University and college admissions 2017: Which majors will be the most popular?
At 5 PM on August 1st, universities nationwide announced their admission cutoff scores. These scores reveal the "position" of different majors in this year's major selection trends among students.
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| Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Le Quan (left) - Vice Rector of the University of Science - Photo: THANH DAM |
This year, there are no restrictions on the number of choices; candidates rely on their scores and only select their desired majors at different universities, leading to higher cut-off scores for "hot" majors. Meanwhile, majors that are difficult to recruit students for are not chosen, resulting in lower cut-off scores, or even a decrease compared to last year. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Le Quan (Vice Rector of the University of Science - Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City) |
Popular fields such as police, military, medicine, foreign trade, and engineering remain the choices of high-scoring candidates.
Police and military: a new record!
In recent years, police and military academies have consistently been among the schools with the highest admission scores. These schools have set new records for this year's admissions season.
Accordingly, the highest cutoff score at military schools reaches 30 points for: female candidates from the North applying to the Military Technical Academy; female candidates from the South (A00 combination) and female candidates from the North (B00 combination) applying to the Military Medical Academy.
In the group of police academies, the cutoff score for female candidates from the North applying with the A00 subject combination to the Fire Prevention and Fighting University reached 30.25 points. However, not every candidate who achieves this score (after adding priority points) is guaranteed admission.
Because the number of candidates meeting this cutoff score is higher than the remaining quota, the school has determined that, in addition to achieving a total admission score of 30.25, candidates must also meet the supplementary criterion of having a score of 28.35 or higher before rounding.
Even more outrageous, female candidates applying to the English language major at the People's Security Academy using the D01 combination (mathematics, literature, English) are only admitted if they achieve a score of 30.5 or higher.
Medicine and Pharmacy: highest score ever.
In health science programs, the entrance exam scores for general medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy are very high this year.
At the Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, the general medicine major had a record-high admission score of 29.25 points. The dentistry major had a score of 29 points. At Hanoi Medical University, the general medicine major also had a cutoff score of 29.25. These are the highest scores ever recorded for this major.
At the Faculty of Medicine, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, the cutoff score for general medicine is 28.25 points. Meanwhile, this year marks the first time Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine is recruiting students nationwide. The cutoff scores for all majors have increased significantly compared to last year. The major with the highest cutoff score at this university is dentistry with 27.25 points (an increase of 4 points compared to 2016). General medicine has a cutoff score of 27 points (an increase of 4.25 points), and pharmacy has a cutoff score of 26.75 points.
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| Admission scores for some majors at universities have just been announced - Graphic: TAN DAT |
Social Sciences: Oriental Impressions!
In the social sciences group, this year saw a strong rise in the Oriental Studies major at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) with 28.5 points. This is the highest score in the training system of Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
Meanwhile, at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City), the journalism and tourism and travel service management majors have the highest admission scores ever, at 27.25 points (C00 group). The scores for the D01 and D14 groups for these two majors are 25.5 points. These are two of the majors that have consistently had high scores in previous years, but this year's admission scores are even higher.
Foreign trade: reached 28.25 for the first time.
Most universities and colleges in the economics field have seen a significant increase in their admission scores this year.
Foreign Trade University is also among the universities with surprisingly high admission scores, reaching 28.25 for the first time. Comparing the two years, even within the group of majors that usually have the highest admission scores at this university, such as economics, international economics, and law, there is a difference of about 2-3 points.
Similarly, at the National Economics University, the majors with the highest admission scores are accounting and international economics, both at 27 points – an increase of about 1.5 points compared to the previous year.
At the University of Economics and Law (Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City), the major with the highest admission score is International Economics with 27.25 points - also the highest admission score in the economics group. In the business and management group, the highest score is International Business with 27 points, and in the law group, it is International Commercial Law with 26 points.
Dr. Le Tuan Loc - vice principal of the school - said: "Compared to 2016, the cut-off scores for all majors at the school this year have increased by 1.5 - 2 points. This year's admission method has clearly differentiated candidates, and therefore, it is inevitable that the scores for top-tier schools will increase significantly."
The cut-off scores for the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City this year range from 21.5 to 25.75 points.
Information technology: the hottest field in engineering.
This year, the science and engineering and natural science sectors have seen a surge in admission scores for popular majors: information technology - computer science, automotive engineering technology, electrical and electronic engineering, and food technology.
At the University of Technology (Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City), all remaining majors (regular program) saw an increase of 0.5 - 3.5 points compared to 2016. The highest admission score was 28 points, belonging to the computer science and computer engineering group of majors (an increase of 2.5 points compared to 2016).
The Information Technology department at Hanoi University of Science and Technology also set a record with 28.25 points.
At the University of Science (Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City), the major with the highest admission score is the computer science and information technology group of majors with 26 points (an increase of 3 points compared to 2016).
Oil and gas are making a comeback.
Notably, the geology and petroleum engineering major at the University of Technology (Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City) is gradually regaining its momentum with a cutoff score of 23.5 points, the highest increase in the major (3.5 points).
Dr. Le Chi Thong - Head of Training Department - commented: "In 2015, the cutoff score for the Geology - Petroleum Engineering major was 24. In 2016, perhaps due to difficulties in the petroleum industry, fewer candidates showed interest in this major, and the cutoff score dropped to 20. However, this year, the cutoff score for this major has increased by 3.5 points. This could be because candidates saw the low cutoff score last year and also because they anticipate a recovery in the next few years, leading to increased registrations."
Changing trends in major selection At Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, comparing the 2016 and this year's admission scores reveals that most engineering and technology majors have increased by 0.5 to 2.5 points, with many majors exceeding 20 points. Meanwhile, economics majors (finance and banking, marketing, accounting and auditing, international business, etc.) have all decreased by 0.5 to 3.5 points, with scores ranging from 17 to 19 points. Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Duc Minh - Vice Rector of the university - commented: "This year's admission scores show a change in the trend of major choices among candidates. Given the forecast of high demand for human resources in the engineering, technology, and information technology sectors, more candidates are choosing these majors, leading to higher admission scores. Conversely, economics majors are no longer as attractive to candidates as in previous years, so the scores have decreased." |
17,000 candidates were admitted directly. According to the Ministry of Education and Training's overall assessment, after the first round, 170 institutions had filled all their enrollment quotas. If we consider institutions that had reached 70% or more of their quotas, this number rises to 234 institutions (accounting for 73% of the total number of institutions conducting admissions). Only nearly 60 schools had filled less than 50% of their quotas in the first round. In particular, in 2017, in addition to admission based on national high school graduation exam results, more than 17,000 candidates were admitted directly or in advance through a combination of methods including academic transcript review or aptitude assessment. |
According to TTO
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