The second round of competency assessment exams of Ho Chi Minh City National University took place in 15 provinces and cities, including: Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Gia Lai, Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Dak Lak, Dong Nai, Tay Ninh, Dong Thap, Vinh Long, An Giang, Can Tho and Ca Mau.
According to regulations, candidates must be present on time as stated in the exam notification paper. Those who arrive 15 minutes after the exam time is calculated (after 8:45 am) will not be allowed to take the exam.
When taking the exam, candidates are required to bring valid original personal papers including ID card/civic identification card or passport for foreign candidates, along with exam notification.
In case of loss of personal papers, candidates need to come to the exam council room at least 30 minutes before the gathering time to be considered and resolved. If they arrive after 7:45 am, they will not be processed to enter the exam room.
Candidates are allowed to bring into the exam room items including: pens, black pencils, compasses, erasers, rulers, calculators; handheld calculators without text editing function, sending - receiving information, recording audio, recording video and without data storage memory cards.
Conversely, candidates are not allowed to bring to the exam room scratch paper, exam paper, carbon paper, eraser pens, documents, stealth pens, weapons, explosives, flammable substances, beer, alcohol; mobile phones, communication equipment, information reception - transmission - storage equipment; smart wearable devices, smart glasses and other high-tech devices that may be exploited for cheating.
According to regulations, candidates bringing prohibited items into the exam room, even if they have not used them, will still be suspended from the exam.
During the exam, candidates who look at papers or exchange papers may be reprimanded; copying papers or allowing them to copy papers will be warned. Cases of bringing prohibited items into the exam room, taking exam papers outside or receiving answers from outside will be suspended from the exam.
Postponed candidates will receive a score of 0 and are not allowed to use the exam results to register for admission to universities and colleges.
Previously, the first round of competency assessment exam held on April 5, 2026 recorded more than 133,000 candidates taking the exam. The exam was organized in 15 provinces and cities with 57 exam clusters, 119 exam sites and nearly 10,000 invigilators.
According to statistics, the score distribution in phase 1 is in a near-standard distribution form, both average and mid-range scores reach 682 points, standard deviation of 141.2. About 30% of candidates achieve below 600 points, 55% below 700 points and about 6% achieve from 900 points or higher. Valedictorian achieves 1,098 points.
The structure and content of the 2026 competency assessment exam are built on the basis of the exam structure that has been adjusted and applied since 2025, in accordance with the 2018 General Education Program.
The exam consists of 120 objective multiple-choice questions with many choices, a test time of 150 minutes, and is organized in the form of paper exams.
The exam structure includes three parts: Language use: 60 questions (30 Vietnamese questions and 30 English questions); Mathematics: 30 questions; Scientific thinking: 30 questions.
