Minh Nguyet registered three wishes to attend Ho Thi Bi High School, Binh Chieu High School, Nguyen Van Linh High School. This year, Ho Thi Bi High School is in the top 10 schools with the highest competition rate in the city with a competition rate of 1/2.19, on average, two students are selected for one student. Meanwhile, last year this rate was 1/1.58.

"I was surprised and wondered whether I should change my first choice or not," Nguyet said.

The female student commented that many other students might also change their preferences when they know the competition rate, so schools with low competition rates might actually become high. Therefore, if she changed her preferences, she might be at a disadvantage.

Thanh Phuong, a student at Huynh Van Nghe Secondary School in Go Vap District, is similar. The male student has three wishes to apply to Nguyen Trung Truc High School, Thanh Loc High School and Nguyen Van Cu High School. At the end of the second semester, Phuong's total score in Math, Literature and English was 25.5, much higher than the standard score of 17 last year at Nguyen Trung Truc School.

However, in the most recent test, Phuong only got 15 points. The male student was disappointed and doubted his academic ability.

"I want to change my second choice - Thanh Loc High School to choose another safer school, but my father advised me to keep it, so I'm very hesitant," Phuong said. This year, the competition ratio of Thanh Loc High School increased slightly to 1/1.65, the standard score for the second choice last year was 16.5. Phuong wants to transfer to a school with a standard score below 15.

Unlike Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City allows candidates to adjust their 10th grade exam preferences after knowing the competition ratio, until May 21. In addition, the city does not regulate the gap in scores between preferences.

However, teachers with many years of experience in consulting for admission to grade 10 all advise students not to rush to adjust their wishes. The competition ratio information is for reference only, and the important criteria for setting wishes is still the candidate's academic ability.

This year, of the more than 96,000 students who registered for the 10th grade entrance exam at public high schools in Ho Chi Minh City, about 77,300 passed. More than 18,800 candidates will fail.

Nguyen Thuong Hien High School has the most fierce competition for admission to grade 10 with a ratio of 1/3.5. Next is Gia Dinh High School with a ratio of 1/3, Nguyen Huu Huan High School and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School with 1/2.6 and 1/2.4 respectively.

Many other schools also have a competition ratio of over 1/2 - a high level compared to the general level such as: Mac Dinh Chi High School, Bui Thi Xuan, Phu Nhuan, Practicing High School - Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, Le Thanh Ton, Thu Duc, Nguyen Huu Tien, Pham Van Sang, Ho Thi Bi.

According to some principals, about 5-10% of students in their schools adjust their preferences every year.

Mr. Vo Thien Cang, Head of Testing and Quality Assurance Department, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, noted that candidates should base their academic ability to set appropriate wishes, not too high or too low.

"In addition, parents and students need to consult about the school's curriculum and travel conditions," Mr. Cang advised.

Mr. Cao Duc Khoa, Principal of Huynh Khuong Ninh Secondary School, District 1, said that when candidates register their wishes for grade 10, they are carefully advised. Teachers discuss with families, understand the candidates' thoughts, and then come up with a list of suitable schools based on academic ability, interests, travel distance, and curriculum. For popular schools with a competition rate of over 1/3, teachers only advise students with excellent academic performance, in the top group of the school.

"If your academic performance remains stable and there are no sudden changes, you should not change your wishes. The competition ratio is just a reference factor," said Mr. Khoa.

Similarly, Ms. Hua Diem Tram, Principal of Ha Huy Tap Secondary School, Binh Thanh District, also advised students not to massively adjust their wishes.

Ms. Tram advises students to base on their 9th grade academic results, especially the final exam scores of the second semester or the three mock exams of Literature, Math, and Foreign Language, deducting 10-15% of their scores. Candidates should compare these results with the benchmark scores of recent years of the schools to choose their preferences.

In case the candidate has a decline in academic performance or initially registered without careful consideration, then they should change. In these cases, they should change their 2nd and 3rd choices to a group of schools with lower admission scores to ensure safety, it is not necessary to change their 1st choice.

According to Mr. Khoa's experience, candidates should put their first choice in a school with a benchmark score equivalent to their academic ability. For their second and third choices, they should add 1.5-2.5 points compared to the previous year's benchmark score to increase their chances of admission.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, Principal of Dang Tran Con Secondary School, advised students to consider the gap between the first and second choice scores. If the first choice is at a school higher than their ability, students should adjust their second choice to a school within their ability. If candidates are confident that they can pass their first choice, they do not need to change their second choice. The third choice must be a school below their ability.

After consulting with teachers and comparing the final exam results of the second semester with the benchmark score of Ho Thi Bi High School last year, Minh Nguyet confidently kept her wish. Her total score of Math, Literature, and English in the final exam of the second semester was 19 points, higher than the benchmark score of 15 points of this school last year.

Meanwhile, Thanh Phuong plans to spend two more days solving some more practice exams.

"I want to re-evaluate my abilities and ask my teachers for advice before deciding to change my wishes," Phuong said.

Le Nguyen