In the 2012 university entrance exam to the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, the shift in the number of applications for the exam groups to the training majors of the University shows the changes in social demand for these majors. Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Duc Nghieu - Chairman of the 2012 University Admissions Council of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - provided some specific information.
- Could you please tell us about the new points in this year's admission season of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU?This year there are some new points. This is the first year the school recruits candidates for the B block exam for the Psychology major. For this B block alone, this year there are 133 applications out of 789 applications for the Psychology major. This year is also the first year that the Journalism and Linguistics majors recruit candidates for the A block exam. Thus, the number of majors recruiting A block students at the school this year is 12. Last year there were 10 majors.
- Where are the exam sites of the school held this year?In Hanoi, the school has 7 testing sites, including 2 testing sites at the school and 5 testing sites at high schools in Thanh Xuan district. In addition, there are testing sites in Hai Phong with 290 candidates, testing sites in Vinh with 292 candidates and testing clusters in Quy Nhon with 11 candidates. There were 3,909 candidates taking the Literature exam for group C on the morning of July 9.
- It is known that opening more exam blocks will change the correlation of the number of applications between exam blocks this year. So can you give us specific information?The overall picture is: Block A, in 2011 had 330 applications, in 2012 there were 664 applications, double the increase. Block D, in 2011 there were 890 applications, in 2012 there were 1,919 applications, an increase of more than 115%. Block C decreased slightly, more than 3.3%: in 2011 there were 4,728 applications, this year there are 4,579 applications. In total, the number of applications to the school this year is 7,295, an increase of more than 22.6% compared to 2011.
- Could you tell me which major at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, Hanoi seems to attract the most candidates?Based purely on the number of applications, among the 18 majors of the University, this year and in the past years, the majors that have received more attention from society (which means attracting more candidates) with a stable number of candidates are Journalism, Social Work, Oriental Studies, Management Science, Tourism and Travel Services Management, International Studies, Psychology. The newly opened major of Vietnamese Studies has also had a continuously increasing number of candidates registering for the exam in the past few years.
- Do you have any comments on the change in the number of applications to the School between the exam groups?Do you mean that because there are few sources of admission, the school has to enroll students in groups A and B? The University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU believes that the opportunity to be trained in social sciences and humanities must be the same for all high school students, regardless of which group they take the entrance exam. The school's policy of adjusting the exam groups is to meet social needs and bring fairness to candidates. When implementing, we see that the number of candidates in groups other than C and D is increasing. This proves the need and interest of society and candidates in social sciences and humanities; which we have not considered before. For example, in group A, in 2010, for the first time after 10 years of returning to enroll, there were 172 applications for the exam, in 2012 there were 664 applications. And the number of applications for group D this year has more than doubled.
- There are opinions that this year, block C is "extinct". What is your comment on this situation at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU Hanoi?Well, if there is such an opinion, then that is also a way of looking at it, a way of speaking of the speaker. This year, at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU, out of 7,295 applications for the entrance exam to the University this year, there are 4,579 applications for group C, accounting for 62.8%, the rest are candidates taking the exam for groups A, B, D. The whole VNU has 3,521 candidates applying for group C. Today the number of candidates coming to take the exam reached 73.4%.
- Could you please tell us, for majors with few candidates registering for the exam, what solutions will the school have to attract the attention of society?First of all, it must be said that the School is not only interested in majors with few candidates but must pay attention to all majors. The School will always review to provide orientation on entrance exam blocks based on the enrollment innovation roadmap of the Ministry of Education and Training, of VNU, expanding opportunities for candidates to take the exam and opportunities for selecting candidates for the School. In that process, the School continues to strive to do a good job of admissions consulting, providing clear information about majors, about the output standards that students achieve upon graduation, introducing career opportunities of majors on the Internet, consulting and answering candidates' questions online every week on the School's website... In the long term, admissions consulting will target students in grades 10 and 11, students of gifted high schools, specialized schools, and high schools with good training quality so that they have more information about training and employment opportunities in social sciences and humanities.
- There are still parents and students who are afraid that studying Social Sciences and Humanities will not be "fashionable" and that career prospects will not be high. Would you please share your thoughts on this issue?I think, job opportunities for any major can be worse and any major can be better. This depends on the socio-economic development of the country and many other issues. Jobs, careers, training sectors, ... are not things that always go together and are identical to each other, so we should not confuse one with the other. In any conditions, problems and requirements related to human and social development also require human resources from the fields of social sciences and humanities to solve. That is a very broad field of careers for social sciences and humanities. Because I have not prepared, I do not have specific data to tell you as a serious analysis now. Analysis of this must have specific data, not improvised and arbitrary; right?
Thank you, professor.
