Despite failing the high school graduation exam, they still received dozens of admission notices.

"My child didn't pass the high school graduation exam, and I was planning to send her to vocational school to work abroad. But for almost two weeks now, colleges and vocational schools have been sending her admission notices with exorbitant fees. I'm confused and don't know what to do."

Despite not having received official acceptance letters from universities and colleges, thousands of students in Nghe An who did not pass their first choice or meet the minimum score set by the Ministry of Education and Training still received dozens of acceptance and enrollment notices from colleges and vocational schools that they never even took the entrance exams for, along with many tragicomic stories. In some cases, students who failed the high school graduation exam were even contacted by dozens of unfamiliar colleges and vocational schools with attractive offers.



Parents are overwhelmed by a "forest" of acceptance letters for their children.

Many students are quite surprised and bewildered when they receive numerous acceptance letters and enrollment notices from colleges and vocational schools that they never applied to. Faced with a "forest" of schools inviting them to enroll, many students and parents are confused and unsure which major or school to choose.

Nguyen Xuan Tri, from Hamlet 8, Van Son Commune, Do Luong District, took the entrance exam for the Nursing Faculty at Vinh Medical University and scored 14.5 points, 2 points short of the school's cutoff score. Tri's family was very upset by this result when suddenly, admission notices from all over the country started pouring in. Dozens of invitations to apply and admission notices from various schools printed with Nguyen Xuan Tri's name, including his date of birth, home address, and phone number – all beautifully and formally presented. Tri's parents were overwhelmed, not understanding what was happening. Many times, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tu's family experienced false hope, thinking their son had secured a place at a university or college, only to find out he had never heard of such schools before.



Many candidates received acceptance letters even though they did not take the entrance exam or apply to that school.

Holding a stack of unopened acceptance letters from various schools, Ms. Tu expressed her frustration: "While waiting for the exam results to see if my child had chosen any schools as a second option, my family received dozens of acceptance letters from schools that my child and I had never heard of before, schools we hadn't even applied to or applied to. This is making us even more confused and worried about which career or major would be suitable for my child."

While waiting for his first-choice application results, Tri, who was working as a construction laborer, had to stop his work because postal workers kept calling him to pick up his acceptance letters. Faced with such attractive offers, Tri was hesitant about choosing a school and a major. "I don't know any of the schools on this pile of acceptance letters. When I submitted my application, I researched universities and colleges quite thoroughly, but I'd never heard of any similar schools. After reading them, I felt completely lost, not knowing where to start," Tri said.

Sharing the same predicament as Tri is Nguyen Hoang Thanh, who lives in the same neighborhood. The story of being bombarded with admission notices from colleges and vocational schools has brought tears of laughter to Thanh's family and neighbors. For the past few days, Thanh's mother, Nguyen Thi Bac, has been unsure how to handle the situation, as her son, despite failing the high school graduation exam, has received admission notices from various colleges and vocational schools.



Despite failing to graduate from high school, Thanh was still sought after by colleges and vocational schools.

Holding nearly a dozen "guarantee" letters from various schools in her hand, Ms. Bac said: "Every day the mailman arrives, there are always one or two admission notices for my child. My child didn't pass the high school graduation exam, and I was planning to enroll her in vocational school so she could work abroad, but for almost two weeks now, colleges and vocational schools everywhere have been sending her admission notices with exorbitant fees. I'm really confused and don't know what to do."

According to our research, in rural and mountainous areas of Nghe An province, the case of admission notices "arriving" at the homes of candidates like Tri and Thanh is not uncommon during this year's university and college admissions season, as well as in the past few years. Whenever universities and colleges announce their cut-off scores, candidates who failed their first choice still receive admission notices. According to admissions regulations, schools are not allowed to send admission notices to candidates who did not submit application forms. However, many training institutions still "circumvent the law" and openly violate it, causing anxiety among parents and students.

A common feature in the admission notices of these schools is the use of enticing and attractive marketing tactics to attract students and parents, such as: affordable tuition fees, guaranteed quality, the possibility of transferring to or pursuing further studies at prestigious universities and colleges in Vietnam and abroad, and direct instruction from foreign lecturers and experts…

Some schools even offer generous scholarships of 500,000 VND per student for first-choice enrollment and 200,000 VND per student for enrollment in the first, second, third, and fourth rounds; a 10-20% tuition fee reduction if parents pay tuition for 1-3 years in advance; or even send out two consecutive admission notices to "ensure" enrollment. Along with these enticing offers, schools also list various tuition and enrollment fees. Among these are numerous exorbitant contributions such as those for improving training quality, supporting facilities and practical equipment, and a scholarship fund for academic achievement.

On the morning of August 26th, posing as a student who failed the high school graduation exam and wanted to enroll, a reporter from Dan Tri newspaper called a recruitment agency in Thai Nguyen with a training facility in Hanoi to receive "advice" on the enrollment process. When the reporter asked, "Is it possible to enroll even without passing the high school graduation exam?", the representative confidently promised: "Don't worry, you'll only need 3 months to complete the high school curriculum initially, then you can continue your studies and transfer to any university or college nationwide."

Mr. Tran Van Dai, from Quynh My commune, Quynh Luu district, a frustrated parent, said: “Every year I see the chaotic situation of schools sending out admission notices to students, but no authorities have yet intervened to resolve this. With this kind of recruitment method, I don't understand the quality of education at those schools. Will any student just randomly choose and attend one of the schools that sent the notice? I think parents also need to be discerning in choosing suitable careers for their children, avoiding wasting money and suffering consequences.”

According to Dantri - MD