Foreign language scores converted from foreign language certificates must not exceed 50% in university admissions.

The leaders of the Ministry of Education and Training said that in the past few years, there has been a situation where some training institutions have abused the use of foreign language certificates in the admission process, even using foreign language certificates as a criterion to determine the candidates' chances of being admitted; meanwhile, access to foreign language certificates is different between students in different regions.

Therefore, the new Regulation stipulates that schools can convert foreign language certificates into foreign language subject scores to include in the admission subject group, but the foreign language subject scores converted from foreign language certificates have a weighted score that cannot exceed 50%.

With this regulation, candidates can still make the most of their strengths to increase their chances of being admitted to university while still ensuring fairness.

Candidates and parents at the 2025 Admissions Fair. Photo: Quoc Viet

By 2025, most universities in Vietnam will require an IELTS score of 5.0 or 5.5 or higher, especially for international training programs or top schools.

Hanoi University of Science and Technology gives bonus points to talented candidates if they have VSTEP English certificate and other international English certificates such as IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC, etc. IELTS certificate is also considered in combination with the thinking assessment test score. The school allows converting English certificate into English subject score when candidates are admitted based on high school graduation exam scores (combinations A01, D01, D04, D07).

Specifically, the IELTS score conversion to English score of Hanoi University of Science and Technology is as follows: IELTS 5.0 is equivalent to 8.5 points; IELTS 5.5 is equivalent to 9 points; IELTS 6.0 is equivalent to 9.5 points; IELTS from 6.5 and above is equivalent to 10 points. When converting IELTS to talent selection bonus points and thinking assessment points, the score ranges from 1 to 7 corresponding to IELTS levels from 5.0 to 8.0.

Conversion table of IELTS scores and equivalent English certificates of Hanoi University of Science and Technology

Similarly, the National Economics University does not consider IELTS independently or in combination with academic records. Instead, the IELTS certificate is considered in combination with the Hanoi National University (HSA) and Ho Chi Minh City National University (V-ACT) proficiency test scores, and the 2025 high school graduation exam scores in Mathematics and a subject other than English.

Candidates with IELTS certificate from 5.5 or higher will be converted into English subject score when considering admission based on high school graduation exam score.

In 2025, the National Economics University will have only 4 admission combinations, including: A00 (Math, Physics, Chemistry), A01 (Math, Physics, English), D01 (Math, Literature, English) and D07 (Math, Chemistry, English). Candidates with IELTS from 7.5 - 9.0 will be converted to 10 points.

Detailed IELTS conversion score of National Economics University

According to the newly announced 2025 enrollment plan, Hanoi National University of Education will give bonus points to candidates with IELTS 6.5 or higher in Mathematics Education (teaching Mathematics in English), English Education and English Language.

However, there are many training majors that the school does not give priority to candidates with international language certificates, including: Primary Education, Primary Education - English Pedagogy, National Defense and Security Education, Mathematics Pedagogy, English Mathematics Pedagogy, Literature Pedagogy, Literature and Mathematics.

Foreign Trade University has 3 ways to consider candidates with IELTS certificates in 2025, including: considering IELTS with high school transcripts, considering IELTS with high school graduation exam scores and considering IELTS with SAT/ACT/A-level (other international language certificates are also considered similarly).

In particular, the IELTS method using high school transcripts is only for students majoring in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Information Technology, Literature, Foreign Languages ​​and students who have won national prizes, students who have won provincial prizes (First, Second, Third) in these subjects. The method is also applied to students who have won national science and technology prizes.

The IELTS requirement is 6.5 or higher. This score remains unchanged from previous years.

Ho Chi Minh City University of Law plans to consider candidates studying at international high schools who meet the following conditions: have graduated from high school; have an international language certificate IELTS with a score of 6.5 or higher; have been granted a high school diploma by a foreign educational institution (this diploma must be recognized as equivalent to the training level according to the high school education program in Vietnam according to regulations).

In addition, the school considers candidates with international language certificates or US SAT exam results, meeting the following conditions: graduated from high school; candidates with international language certificates (English/ or French/ or Japanese); have SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) exam results.

PV