In Vietnam, early admission is a concept used to refer to universities recruiting certain students based on their academic records, test results, etc. before the official high school graduation exam takes place. Looking at the world level, some countries also have preferential forms, such as direct admission of students with excellent achievements, opening early admission before the regular admission period.

DIVERSE RECRUITMENT METHODS

In Asia, some countries organize national university entrance exams similar to Vietnam, such as China (gaokao), South Korea (suneung) and Japan (kyōtsū, formerly known as sentā shiken). For local students, the results of these exams can be an important "door" to enter a domestic university or one of the options besides other methods. At specialized or top universities, candidates may have to take aptitude tests, interviews... to qualify for admission.

According to the Korea Academic Recognition Information Center (KARIC) under the Korean Council of University Education, the country currently has two admission cycles: early admission (susi) and regular admission (jeongsi). In the early admission cycle, students are evaluated based on their academic records, essays, extracurricular activities, practical exams, etc. In the regular admission cycle, the suneung exam score is the key factor.

An important trend in university admissions in Korea is that students are increasingly interested in the early admission period, accounting for about three-quarters of the total number of students in recent years. Specifically, data from the Korean Ministry of Education shows that 262,378 students were admitted in the early admission period in 2022, accounting for 75.7%. This number increases to 78% in 2023 and up to 79% in 2024, although the total number of students over the years does not differ by more than 5,000.

In contrast to South Korea, China has increasingly promoted the use of gaokao scores in university admissions in recent years. Previously, the country allowed elite universities to recruit students based on gaokao scores and their own criteria, called the "Independent Freshman Admissions Program" (IFAP). IFAP was launched in 2003 with the hope of diversifying admissions methods, avoiding the possibility of gaokao scores deciding a student's entire life.

Since 2020, China has decided to abolish IFAP after a major reform related to gaokao called the "Foundation Enhancement Plan" (FEP). According to a study by scholar Xiaofeng Wan published in the International Higher Education journal , FEP requires universities to focus on gaokao scores, although it still allows them to combine them with academic records and their own criteria. Because gaokao scores must account for at least 85% of the weight, instead of prioritizing academic awards, patents or scientific papers as before. Eligible candidates can apply for early admission before the gaokao takes place, the Chinese Ministry of Education informed.

M IN THE EXTREME FACTORS BEYOND THE SCORES

Without holding a national university entrance exam, many Western countries such as Australia, New Zealand, England, France... are relying on scores from high school, post-high school programs or standardized tests as the basis for university admission. Many schools even accept predicted scores or previous school year scores to facilitate early application, and some schools even accept the results of international high school programs such as IB, AP.

According to the Australian Department of Education, admissions for domestic students are based on the Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR). The ATAR is calculated by the state or territory university admissions office and is based on academic performance in Year 12. The ATAR ranges from 0 - 99.95 and indicates the student's ranking, for example, if the student achieves an ATAR of 90.00, it can be understood that the student is in the top 10% of students.

Before the official ATAR scores are available, some Australian universities open early admissions based on students' Year 11 ATAR scores and other factors. If you do not attend high school, schools also have many other methods for early admission such as having a vocational certificate, completing a university foundation course or having work experience related to the field you will study if you are over 25 years old..., according to the Australian Department of Education.

In the UK, depending on their goals and needs, students can register for different study programs after graduating from high school and take exams to obtain corresponding certificates, such as A Level, T Level or vocational technical degrees. The scores of these certificates along with other factors such as essays, recommendation letters, etc. are the criteria for universities to consider recruiting domestic PhDs.

This year, according to the UK Ministry of Education, the results of the A Level and T Level exams will be announced on August 15. Although there is no early admission period, students in this country have to submit their applications quite early, even from October of the previous year, to top universities and in "hot" majors. In case of not being admitted, students can continue to register for university through the Clearing system or wait until next year to retake the exam.

In the US, the federal and local governments do not organize a common university entrance exam, and high schools are free to design their own curriculum, rather than having a unified national curriculum. Therefore, universities will proactively consider admission based on many factors such as GPA, academic achievements, extracurricular activities, essays, and standardized test scores such as SAT and ACT.

A characteristic of university admissions in the US is that schools usually have about 3 admission periods: mandatory early admission (requiring applicants to choose only 1 school), non-binding early admission (allowing applicants to apply to multiple schools), and regular admission (receiving admission results later than the previous 2 periods). In each admission period, schools will set different deadlines for receiving applications, usually around the end and beginning of the year.