The 2015 university admissions process for the first round of applications ends today, but many universities may not be able to fill all their quotas in this first round.

Today (August 20th) is the last day for universities to receive applications for first-choice admissions. According to regulations from the Ministry of Education and Training, universities can announce the cutoff scores on the evening of August 20th. After that, candidates have 5 days to find out whether they have been admitted or not and to submit applications for supplementary admissions.

On August 19th, exam centers were packed with candidates withdrawing their applications. The schools also mobilized all available personnel to assist the candidates.

Therefore, the first round of supplementary admissions, from August 25th to September 15th, will announce the cutoff scores on September 20th; the second round of supplementary admissions, from September 20th to October 5th, will announce the cutoff scores before October 10th.

According to this schedule, many candidates, even those with high scores, if they fail their first choice, will continue their journey of applying for their second choice, which also means they will have to struggle for nearly three months before knowing the fate of their path to success.

A feeling of stifling anxiety and frustration was common among many parents and students during the last two days (August 19th and 20th) of the first round of college application submissions. The schools where students came to withdraw their applications were packed with people. Exhaustion was also evident on the faces of many teachers involved in the admissions process.

Many parents shared that since learning their children's high school exam results, they've been practically sleepless. Even though their children scored high, they feel like they're caught on an invisible yet incredibly powerful pull, dragging them along day after day, leaving them exhausted but still trying to keep going. Meanwhile, university admissions officers have never been as confused as they are now. In previous years, students with sufficient scores would simply submit their applications. But this year, when a student with 24 points is asked if they'll get into department X or department Y at the university, the officers don't know either.

The last two days unfolded like a weekend stock market session. Scores and the number of applicants fluctuated wildly. All anxieties reached a climax. It was a "last-ditch effort," a gamble on the luck of fate. A wave of applicants withdrew from one school and applied to another, causing the numbers to constantly rise and fall like a dance.

If the first round of admissions is already complicated, many experts believe that the second and third rounds will be even more complicated. And it's possible that many schools won't fill all their quotas in the first round.

Some of the goals set for this exam have yet to be fully assessed, but it's already clear they've failed.

Specifically, the goal of saving costs for candidates and for exam organization has completely "failed." The days of anxiety, worry, withdrawing and submitting applications, and rushing around have become a "nightmare" for many parents and students. One parent shared, "Every night I dream about the increase in scores for this school and the decrease for that school." Many parents also said they quit their jobs to accompany their children to schools, monitoring the application withdrawal and submission process.

The second objective is to use the results of a single exam to both certify high school graduation and for university and college admissions. However, to date, as many as 170 universities and colleges have announced their own separate admission plans.

The orientation of university and college entrance exams is unclear, and career guidance is lacking. In reality, many students take the exams and submit applications based on trends, without understanding the needs of the socio-economic landscape. Recently, there has been public outcry over a young man standing on the street holding a sign that read: "I just graduated, I'm a father. I need a job to buy milk for my child. Are you hiring me?" This is a direct consequence of our unscientific planning of academic programs.

This exam is far from over, but there are too many things that need fixing if we want to continue applying the new exam format next year. Many people believe that we should wait until after the admissions period, let the Ministry summarize the results, before discussing further, because this is the crucial stage of admissions, and we shouldn't cause further confusion for the candidates.

According to Vov