For many families in Vietnam, the biggest academic pressure does not begin with university. It begins much earlier, when students finish Grade 9 and compete for a place in public high school.
Known as the Grade 10 entrance exam, this test determines who can enter state-funded upper secondary schools. In major cities, especially Hanoi, competition has become so intense that many parents describe it as more stressful than university admissions.
A Major Exam at Just 15
Vietnam’s school system usually follows three stages: primary school, lower secondary school, and upper secondary school.
After completing Grade 9, students who want to enter many public high schools must sit an entrance exam. In many provinces, the test includes three subjects: Mathematics, Literature, and a third subject chosen by local education authorities. That third subject is often English.
Because students are only around 14 to 15 years old, the exam carries emotional weight far beyond the classroom. For many households, it is the first truly high-stakes academic competition their child faces.
Why Hanoi Feels the Pressure Most
While the exam exists across Vietnam, Hanoi is widely seen as the most competitive market for public school seats.
The reason is simple: student numbers have risen much faster than school capacity.
In recent years, the number of Grade 9 students in Hanoi has surged, while the growth in public high schools has been relatively slow. That gap has created a supply-and-demand problem. More families want affordable public education, but available seats have not expanded at the same pace.
Some years, only a little more than half of lower secondary graduates can secure a public high school place. At top schools, application ratios can exceed three students for every seat.
This shortage is especially visible in inner-city districts, where population density is high and land for new campuses is limited.
Why Parents Compare It to University Admissions
The comparison may sound dramatic, but it reflects how families experience the system.
University applicants often have multiple routes: different institutions, private universities, vocational colleges, alternative admissions methods, or studying later.
By contrast, the Grade 10 transition happens at a younger age, with fewer affordable options that families consider equal to public schools. Missing out can mean higher tuition at private schools or changing to a different pathway entirely.
That is why many parents begin planning years in advance, sometimes from Grade 7 or Grade 8.
If Students Do Not Get In
Failing to enter a public high school does not end a student’s future. Vietnam has several alternative routes, including private high schools, continuing education centers, and vocational programs that combine academics with career training.
Many students later succeed through these paths and still continue to college or stable employment.
What the Grade 10 exam really shows is not failure or success, but how strongly Vietnamese society values education and upward mobility.
Vietnam’s Grade 10 entrance exam is more than a school test. It is a reflection of demand for quality, affordable education.
And nowhere is that pressure clearer than in Hanoi, where rising student numbers and limited public school capacity have turned a teenage exam into one of the city’s most closely watched annual competitions.
