Students worry about converting university admission scores

According to the students, they have taken the IELTS exam since grade 11 and achieved a score of 7.0. According to the plan, when they enter grade 12, they will focus on taking separate exams including the Thinking Assessment of Hanoi University of Science and Technology and the National University's Capacity Assessment, as well as the high school graduation exam.

“The Thinking Assessment results are quite good, but I am still not sure because I will have to convert the scores. To be safer, I will continue to review for the competency assessment exam and graduation exam,” the student said.

There is no more early admission, candidates will have to focus on exams at the same time to have more chances to be admitted to the desired major. The regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training stipulate that this year, the admission scores of all methods must be converted to the same scale and considered in the same round with the high school graduation exam scores.

The 2025 university admission regulations have many new points.

Dang Chau Giang, class 12D9, Phan Huy Chu High School (Hanoi) shared that to prepare for university admission this year, she and her family have outlined a clear plan to take separate exams, study and take foreign language certificates. Up to this point, she has had a capacity assessment result of 93/150; IELTS score of 6.0 and is focusing on reviewing for the high school graduation exam to be admitted to the National Economics University or Hanoi Law University.

Although I don’t know what the results will be, with the support of my parents and teachers, I am quite mentally stable when this year there are many changes in graduation exams as well as admissions. “However, some students in the first semester only focus on the certificate exam, in order to calculate and combine their transcripts and the results of separate exams for admission like previous years. When there was information about new regulations such as eliminating early admissions and converting scores of various methods, I was very worried,” Chau Giang said.

This year’s 12th graders feel confused and have not figured out how to convert scores between methods to a common scale, whether it ensures the rights of candidates or not, especially those who have spent a lot of time and effort to get foreign language certificates as well as take separate exams. In addition, many students are also wondering how to limit their risks when each school has a different conversion formula and coefficient.

Converting scores makes it difficult for candidates

In an admissions consulting program for senior students taking place in March 2025, Dr. Ha Manh Tuan, Deputy Head of Admissions and Career Guidance Department of Hanoi University of Science and Technology, said that the admission methods being unified into one starting point like this year is a fair opportunity for all candidates.

According to Dr. Tuan, in previous years, Hanoi University of Science and Technology allocated quotas according to different methods and programs. For example, a hot program like Information Technology has up to 70% of the quota for talent selection; 20% for thinking assessment scores and only 10% for high school graduation exams. With that method, in previous years, candidates had to have high high school exam scores, from 28 points or more, to have a chance to pass.

However, this year, candidates will have the same opportunity because the talent selection and thinking assessment programs will be combined into one starting point. At that time, the selection process will take scores from high to low until the quota is full, so candidates with high scores will be admitted to any major they apply for.

Candidates will have as many opportunities as there are admission methods. “With the current admission technique of the Ministry of Education and Training, students do not need to care about the score conversion formula, the admission system will automatically convert and automatically select from the methods they currently have. Accordingly, the method with the highest score will be used for admission to ensure the most benefits and fairness for candidates,” said Mr. Tuan.

Meanwhile, Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh, former Director of the Department of Vocational Education (Ministry of Education and Training), said that this year, the Ministry of Education and Training requested higher education institutions to convert admission methods to a common scale to create consistency in management, especially in recent years when there has been "chaos" in admissions. Universities simultaneously offer many different forms of admission. However, this regulation is revealing limitations, causing difficulties for schools and candidates.

According to Dr. Vinh, each admission method will test and evaluate students' abilities differently. When these admission methods are converted to a single scale, the unique value of each method will be lost and it will be difficult to ensure fairness for candidates. On the other hand, universities will also have difficulty selecting students with abilities suitable for the training requirements of each major.

Countries with advanced education systems also often do not use the method of converting scores into a scale like this.

At the recent conference to review and evaluate the 2024 enrollment work and deploy the 2025 enrollment work for universities and pedagogical colleges, the Ministry of Education and Training affirmed that the adjustment of the 2025 university enrollment regulations aims to increase transparency and fairness, ensure the most favorable conditions for candidates and improve enrollment quality.

Ha Linh

Source: https://tienphong.vn/hoc-sinh-lo-lang-vi-quy-doi-diem-xet-tuyen-dai-hoc-post1730706.tpo