Leaving the exam room at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education after 11h, Thanh Cong, a student from Binh Chieu High School, immediately sought out his friends to discuss a question about prosodic rules (rules on tones and rhymes) in Tang dynasty poetry.
"I had never encountered this type of question before, so I guessed, knowing I would lose points", Thanh Cong said.
The male student noted that the exam paper was 16 pages long, with a structure similar to the sample test. The 30 Vietnamese language questions in the Language Use section surprised him due to their significantly higher difficulty compared to practice tests. Long questions with text primarily from medieval literature consumed much of his reading time.
Additionally, the mathematics section was challenging because some questions included multiple unknown variables to prevent calculator use. Overall, he assessed the competency assessment exam as one and a half times harder than the National University Ho Chi Minh City's sample test. The student estimated he would score over 700 out of 1200 points, which he deemed insufficient, so he plans to take the second session in late 5.
Thuy Duong, from Nguyen Huu Huan High School, agreed, stating that the Vietnamese language questions were lengthy and had distracting, "similar-looking" answers. However, Duong performed well in the English and Scientific Thinking sections. The female student hopes to achieve 900 points or more to apply to the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
"The exam was one and a half times harder, especially the Vietnamese section; many questions I did not understand", Duong said.
Anh Thu, from Thu Duc High School, was disheartened because she spent too much time on the Vietnamese language questions. The female student had planned to allocate 30 minutes but ultimately spent 45 minutes and still felt uncertain about all her answers for this section. This also meant she did not have time to thoroughly read the final questions, estimating that she had to guess the answers for 30 questions.
"I should have managed my time more effectively", Thu regretted, adding that she would take the next exam session to improve her score.
A survey of 10 candidates at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education exam center revealed that 8 students found the Vietnamese language section long and difficult. In particular, the prosodic rules question caused many students to frown, as it was uncommon and they had not paid attention to it during their studies.
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Candidates leaving after the exam concluded. Photo: Le Nguyen |
The National University Ho Chi Minh City's competency assessment exam consists of 120 questions, with a duration of 150 minutes. The Scientific Thinking section has 30 questions, including Logic - Data Analysis and Scientific Reasoning. The Language Use section comprises Vietnamese and English with 60 questions. Finally, Mathematics has 30 questions.
Questions are designed to provide information, data, and facts, requiring candidates to apply them to determine experimental results, predict patterns, and more.
According to National University Ho Chi Minh City statistics, nearly 133,500 candidates participated in the competency assessment exam on the morning of 5/4, representing a 98% attendance rate. Exam invigilation followed regulations, with no recorded errors or incidents. Results will be announced on 17/4.
The second session of the exam will take place on 24/5. The exam results are used by 118 universities and colleges for admission. Last year, Mai Quang Minh Tri surpassed 152,000 candidates to achieve the top score with 1,122 out of 1200 points.
Le Nguyen
