HCMUS Announces Top 20 High Schools with Most Admitted Students

The University of Science (HCMUS), Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, has for the first time released a list of the top 20 high schools with the most admitted students for the 2026 academic year. The data reveals that 17 out of these top 20 schools are located within Ho Chi Minh City, underscoring the concentration of educational resources in the country's largest metropolis. This year, HCMUS enrolled over 4,900 new students. Mac Dinh Chi High School had the highest number of admitted students with 83, followed by Tran Phu High School with 80, and Pho Thong Nang Khieu with 67. The top 10 schools were all from Ho Chi Minh City. Expanding the list to the top 20, only three high schools from other provinces and cities were included: Thoai Ngoc Hau High School for the Gifted in An Giang province, a high school in Tien Giang province, and Tran Hung Dao High School for the Gifted in Lam Dong province. Nguyen Ngoc Tran achieved the highest score in the national high school graduation exam for the A00 block (Math, Physics, Chemistry) with 29.75 points. Tran Tien Dat, majoring in Computer Science, secured the highest comprehensive admission score of 29.77 out of 30 (excluding bonus points). He also set a record in the HCM City National University's competency assessment test, scoring 1139 out of 1200. According to the university, over 24% of the current cohort of new students have won awards in provincial-level or higher student excellence and science and technology competitions. Among them, 222 students have received national or international accolades. Notably, Tran Dai Thanh Danh, a new student in the talented undergraduate program for Mathematics, won a silver medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) and a gold medal at the Asia-Pacific Mathematical Olympiad. His twin brothers, Nguyen Tri Hien and Nguyen Tri Hau, also chose Mathematics and won a gold medal at the Turkmenistan Mathematical Exchange Olympiad. Meanwhile, Nguyen Quang Chuong, a new student in Computer Science, secured second place in the international ICPC high school programming competition.