"Eliminate" some traditional admission blocks

Many universities are beginning to announce their expected enrollment plans for 2026, with the notable information being the "elimination" of many traditional exam blocks.

The University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi said that in 2026, for each major, the school will only consider 3-4 combinations, only the Han Nom major will consider 5 combinations (2-3 combinations less than last year).

"Close" many blocks, enhance foreign languages

Notably, in 2026, Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities will not consider admission to the C00 combination for 15/30 majors, including many "hot" majors of the school such as: journalism, Oriental studies, Korean studies, public relations, international studies, psychology...

Candidates take the capacity assessment test organized by Ho Chi Minh City National University. Photo: HUE XUAN

This school also stopped recruiting groups D66 (literature, English, economic and legal education), C03 (math, literature, history), C04 (math, literature, geography) for all majors. The main groups used by the school all have foreign languages ​​such as English, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.

According to the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities, the inclusion of foreign languages ​​in the admissions group is to suit the training practice and the goal of making English the second language in schools. Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Hong Son, Vice Principal, affirmed that the above adjustments are all part of the school's admissions roadmap; and have been thoroughly researched and surveyed in practice.

According to the leaders of the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities, in reality, students admitted to the school with the C00 combination face many difficulties during the training process due to the English barrier, and also have difficulty graduating because they do not meet foreign language output standards. The policy of using combinations with foreign language subjects and eliminating the C00 combination for some majors was proposed by the school in the 2025 admission season but was met with resistance from students and parents. This year, the school announced it earlier.

The Political Officer School also said that in 2026, it will no longer use the combination A00 (math, physics, chemistry) and C00 (literature, history, geography) for admission. Instead, the school will add block C01 (literature, math, physics), in addition to the old combinations, including C03 (literature, math, history), C04 (literature, math, geography) and D01 (literature, math, English).

The Border Guard Academy only uses 3 admission combinations, including C03, C04 and D01, for both border guard and law majors. Compared to 2025, this school has removed 2 traditional combinations, C00 and A01 (math, physics, English).

Hanoi University of Technology - VNU plans to eliminate admission groups D01 and B00 (math, chemistry, biology); use 3 groups A00, A01, X06 (math, physics, IT) for admission in most majors. Particularly for the 2 majors of biotechnology and agricultural technology, the school will recruit with group A02 (math, physics, biology).

Candidates must "run after"

On the morning of December 4, 2025, Hanoi University of Science and Technology announced the registration opening time for the first round of the 2026 thinking assessment exam. Accordingly, the registration opening time is from December 5 to 5:00 p.m. on December 15, 2025, with an expected number of 25,000 candidates; the official exam dates are January 24 and 25, 2026. In 2026, the thinking assessment exam of Hanoi University of Science and Technology is expected to be held in 3 rounds on weekends, each round will have 3-4 testing teams at 30 locations, meeting the needs of about 60,000 candidates.

The leaders of Hanoi University of Science and Technology said that in order to be consistent with the 2018 General Education Program of the Ministry of Education and Training, the content and format of this thinking assessment test will be carried out according to the design and will remain stable for many years to come. These are 3 independent test sections, the questions will focus on assessing the thinking ability of the candidates, not directly testing the knowledge of any subject. The test format is multiple choice on the computer, the results will be valid for 2 years to serve the university admission work.

With the aim of helping candidates better understand the structure and content of the thinking assessment test, get familiar with the types of questions, review instructions, test-taking methods, and analyze illustrative examples, Hanoi University of Science and Technology has compiled and published the book "TSA Thinking Assessment Test Handbook".

According to the 2018 General Education Program, students decide on their elective subjects from grade 10, which means they can choose their exam groups from now on. The fact that schools adjust their admission combinations at the end of semester 1 puts many students in a difficult situation.

According to the old program, students were required to study all subjects, take exams in 3 compulsory subjects and 3 combined natural science/social science subjects; therefore, announcing the admission combination close to the exam would not be too serious. However, with the current program, it is different.

An admissions expert said that the change in admissions methods by schools forces students to "keep up" with the changes. They are forced to study according to trends, and cannot have a long-term orientation.

"Many experts believe that universities should maintain stable admission methods to create a solid foundation for career orientation and student capacity development in accordance with the spirit of the 2018 General Education Program.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/xoa-so-mot-so-khoi-xet-tuyen-truyen-thong-1962512042049061.htm