Concerns about unfair university admissions as 'SAT scores are too high'

This year's SAT scores are exceptionally high, particularly from the 16/5 test session where many students achieved scores of 1550-1600 out of 1600, raising concerns among some applicants about potential disadvantages when applying to universities through alternative methods.

Concerns about unusually high SAT scores were voiced by an applicant at the 2026 Aspirations Selection Festival, hosted by Bao Tuoi tre on 4/7. Prior to this event, several institutions, including Dai hoc Ngoai thuong and Dai hoc Bach khoa Ha Noi, had already received similar feedback from students regarding what they perceived as "excessively high" SAT scores in certain test sittings.

Associate Professor, Doctor Vu Duy Hai, Head of Admissions and Career Guidance at Dai hoc Bach khoa Ha Noi, confirmed that the university promptly contacted the test organizer upon receiving these complaints, requesting information and clarification.

“As this is an international examination, Vietnamese universities lack the authority to intervene in its organization or scoring process; they can only submit feedback and request information,” Hai explained.

Dai hoc Bach khoa Ha Noi has yet to receive a response. Universities consistently state they will notify applicants if the test organizer provides official information indicating an impact on SAT score usage.

Despite these concerns, Hai assured applicants there is no need to worry about fairness between SAT scores and other admission methods.

This assurance stems from the Ministry of Education and Training's admission regulations, which mandate that from 2025, universities must establish equivalent score conversions across all admission methods. Consequently, even if SAT scores appear significantly higher than high school graduation exam scores or Thinking Skill Assessment (TSA) scores, they will be standardized to an equivalent level. This might involve, for example, grouping them within the top 1% of highest scores for each respective examination.

“Therefore, fairness among the various admission methods remains guaranteed,” Hai stated, advising applicants to utilize university lookup and conversion systems to understand the specific equivalencies.

A standard score conversion table for Dai hoc Bach khoa Ha Noi 2026.

The SAT, an academic aptitude test for students, is owned by the College Board in the US. This exam, comprising two sections—reading and writing, and mathematics—has a maximum score of 1600 and is widely used for university admissions globally.

While no entity publicly releases SAT score distributions for individual sessions in Vietnam, the latest statistics from the test organizer in the country indicate a consistent rise in the average score for Vietnamese candidates over the past three years, reaching 1355 out of 1600 in 2025.