On the morning of 29/7, Thu Trang from Hanoi paid her university application fees via Momo. Having applied to 15 universities, Trang was surprised to find she only had to pay 225,000 VND.

"Initially, the system still displayed the total fee as 300,000 VND. But when I clicked 'Confirm Payment', the amount due decreased by 75,000 VND," Trang said.

Concerned about a potential error, as the fee was lower than in the Ministry of Education and Training's instructional videos, Trang logged out and repeated the process. The fee remained at 15,000 VND per university choice.

Numerous applicants expressed surprise this morning on online forums about the reduced fee, with some regretting not applying to more universities.

Many applicants quickly shared the news about the reduced application fees. The Ministry of Education and Training clarified that they do not set application fees. This amount is determined by the technical infrastructure and electronic payment providers. The Ministry views the 15,000 VND fee as more accessible for applicants.

High school graduation exam takers in TP HCM, 2025. Photo: Quynh Tran

High school graduation exam takers in TP HCM, 2025. Photo: Quynh Tran

By the evening of 28/7, the Ministry's system recorded nearly 850,000 applicants, an increase of over 115,000 compared to last year. A total of 7.6 million applications were submitted, averaging nearly 9 applications per student. This increase is attributed to students being able to apply to colleges this year as well.

Had the fee remained at 20,000 VND per choice, the total amount payable would have been around 152 billion VND. The 5,000 VND reduction translates to a total fee reduction of approximately 38 billion VND.

Applicants must pay their fees online through the National Public Service Portal between 29/7 and 5 pm on 5/8.

Payment channels include: Banks: Vietcombank, Vietinbank, Agribank, BIDV, SHB; VPBank, TPBank, MBBank, HDBank. Intermediary payment organizations: other banks via VNPT Money, Vietnam Post, Ngan Luong, Payoo, Napas, HPay. E-wallets: VNPT Money, Momo, Viettel Money. Mobile payment channels: VNPT Mobile Money.

This morning, some applicants reported errors when paying through bank channels. Despite funds being deducted from their accounts, the system indicated that the fee had not been paid. This is a recurring issue from previous years.

According to the Ministry, applicants experiencing issues should contact the payment channel's hotline or the application system's support line. Deducted funds will be refunded later.

Duong Tam