On December 1, Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) opened the registration portal for the Thinking Assessment (TSA) test for candidates who want to use the results to apply to many universities in 2025.

Right from the opening of the portal, some candidates reported network congestion and slow access, especially at the third stage (payment of fees). After about 30 minutes, this situation was resolved.

Responding to Dan Tri reporters on the morning of December 2, Associate Professor Dr. Vu Duy Hai, Head of Admissions and Career Guidance Department, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, said that after one day of opening the registration portal for the thinking assessment test, more than 13,000 candidates registered, nearly 3 times higher than last year.

According to the registration data on the system, some test sites such as: Hanoi, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, Hung Yen, Thanh Hoa..., are almost full. Some test sites still have many seats such as: Lao Cai, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Thai Nguyen.

According to Mr. Hai, the network congestion in the first few minutes was due to the sudden increase in the number of candidates registering this year, nearly triple the number of candidates registered in the first round last year. "The reason why the number of candidates registering is so high may be because in 2025, there will be only 3 exam rounds," said Mr. Hai.

In 2025, Hanoi University of Science and Technology plans to organize 3 rounds of thinking assessment exams in January-April 2025 with about 75,000 participants, an increase of 25,000 compared to this year. The exam rounds are shortened to only 3/6 compared to last year.

In addition to the 12 provinces and cities as last year, namely Hanoi, Hung Yen, Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Da Nang, the school opened an additional testing site in Lao Cai province for candidates in the Northwestern provinces to travel more conveniently.

The 2025 exams will take place as follows:

Round 1: Exam date 18-19/1/2025; Registration opening date 1-6/12/2024

Round 2: Exam date 8-9/3/2025; Registration opening date 1-6/2/2025

Phase 3: Exam date 26-27/4/2025; Registration opening date 1-6/4/2025

The thinking assessment test of Hanoi University of Science and Technology consists of 3 parts: Mathematical Thinking (60 minutes), Reading Comprehension (30 minutes) and Scientific Thinking/Problem Solving (60 minutes). These are 3 independent parts, the test questions will focus on assessing the thinking ability of the candidates in each part, not directly testing the knowledge of any subject.

Many modern testing technologies have been applied to the exam such as standardized thinking question construction technology, bridge theory in the exam, and scoring technology based on the multi-parameter IRT model.

The school also uses automatic check-in technology according to citizen identification cards integrated with the personal data management system on the National Population Database to identify candidates coming to take the exam to prevent proxy exams and exam cheating.

Previously, in 2024, Hanoi University of Science and Technology organized 6 exam sessions on weekends with 30 exam locations each session in Hanoi and 11 provinces and cities including Hung Yen, Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Da Nang; serving nearly 50,000 exams with a total of 21,000 candidates.

The exam results have been used by more than 50 universities for university admissions for the 2024-2025 academic year.