Saigon University adjusts IELTS conversion, increases tuition fees

Saigon University (SGU) will convert IELTS 4.0 to 7.5 points for the English subject, with tuition fees increasing across all majors.

On 12/3, Saigon University announced it will recruit 5,600 students this year, an increase of 380, partly due to the introduction of two new bachelor's programs: Mathematics and Chemistry. This marks a significant adjustment in the university's admissions strategy and financial planning for the upcoming academic year.

The university has revised its English language certificate conversion rates, notably converting an IELTS 4.0 score to 7.5 points, a decrease of 0.5 points compared to last year. Candidates with an IELTS score of 6.5 or higher will now receive 10 points, a change from the previous requirement of 7.0 or higher. This adjustment aims to meet the Ministry's requirement for a conversion table with five distinct levels, as the university only offered three levels last year.

For admission combinations that do not include English, the university will add a bonus of up to 1.5 points out of 30 for candidates holding an English certificate. This incentive aims to recognize English proficiency across all academic fields.

Saigon University maintains four admission methods: direct admission, based on the results of the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM) competency assessment exam, V-SAT university entrance exam scores, and high school graduation exam scores. The two assessment-based methods (V-SAT and high school graduation exam) are where the English certificate conversion applies, but only to certain majors.

Saigon University anticipates tuition fees for the entire course (four to 4.5 years) to range from over 84 million to nearly 213 million Vietnamese dong (VND) for this year's admitted cohort. This represents an increase of 6 million to 20 million VND compared to last year's fees.

Last year, Saigon University's admission cut-off scores ranged from 18.43 to 28.98. Chemistry Pedagogy had the highest score, while Environmental Engineering Technology recorded the lowest. All Pedagogy majors required a score of 22 or higher for admission.