For the past two days, Ngan, from Ha Tinh, has repeatedly called Hue University of Foreign Languages to seek help after failing to gain admission to the English Language Pedagogy program.

Ngan stated that she applied through the academic transcript review method, which offered one bonus point for an IELTS score of 6.0 or higher. Before submitting her preferences to the Ministry of Education and Training's system, she uploaded her supporting documents to Hue University's system.

With an academic transcript score of 27,87 for three subjects (Literature, Geography, English), not including regional priority, Ngan was confident she would achieve an admission score of 28,87. Additionally, she met the Ministry's minimum graduation exam score for pedagogy programs (a minimum of 18/30 points with an excellent grade 12 academic record; or a graduation review score of 8,5 or higher).

This year, the cutoff score for the English Language Pedagogy program was 28,26. However, upon checking the admission list, Ngan was "shocked" to find she had been rejected. According to the student, an admissions officer explained that because she submitted her foreign language certificate to both the university's and the Ministry's systems, her certificate score was converted rather than bonus points being added. With an IELTS score of 6.0, Ngan's English subject score was calculated as 9 points.

The Ministry's regulations clearly state that candidates can only choose between receiving bonus points or having their scores converted.

"I didn't need a conversion because my English academic transcript score was already above 9. When I registered on the university's system, I selected the bonus point option", the student recounted. "Now I feel like I'm on pins and needles".

Hue University admission cutoff scores 2026

Khanh, from Nghe An, also failed to gain admission to the English Pedagogy program, which was her 5th preference. The student said that when she contacted the university's admissions department, she received a similar explanation. Meanwhile, with an IELTS score of 6.5, Khanh should have received 1,25 bonus points. With an academic transcript score of 27,4 for the Literature, English, History combination, she had more than enough points to be admitted.

"It's illogical if we don't get bonus points just because we submitted certificates to both the university's and the Ministry's systems", Khanh expressed her frustration. "I put in a lot of effort and money to achieve these results".

Information returned to Khanh after submitting admission supporting documents on Hue University's system. *Screenshot: Provided by interviewee*

Both students stated that approximately 170 candidates facing this situation have filled out a list provided by university staff within the Hue University of Foreign Languages admissions consultation group.

Professor Doctor Nguyen Vu Quoc Huy, Acting Director of Hue University, stated on the morning of 12/8 that the Admissions Council has received the information and is reviewing the number of candidates who failed admission due to uncredited foreign language certificates.

"We will report to the Ministry of Education and Training, seeking their advice on a legal and reasonable solution to ensure the best possible interests of the candidates", he said.

According to Hue University, all the aforementioned candidates applied for admission to the Hue University of Foreign Languages, with no similar cases reported from other member universities.

Since 2022, the Ministry of Education and Training has organized a common university admissions system for all candidates to submit their preferences. Additionally, universities have their own systems to receive students' scores and supporting documents.

The Ministry has repeatedly stated that candidates do not need to register for specific admission methods; they only need to register for the correct major, university, and admission code. Universities will automatically select the most advantageous method (achieving the highest score) for candidates for admission to their chosen major or program.

Duong Tam - Vo Thanh

*Candidate names have been changed