University Admissions 2025: Choose to study at main campus or branch campus?

In addition to the main campus, many universities are now expanding their branches in other localities. So when applying to these schools, should candidates choose to study at the main campus or the branch?

M EXPANDING BRANCHES IN LOCALITIES

In recent years, many universities have continuously expanded their branches (PH) on the basis of merging local colleges. For example, in 2019, Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics opened a branch in Vinh Long on the basis of Vinh Long College of Economics and Finance. Ho Chi Minh City University of Education has a branch in Gia Lai province on the basis of receiving Gia Lai College of Education and a branch in Long An (now in Tay Ninh province) on the basis of Long An College of Education. This year, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education officially enrolled students for the branch in Binh Phuoc (now in Dong Nai province) on the basis of Binh Phuoc College. Can Tho University also established a branch in Soc Trang on the basis of receiving the facilities of Soc Trang Community College.

Model of Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics branch in Khanh Hoa province

PHOTO: TK

In addition, many universities have at least 2 branches outside the main campus such as: Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry has 2 branches located in Gia Lai and Ninh Thuan provinces (now Khanh Hoa province), Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry has 2 branches in Quang Ngai and Thanh Hoa, Ton Duc Thang University has branches in Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong; Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics has 2 branches in Vinh Long and Khanh Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education has 2 branches in Gia Lai and Long An (Tay Ninh province)...

Notably, there are localities that have become the destination for many universities, such as Khanh Hoa. Currently, this province has many universities such as: Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, and Ho Chi Minh City University of Law.

Not only universities in Ho Chi Minh City, many training institutions headquartered in Hanoi also tend to build additional training facilities in other localities. For example, the National Economics University and the Banking Academy opened PH in Ha Nam (now Ninh Binh); Hanoi University of Science and Technology plans to build a second campus in Hung Yen... Among them, some schools have plans to build new campuses in Bac Ninh such as: Hanoi Law University, Hanoi University of Pharmacy, Foreign Trade University, Hanoi Medical University...

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BRANCH AND MAIN CAMPUS

Faced with this trend, the issue many students are concerned about is the difference between studying at PH and the main campus of the school.

Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education officially enrolls students for its branch in Binh Phuoc (Dong Nai province)

PHOTO: TL

Schools have different orientations when developing PH, but basically the majors trained between PH and the main campus will not have any difference in curriculum and degrees. The difference, if any, is shown through the number of majors trained, tuition fees, admission scores, etc.

In which, PH often does not have all the training majors as the main campus. For example, in 2025, Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics will enroll 59 training programs including the fields of management, business, economics, languages, technology and applied design, while Vinh Long University will only enroll 15 programs, of which 9 programs enroll nationwide and 6 programs only enroll in the Mekong Delta region. Similarly, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education enrolls 45 majors at its main campus, while only enrolling 8 majors at Long An University (Tay Ninh province) and 4 majors at Gia Lai University. Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education has 74 majors in different training programs at its main campus and only 11 majors at Binh Phuoc University (Dong Nai province). Ton Duc Thang University also enrolls 43 standard programs, 21 advanced programs, 11 university programs in English, of which 13 programs are taught in Khanh Hoa province...

Tuition fees are also clearly different when comparing PH with the main campus of many schools. For example, Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics charges tuition fees for the main campus for the Vietnamese language program from 1.1 - 1.3 million VND/credit, tuition fees for the English language program are about 1.4 times that of Vietnamese... Meanwhile, tuition fees for Vinh Long University are 60% of the tuition fees in Ho Chi Minh City. Similarly, Ton Duc Thang University also announced the expected tuition fees for the 2025 enrollment period, which vary depending on the program and training facility. Specifically, the average tuition fee for the standard program in the 2025-2026 school year ranges from 29.7 - 34.8 million VND/year (the pharmacy major alone is expected to charge nearly 66.8 million VND/year); the average tuition fee for the advanced program is from 53-64 million VND/year; the university program in English is expected to be 78-84 million VND/year. Meanwhile, the average tuition fee for the study program at Khanh Hoa province is expected to be 20.5 - 24 million VND/year depending on the major...

In addition, the important difference is the admission score. Basically, the admission form is the same, but the admission score for majors at PH is often "softer" than the main campus. For example, in 2024, the admission score for high school graduation exam scores for majors of Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics at PH Vinh Long province ranges from 17-22 points, while at the main campus it is from 23.8 - 27.2 points. Similarly, Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry takes the admission score from 15-25 points for majors at the main campus, while majors at PH Gia Lai province are only at 15-16 points; PH Ninh Thuan (Khanh Hoa province) 15 - 21.25 points according to the combination of 3 subjects of the high school graduation exam in 2024...

Branch in Long An (now Tay Ninh province) of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education

Photo: SP

ADVICE FOR CANDIDATES

With the above mentioned similarities and differences, university representatives give advice to different groups of candidates in choosing a place to study.

Dr. Huynh Trung Phong, Director of the Center for Student Support and Entrepreneurship Development of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, said that admission to training programs at PH has certain advantages in competition for entrance because the benchmark scores of programs at PH are often 1-1.5 points lower than the main campus. Besides, studying at PH is also suitable for those who want to study near home and save costs. In addition, if you want to work locally, studying at PH is even more suitable. For example, at the Long An branch of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, teacher training programs are ordered by the locality to be trained according to Decree 116/2020/ND-CP. Therefore, local students when studying at the branch, enjoying the policy of Decree 116 of the locality, will have better opportunities to study and work after graduation.

However, Dr. Phong also noted that PH's limitation lies in the number of training majors. Therefore, when studying at PH, the opportunity to choose majors and study programs will be more limited than at the main campus. "Candidates who wish to study at PH need to pay attention to the admission code when making their application. For the same major, the main campus and PH have different codes. For example, the same major of preschool education at university level, but the admission code of the main campus is 7140201, PH Long An is 7140201_LA and PH Gia Lai is 7140201_GL", Mr. Phong added.

Associate Professor Dr. Bui Quang Hung, Vice President of Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics, also said that depending on the needs and individual wishes of the students, they will be suitable for PH or the main campus. If they want to study near home, save money, have a career orientation near home after graduation, and have lower competition for admission, etc., candidates from localities close to PH can choose to study at PH. However, according to Associate Professor Hung, although the school initially allowed students to choose their study location in Ho Chi Minh City or Vinh Long, in their final year, all Vinh Long PH students must rotate to study in Ho Chi Minh City. This is to help students adapt to diverse learning environments and access the job market in big cities. Conversely, students from the Ho Chi Minh City campus can also return to PH to study if they want.

The country currently has 30 PH of university education institutions.

According to the summary report on the planning of the network of higher education and pedagogical institutions for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050 by the Ministry of Education and Training, the country has 244 higher education institutions, currently there are 30 PHAs of higher education institutions. Of the 20 newly established PHAs, there are 6 PHAs of private higher education institutions, 4 PHAs formed on the basis of pedagogical colleges, and 9 PHAs on the basis of universities.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tuyen-sinh-dh-2025-chon-hoc-co-so-chinh-hay-phan-hieu-185250714184623768.htm