University admission rate in 2025 skyrockets: New phenomenon of "virtual benchmark scores"

Unusually high benchmark

After most universities announced their benchmark scores, a "shocking" phenomenon was the benchmark score reaching the absolute threshold of 30/30, using the high school graduation exam method.

This year, up to 6 majors at 4 universities have recorded this standard score, including: Medicine (Military Medical Academy), International Relations ( Military Science Academy), English Pedagogy and Chinese Pedagogy of 2 Foreign Language Universities under Hanoi National University and Hue University.

Along with that, dozens of industries have a benchmark score of 29 points.

This score breaks the record of previous years. In 2024, the highest benchmark score was 29.3 points (Literature and History Pedagogy, Hanoi National University of Education); in 2023, it was 29.42 points (Computer Science , Hanoi University of Science and Technology). This shows that the general benchmark score this year is significantly higher.

If every year, the list of statistics shows a benchmark score of 28 (on a scale of 30) as being among the highest scores, this year 29 points is not necessarily in the top.

In "hot" fields such as Artificial Intelligence, Pedagogy... candidates with 29 points are not sure to be admitted.

As an institution with a benchmark score of 29.92 points for Computer Science (advanced program), approaching the 30 mark, the University of Natural Sciences, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City believes that the main reason is the increase in the number of applications.

Compared to 2024, the total number of applications to the school reached 60,849 (an increase of about 2 times), leading to an increase in the standard score in many majors.

This year, the Computer Science major continues to attract a large number of excellent candidates, including many international award winners. This result reflects the strong appeal of this major at the school.

Also with the benchmark score for the Artificial Intelligence major reaching 29.6 points, Dr. Nguyen Tan Tran Minh Khang, Vice Principal of the University of Information Technology, Ho Chi Minh City National University, commented: In general, the school's admission score in 2025 has increased in some key majors, reflecting the need for high-quality human resources in the digital transformation period.

This score shows that candidates who want to be admitted must be hard-working students with outstanding academic and exam results.

The University of Education , Vietnam National University, Hanoi also has a benchmark score of 29.84 in the History - Geography Pedagogy major.

English Pedagogy, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education, got 29.57 points. Chemistry Pedagogy, University of Education, got 29.38 points.

Looking at the overall picture, schools that use few admission methods and rely mainly on graduation exam scores will have lower admission scores. Schools that use many admission methods and apply a variety of point-adding policies will have higher admission scores.

What is the cause?

An admissions expert from a school in the Ho Chi Minh City National University system frankly said: "Don't look at the increase in benchmark scores and think that the candidates' abilities are good, and the high school graduation exam scores have increased. I think that this year a new phenomenon has appeared, which is "virtual benchmark scores". Because the benchmark scores at some schools do not truly reflect the candidates' abilities."

Explaining this problem, he said there are many reasons.

First, "tricky" score conversion. Many schools use "tricks" to convert scores from other admission methods such as international language certificates (IELTS, SAT, ACT...), ability assessment tests, transcripts, graduation exams and excellent student awards...

This conversion often brings great advantages to candidates, pushing up the benchmark. When the benchmark increases, the reputation of the schools also improves. This is especially beneficial for candidates with international language certificates in the context of low English test scores like this year.

Second, since there is no longer early admission, candidates are not sure of being admitted before taking the university entrance exam, so many of them put a lot of effort into the exams to get the university entrance score. This also leads to a sudden increase in the number of applications.

Third, there is no limit on the number of combinations considered for a major, allowing schools to use a variety of admission methods, allowing candidates to choose the most advantageous combination for admission. This increases the chances of candidates with international certificates.

“Many schools have always been ranked below the scores of the National University, but one fine day there was a “conversion trick” so the benchmark scores exceeded many majors of top schools. This year, just looking at the exam scores, we cannot judge which schools and majors are really “hot”, this person said.

MSc. Cu Xuan Tien, Head of Admissions and Student Affairs Department, University of Economics and Law, Ho Chi Minh City National University, also frankly stated that converting scores causes the standard score to increase.

Mr. Tien's general assessment of the benchmark scores shows that universities using many admission methods have relatively high benchmark scores.

“This comes from the conversion based on the national percentile, converting the scores of other methods to a 30-point scale. Meanwhile, universities consider fewer methods or only consider high school graduation exam scores, so the standard score will be lower,” said Mr. Tien.

Explaining the two absolute benchmark scores in English Pedagogy and Chinese Pedagogy, Associate Professor Dr. Ha Le Kim Anh, Vice Principal of the University of Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, said this was due to many reasons.

In terms of supply and demand, the quota granted by the Ministry of Education and Training for teacher training is quite low while the social demand for English teachers is very high. The policy of exempting tuition fees and subsidizing living expenses for teacher training students also attracts excellent students to register, especially foreign language teachers.

However, admission policy is the main reason for pushing up benchmark scores in "hot" majors.

The school has a mechanism to add points for excellent students at the provincial level, students who won the Olympic exam of Hanoi National University, students with international standardized certificates such as SAT, ACT or international foreign language certificates such as IELTS.

All admission methods are based on a common score scale instead of calculating separate quotas and benchmarks. This brings advantages to candidates applying for combined admission, for example, candidates for specialized programs of specialized provincial schools and specialized schools under Hanoi National University are admitted based on academic records combined with foreign language certificates.

Converting international language certificates into English test scores is also a factor that pushes up the standard score because most candidates applying for the above two majors have IELTS at a common level of 7.5-8.0, equivalent to a perfect score of 10 in English.

Finally, candidates are not limited to the combination of admissions or the method of admission. The Ministry's system automatically synthesizes for candidates, choosing the most advantageous combination or method to calculate the score for candidates.

Schools also offer many flexible admission combinations for candidates to make the most of their advantages, causing the benchmark scores in top schools and "hot" majors to increase sharply.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/muc-trung-tuyen-dai-hoc-2025-tang-phi-ma-hien-tuong-moi-ao-diem-chuan-20250823191749597.htm