However, many parents do not know when to start drawing practice for their children and whether it is necessary to take exam preparation classes in the context of changes in aptitude test admission.

For the fields of design, fine arts, and architecture, most universities test drawing aptitude upon admission. However, in recent years, some schools that train in architecture do not require entrance aptitude tests, such as Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology. For graphic design, Duy Tan University does not consider aptitude tests. Some other schools, such as Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Nam Can Tho University, have added admission methods that do not require aptitude tests for architecture majors.

DEMAND FOR TRAINING IN TALENTED SUBJECTS IS STILL HIGH

During the summer, many parents and high school students still want to learn about art classes for university entrance exams. Sharing with Thanh Nien reporter, Ms. Hong Phuong (living in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City) said: "My son is in 11th grade this year, wants to study architecture, the backup major is industrial design. This summer, I just learned about art classes for my son, maybe a bit late. I think parents should invest in their children's art practice earlier."

In addition, on social networking forums, in the summer, many students post questions about drawing classes. According to Thanh Nien reporters, Ho Chi Minh City currently has many classes and centers specializing in drawing to prepare for the aptitude test for university admission. Summer is the time when many classes are opened to meet the needs of students, from in-person classes to online classes.

Most exam preparation centers have classes designed according to the exam format of schools in Ho Chi Minh City, the lowest price is about 150,000 VND/session. The teaching quality of drawing exam preparation classes varies, parents often choose classes near their home, ask acquaintances for advice or bring their children directly to the class for advice.

In the role of parents visiting a drawing center in Hoc Mon District, we were consulted and provided with the necessary things to learn corresponding to the majors of the universities. For example, in the graphic design major (University of Fine Arts), candidates need to practice drawing real human portraits and color decoration; in the architecture major (University of Architecture), candidates need to practice drawing heads; choose drawing or color decoration for the fashion design and interior design majors of Van Lang University... While being consulted, we noticed that many students practicing drawing were sitting in the rather small campus of this center.

ONLINE LEARNING TRENDS

Some students like Nguyen Bao Ngan (living in Nhon Trach, Dong Nai) chose to take online exam preparation classes. Ngan said: "I registered with an online drawing training center in July 2023 after researching in Facebook groups. The schedule here does not limit the number of sessions per week, so I chose to study 3 sessions/week. The center designed a curriculum with full theory, each session the lecturer will teach you the theory and then give you practice exercises."

"I think it's the same for all subjects, not just drawing. You have to practice to have the knowledge to take the exam, so if you want to get the desired results, you still have to practice. Nowadays, the internet and technology are developed, so if there are no drawing classes in the provinces or the drawing classes are too far away, candidates can study online. The number of online drawing classes is very large," Ngan added.

PRACTICE DOES NOT MEAN HIGH SCORE

Having taken the aptitude test, Tran Khai Hoan, a final year student of the Interior Design Department at Van Lang University, said: "I started studying drawing from grade 11. Some students studied intensively for a few weeks but had high perception, so their aptitude test scores were very high. Meanwhile, some students, even though they studied from grade 9, still had low scores."

"The exam preparation class cannot determine the exam score, but it can help students learn more systematically and grasp the correct drawing techniques within the allowed time. I have a talent for drawing, and drawing well is based on my own perception, and cannot guarantee the correct requirements of the exam. For example, the head sculpture exam needs to be standard in composition, while color decoration is more about assessing the candidate's creativity," Khai Hoan said.

Similarly, Bao Ngan has been practicing drawing online since July 2023 and has just completed 3 aptitude tests at 3 universities: Ton Duc Thang, Ho Chi Minh City Architecture and Ho Chi Minh City Technical Education, with scores of 8; 7.75 and 9 respectively.

"In my opinion, to get a high score, candidates need experience in the exam room to know how to arrange time, types of questions and psychology. Many schools organize aptitude tests at different times, you should register for a few schools to gain experience, when you have experience, the possibility of getting a higher score in the next exam than the previous one and the chance of being admitted is therefore also higher", Ngan shared.

Speaking to Thanh Nien reporter, Dr. Tran Thanh Nam, Head of the Fine Arts Department of Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture, said that architecture and fine arts majors require talent. However, candidates who have a talent for drawing but do not yet know the drawing method must practice according to the requirements of the major.

"In foreign countries, drawing is called figure study (plaster portraits, drawing people) and students learn to draw and are exposed to art since high school. In our country, students have to practice for exams, which means practicing drawing with a teacher. However, many students in the provinces do not have the conditions to go to drawing classes but can still practice their talent by studying (from books, the internet...) if the method is correct," said Dr. Nam.

According to Dr. Nam, the rate of admission to majors with gifted subjects is very high, requiring a lot of practice. Drawing (fine art drawing) is not a subject that only requires manual dexterity, but also requires knowledge of structure, proportion, space... manual dexterity is a skill that can only be acquired through a lot of practice. Therefore, there are students who understand and know the method and progress very quickly.

"The profession of architecture is to organize living and working spaces for people in an aesthetic way. That is, it must satisfy both functional and aesthetic (artistic) requirements. Therefore, the art drawing subject is a subject that tests the ability to analyze structure and understand and express space. Meanwhile, graphic design has a color decoration subject to test the ability to perceive colors as well as hand drawing skills," Dr. Nam informed.