Universities are adding up to 3 points to the admissions criteria for candidates with an IELTS score of 4.0. What do they say about this?

With the method of adding 3 points to candidates with an IELTS score of 4.0 or higher when applying to Hanoi University of Culture based on high school graduation exam scores or transcripts, many people are questioning the fairness of the admission process.

Hanoi University of Culture has just announced its 2025 admissions plan with three methods: direct admission and priority admission; admission based on high school graduation exam scores; and admission based on high school academic transcripts.

Notably, in both admission methods based on high school graduation exam scores and academic transcripts, in addition to the priority points stipulated by the Ministry of Education and Training, the University of Culture announced that it will add 3 points (on a 30-point scale) to candidates who possess one of the following equivalent certificates: IELTS 4.0 or higher.

Candidates with a minimum level of foreign language certificates (if any) will receive an additional 3 points when applying for admission to Hanoi University of Culture.

Following the school's admissions announcement, some have expressed concerns about whether this will create unfairness and disadvantage for candidates who do not have foreign language certificates or who have not had the opportunity to take the exam and obtain such certificates.

"With the school's scoring system, a candidate with a total score of 24 in the three subjects of the admission test combination will become 27 points. Meanwhile, earning those 3 points from the high school graduation exam and academic transcripts is a long process," one parent expressed.

One candidate calculated: "Let's assume each multiple-choice question in the high school graduation exam is worth 0.25 points; then 3 points is equivalent to getting 12 correct answers on the exam - which is not an easy task."

Some also argue that, in exams, candidates compete for every 0.2 point to have a chance of admission, and the line between passing and failing can be very thin, even with such a small difference, let alone 3 points.

Illustration photo: Pham Tung

Speaking to VietNamNet , Mr. Truong Dai Luong, Head of the Training Management Department of Hanoi University of Culture, said: “The university follows the admission regulations permitted by the Ministry of Education and Training (Circular 06/2025/TT-BGDĐT amending and supplementing some articles in the regulations on university and college admissions).”

Mr. Luong explained that the school introduced this point-adding mechanism to prioritize candidates with a good level of foreign language proficiency. "This was introduced in the context of our country encouraging the improvement of foreign language skills among students, gradually making English the second language in schools," Mr. Luong said.

Regarding the opinion that the school's minimum requirement of IELTS 4.0 and other equivalent certificates might be too low and "not worthy of adding 3 points in the admissions process," Mr. Luong stated that the school based this threshold on the regulations regarding eligible candidates for exemption from the high school graduation exam in English.

"According to the regulations for the high school graduation exam of the Ministry of Education and Training, candidates with an IELTS certificate of 4.0 or higher and equivalent are exempt from the English exam. In reality, the school also has no basis to determine how IELTS scores of 4.0, 5.0, etc., are assigned to different scoring scales," Mr. Luong said.

Regarding concerns about whether the school's scoring method might be unfair to candidates, Mr. Luong said: "The issue is what criteria the school aims for in admissions and training orientation, and what the output standards are. In recent years, after admissions, we have found that the quality of incoming English among candidates has not been high. The school's goal is to recruit students with better English proficiency. The criteria the school wants to choose to suit the training programs cannot be compared to high school graduation exam scores. As in previous years, the Ministry of Education and Training even allowed schools to have early admission methods, and many schools only needed candidates to have a foreign language certificate to recruit them. Not to mention, obtaining a foreign language certificate is not easy; students have to put in a lot of effort to study."