Many high-scoring candidates in Nghe An are worried about failing the university entrance exam.

Candidates are nervous.

This year, Class 12A of Thanh Chuong 1 High School has 45 candidates taking the 2020 high school graduation exam. This is also one of the classes with a fairly diverse number of registered candidates with 5 groups and a fairly high average score of over 26 points/student. With this quite outstanding result, after the Ministry of Education and Training announced the exam results, many candidates decided to adjust their wishes. For example, Nguyen Hong Son, with 27.7 points in group A, previously registered for Army Officer School 1. However, Son has now decided to change his wish to the University of Science and Technology.

Class time of students at Thanh Chuong 1 High School. Photo: MH

Teacher Nguyen Thi Hao - Homeroom teacher also shared: "Although currentlyMinistry of Education and TrainingChanging wishes is not officially allowed, but in our class, students have a high demand to change their wishes and move from military school to civilian school because their exam scores are higher than expected.

Specifically, previously, 15 students registered to attend military schools, but now there are only 4 students left. The rest have all transferred to civilian schools. I also think this is normal because in recent years, the admission scores to military schools have not been too high, so before taking the exam, students choose the safe option. However, after knowing their exam scores, they want to transfer to other universities that match their exam scores."

With the main purpose of obtaining high school graduation results, this year's exam is considered quite easy compared to previous years. Therefore, the exam scores of candidates are also higher than last year, especially the number of candidates with a score range of 8 points or more is quite large.

Besidestest scoreThe high scores have also led to a very high increase in university admission scores according to the combinations. For example, this year, there are 197 candidates who scored over 29 points in block A00. If calculated from 24 points or more, the number of candidates achieving this combination is up to 35,980 students, while in 2019 there were only 11,220 students. The level of 27 points, last year there were only 1,115 students, this year there are 10,400 students. Statistics also show that in the combinations, Math - Chemistry - Biology is the combination with the strongest increase in scores. Of which, the score with the most candidates achieving is 22 points. The number of candidates with 21 points this year is 14,000 more than last year.

Candidates taking the 2020 High School Graduation Exam. Photo: Duc Anh

Despite their high test scores, many candidates are still afraid of failing the university entrance exam even though the average score for each subject can be up to 9 points. Candidate Nguyen Dinh Linh - grade 12A, Hoang Mai High School is in the top 4 candidates with the 3rd highest score in the province in group B with 29.15 points. With this score, Linh could have confidently passed the entrance exam to Hanoi Medical University last year. But now, Linh is considering registering for an additional 2nd choice at the Institute of Dentistry to have a higher chance of being admitted.

This is also the general trend of 12th grade students A5 - specializing in Biology at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, a class with about 70% of candidates applying to Hanoi Medical University.

“Currently, the average score of the class in block B is 27 points, meaning that each student has an average of 9 points. However, this score is still difficult to pass into Hanoi Medical University this year because the expected exam scores of candidates are much higher than last year. Meanwhile, this year, the University of Medicine and Pharmacy adds points for students who win very high National prizes, from 2 points (for the Encouragement Prize) to 5 points (for the First Prize). Therefore, if any student wins a National Prize, it is a huge advantage even though their exam scores may not be as high as other candidates. Currently, from my understanding, most candidates applying to Hanoi Medical University consider registering for an additional second choice at schools with lower expected admission scores such as Hue Medical University, Thai Binh Medical University or switching to another major with an expected admission score lower than General Medicine. Currently, my class has only "secured" 3 places into Hanoi Medical University, of which 2 candidates are directly admitted. The remaining candidate is Dang Phuong Anh with a score of University entrance exam is 28.15 plus 0.25 regional points and 4 points of second prize in National Biology competition, definitely pass with 32.4 points.

Teacher Tran Mong Lai - Head teacher of Biology class 12 - Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted

Many universities' benchmark scores will increase

Up to this point, many universities across the country have announced their admission threshold scores and most of them are 1-3 points higher than last year. This also makes the chance of admission for candidates even more difficult. Nguyen Minh Hoang from Huynh Thuc Khang High School this year registered for the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Construction. With 22.5 points, Hoang could have confidently been admitted like last year because the school's admission score was only 19.5 points. But this year, the score is expected to increase, so Hoang registered for an additional choice of 2, the Interior Architecture major.

In Nghe An, among universities, Vinh Medical University is the school with the highest admission score. Currently, although the Ministry of Education and Training has not announced the quality entrance threshold for health and pedagogy majors, through discussion, Mr. Nguyen Canh Phu - Principal of Vinh Medical University said: "In my opinion, this year the standard score for health majors will increase by more than 1 point because in general, this year's exam scores are much higher than previous years."

Students of Quy Chau High School consider when registering their university admission wishes. Photo: MH

While the opportunity to enter universities through graduation exam scores is becoming increasingly difficult, many candidates are looking for other opportunities to be admitted, which is admission based on academic records. It is worth mentioning that not only lower-ranking schools but also many top universities this year are also recruiting using this method and giving priority to international English certificates. For example, the Academy of Journalism and Propaganda this year reserves about 30% of its quota for this group. Vinh University has also just announced the admission threshold with scores ranging from 14 to 16 points. In addition, all majors reserve quotas for admission based on academic records.

In addition to the above methods, before the Ministry of Education and Training allows candidates toadjust wishesOnly once starting from September 19, candidates can consider registering for additional combinations other than the initial combination they registered for. This is an advantage this year, because in addition to the university entrance exam subjects, candidates' scores in other subjects are also quite high, especially in History, Geography and Civic Education.

Before adjusting, to increase the chance of admission, many opinions suggest that candidates should refer to the 2019 benchmark scores of the training program they have registered for, to determine the possibility of admission. If the exam score is equal to the admission score of 2019, the probability of admission is low.

In addition, candidates need to carefully study the score range announced by the Ministry of Education and Training and compare it with the admission scores of previous years at universities to consider their abilities and chances of admission. Note that this year's graduation exam has a high score range, so candidates should not be too subjective with their results and need to choose careers that are suitable for their abilities, interests and have many job opportunities after graduation.