University Admissions 2025: Be careful with the 'trap' of floor scores

In this year's university entrance exam, many universities have set their admission threshold scores much lower than last year's because the average score of this year's high school graduation exam subjects is low. The question is whether the benchmark scores that will be announced in the near future will decrease accordingly?

THE FLOOR SCORE IS TOO BIG DIFFERENT FROM THE STANDARD SCORE OF PREVIOUS YEAR

This year, most universities have lowered their admission scores compared to 2024. The reason is that the average score of this year's high school graduation exam subjects is lower than last year, especially math, English, chemistry, and biology, leading to the scores of popular combinations such as A00 (math, physics, chemistry), A01 (math, physics, English), B00 (math, chemistry, biology), D01 (math, literature, English), D07 (math, English, chemistry) being pulled down. In particular, the floor scores of many majors this year compared to the standard score of 2024 are 5-6 points lower, even 9-10 points.

For example, the minimum score for marketing, international business, and psychology at Ho Chi Minh City Open University this year is only 16 points, while in 2024 the standard scores for these majors will be 24.5; 23.75, and 23.8, respectively, with a difference of 8.5; 7.75, and 7.8 points, respectively.

This year, Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture also set a floor score of 15 for all majors, while in 2024, the lowest benchmark score of this school was 22 points for the culture of Vietnamese ethnic minorities.

Parents and candidates learn about university admission information

Photo: Dao Ngoc Thach

The difference between this year's admission floor score and last year's benchmark score at Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics is the highest at 7.2 points. At the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City National University), with this year's floor score being 18 and 20, many majors are 4-5 points different from the benchmark score in 2024, the highest being 8.8 points.

All majors of Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry this year have a floor score of 16, a difference of 6-9 points compared to last year's benchmark, of which veterinary medicine has the highest difference (last year's benchmark was 25). The University of Finance and Marketing this year has a floor score of 15 for all majors. Compared to the benchmark in 2024, the lowest difference is 7 points and the highest is 10.9 points.

IS THE BENCHMARK SURPRISING?

According to Associate Professor - Doctor Bui Quang Hung, Vice Director of Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics, up to now, the school has received a large number of applications from both the Ho Chi Minh City campus and Vinh Long Branch. Of which, the Ho Chi Minh City campus has up to 70% of the applications being candidates with excellent academic performance or higher, or students from specialized schools, excellent students at the provincial/city level. In addition, 40% of the candidates have international English certificates equivalent to IELTS from 6.0 or TOEFL iBT from 73 points or higher, or have excellent student awards at the provincial/city level. Similarly, Vinh Long Branch also has about 50% of the applications being candidates with excellent academic performance or higher, or students from specialized schools, excellent students at the provincial/city level; 20% of these candidates have international English certificates with the required scores.

"With the current profile situation, it is predicted that the benchmark score will tend to fluctuate up/down within 1 point depending on the training program compared to last year," Associate Professor Hung commented.

This year, the University of Economics and Law (Ho Chi Minh City National University) set the minimum score for the high school graduation exam at 19 points (down 2 points compared to last year). Master Cu Xuan Tien, Head of the Admissions and Student Affairs Department of this school, said that this year the school will consider 6 subject groups, of which the X25 (math, English, economic education and law) and X26 (math, English, IT) groups are new compared to 2024. "With the score distribution this year, the school's standard score may decrease by about 0.5-1.5 points compared to last year due to the use of 2 main admission subjects including math and English," Master Tien predicted.

However, Master Tien believes that "hot" majors (such as international business, e-commerce, international economics, marketing, economic law) often have a high level of competition, many PhDs are interested, so the reduction in standard scores will be less than the remaining majors. On the contrary, new majors/specializations such as civil law in English program; applied mathematics in economics, management and finance in English program, financial technology in Co-operative Education program, management information systems in Co-operative Education program... will "breathe easier".

This year, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry has set the minimum score for the high school graduation exam at 17-19 points (a decrease of 1 point compared to last year). Dr. Nguyen Trung Nhan, Head of the school's Training Department, said that the standard score for the school's majors is expected to decrease by 1 point or more depending on the major.

According to Dr. Nguyen Trung Nhan, in general, the benchmark scores of many majors may decrease, but there is still a possibility that the benchmark scores of some majors of some schools will increase sharply compared to the floor score.

Nha Trang University did not announce the minimum admission score this year. Explaining this, Associate Professor - Doctor To Van Phuong, Head of Training Department, said: "The school does not announce the minimum admission score but mainly informs candidates about the admission scores of recent years and predicts that this year will decrease compared to last year so that candidates can have a clearer orientation". According to the forecast of this university, the school's admission score may decrease by 1-3 points compared to last year, depending on the major.

This year's university entrance exam, many universities set very low admission scores.

photo: peach jade

TO AVOID THE LOW FLOOR POINT "TRAP"

"Taking the floor score too high is not only risky for the school but also risky for the students. Because not all majors have stable benchmark scores like previous years, last year it was high but this year the trend has changed and the benchmark scores have decreased. So if the floor score is too high, the students will think that the benchmark score of that major is high so they will not register and will lose their opportunity", Associate Professor - Doctor Bui Quang Hung shared. Therefore, he advised students to clearly distinguish between the floor score and the benchmark score, and should also find out the benchmark scores of previous years of the major and school they want to register for before making their wishes.

Sharing the same opinion, Master Nguyen Thi Kim Phung, Deputy Director of the Admissions and Business Relations Center of the University of Finance and Marketing, said that if schools base their admission scores on the benchmark scores of each major in previous years to determine the floor score, avoiding large differences could cause many risks in enrollment. Specifically, a floor score that is too high will cause schools to not be able to recruit enough students if this year the number of students registering for that major decreases or the average score is lower than last year. At the same time, a floor score that is too high will also cause students to lose opportunities because there are students with low scores but are still in the top of the major if few people register. Raising the floor score according to the old benchmark score will inadvertently "close the door" to these students. "Not to mention the score distribution and admission trends change every year, so fixing the floor score based on the old benchmark score is unreasonable," Master Kim Phung said.

Therefore, according to Master Phung, to avoid confusion, candidates and parents need to clearly understand the concepts of floor scores and benchmark scores. In particular, it is necessary to refer to data from previous years, look at the score distribution and benchmark scores of the school/major to determine the possibility of admission instead of just looking at the floor score. "Candidates register their wishes not only based on the floor score but also on their actual abilities and interests, not because they see a low floor score that they think it is easy to pass. Schools should also explain clearly when consulting, emphasizing that a low floor score does not mean that the major is easy to pass", Master Phung stated his opinion.

Similarly, Dr. Vo Van Tuan, Vice Principal of Van Lang University, said: "If candidates do not research carefully, they can easily get confused. Many candidates and their parents still do not clearly distinguish between the floor score and the standard score, so when they see a low floor score, they think they have a high chance without carefully researching the standard scores of previous years to refer to and consider before making their wishes."

"When announcing admission information, schools also need to publicly announce the admission score distribution, quotas for each major, competition ratio, etc. so that candidates have a basis for realistic assessment. Candidates also need to carefully research the admission score and quotas for each year of the major at the school they intend to apply to," Dr. Tuan shared.

Distinguish between floor score and benchmark score

Master Nguyen Thi Kim Phung distinguishes: The floor score is the minimum score set by the school to ensure the quality of the school's input. Candidates must achieve the floor score or higher to be considered for admission. The floor score does not reflect the "hotness" or the level of competition of the industry/school. The benchmark score can be equal to or higher than the floor score. The benchmark score is the actual score of the admitted candidate after the school considers the admission quota, the number of registered candidates and the quality of the candidates when registering. In other words, the floor score is just the "entry threshold", while the benchmark score is the "admission threshold".

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tuyen-sinh-dh-2025-can-trong-voi-bay-diem-san-185250727202036796.htm