This has caused considerable confusion among candidates and bewilderment among parents, as the "everyone for themselves" approach to the admissions process continues to recur.
Confusing procedures, disadvantaged candidates.
According to the Ministry of Education and Training 's guidelines for university and college admissions in 2025, there will be no early admission round this year. All admission methods, including high school transcript review, aptitude test scores, and high school graduation exam scores, must be registered on the online system from July 16th to July 28th. From August 16th, the Ministry of Education and Training will process the applications on the system, also known as the "virtual filtering" process. The results of the first admission round will be announced before 5 PM on August 22nd.
However, since the beginning of July, many candidates have received acceptance notifications from private universities, mainly based on academic transcripts or aptitude test scores. These notifications also include instructions on enrollment procedures and tuition payment.
Mai Minh Khoi (Chanh Hung ward, Ho Chi Minh City) - a candidate applying to a private university, shared: “I was notified that I had been accepted and asked to confirm my enrollment before August 5th. But I'm not sure about choosing this university because I'm waiting for the cut-off scores for my preferred major at another school. If I don't pay the tuition, I'm afraid I'll lose my spot, but if I pay and don't study, I'll lose the money.” Khoi's case is not unique.
On social media groups related to university admissions, many parents have reported that their children received acceptance notifications along with requests for early confirmation of enrollment and payment of tuition fees ranging from 3 to 5 million VND. Candidates are concerned that if they confirm enrollment with one school, the Ministry's admissions system will not allow them to be considered for other choices, potentially leading to missed opportunities to attend their desired school.
According to reports, Hung Vuong University in Ho Chi Minh City has sent acceptance letters to candidates, congratulating them on "meeting the admission requirements based on academic transcripts - receiving scholarships for the regular undergraduate program in...". Similarly, many candidates have received early admission offers for the 2025 regular undergraduate program from Gia Dinh University.
In a document sent to candidates, Gia Dinh University announced that those eligible for admission to the regular program were invited to complete the enrollment procedures for the freshman orientation course from July 7th to 11th. Although advertised as "free and with a certificate," the university also required candidates to bring all necessary documents and tuition fees, with a total mandatory enrollment cost exceeding 12 million VND.
Notably, the invitation letter emphasized: "Due to limited quotas, applicants should complete the enrollment procedures by the deadline stated in this letter." The school also encouraged applicants to bring original documents if they had not yet had time to have them notarized, and committed to assisting with notarization at the enrollment area.
This situation has led many students and parents to feel "forced" to enroll, even though the official admissions process hasn't begun. Besides creating financial pressure, early enrollment also carries the risk of errors in confirming preferences, potentially leading to missed opportunities to be admitted to their dream major.
Information regarding student admissions needs to be transparent.
Dr. Le Viet Khuyen, Vice President of the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges, believes that the sending of "admission invitation letters" by some higher education institutions from mid-July 2025 is essentially aimed at "recruiting" students to ensure they meet their enrollment targets. While the purpose may stem from legitimate needs, this approach is inappropriate given that the entire system is implementing the admissions process according to the unified guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Training.
Mr. Khuyen emphasized that to determine whether or not there are signs of violations of the admissions regulations, a thorough investigation of the nature of the incident is necessary. However, the important thing at this time is that schools should not release "vague" information that could easily mislead candidates and parents, and create negative public opinion.
Reiterating the directives of the Ministry of Education and Training, the Vice President of the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges noted: Training institutions must provide clear and easily understandable information to help candidates accurately distinguish between training programs; and at the same time, strictly implement regulations on regional and subject-specific priority points applicable to all admission methods according to the admission regulations.
To fundamentally address this situation, Dr. Khuyen suggested that universities should not rely solely on tuition fees. Instead, they should proactively expand other funding channels such as scientific research, social services, and business cooperation. On the part of state management agencies, a funding mechanism based on commissioned projects should be implemented, without distinction between public and private universities, to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the higher education system.
According to the Ministry of Education and Training's guidelines, from August 6th to 5 PM on August 12th, 2025, educational institutions will coordinate with relevant units to review data on the system before uploading admission data and information. From August 13th to 5 PM on August 20th, admissions will be conducted and applications processed on the Ministry of Education and Training's common admissions support system. The Ministry also requires that all educational institutions confirm their enrollment online through the system before officially enrolling at the school.
Online enrollment confirmation on the system must be completed before 5 PM on August 30th. All successful candidates (including those admitted directly) must confirm their enrollment on the system (if they wish to study). From September 1st to December 2025, candidates wishing to apply for supplementary admission rounds should follow the admission information posted on the educational institution's admissions website.
Reporters from the Education and Times newspaper contacted representatives from Gia Dinh University and Hung Vuong University in Ho Chi Minh City to gather feedback. However, as of now, the universities have not yet responded.
Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/vuot-rao-trong-tuyen-sinh-post743276.html
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