In the past, when talking about the stress of exams in Vietnam, the university entrance exam was definitely the most stressful, with several stages of the university entrance exam that generations have gone through. As I know and based on my own experience of taking the university entrance exam, it was like this.
First, the university entrance exam was organized by each school choosing its own exam day, and schools would create their own exam questions and grade them. Candidates who wanted to apply to more than one school had to take exams at those schools, and had to go to those schools to take the exams. For example, if a candidate wanted to study at a school in Hanoi, they would take the exam in Hanoi today and then want to apply to a school in Hue the next day, so they would have to go to Hue to take the exam. Or closer, they would also have to travel to Thai Nguyen or other locations around Hanoi. After this stage, there was a centralized exam with questions set by the Ministry of Education, and schools would evaluate based on the admission scores sent to them.
I remember that the university entrance exam was really stressful, with many cram schools popping up around major universities, and many students passing the university entrance exam was truly a significant event in their lives. Now that image comes flooding back, but not with the university entrance exam, but with another exam, which is the entrance exam for the 10th grade in general and the entrance exam for the 10th grade in Hanoi in particular. Hanoi is densely populated and everything is highly competitive, and exams are also a matter of extremely high competition. Here we will discuss and explore two issues. First, why is the entrance exam for the 10th grade in Hanoi so stressful, and second, how does it compare to the university entrance exam of the past.
First of all, it must be said that the entrance exam for the 10th grade in Hanoi for the 2024-2025 school year is organized with three subjects for the non-specialized block, which includes mathematics, literature, and foreign language. The exams will be held on June 8 and 9. Those candidates who wish to take the specialized exams will continue to take them on June 10 and 11. Each candidate will have three wishes to apply to non-specialized public high schools. Among them, the first and second wishes must be within the same enrollment area where the candidate resides or has a permanent address.
The third wish, which is a lower preference, can be in any area among the 12 enrollment areas in Hanoi. Thus, it is easy to see that if a student unfortunately does not perform well and falls to the third wish, it is indeed extremely stressful. Being able to study at a prestigious high school is equivalent to having the opportunity to be taught by good teachers and having good facilities, which opens up a bright future for them, and parents are always very concerned about their children at such a sensitive age. Many parents will have to consider how their children will study if they do not pass and get into high-quality schools as expected, or at least schools close to home.
Everyone knows that young people today grow up quickly, but not all parents are ready to let their children go to school alone or travel long distances. Hanoi is always very complicated. There are some numbers to show how stressful the entrance exam for the 10th grade is. In terms of enrollment quotas, this year Hanoi has about 110,000 9th-grade students citywide registered to take the 10th-grade entrance exam, but not all 110,000 students will have the opportunity to attend public schools. There are only about 77,000 slots available, creating a competition ratio of about 1/14 for public high schools.
For high-quality high schools, the competition ratio is even higher, possibly reaching 1 to 10 or even higher. Not all parents are willing to send their children to private schools. There are many issues related to this; quality is one part. Because there are now many private schools of extremely high quality, but the economic aspect, the cost of education for children, and especially the transportation issues in Hanoi are always matters that parents need to pay attention to.
The next thing that makes the 10th-grade entrance exam always stressful is that everyone wants to get into good schools.
The number of high-quality high schools in Hanoi is about 10 to 15 such schools. These are famous public schools like Chu Van An, Kim Lien, Le Quy Don, or Hanoi Amsterdam. These schools usually have low enrollment quotas, ranging from about 200 to 500 students each year. Meanwhile, the number of applications to these schools can reach thousands. More accurately, parents want their children to get into these schools, which are not only prestigious but also provide quality education, making parents feel very proud. However, it is not that easy; the entrance exam for the 10th grade is often designed to classify students.
For example, mathematics and literature often have difficult questions that require students to have high analytical and thinking skills. Every year, the exam questions include additional advanced sections to increase difficulty and clearly classify students. Another factor that makes the 10th-grade entrance exam always stressful is not the students but the parents. Every parent wants their child to excel. According to surveys, about 80% of parents have very high expectations for their children in the 10th-grade entrance exam. Many people say that it doesn't matter where their child studies, but in reality, who doesn't want their child to study in a good place, with good teachers and convenient transportation?
Parents often have very high expectations for their children, hoping they will get into prestigious schools for better opportunities in the future. And everyone thinks their child will succeed, even exceed expectations. Therefore, questions like "Can you do the exam?" or "Do well, don't feel pressured" are continuously asked during these days, and some parents may feel more pressure than their children taking the exam.
And what about the children?
About 70% of surveyed students feel pressure from being compared to their peers and other students, and indeed, in the age of social media, where everything is visible online. The higher the expectations of parents, the more pressure students feel, and the more they are compared. How can they not feel pressured when they see their friends doing this or that? Thus, the entrance exam for the 10th grade is a crucial turning point in a student's life, one of the biggest exams they face now. Although this exam is very stressful, it will also be an opportunity for them to develop resilience and skills.
How does the 10th-grade entrance exam now compare to the university entrance exam of the past?
The university entrance exam in the past, around the 90s to the 2000s, was always considered one of the most stressful and important exams in the life of a Vietnamese student. This exam not only determines their future education but also affects their career and life later on. The university entrance exam is usually held in July each year, and students must register and prepare very early, often from the beginning of the 12th-grade school year, at which point there is a guidebook for university admissions that almost everyone has to buy.
The university entrance exam in the past consisted of three main subjects according to the blocks: Block A: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry; Block B: Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology; Block C: Literature, History, Geography; and Block D: Mathematics, Literature, Foreign Language. Each subject usually has a time limit of 90 to 180 minutes. At that time, students had to take the exam at locations designated by the Ministry of Education and Training, usually at large universities or colleges. Many candidates had to travel from provinces to Hanoi, and transportation back then was not as convenient as it is now. Parents were also not familiar with the routes, and for children who were visiting the capital for the first time, it was generally very difficult and complicated, often having to stay in lodgings during the exam period.
Similar to the 10th-grade exam now, the level of stress and competition ratio for the university entrance exam in the past was extremely high. The number of candidates registering was very large while the enrollment quotas of schools were limited. Prestigious universities often had a competition ratio of 1/10, and for popular faculties, the ratio was even higher. Parents also had many expectations, wanting their children to achieve high results to get into prestigious universities. Getting into university is the first successful step in every person's career, and this expectation creates immense pressure on students.
At that time, to take the university entrance exam, students had to take extra classes from middle school, high school, and then attend cram schools before the exam day. They studied in various ways to prepare for the exam, and the studying extended from morning to night over many years, creating relentless pressure. Textbooks, reference books, and practice exams were important materials, and perhaps in the lives of people from the 80s and early 90s, the university entrance exam was always the most pressured, most important, most anticipated, and most daunting exam of their lives.