After just two rounds of the 2025 Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) competency assessment exam, a candidate has already achieved a record-high score of 130 out of 150, surpassing the highest score from 2024.

Speaking with VietNamNet on the morning of April 2, Professor Nguyen Tien Thao, Chairman of the VNU Competency Assessment Council, confirmed that 30,793 students had participated in the first two exam sessions held in March. One candidate was disqualified for disciplinary reasons.

The score distribution of the March exams formed a standard bell curve, with a median score of 80/150. The lowest recorded score was 18, while the average stood at 80.2/150.

The current highest scorer earned 130 points by excelling in Mathematics and Data Processing, Language and Literature, and three selected Science topics: Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. By comparison, the top score in 2024 was 129/150, achieved by two female students from Hanoi.

According to Professor Thao, 2025 scores show a slight overall increase of 3–5 points compared to the same period in 2024. This is partly because candidates can now choose to take the Science section or English based on their strengths, contributing to higher results. Consequently, university admission scores using this test are expected to rise.

In the optional third section, student preferences were as follows: 47.1% chose English; 16.6% selected Physics–Chemistry–History; 11.3% selected Physics–Chemistry–Biology; 7.4% chose History–Geography–Physics; and 5.7% selected History–Geography–Biology. Other combinations accounted for less than 5%.

From 2025, VNU will convert raw competency test scores to a 30-point scale in accordance with national university admissions policies. Each part of the test will be independently scaled for evaluation purposes.

“All applicants are equally considered across all admission methods, provided their scores are normalized to the same 30-point scale,” Professor Thao emphasized. “Candidates should avoid violating exam rules  -  such as sharing test content  -  as such actions could nullify their results.”

VNU’s Digital Education and Testing Institute recommends specific science topics based on academic majors. For example, candidates applying to science, technology, or engineering programs should select at least one topic in Physics or Chemistry. Medical and life science majors should include Biology. Social sciences and humanities programs should include History or Geography, while business and law students should include Physics, History, or English. Language, diplomacy, and culture majors are advised to take English.

The next two exam rounds are scheduled for April 12–13 and April 19–20, with over 31,000 candidates registered.

The 2025 VNU HSA (High School Scholastic Assessment) consists of three parts:

Part 1: Mathematics and Data Processing (50 questions, 75 minutes)
Part 2: Language and Literature (50 questions, 60 minutes)
Part 3: Either Science (choose 3 out of 5 topics: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, Geography) or English (50 questions, 60 minutes)

This year’s HSA exam will take place over six rounds from March 15 to May 18, at test centers in Hanoi, Hai Phong, Thai Binh, Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh, Hung Yen, Hai Duong, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, and Ha Tinh. As of now, 90,632 students have registered to take the exam.

Thanh Hung