Adjusting plans in anxiety
After receiving information about early admission, Giap Tung Duong - a 12th grade student at Ha Trung High School (Thanh Hoa) developed a new review plan. Because he did not take separate exams, Duong only had one choice, which was to use the results of the high school graduation exam for university admission.
This change creates more fairness for those who do not have the conditions to participate in early admission. Because the early admission rounds take place before the high school graduation exam, candidates know the university admission results in advance, so they have the mentality of taking a break from studying at the end of the term" - Tung Duong said.
However, the most concerned thing for male students at the moment is that the Ministry of Education and Training has not announced the regulations for university and college admissions in 2025. This has caused universities to not finalize their admission plans. Duong was struggling, anxious, worried and always in a state of waiting because the Ministry's leaders had informed him that at the end of February, the official admission regulations would be issued.
"There are only a few days left until the end of February, but the Ministry of Education and Training has not yet provided more information on this issue. We are looking forward to it, because it will most likely affect the admission policies of schools" - Duong wondered.
Sharing about the Ministry of Education and Training's decision to completely eliminate early admission from 2025, Nguyen Thi Thuy Dung - a 12th grade student at Ha Tinh High School for the Gifted expressed: "A few months ago, I heard about this topic and initially hoped that the schools would control 20% of the early admission quota so that I could have a chance to apply for university admission before the high school graduation exam. Over the past two years, I have tried very hard to have a good academic record and take an IELTS foreign language certificate exam to increase my chances of passing the entrance exam to my favorite school. Currently, I have to adjust my study plan and focus all my efforts on reviewing for the exam to achieve the best results in the high school graduation exam".
With only a few days left until the end of February, but there is still no more information about the new admission regulations, Dung expressed his hope that the Ministry of Education and Training will soon announce the regulations for university and college admissions in 2025 so that universities can "finalize" the project, students can stabilize their psychology, build effective strategies and exam preparation plans.
Need to adapt quickly
As a direct companion to candidates, Ms. Lam Thu Huong - a teacher at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted (Nghe An) said that eliminating early admission means that students have to focus all their attention on the high school graduation exam, instead of spreading it to many different admission methods. This forces teachers to adjust their teaching methods to help them prepare best and students need to have a longer and more solid learning strategy.
"All methods will be handled simultaneously after the results of the high school graduation exam are known. This adjustment creates fairness on the one hand, but candidates may feel more stressed and pressured. However, they need to stay calm, maintain their spirit, continue to study seriously according to the exam review roadmap until the end of the school year; the closer to the end of the term, the more they have to strive and focus on reviewing to achieve the best results in the high school graduation exam. For candidates who want to register to take separate exams and certificate exams (if any); they should not take too many exams but should only register for 1 exam and 1 exam; this avoids loss of concentration, increases determination and reduces exam pressure for them - Ms. Huong advised.
A notable point of the 2025 admission season is the trend of " say no" to considering academic records, increasing admission quotas according to the results of separate exams. In 2025, separate exams organized by many higher education institutions will also have changes, the content is designed to suit the 2018 General Education Program. The Ministry of Education and Training said it will announce the regulations for university and college admissions around the end of February with many new points compared to 2024. If the official regulations are issued in this direction, many universities will have to revise their enrollment plans this year.
On February 23, 2025, the Institute of Digital Training and Testing under Hanoi National University opened a portal to receive candidates' applications for the 2025 competency assessment exam (HSA). However, more than 121,000 accounts accessing to register for the exam have caused the system of Hanoi National University to be congested for many hours. Many students have to struggle for hours to register for the exam.
Regarding this issue, Mr. Nguyen Tien Thao - Chairman of the Exam Council - said that the reason is that the number of accounts accessing the exam registration site is very large. Most exam locations and exams have had enough seats right from the first registration portal opening day and the probability of choosing the second exam will be very low.
