What is the trend of university admissions in 2026?

At the request of the Ministry of Education and Training at the 2025 University Education Conference, a number of universities announced enrollment information for 2026 in October. Compared to 2025, the enrollment information of the schools has some notable new points.

Some schools maintain the combined admission method, while many schools will continue to recruit students through independent methods next year.

REDUCE THE PROPORTION OF HIGH SCHOOL TRANSCRIPT ADMISSION METHODS

Speaking to Thanh Nien Newspaper reporters on October 18, Dr. Nguyen Trung Nhan, Head of Training Department of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, said that the school's enrollment plan for 2026 is expected to remain basically stable as in 2025 with independent methods including: direct admission according to regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training; admission based on the results of the Ho Chi Minh City National University's capacity assessment exam; admission based on the results of the high school graduation exam; admission based on a combination of high school academic results with outstanding achievements (if any).

Candidates complete admission procedures at the University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University). This is a school that has used the comprehensive admission method in recent years.

PHOTO: NGOC LONG

"The admission method in 2026 will remain unchanged, but the school will reduce the proportion of admission methods based on high school transcript scores next year. Previously, the school planned to adjust the admission method in the direction of combining many criteria, but decided not to implement it immediately in 2026 to avoid causing major disruption to candidates," said Mr. Nhan.

Following this admission trend, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade plans to stop considering admission based on high school transcripts from 2028. According to Master Pham Thai Son, Director of the Admissions and Communications Center of this school, from 2028 the school plans to combine many factors to assess the overall capacity of students based on high school transcripts, high school graduation exam scores, capacity assessment test scores, etc.

Master Son said that in 2026, the school plans to continue applying 5 admission methods as in 2025, including: admission based on high school graduation exam results, admission based on 3-year high school study results, consideration of Ho Chi Minh City National University's competency assessment test results, consideration of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education's specialized competency assessment test results combined with high school study scores, direct admission according to regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training.

MAINTAINING THE COMBINED RECRUITMENT METHOD

Meanwhile, comprehensive admission is a method that has been implemented before in a number of universities, such as: University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University), Banking University of Ho Chi Minh City...

In 2026, the University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University) plans to basically not change the admission method compared to the previous year. Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Thang, Head of the school's Training Department, said that most of the quotas will still be for the comprehensive admission method (in addition to the direct admission method and priority admission according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training). This main admission method is based on: academic results (including transcripts, high school graduation exams and competency assessment test scores), along with academic achievements and cultural, sports and artistic activities of the PhD.

The school will continue to review and evaluate conversion methods and coefficients in the admission method to promptly adjust (if any) and notify early so that candidates can be proactive in the admission process.

Associate Professor, Dr. BUI HOAI THANG (Head of Training Department, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology)

"The school will continue to review and evaluate conversion methods and coefficients in the admission method to promptly adjust (if any) and notify early so that candidates can be proactive in the admission process," Mr. Thang added.

From 2025, Banking University of Ho Chi Minh City will use admission methods including: comprehensive admission based on high school academic results and achievements, V-SAT exam results and high school graduation exam scores (in addition to direct admission and priority admission methods according to regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training and combining study with interviews for bachelor's programs with partners' degrees).

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Thuy, Head of the School's Admissions and Communications Department, said that in 2026, the school plans to open four new standard university majors, including: insurance, hotel management, information technology, Chinese language; two English program majors: e-commerce and international business. Admission methods in 2026 will remain stable as in 2025.

C SEPARATE EXAM: INCREASE EXAM SESSIONS, ADJUST EXAM TIME

In 2026, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education will continue to organize a specialized competency assessment exam for admission. Master Nguyen Ngoc Trung, Vice Principal of the school, said that the basic exam will remain stable compared to 2025. In particular, the number of subjects, exam format and admission method are expected to remain unchanged. However, the number of exam sessions and exam locations may increase.

Ho Chi Minh City National University's capacity assessment exam is expected to maintain the same exam structure in 2026.

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

Diverse admission methods

As early as September 2025, many universities have proactively announced their 2026 enrollment plans. Hanoi University of Science and Technology is one of the first schools to announce the Thinking Assessment (TSA) exam schedule with 3 exam sessions in 2026, creating opportunities for candidates to try their hand multiple times and adjust their study plans.

The International School (Ho Chi Minh City National University) plans to increase the admission rate based on the results of the competency assessment exam - a trend that many large schools are choosing to evaluate the thinking ability and application ability of PhDs.

The National Economics University also said it will sharply reduce the graduation exam score criteria, expand the combination method and specialized competency assessment exam.

In 2026, the University of Commerce plans to open a new computer science major with the program "Application of artificial intelligence in business" - reflecting the trend of training human resources for the digital economy. The school also expands 15 international career orientation programs (IPOP) out of a total of 45 training majors, focusing on applied skills, data analysis and event management.

Sy Anh

Accordingly, the 2026 specialized competency assessment exam of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education includes 6 subjects: math, physics, chemistry, biology, literature, and English. When applying to the school, candidates only need to take 1 subject (score coefficient 2) depending on the combination and major; the remaining 2 subjects in the combination will use their transcript scores. In 2026, the school plans to increase the quota for the specialized competency assessment test score method (in 2025, the school will reserve 50% of the total quota for admission from this method). The remaining admission method is based on the results of the 2026 high school graduation exam.

Dr. Nguyen Quoc Chinh, Director of the Center for Testing and Assessment of Training Quality (Ho Chi Minh City National University), said that the 2026 competency assessment exam is expected to have an adjustment in time. Specifically, the first round of the competency assessment exam is expected to be held on the last Sunday of March (unchanged from previous years). However, the second round of this exam is expected to be held one week earlier than in 2025 (in 2025 it will be held on June 1). According to Dr. Chinh, the adjustment in the time of the second round of the 2026 exam is to match the general schedule of the Ministry of Education and Training.

According to the plan of Ho Chi Minh City National University, the test time and structure of the 2026 capacity assessment test will not change compared to 2025. Candidates will still take the test on paper to create convenience and easy access for candidates in all regions.

From 2025, the structure of the competency assessment test will be adjusted to match the 2018 General Education Program. Ho Chi Minh City National University will maintain the structure of the language and mathematics sections, while increasing the number of questions in these two sections to increase the reliability and distinction of the test. The logic - data analysis and problem solving section will be restructured into a scientific thinking section to assess candidates' ability in logic and scientific reasoning when solving real-life situations in the fields of science, technology, economics and society. The questions in the scientific thinking section are designed to provide information, data, facts, experimental planning, and experimental results, thereby requiring candidates to demonstrate their ability to understand and apply information, determine experimental results, and predict laws.

The 2025 competency assessment test consists of 120 objective multiple-choice questions with 150 minutes of testing and is conducted on paper. The test results are determined by modern testing methods according to the question response theory. The score of each question has different weights depending on the difficulty of the question. The test score is converted by section. The maximum score of the test is 1,200, in which the maximum score for each component of the test is shown on the score sheet including: Vietnamese is 300 points, English is 300 points; mathematics is 300 points and scientific thinking is 300 points.

Hanoi University of Science and Technology also announced the 2026 thinking assessment exam schedule organized by the school. Accordingly, the exam is expected to have 3 sessions in 2026, expected to serve about 60,000 candidates, including: session 1 from January 24 - 25; session 2 from March 14 - 15; session 3 from May 16 - 17. This is an exam designed to assess mathematical thinking, reading comprehension and scientific/problem-solving abilities, currently used by more than 50 universities in admissions.

2025: Academic transcripts account for 42.4% of total admitted students

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, in 2025, 852,000 candidates will register for admission with more than 7.6 million wishes to more than 300 universities, colleges and pedagogical colleges (including 264 universities).

As a result, 625,477 students confirmed their enrollment, an increase of nearly 14% compared to 2024.

The entire process from registration, fee payment, virtual filtering to admission confirmation is done online, significantly reducing administrative procedures and enhancing transparency.

The year 2025 will witness a diversity of admission methods. In addition to high school graduation exam scores, many schools will combine the consideration of academic records, competency assessment scores, international certificates or a combination of methods. According to statistics, considering academic records accounts for 42.4% of the total number of admitted students, graduation exam scores account for 39.1%, and other methods account for 18.5%. This diversity contributes to reducing exam pressure and encouraging students to study more comprehensively.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tuyen-sinh-dh-nam-2026-theo-xu-huong-nao-185251019222832155.htm