Universities "reaping" profits, colleges worry about "stagnant" sales

According to a reporter’s survey, by August 6, many major universities had received a huge number of applications with many candidates with high scores. Meanwhile, most colleges are very worried that it will be more difficult to recruit students than in previous years.

Read more: Submitted application but not on the admission list
Read more: Many candidates with incorrect names on their score sheets are not considered for admission.

Universities "reap" high scores

If in previous university and college entrance exams, after the exam ended, candidates just had to sit at home waiting for the results and admission notice, this year is the time when they begin the rather stressful race for their first choice.

According to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, the first admission stage of universities and colleges in the 2015 National High School Exam lasts from August 1 to 20, but up to now, many candidates have gathered at major universities in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. After only a few days of receiving applications, some schools have received nearly the quota of applications, and some schools quickly announced the list of temporarily admitted candidates.

At Hanoi University of Science and Technology, by August 4, there were over 3,400 applications for admission out of a total of 6,000 quotas. Unlike previous years, this year's benchmark score will be determined on a 10-point scale based on the average score of subjects in the admission subject group, taking into account the main subject coefficient (coefficient 2), plus priority points.

Looking at the general level of candidates applying to the University of Science and Technology, this year the lowest score is 7, the score of 8-9 is quite high, and there is one candidate who scored above 10. According to the school's admissions department, during the days of receiving applications, only a few candidates with a total score of less than 20 came to submit their applications, and after being advised by the Admissions Department, they immediately withdrew their applications.

National Economics University, out of more than 1,300 applications, more than 900 candidates were identified as likely to be on the admission list. The school announced the temporary admission scores between majors, fluctuating quite high, the lowest was 18 points, the highest was 27.5 points.

Hanoi Medical University has just received over 400 applications, but the average score is very high, very few candidates have reached 20-22 points and these candidates only apply for undergraduate programs. The score of 26-29 is quite common, some candidates have reached 31.75 points including priority. Foreign Trade University, two campuses in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, has had over 1,000 applications for NV1 admission, all candidates have scores above 22, the number of candidates with 26 to 28 points is also quite large. In the Economics block A, the leading candidate has 31 points, candidates applying for the English Language program commonly have over 30 points, the highest is a candidate with 37.5 points. Banking Academy has so far received over 400 applications, with scores above 20.

Although the number of candidates applying for their first choice has not yet met the target, many universities are quite confident that this year the average score of candidates applying to the school will be higher than last year.

Read more: Candidates must calculate to be able to pass their first choice right away.

Many opportunities but unpredictable

This year, although candidates have more opportunities, it is very unpredictable. Even though they may have a higher score than last year's benchmark, higher than the starting point for admission, no one can be sure that the candidate will be admitted, because the number of applications for that major may be larger. Candidates are allowed to withdraw their applications if they feel that the possibility of passing is low, but this procedure is also quite laborious. Although candidates can register up to 4 wishes in the same school, according to the schools, the chance of being admitted to NV2, 3, 4 is often much more difficult than NV1.

Schools often want to finish recruiting in NV1, only lacking the quota to recruit additional NV because the virtual ratio for additional NV is very high, because candidates still have 3 result papers (each paper has 4 NV), the chance of being admitted will be very high. Dr. Nguyen Quang Dong, Head of Training Department, National Economics University, said that universities often set a wide entrance fee to recruit enough candidates in the first round because they want to be sure and want to start the new school year early. If they have to recruit additional wishes, the scores in the next round will have to be greater than (or equal to) the NV1 score and finding such candidates for some schools is not simple.

Speaking at a recent admissions consultation session, Associate Professor Tran Van Nghia (Deputy Director of the Department of Testing and Quality Assurance, Ministry of Education and Training) said that the chances of passing the university entrance exam this year for candidates are very high, provided that candidates have a reasonable calculation method. “With this method of registering for admission, students can be completely assured of passing the university and college entrance exam. In my opinion, it is very difficult for candidates this year to fail. If they fail, it is because their calculation is wrong, or they decide to only study at the schools they like,” said Mr. Nghia.

Mr. Nghia advised that before submitting an application, candidates should refer to the benchmark scores of previous years, because the majors with high scores will often continue to have high scores. Candidates should apply according to the principle: The further the scores deviate from previous years, the safer it is. Students should note that they must make the most of 4 majors in one school to ensure their safety.

The majors are in order from 1-4, students calculate the safety to ensure safety. “For example: The first major may be my favorite, the second major is close to the standard score, the third major is close to the standard score compared to last year. Students should not rush to withdraw their application but choose carefully. Candidates who only achieve the minimum score of 15-16 points or higher can choose a university and college major at the same school to ensure safety.”

Many colleges worry about "unavailability"

This year’s general survey of college admissions seems to be more sluggish than previous years. Schools with “brand names” reported relatively slow application progress, while many schools were still “empty-handed”, falling into an unpredictable situation of waiting for a long time. Although the numbers announced by colleges in the South are not many, they are still somewhat positive.

As of August 4, Cao Thang Technical College (HCMC) received about 1,400 applications. According to the school representative, the progress of candidates submitting application documents is relatively slow, probably because the deadline for submitting application documents is still long, so candidates continue to monitor the information. Ho Chi Minh City College of Industry and Trade received about 700 applications, although slow, the school representative said it was "acceptable" because the admission period is still long. Ho Chi Minh City College of Economics and Technology received approximately 300 applications with a common score of 12-16 points.

It can be seen that this year in colleges with "brands", the admission scores of candidates are still relatively high, many candidates scored above the minimum score for university admission, some candidates scored over 22 points and still applied for college admission. For example, Cao Thang Technical College, according to the list of temporarily admitted candidates announced by the school, there are majors where the number of candidates scoring over 15 points is up to over 50%. At Thu Duc College of Technology, it is said that it only accepts applications from candidates with 15-16 points or more, depending on the major.

Meanwhile, in Hanoi, the number of schools announcing the list of candidates submitting application documents is very small, in some schools the number announced is only a few dozen. The Central College of Technology and Economics (Gia Lam, Hanoi) by the end of August 5 only had less than 50 candidates submitting application documents, the Hanoi College of Commerce and Tourism also stopped at a few dozen applications.

In previous years, many colleges organized entrance exams, and by this time, they had received a large number of candidates to their schools according to their first choice. But this year, many schools have almost no candidates submitting their applications. Many colleges are worried that this year their training plans may be disrupted because it may not be until November that candidates are interested in the college system. Moreover, the threshold score to ensure the quality of the college system is 12 points, which many schools believe is still high.

In particular, the increase in the number of universities recruiting students based on academic records has made it more difficult for colleges to recruit students. Nguyen Tac Anh, principal of Ho Chi Minh City College of Information Technology, said that if in previous years the source of recruitment for colleges was candidates below the university floor score but above the college admission threshold, this year, there were up to 198 schools recruiting students based on high school transcripts compared to 50 schools last year, causing many candidates who did not have enough points to enter university based on the national high school exam scores to still be admitted by considering their academic records. With a grade point average of 6.5 points being able to enter university, it is too simple, few candidates will think about college or intermediate school.

Furthermore, each candidate has up to 4 admission rounds at universities, each round has 4 wishes. This increases the chance of passing the university entrance exam for candidates, so according to the general mentality, when there is no more chance to enter universities, candidates will apply to colleges, so according to colleges, it may not be until November that candidates will turn to colleges and at this time, there are not many recruitment sources left. Not to mention that most universities always recruit more than the set quota, according to the principle, it can exceed by 10%, making colleges even more scarce in recruitment sources.

However, some public colleges are still quite optimistic about their competitive advantage in tuition fees compared to universities, especially non-public universities. With schools that have affirmed their reputation, candidates who are likely to be admitted to university are still willing to register for college admission, because the study time is shortened and it is easier to find a job after graduation.

According to Capital Security