Sharing with Dan Tri reporter, Phuong Thao said that she was very surprised when she got the highest score in the first round of the Hanoi National University's HSA exam. "I think 126 is not necessarily a high score. I think maybe I was able to choose my strong subjects so I have an advantage," Thao said.

Thao is a student of class 12A6, Hoai Duc A High School, Hanoi. She has an IELTS score of 7.5 and plans to apply for the economics major at Foreign Trade University or National Economics University.

Regarding her study secrets, Thao said that she studies at a district school in the suburbs of Hanoi, so she doesn't have much opportunity to study at "training centers". She only studies math and IELTS in a separate course. She studies the remaining subjects with teachers at school.

Right before the competency assessment exam, I spent a whole month reviewing "in a sprint". "The characteristic of this exam is that it has comprehensive knowledge, spanning from grade 10 to grade 12, so within a month, I systematized all the knowledge, and took notes on any unclear parts. When taking the exam, I prepared myself mentally, not too stressed", Thao shared.

I know that in previous mock tests, my scores were not too high. I practiced and took the math test and got about 40/50 points.

Thao said that this year's competency assessment test is more difficult than previous years, and there are even some questions from the old program that require a thorough understanding to be able to do.

The HSA exam consists of three parts, the compulsory part is mathematics and data processing (50 questions, 75 minutes), literature - language (50 questions, 60 minutes). The optional part is science or English (50 questions, 60 minutes).

The female student chose to take the English test, scoring 45/50 points in this section because this is her forte. With mathematics and data processing, literature - language, the female student scored 40 and 41/50 points respectively.

Although she self-assessed that her exam results were not excellent, Thao was determined by the Hanoi National University Competency Assessment Council to have the highest score in the first round of the exam, with a total of more than 11,000 students taking the exam.

It is known that Thao is the group leader in the class, but according to the assessment of Ms. Nguyen Thi Diu, the homeroom teacher, she is a diligent student, studies well in all subjects and has the best results in the class.

In particular, female students have a neat demeanor and are active in all cultural and sports activities of the school.

Previously, on the morning of March 15, the first capacity assessment exam in 2025 of Hanoi National University took place at 8 testing locations.

According to the Chairman of the 2025 Competency Assessment Council of Hanoi National University, the highest score of the first round of exams was 126/150, the second highest score was 125/150.

The 2025 VNU Competency Assessment Exam attracted more than 90,000 candidates to participate in 6 rounds, with more than 100 universities using the results for admission.

Statistics show that in the first round, nearly 11,000 candidates registered and took the exam, reaching 99.4%. One candidate was disciplined and suspended from the exam.

It is expected that the average score of the 2025 VNU capacity assessment test will be slightly higher than previous years because candidates can choose the third part of the test to promote their personal capacity and strengths.

Candidates also need to refer to the admission plan information of the universities requiring the corresponding admission combination.