Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy drops combined IELTS, SAT consideration

International certificates such as IELTS and SAT will now only be awarded bonus points by Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy for its 2026 admissions, moving away from last year's method of combining them with high school graduation exam scores.

Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy (UMP) announced its 2026 admissions plan on 6/4. This year, the university aims to enroll 2,746 students, an increase of about 200 compared to last year. Nearly 2,700 of these students will be admitted based on their high school graduation exam scores, with the remaining spots allocated for direct admissions and pre-university programs.

In a change from previous years, UMP has discontinued the method of combining international certificates such as IELTS, TOEFL, and SAT with high school exam scores for admission. Instead, the university will award bonus points to candidates who achieve an IELTS score of 6,0 or higher, a TOEFL iBT score of 80 or higher, or an SAT score of at least 1340/1600. Candidates can receive a maximum of 1,5 bonus points, calculated as follows:

Bonus points = Bonus points (foreign language certificate) + Bonus points (SAT result)

Certificate type	Bonus point calculation formula
IELTS	0,9 x IELTS score/9
TOEFL	0,9 x TOEFL score/120
SAT	0,9 x SAT score/1.600

In addition to submitting international certificates through the Ministry of Education and Training's system, candidates must also submit notarized copies to the university before 26/6 to be eligible for bonus points.

The admission score calculation formula for UMP in 2026 is as follows:

Admission score = Total score of three subjects + Priority points + Bonus points

For subject combinations that include English, candidates are required to take the high school graduation exam to obtain an admission score. The university will not convert foreign language certificates for this purpose.

Beyond the traditional subject combinations B00 (Math, Chemistry, Biology), A00 (Math, Physics, Chemistry), and B08 (Math, Biology, English), the university will for the first time incorporate D01 (Math, Literature, English) and D07 (Math, Chemistry, English). However, the Medicine and Odonto-Stomatology programs will continue to use only the B00 combination.

UMP stated that it will determine the score differences between various subject combinations to ensure fairness and select the most suitable candidates.

Expected tuition fees for UMP programs in 2026:

The 2026 admission targets and subject combinations for UMP are as follows:

The entrance to Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Photo: UMP.

In 2025, UMP's cutoff scores ranged from 17 to 27,3, with the Medicine program having the highest admission threshold. All programs offered by the university saw their cutoff scores decrease by 0,4 to nearly 5 points compared to the previous year.