University Admissions 2016: Important points candidates need to note

In addition to applying for university admission online, candidates can still apply by post or other methods as prescribed by the university.

This year, the Ministry of Education and Training has introduced a more convenient option for candidates to register for university admission, which is the online registration option. With this option, candidates can register for admission just by sitting at home or at school with an Internet connection.

To better understand this issue, the reporter interviewed Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Van Nghia, Deputy Director of the Department of Testing and Educational Quality Assessment (Ministry of Education and Training).

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Tran Van Nghia

PV:Could you please tell us how the Ministry of Education and Training is directing the Departments of Education and Training and universities to prepare for the 2016 National High School Exam?

Mr. Tran Van Nghia:Up to this point, preparations for the National High School Exam have been carried out according to plan. The Ministry of Education and Training has issued full examination regulations and documents guiding the Departments of Education and Training and universities in organizing examination clusters.

In 2016, there is a new feature that each locality organizes a university entrance exam cluster, instead of having to go to another province to take the exam, candidates can take the exam in their home province. This is also to create conditions for candidates to take the exam more conveniently. However, universities must go to the provinces to organize the exam. Universities assigned by the Ministry of Education and Training to host the exam cluster are all carefully selected by the Ministry.

Up to now, candidates have registered for the high school exam and the Departments of Education and Training are reviewing the data to transfer to the universities hosting the exam clusters before May 20.

The Departments of Education and Training and universities have also coordinated with each other to develop plans to organize exam clusters and submit them to the People's Committees of provinces/centrally-run cities to establish Exam Steering Committees in the provinces to organize the exam well.

Universities have also reported to the Ministry of Education and Training about surveying the locations of examination sites in the provinces as well as arranging teachers to go to the provinces to invigilate the exams.

Candidates are only given 1 certificate of exam results to submit to university.

PV:This year, what new points should candidates pay attention to in university admissions, sir?

Mr. Tran Van Nghia:For university admission, candidates should note that immediately after receiving the results of the national high school exam, they will receive a certificate of exam results. Candidates do not use this certificate of results to register for admission but to submit to the school for admission.

To register for admission, candidates do not need to submit an application with all the required documents as in 2015, but only need to fill in the application form and submit it to the schools they want to study at by registering online or by post or by another method specified by the university.

In the first round, candidates can register for a maximum of 2 universities. Each university has a maximum of 2 majors (groups of majors) in order of priority from 1 to 2. In the additional admission round, candidates can register for a maximum of 3 universities. Each university has a maximum of 2 majors (groups of majors) in order of priority from 1 to 2.

In each admission round, after candidates register for admission, they cannot adjust their wishes anymore. Therefore, you must pay close attention before registering for admission.

Since from the first round, candidates are allowed to register for a maximum of 2 universities, there will be many candidates who can be admitted to both universities. This will lead to the phenomenon of "virtual candidates" and cause difficulties for the universities. Therefore, the Ministry has issued a regulation: After the universities announce the admission results, candidates are required to confirm which university they will study at by submitting the original certificate of exam results to that university. Candidates who do not submit will be considered as not wishing to study and the university will not call that candidate for admission.

It is important to note that not only candidates who are admitted to both schools, but also candidates who are admitted to one school must submit a certificate of university entrance exam results. This is also to help universities know exactly how many candidates will study at their school as well as how many quotas are left to announce for the additional admission round.

Candidates must check the second university when applying for admission.

PV:To reduce "virtual" candidates and create favorable conditions for schools to register for admission, what solutions has the Ministry of Education and Training proposed, sir?

Mr. Tran Van Nghia:The university admission process has learned from the shortcomings in 2015. The main reason for the frustration in the first round of admission in 2015 was that candidates could withdraw and change their application. Therefore, in the university admission process in 2016, the Ministry of Education and Training stipulates that candidates are not allowed to change their application.

To ensure the rights of candidates, the Ministry of Education and Training, instead of allowing candidates to register for 1 university like in 2015, in 2016 candidates can register for 2 universities (in the first round) and 3 schools in the additional admission rounds.

However, when candidates are allowed to register for 2 or 3 schools, universities have to face the problem of “virtual candidates”. In order to help schools solve the problem of “virtual candidates”, the Ministry of Education and Training has proposed a number of solutions:

First, in the application form, the Ministry requires candidates to fill in the name of the second university they are applying to. Based on this registration, universities can predict whether candidates will study at their own school or the second school. This is an important basis for schools to filter out “fake” candidates.

Second, the Ministry of Education and Training also allows schools to establish admission groups. In principle, the larger the number of universities participating in the admission group, the easier it will be to filter out “fake” candidates.

Online registration will close 1 day before the deadline.

PV:Sir, many people are concerned that the Ministry of Education and Training's information technology infrastructure is not smooth, causing Internet congestion, affecting the university admission process. Can you explain this issue in more detail?

Mr. Tran Van Nghia:This year, the Ministry of Education and Training has introduced a more convenient option for candidates to register for university admission, which is the online registration option. With this option, candidates can register for admission just by sitting at home or at school with an Internet connection.

To ensure the information technology infrastructure, the Ministry of Education and Training will coordinate with telecommunications companies and corporations to ensure smooth Internet connection and minimize network congestion. However, in addition to registering for university admission online, candidates can still register for admission by post or other forms as prescribed by the university.

In order to reduce the risk for candidates who are unable to register online, it is expected that online registration will end 1 day before the application deadline. Thus, if candidates are unable to register online, they can still register in another form.

PV:Thank you!./.

According to VOV