The 2026 high school graduation exam will take place on the 11th and 12th of June. In Ho Chi Minh City, this year's exam has nearly 143,000 candidates participating.
At this time, after completing the 12th grade program and finishing the review sessions at the school, many students are spending most of their time on self-study, practicing questions and systemizing knowledge before the exam. Many students said that the pressure of reviewing this year is greater as the results of the high school graduation exam continue to be an important basis in university admissions.
Nguyen Thao Anh, a 12th grade student in Ben Thanh ward, said that currently all her focus is on the high school graduation exam taking place on the 11th and 12th. 6.
Thao Anh registered to take the exams for Math, Literature, English and Geography. In the final sprint, the female student focused on systematizing key knowledge, practicing questions and consolidating parts that were not yet solid.
I spend a lot of time on Math, this is a subject I am still quite weak in. At this time, I try to review my knowledge, focusing on the common problems in the exam questions," Thao Anh shared.
According to the female student, although she has participated in the competency assessment exam and plans to use these results to register for university admission, she still focuses on the high school graduation exam.
My biggest concern is still the high school graduation exam scores. This year, many schools consider admissions by many different methods, so I want to try to achieve the best results to have more opportunities to enter my favorite major," Thao Anh said.
The female student said her aspiration is Tourism and Travel Service Management. She also learned more about some majors in the economic field to expand admission opportunities.
Not only Thao Anh, many 12th grade students in Ho Chi Minh City are maintaining high academic intensity in the last days before the exam.
Nguyen Ngoc Trung, a 12th grade student in Xuan Hoa ward, said that he has temporarily put aside many entertainment activities to focus on reviewing and learning about his profession.
Trung said he is interested in the Architecture industry and is actively learning about job opportunities after graduation.
I am both preparing for the graduation exam and learning more carefully about the major to have a clear direction. I want to prepare well for both the exam ahead and the study plan in the coming years," Trung shared.
According to many students, this year's review is carried out more seriously due to changes in university admissions.
From 2026, candidates who want to participate in university admissions by any means must meet the conditions regarding the source of admissions, in which the total score of 3 high school graduation exam subjects must reach at least 15 points on a 30-point scale. Therefore, the results of the high school graduation exam continue to play an important role, even for candidates who have participated in separate exams such as competency assessment or intending to be admitted by other methods.
In 2026, Ho Chi Minh City has 142,899 candidates registered to take the high school graduation exam, of which 7,978 candidates have graduated from high school in previous years.
According to statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, subjects belonging to the Natural Sciences and Foreign Language groups are chosen by many candidates. Among them, Foreign Language ranks first with 65,475 registered candidates, accounting for 45.82%.
In the Natural Sciences group, Physics had 64,162 registered candidates, accounting for 44.9%; Chemistry had 38,120 candidates, accounting for 26.68%; Biology had 11,046 candidates, accounting for 7.73%. These are subjects with a high choice rate in this year's exam.
