Diversifying admission options
Many candidates who have relied on the method of considering transcripts to reduce risks now have to rebuild their study strategies, increase review time, and choose other admission methods to avoid being passive.
As a senior student, Le Dinh Duong - a student at Nguyen Binh Khiem High School for the Gifted (Da Nang) - shared that the most difficult thing for students today is to race against information, each school has its own admission method and criteria. Therefore, I spent time reorganizing the study sector goals, the level of competition of each school, the exam preparation roadmap, to choose a plan that suits my ability and the family's economic conditions.
Nguyen Minh Phuong - a 12th grade student at the High School for the Gifted in Social Sciences and Humanities (Hanoi National University) - confided that he focuses more on reviewing for the high school graduation exam and improving his capacity in other certificates to increase his chances of being admitted to university. Minh Phuong plans to register for an additional IELTS or HSK exam to diversify admission options.
On the university side, tightening the method of considering high school transcripts to ensure input quality.In 2026, Hanoi National University of Education 2 will abandon the method of considering academic records for 17 majors, only retaining certain majors.
Discussing this issue, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Thu - Head of Training Department, Hanoi National University of Education 2 - informed that the school's adjustment and drastic reduction of the admission method based on transcripts is a decision that is carefully considered to ensure input quality as well as in line with the school's training orientation in the new period.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Thu, in previous years, when schools were allowed to allocate quotas according to each method, the rate for considering academic records was only about 10% and the group of candidates admitted by this method often had very good academic performance. However, there is currently no longer a mechanism for allocating quotas by method, schools are forced to reduce or stop considering transcripts in many majors to ensure admission standards.
The school only retains this method in some majors to ensure fairness for disadvantaged candidates and those with difficult conditions.
Need to enhance the real value of high school transcripts
Commenting on the trend of eliminating high school transcripts in the current context, Dr. Vu Thu Huong - former lecturer at Hanoi National University of Education - said that universities have enough data to compare student quality between different admission methods, thereby identifying shortcomings. Therefore, many schools have changed direction, narrowed or eliminated consideration of academic records to seek methods with higher screening.
According to Dr. Vu Thu Huong, this reality sends candidates the message that they should not rely on a single admission method, but at the same time need to prepare many options to reduce pressure. This also forces them to make more efforts and be more serious in determining future goals.
Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam - Chairman of the Board of Education of Dinh Tien Hoang High School (Hanoi) - analyzed the current core issue of increasing the real value of high school transcripts.
To do this, the testing and evaluation process at high schools must be objective and accurate; teachers need to be closely supervised in giving scores. If the assessment process is implemented seriously, the academic transcript scores will truly reflect the students' abilities" - Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam said.
Dr. Lam also said that, in addition to focusing on tightening input, universities need to focus on controlling output quality, which is a common trend in world education.
