Instead of enrolling students through the national university entrance exam, universities now require candidates to sit entrance tests.

Several universities have made public their enrolment plans for the 2015-2016 academic year, the first year of the higher education reform period.

As decided by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), there will be only one national exam every year – the high school finals – instead of the high school finals and the university entrance exam.

The students’ learning records and the results of the finals will be considered by universities when enrolling students. However, schools have a right to organize extra exams or tests to select the best and suitable students for them.

Requesting students to sit entrance tests is the measure applied by most of the prestigious schools.

The HCM City Law School has announced that students will have to fulfill a capability test after they are shortlisted by the school based on their learning records at high school and the finals.

The learning records will make up 20 percent of the total scores which will be considered by the school to decide whether to admit students, while the average exam mark will count for 60 percent, and the capability test 20 percent.

The Academy of Journalism and Communication has also announced that students will have to write an essay on the theme to be determined by the school to show their social knowledge and abilities.

Meanwhile, the candidates for the Ha Noi National University will have to sit the capability tests, to be organized either in May and July every year.

Some other prestigious schools, namely the Ha Noi Foreign Trade University, the Ha Noi University of Technology and the Ha Noi Medical University, will request students to attend a round to pre-select suitable students.

A MOET report showed that by mid-December 2014, the ministry had received reports from 428 universities and junior colleges on their enrolment plans for the 2015-2016 academic year.

Of these, 235 schools stated they will only consider the national high school finals to enroll students, while the other 192 schools will both consider the students’ results from the finals and the high school learning records.

The enrolment of the HCM City National University, one of the most prestigious schools, the local universities and some military schools will also rely on the students’ high school learning records.

Analysts noted that the HCM City University of Technology Education applies an “unusual” enrolment method. The students’ scores in math, literature and English – the subjects of social sciences - will be considered when enrolling students, though it is a polytechnic school.