Admission trap: Low floor score but sky-high standard score

Experts recommend that candidates should not choose a major or school just because of a low minimum score, but should carefully consider their abilities and interests to avoid affecting their chances of admission.

Up to now, more than 200 universities nationwide have announced the 2025 admission floor scores with a sharp decrease.

For example, Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry has a minimum score of 16 points based on high school graduation exam results, down 1-6 points compared to 2024 for all training majors. Of which, Veterinary Medicine has the sharpest decrease, from 22 to 16 points.

Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade recruits students from 16 points for all training majors; Law and Economic Law are 18 points. This minimum score is 1-4 points lower than last year, mainly focusing on some majors in the fields of Management, Economics , Services, Information Technology, and Languages.

Member schools of Ho Chi Minh City National University have a floor score of 15-24 points. Compared to last year, the floor score for most majors has decreased. In particular, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, International University, and University of Economics and Law recorded a common decrease of 1-2 points.

The University of Natural Sciences has the sharpest decrease in the floor score. The school's key technology majors such as Computer Science, Information Technology, and Artificial Intelligence have a floor score of 20, down 4 points compared to last year. Data Science alone has dropped from 24 to 18 points.

A series of top medical and pharmaceutical training schools such as Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy, and Hai Phong University of Medicine and Pharmacy also recorded a decrease in admission floor scores of about 1.5-2 points compared to last year, depending on the training major.

Universities lower their minimum scores, so candidates should be careful in placing their applications to avoid being unfairly rejected. (Illustration photo)

According to MSc. Pham Thai Son, Director of the Admissions and Communications Center of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, candidates should not put all their trust in the floor score because the standard score may be much higher than the floor score.

Mr. Son said that the floor score is the minimum score that candidates need to achieve to be considered for admission to that major/school, not synonymous with the admission score (also known as the benchmark score). In fact, the benchmark score can be 1-2 points higher than the floor score or much higher, depending on the number of candidates registering and the quota for each major.

“Some mid- or top-ranked schools may lower their admission threshold scores to expand the pool of candidates, but still maintain the same high admission scores as previous years. Therefore, candidates should not randomly apply to majors and schools that do not match their abilities and interests just because they think they will be easy to pass,” Mr. Son emphasized.

This person also advised that candidates should not be subjective with majors/schools with low floor scores, because low floor scores can attract too many candidates, leading to a sudden increase in the standard score. Candidates need to closely monitor admission data, compare floor scores and standard scores from previous years to have a realistic assessment of industry trends and the possibility of admission.

“Candidates should prioritize accessing official information from universities, the Ministry of Education and Training and admissions consultants, instead of believing in rumors or unverified sharing on social networks,” Mr. Son noted.

Regarding the strategy of setting university admission wishes to increase the chance of admission, MSc. Pham Thanh Ha, Deputy Head of the Training Management Department, Foreign Trade University, noted 3 principles:

First, when placing your wishes on the Ministry of Education and Training system, you need to divide them into three different groups: The priority group is for the majors you like the most, even though the benchmark scores of previous years are higher. The next group is for majors that usually have the same benchmark scores, or a difference of about 1 point. Finally, there is the safe group, which usually takes the entrance score lower than the candidate's score.

Second, because the system does not limit the number of wishes, candidates should not place too few.

Third, you should not focus your wishes on a single school. If you love Economics and Business, you can put your wishes in the top, middle and lower groups of schools to increase your chances of being admitted to your favorite major.

According to the plan of the Ministry of Education and Training, candidates can register and adjust their university admission wishes until 5:00 p.m. on July 28. All candidates' admission wishes to universities will be processed on the system, each candidate will only be admitted to the highest wish among the registered wishes when ensuring the admission conditions.

Kim Nhung

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/bay-tuyen-sinh-diem-san-thap-nhung-diem-chuan-lai-cao-chot-vot-ar955762.html