Race against your own exams
Currently, the trend of top universities is to reduce the criteria for considering transcripts and high school graduation exam scores, and increase the proportion for separate admission methods and separate exams.
Regularly researching and updating trends, Do Dinh Tuan Dat - a 12th grade student at M.V. Lomonosov Secondary and High School (Hanoi) started studying for the competency assessment exam since his early years of high school.
“Currently, there are many different admission methods, which are both opportunities and challenges for candidates if we do not know how to orient ourselves from the beginning. I chose to take the competency assessment test since grade 11 by self-studying and studying at a center with the hope of passing the entrance exam to my favorite school. The major I chose for university admission is C00 (Literature, History, Geography). As for the competency assessment test, in addition to the compulsory knowledge of Math and Literature, I chose the topics of Physics, History, and Geography. That way, I can review for the exams effectively at the same time,” Dat shared.
The first batch of students studying the 2018 General Education Program will take the high school graduation exam in 2025 with many major changes. Realizing this, Nguyen Linh Chi - a 12th grade student at Bac Kan High School for the Gifted - participated in the thinking assessment exam of Hanoi University of Science and Technology from the first round, in order to increase her chances of being admitted to the University of Science and Technology, National Economics University.
The female student is in a relaxed state of mind, having registered for two more exams, which will take place in March and April. To prepare for this exam, Chi attends a review course twice a week. In the past two weeks, she has been practicing every day. The female student herself is not under pressure to get a high score in the first exam, but wants to try to see which areas are weak, and from there, find a way to improve.
Many new points in separate exams
The first round of the Hanoi University of Science and Technology's thinking assessment exam has officially taken place, which is also the opening round for the 2025 university entrance exam season nationwide.
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Phong Dien - Deputy Director of Hanoi University of Science and Technology - said that in the first round of the thinking assessment exam, about 14,000 candidates registered, mainly candidates from Ha Tinh province and beyond. In the afternoon exam session on January 18, 6,891 candidates registered for the exam, the remaining candidates took the exam on the morning of January 19.
According to Associate Professor Dr. Dien, the task of creating the thinking assessment test this year is more complicated and difficult than last year because it is necessary to compare all questions to match the content of the 2018 General Education Program. This helps candidates not to be confused, and there is no test content beyond the program.
According to forecasts, there are about 50 higher education institutions using the thinking assessment test scores for admission. However, the formula for converting the thinking assessment test scores to the scale of each school is different. Therefore, the Vice President of Hanoi University of Science and Technology noted that candidates need to be very careful and read the admission regulations carefully during the registration process.
In 2025, the competency assessment exams organized by many universities will also change. At Hanoi National University, there will be many changes in the questions, the way of asking questions, and the content of the questions in the exam. Each exam topic will have cluster questions in all sections. In a data context, the test will ask 1-3 different questions to assess the candidate's overall ability. Cluster questions can be new topics with pre-given material, requiring candidates to identify, analyze, and propose solutions to the given problem.
At Hanoi National University of Education, the new point in this year's exam is the combination of multiple choice and essay questions, in which the multiple choice question types are similar to the question formats in the 2025 high school graduation exam, including 4-choice multiple choice, true/false multiple choice and short answer multiple choice.
