The Political Officer School announced last week that it will no longer use the A00 (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry) and C00 (Literature, History, Geography) combinations for 2026 admissions. Instead, the school will add the C01 (Literature, Mathematics, Physics) combination, alongside its existing combinations: C03 (Literature, Mathematics, History), C04 (Literature, Mathematics, Geography), and D01 (Literature, Mathematics, English).

Similarly, in 2026, the Border Guard Academy will only use three admission combinations: C03, C04, and D01, for both its Border Guard and Law majors. Compared to this year, the academy is dropping two traditional combinations: C00 and A01 (Mathematics, Physics, English).

Meanwhile, the University of Technology, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, plans to discontinue admissions using the D01 (Mathematics, Literature, English) and B00 (Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology) combinations when considering high school graduation exam scores.

For most majors, the university will utilize three combinations: A00 (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry), A01 (Mathematics, Physics, English), and X06 (Mathematics, Physics, Informatics). The two majors, Biotechnology and Agricultural Technology, will also admit students using the A02 (Mathematics, Physics, Biology) combination.

Regarding admissions methods, Hanoi National University of Education 2 will discontinue transcript-based admissions for 17 majors. This method will only remain for majors such as Early Childhood Education, Physical Education, Civic Education, Informatics Pedagogy, Information Technology, Materials Science, Sports Management, Vietnamese Studies, Education, and Political Economy.

The University of Interdisciplinary Sciences and Arts, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, also announced on 25/11 that it will not use academic transcripts for admissions to any major in 2026. Nha Trang University stopped using this method this year, while Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade expects to implement this change from 2028.

Ho Chi Minh City candidates taking the 2025 high school graduation exam. Photo: Quynh Tran

Several admissions experts believe that adjusting subject combinations and reducing transcript-based admissions is a clear trend, driven by changes in admissions regulations from 2025.

Specifically, the Ministry of Education and Training requires that admission combinations must include at least three subjects, with Mathematics or Literature being compulsory and contributing no less than 25% of the total admission score. From 2026, common subjects across combinations must contribute at least 50% of the total admission score.

Mr. Le Dinh Nam, Assistant to the Training Department at the Border Guard Academy, stated this is why the academy is making adjustments, ensuring all combinations include two common subjects: Mathematics and Literature. The Political Officer School, also a military institution, is making similar changes.

According to the head of admissions at a Hanoi university, schools could also use just one common subject, but double its score to ensure it contributes at least 50% of the total points.

Furthermore, candidates currently take two compulsory subjects in the graduation exam, Mathematics and Literature, along with two optional subjects from a group including: Foreign Languages (7 languages), History, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Economic and Legal Education, Informatics, and Technology. Consequently, many new combinations are emerging. Universities are tending to use a diverse range of combinations instead of focusing on traditional ones. In 2025, the Ministry's system recorded 344 admission combinations, a record number.

Regarding transcript-based admissions, the trend of reduction has been observed in the past one to two years. From 2022 to 2024, the number of students admitted through this method decreased by 9.32%, falling to 27.86%.

According to Master Pham Thai Son, Director of the Admissions and Communications Center at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, universities recognize that these scores "lack sufficient reliability." There are concerns about "grade inflation" or inconsistencies in assessment between different schools and localities.

A leader from a southern university agreed, stating that top-tier public universities are largely no longer using independent transcript scores. Instead, they combine them with other factors like foreign language certificates and competency assessment scores to enhance reliability and selectivity.

According to Ministry statistics, the average transcript scores of candidates in 12 subjects were 0.12-2.26 points higher than their 2025 graduation exam scores. Specifically, Mathematics showed a discrepancy of up to 2.25 points compared to the exam score, and English showed a discrepancy of 1.57 points.

Associate Professor Doctor Nguyen Van Thu, Head of the Training Department at Hanoi National University of Education 2, pointed out another reason why many universities might consider abandoning high school transcript-based admissions.

In previous years, universities could independently decide the proportion of their quota allocated to each admissions method. For example, 10% of the quota might be filled using high school academic results. This allowed universities to control the number of candidates and select the best group through this method.

From 2025, the Ministry requires that the successful admission scores from all methods be converted to the high school graduation exam score equivalent. This could lead to a surge in the percentage of students admitted via transcripts, no longer aligning with the university's strategic direction.

Therefore, Hanoi National University of Education 2 is discontinuing transcript-based admissions for 17 highly competitive majors, where admission scores typically exceed 24. The university will only retain this method for a few majors to ensure fairness for disadvantaged candidates facing difficult circumstances, who may not have other viable admission options besides their academic transcripts.

Duong Tam - Le Nguyen