The Phan specialized high school exam was long and difficult, but it was suitable for differentiating candidates.

The exam was long, and candidates taking the specialized language exam guessed the answers.

English is the subject with the highest number of candidates in the entrance exam.Phan Boi Chau Specialized High SchoolBecause it is simultaneously used for the selection of students for six specialized classes, including: English, French, Russian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.

Stepping out of the exam room, a student from Dang Thai Mai Secondary School (Vinh City) said she was not satisfied, even though she estimated she would score over 15 points: "I applied to the specialized English class, so I knew the competition would be very high. This year's exam was 13 pages long, and I had to use all 150 minutes to complete it, leaving almost no time to review."

Hoang Vo Hiep, a student from Ly Nhat Quang Secondary School (Do Luong), said: "I finished the exam but I can't believe the result. I think I only got 8 out of 20 points. The most difficult parts of the exam were probably the listening and reading sections because there were many new words that I couldn't identify correctly."

Dinh Nguyen Ha Linh, a student from Quan Hanh Secondary School, who took the entrance exam for the specialized Chinese class, shared: "I think I didn't do well on this year's exam. Actually, I answered all the questions, but I guessed randomly on many of them. In the listening section, I didn't seem to understand much. In the reading section, I understood the content, but I'm not confident in my answers."

Speaking about the difficulty of this year's exam, this candidate also said: "When we were studying for the exam, our teacher said that the specialized exam was only at the B2 level. So when I saw the exam paper, I was very surprised. I asked the invigilator if they had mistakenly given out the wrong exam paper for the specialized English class. Later, I found out that all the specialized language classes had the same exam paper, and it was beyond my ability."

Less pressure on the English-specialized group were the French-specialized group candidates. Twenty-two students registered for this subject, mostly from Le Loi Secondary School (Vinh City). Regarding this year's exam, student Nguyen Phuong Huyen said: "I think this year's exam will differentiate between candidates. The most difficult question to score points on was the reading comprehension section because it requires a rich vocabulary. I hope that with today's exam I will get 15 points and be able to get admitted to the school."

The Literature exam addressed many issues relevant to youth, making it "appropriate" for the candidates.

After the specialized subject exam, many candidates taking the Literature exam shared that they really liked this year's questions because they inspired a lot of creativity.

Candidate Tam Nhu, a student from Le Mao Secondary School (Vinh City), said that the reading comprehension questions were not difficult to answer, but the overall theme was pursuing one's passion. This included a question asking for an analysis of the father's emotions as he whispered to his deceased wife, "You are fulfilling your dream." Candidates were also asked to express their thoughts on the path young people take in pursuing their passions.

In her essay, this contestant wrote that people need passion and to nurture that passion in life. For young people, when pursuing their passion, whether they achieve their goals or not, they will succeed in their own way. From there, they contribute to the overall development of society. To clarify her point, Tam Nhu used Cinderella from the story as an example. Besides that, she also expanded to other examples such as famous scientists and scholars.

Meanwhile, Thuy Duong (a student from Ly Nhat Quang Secondary School) said: "The question posed is very practical for me and young people today. When pursuing a goal or passion, if we encounter too many difficulties, we often face the choice of giving up halfway or continuing to strive. I think that when striving to pursue a passion, even if the goal is unfinished, we should still try. That process will help us grow."

Similarly, the same applies to the social commentary essay on "youth and moments of silence." Life isn't always smooth and easy; there are difficulties and setbacks. But it is from these experiences that we can reflect on ourselves, find moments of silence to pause, gather motivation, and continue striving.

Regarding the History exam, Ngo Ho Ngoc Dao, a student from Le Hong Phong Secondary School (Hung Nguyen), who previously won third prize in the provincial-level excellent student competition, felt that the exam was of moderate difficulty and she completed it quite well. Her biggest regret was question number 4, which required her to apply her knowledge to present the advantages and disadvantages of the country after the August Revolution: She failed to include data about the Preliminary Agreement of March 6th and the Provisional Agreement of September 14th, 1946, as a conciliatory step by Vietnam to prolong the time for consolidating the resistance forces. In fact, she had considered this but regretted not including this event.