candidates to carefully study the admission plans of training institutions to choose the appropriate major and school. "Registration of admission wishes must be done online on the System or the National Public Service Portal", Dr. Lieu noted.

From 2025, the Ministry of Education and Training will stop early admission in university admissions. Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung - Chief Specialist of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Training, emphasized that the admission process will follow the general admission process on the System. After knowing the high school graduation exam scores, from July 16 to July 28, candidates can register and adjust their admission wishes (unlimited number of times).

All candidates, including those admitted directly, must register online and submit all their wishes to the System. Candidates need to carefully study the admission information and regulations of the training institutions, and avoid registering their wishes for ineligible majors/programs.

Mr. Hung noted that if the training institution organizes separate admission registration, requiring direct or online submission of documents and evidence at the school, candidates must follow the school's regulations but must register on the System to be considered for general admission. Admission evidence such as foreign language certificates, SAT certificates, aptitude test scores, competency assessment test scores, etc. must be submitted to the training institution according to instructions.

In 2025, the Ministry of Education and Training will not limit the number of admission combinations. Therefore, in addition to the traditional combinations, schools can add new admission combinations. In response to concerns about admission wishes and methods, Mr. Nguyen Anh Dung - Deputy Director of the Department of Higher Education (Ministry of Education and Training) said that candidates can register an unlimited number of admission wishes, but must arrange them in order of priority from high to low. The system does not distinguish between admission methods, so candidates only need to register for the admission major, focus on choosing the major they really like and are suitable for their abilities, without worrying about the admission method.

Mr. Dung also emphasized that this year, early admission will be completely eliminated, only direct admission will be maintained for subjects according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training. The previous methods used for early admission will still be maintained, only the time will be adjusted. Therefore, training institutions will consider admission and announce the results uniformly in one round according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training.

According to the Deputy Director of the Department of Higher Education, this year, there will be no more quotas divided by method. Schools will have a plan to convert equivalent admission scores to ensure that regardless of the method of admission, candidates will always be given priority to use the highest results.

MSc. Nguyen Thi Kim Phung - Deputy Head of Admissions and Corporate Relations Department, University of Finance - Marketing advises candidates: "Many candidates register too many wishes, like 30, 40, even 50 wishes but do not know what they want. This makes them more confused.

Instead, candidates should divide their wishes into 2 groups: 1 - 2 wishes higher than their actual score to nurture their dreams; 3 - 4 wishes equivalent to their current ability and 2 - 3 wishes with a lower standard score from 1 to 1.5 points to have as a backup plan". According to Ms. Phung, to avoid mistakes when operating on the System, candidates should carefully watch the videos and instructions of the Ministry of Education and Training; review personal data, information about their major and take careful notes in a notebook.

In addition, candidates should pay attention to common mistakes such as confusing school codes, majors or major names. “For example, the University of Finance and Marketing has the abbreviation UFM, but the school code on the system is DMS. If these two names are confused, candidates may choose the wrong school,” Ms. Phung cited.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Trong Phuoc - Head of the Faculty of Construction, Ho Chi Minh City Open University, said that among the myriad of career and university choices today, the most important thing is that candidates must decide for themselves who they will be in the future. He also noted that when registering their wishes on the admission system, students need to arrange their choices in the order of their true preferences, and should not reverse them just because they think that the major is difficult to pass or the school has a high admission score.

“Many candidates put their favorite major down to their later choices, because they are afraid of not having enough points. But this can cause them to miss out on the major that is most suitable for them,” Mr. Phuoc emphasized.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/tuyen-sinh-dai-hoc-nam-2025-can-nao-chon-nganh-hoc-dang-ky-xet-tuyen-post740153.html