Why is the number of university admission applications this year at a record high?

The 2025 university admission season recorded a record number of applications for admission on the Ministry of Education and Training's common system in many years.

Candidates learn about university admission information at the choice day organized by Tuoi Tre newspaper - Photo: DANH KHANG

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, this year's university entrance exam nationwide had nearly 850,000 candidates registering for more than 7.6 million admission wishes. On average, each candidate registered up to 9 wishes, far exceeding the number of previous years.

7.6 million admission applications

In 2022, for the first time, the education sector will organize for candidates to pay university admission fees online on the common system. The total number of candidates registering for admission on the system is more than 616,000 with 3 million wishes. On average, each candidate registers about 5 wishes.

In 2023, the total number of candidates who registered for admission was more than 660,000 with more than 3.4 million registered wishes, also about 5 wishes/candidate.

In 2024, the total number of candidates registering for admission on the common system will increase compared to 2023 by 733,000 candidates with about 4 million wishes, an average of about 5 wishes/candidate.

While in 2025, the total number of candidates registering for admission on the system increased by 117,000 compared to the previous year, the number of admission wishes skyrocketed to more than 7.6 million, an average of about 9 wishes/candidate, the highest ever (the previous three years were all about 5 wishes/candidate).

According to the ministry's new regulations, high school graduation exam scores will be converted to percentile scores to serve as a basis for university admission.

Specifically, instead of comparing absolute scores between candidates as before, this year schools will rely on the relative position (percentage ranking) of candidates in the total number of candidates to consider admission. Recently, the Ministry also required universities to announce regulations on the difference in scores between admission groups, and the rules for converting admission scores closely following the Ministry's instructions.

While universities previously did this in completely different ways, many schools have not or will not announce it. Many candidates said they are still worried about the information about converting admission scores.

To "prevent unfair slip"?

According to experts, the sudden increase in the number of university admission applications this year does not come from an increase in the number of candidates or a greater demand for university education, but may stem from major changes in admissions. That is, the elimination of early admission and especially the regulation on converting admission scores according to percentiles.

Many candidates and parents said they felt confused and lacking information when approaching this new scoring method. The lack of a fixed "standard score" as before, combined with the difference between test scores and percentile rankings, made many candidates worried, leading to registering an overwhelming number of wishes, with many candidates even choosing more than 20 wishes.

Previously, candidates could predict which major and which school they would be admitted to if they knew their score, but with this year's new regulations, it is difficult for even the schools themselves to know the admission results. This is considered the main reason why candidates are worried, so they register more applications to "prevent risks".

An admissions officer at a university in Ho Chi Minh City said: "Each school has its own way of converting admission scores, which is inconsistent and makes it impossible for candidates to accurately predict their chances of admission. To avoid unfair rejection, students are forced to register for many wishes, ranging from top to safe schools."

Total fees over 114.2 billion VND

This year, the Ministry of Education and Training decided to reduce the admission fee to 15,000 VND/application instead of 20,000 VND as instructed by the Ministry (a 25% reduction compared to last year). With the fee and the total number of applications, the total amount of money that candidates nationwide paid on the common admission system is more than 114.2 billion VND.

TRAN HUYNH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vi-sao-so-nguyen-vong-xet-tuyen-dai-hoc-nam-nay-tang-ky-luc-20250807090059692.htm