Several medical universities are seeking to fill hundreds of remaining slots. Hanoi Medical University, considered the leading institution for medical training, has opened admissions for 80 more students in social work, a newly launched major. This marks the first time in decades the university has had to recruit beyond the regular admission cycle.

Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy is adding 203 slots for five programs. The Vietnam University of Traditional Medicine is seeking 33 more students for general medicine, a program often considered the ‘king’ in the health sciences. 

Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy is adding 130 slots for three programs, and Vinh Medical University is looking for 113 students in pharmacy, another in-demand major. Hai Phong University of Medicine and Pharmacy is offering 210 additional slots, including in top majors like general medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy. Many private universities with health-related programs are also reopening admissions for majors such as nursing and medicine.

Some pedagogy universities are also recruiting additionally. Quy Nhon University is seeking candidates for five pedagogy majors: primary education, IT pedagogy, literature pedagogy, history pedagogy, and geography pedagogy, despite benchmarks ranging from 26.85 to 27.21. HCMC University of Education is recruiting 230 additional slots for seven majors.

Three military-affiliated universities are recruiting additional civilian slots: Military Science Academy with 73 slots, Logistics Academy with over 240, and University of Information and Communications with 40 slots.

Many other public universities also need hundreds to thousands of additional slots, such as HCMC University of Economics, Banking Academy, HCMC University of Industry, Vietnam Aviation Academy, International University - Vietnam National University Hanoi, University of Management and Business - Vietnam National University Hanoi, Ton Duc Thang University, Nha Trang University, Hanoi University of Industry, Vinh University of Industry, HCMC University of Technology, and Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, 849,544 candidates registered for university admissions this year, with about 7.6 million preferences, which means that each student registered nine preferences.

Why are additional admissions needed?

While it's common for private and lower-tier public universities to reopen admissions annually, sometimes even for a second round, this year’s trend stands out because it includes top universities and competitive majors.

For example, teacher training programs have become increasingly popular in the past 3 to 4 years due to incentives like tuition waivers, living stipends, high employment prospects, and improved salaries for teachers. Yet many of these programs are now short of students.

The question is where students have gone. One university representative said: “We don’t know where the students are, but since we haven’t filled our quotas, we have no choice but to recruit more.”

Pham Thai Son, director of admissions at HCMC University of Industry, outlined several reasons why schools are falling short.

First, many universities increased enrollment targets this year and introduced new programs, but the number of applicants has remained roughly the same. This imbalance forces schools to conduct multiple admission rounds to meet quotas.

Second, although 850,000 students registered through the national admissions system, this figure includes applicants to junior colleges and vocational schools. Vietnam currently has around 400 junior colleges, compared to just 30 in previous years that shared the system with universities.

Third, rising tuition and living costs are major barriers. Despite applying to universities, many students later opt for more affordable paths such as vocational schools or junior colleges, aiming to graduate sooner and enter the job market faster.

An admissions officer from a university in the south added that even high-demand schools are affected due to changes in admissions criteria. Some universities use percentile-based score conversion, which inflates standardized test cutoffs. 

Meanwhile, many students were admitted through alternative methods such as high school transcripts or competency assessments. For healthcare-focused institutions that rely solely on national exam scores, the qualified applicant pool has dried up. Even within those institutions, lower-interest programs struggled to meet quotas.

Another factor is technical errors during the final digital screening process, which affected actual admission yields.

Son said that even though universities are reopening admissions now, it may be too late as the pool of available candidates has already been exhausted.

Thanh Hung