Why did the minimum admission score decrease so much?

GD&TĐ - Many universities, including public and private schools, have announced the threshold score for receiving application documents for admission (floor score).

The downward trend in floor scores is clearly noted when the score distribution of the High School Graduation Exam decreases in a number of subjects.

There are industries that decreased by 6 points.

The University of Finance and Marketing announced the admission score for regular university majors based on the high school graduation exam score at 15 points. For the Economic Law major, candidates need to score 6 points or higher in Math. For combinations including Math and Literature, candidates need to score 6 points or higher in at least one of the two subjects. This year's floor score is 1-4 points lower than last year and is at the lowest level in the past 3 years. In previous years, the floor score ranged from 16-19 points.

Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry has set the general admission threshold for all majors based on the results of the 2025 high school graduation exam at 16 points, except for teacher training majors that follow the general threshold of the Ministry of Education and Training . Compared to 2024, the floor score for many majors has decreased sharply, notably the Veterinary Medicine major has decreased by 6 points, from 22 points (in 2024) to 16 points this year.

Similarly, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade announced a common minimum score of 16 points for all majors. Compared to 2024, this threshold has decreased by 2-4 points for majors in the fields of management, economics, services, law, information technology and languages. With the admission method based on high school transcript scores, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade requires candidates to achieve a total combined score of 20 points or more.

For the method of considering the specialized competency assessment exam scores of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, the admission threshold is set at 5/10 points; the method of considering the competency assessment exam scores of Ho Chi Minh City National University is 600/1,200, and for Law it is 720.

At member schools of Ho Chi Minh City National University, the admission floor score has been recorded to decrease. At the University of Natural Sciences , with the method of considering high school graduation exam scores in 2025, the floor score for majors ranges from 16 to 24 points. In which, the highest floor score belongs to the Microcircuit Design major with 24 points.

Some majors recorded a sharp decrease, for example, Data Science dropped 6 points, from 24 points (in 2024) to 18 points this year. Majors such as Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and Computer Science also dropped about 4 points. At the International University, the floor score based on the high school graduation exam score decreased by 1-2 points depending on the major. For example, in 2024, the floor score for the Information Technology, Computer Science, and Data Science majors was 22; this year it is only 20.

The private university group also saw a decrease in the floor score. Van Lang University announced the floor score for admission to all majors at 15 points, down 1 point compared to 2024. With the method of considering the capacity assessment test scores of Ho Chi Minh City National University, the floor score also decreased from 650 to 600. Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology also recorded a floor score decrease of 1 - 4 points compared to last year, when applying the level of 15 to most majors. Similarly, Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance also applied a floor score of 15 points for majors, down 1 - 4 points compared to last year.

Candidates learn about admission information at the Admissions Counseling Day, held in Ho Chi Minh City on July 19. Photo: HCMUT

The floor score is "far different" from the standard score

According to university representatives, the floor scores announced by the schools are based on the score distribution of the 2025 High School Graduation Exam. Accordingly, this year's exam score distribution recorded many changes, especially in core subjects such as Math, English, Chemistry and Biology. These subjects play an important role in the admission combinations of many universities, especially in the fields of economics and engineering, making adjusting the floor scores a necessary step to ensure the source of enrollment.

MSc. Pham Thai Son - Director of the Admissions and Communications Center, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, said that the sharp decrease in the admission floor score in the 2025 admission season is understandable when the general level of high school graduation exam scores this year has decreased. Setting the floor score too high will cause schools to set "barriers" for themselves and make it difficult to recruit enough candidates. However, experts emphasize that the floor score is only the minimum threshold for candidates to be eligible to apply for admission, not the admission standard score.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Phung - Deputy Head of Admissions and Corporate Relations Department, University of Finance - Marketing said that the admission floor score is the threshold to ensure input quality, that is, the minimum score that schools set to receive application documents. Based on the floor score, candidates are eligible to apply to specific majors/programs of the schools.

Meanwhile, the admission benchmark is determined based on the total number of candidates registering for admission and the enrollment quota of each major and program. Therefore, the benchmark can be equal to or higher than the floor score, depending on the number of applications and the quality of the candidates' admission scores.

MSc. Phung gave an example: in 2024, the University of Finance and Marketing determined the common minimum score for majors based on the high school graduation exam results to be 19 points. However, the admission scores for majors ranged from 22 to 25.9 points. Thus, no major had a standard score equal to the minimum score, and one major even had the highest standard score nearly 7 points higher than the minimum score.

According to the general assessment of experts, this year's benchmark score is forecast to decrease slightly by 1-2 points compared to 2024 in most admission combinations. Some majors may even decrease sharply by 2-4 points, especially majors with traditional subject combinations such as A00 (Math, Physics, Chemistry) or D01 (Math, Literature, English).

Dr. Nguyen Trung Nhan - Head of Training Department, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry said that most of the school's majors are based on a combination of Math or both Math and English, which are subjects with lower average scores this year than last year. This is the basis for predicting that the standard scores of the school's majors will decrease significantly. Except for Law, which is likely to maintain the standard score, many majors that are based on high school graduation exam scores will decrease.

However, Mr. Nhan noted that this year's benchmark scores may be unpredictable, because in addition to the score distribution factor, it also depends on fluctuations in choice of preferences and competition trends between industry groups.

Photo illustration INT.

Be alert when choosing your wishes.

Admissions experts recommend that candidates should be flexible in adjusting their wishes, should not be subjective even if their test scores are high, and should not be too worried if their scores are just above the minimum score. Instead, rely on previous years' benchmark data combined with this year's trend forecast to have a reasonable admission strategy, increasing the possibility of being admitted to the desired major and school.

Dr. Nguyen Trung Nhan said that now is the time for all candidates to register their wishes on the Ministry of Education and Training's General Admission System and complete the payment of fees so that their wishes are recorded. When considering admission, all methods will be considered simultaneously. Candidates with the highest standard score in the method will be admitted. If they do not pass the first wish, the system will automatically consider the next wishes in order of priority.

According to Mr. Nhan, when registering for admission, candidates need to arrange their preferences in order of priority from highest to lowest, in which preference 1 is the most important preference. If they are admitted to a higher preference, lower preferences will be automatically canceled. Therefore, candidates should put their favorite major and school in the first preference position, regardless of whether the chance of admission is high or low.

MSc. Cu Xuan Tien - Head of Admissions and Student Affairs Department of University of Economics and Law (Ho Chi Minh City National University) said that in 2025, candidates do not need to choose the method or combination code of admission when registering for admission on the system.

If candidates have taken the competency assessment exams, their test scores have been uploaded to the common system. Therefore, when candidates register for a major and the school uses the competency assessment exam score review method, they will definitely be considered for admission. The software will automatically arrange for candidates to have the highest chance of being admitted to the chosen major.

“Candidates only need to focus on choosing a major and school with information about the major code, school code and arranging the priority order of admission wishes,” said Mr. Tien.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/vi-sao-diem-san-xet-tuyen-giam-sau-post740902.html