Quick notes after the first day of the second exam session.

While candidates were quite satisfied with the Literature exam this morning (July 9, 2008), the results of the History exam this afternoon were not very promising for many candidates.

From our observations, as soon as more than two-thirds of the allotted time had passed, about a dozen candidates submitted their papers, and 15 minutes later (at 4:30 PM), another 10 candidates submitted their papers early. However, when asked, all candidates said their results were not good. Generally, this year's History exam was considered rather long, leaning more towards rote memorization than providing analytical opinions and assessments of the candidates' synthesis skills. However, the exam only covered knowledge from the compulsory sections of the textbook.

Candidate Yen, in examination room 226, building G, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, left the examination room early and said:This year's History exam was easier than last year's, but I'm still not entirely confident in my answers. The world history question was completely off-topic, asking about the influence of the Allied forces on the Vietnamese people's resistance.Yen further shared that this is her fifth year taking the university entrance exam, and she's always applied to the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi). She's currently studying accounting at the Hanoi University of Trade Unions and is trying again this year hoping to become a student in Archival Studies and Office Management. When asked about her poor performance, Yen readily replied:It all depends on us. If we memorize everything, we can answer any type of question. Because I'm working and studying at the same time, I only had one month to prepare for the exam, so I didn't study everything."Yen also predicted her exam score would be around 6 to 7 points."

Similar to candidate Yen's opinion, other candidates, when asked, commented that the exam was normal and not difficult if they grasped the basic knowledge. However, many candidates said they couldn't do the exam or couldn't finish it, mainly because they... didn't remember all the knowledge in the textbooks or had learned it but... forgotten it. Most candidates predicted their scores would only be around 5 to 6 points. This shows that History remains a difficult subject for students, and the main reason is that they haven't found the right way to study and haven't truly enjoyed the subject.

According to invigilator Luong Thuy Lien (exam center G, University of Social Sciences and Humanities), this year's exam saw candidates adhering quite strictly to the regulations. This is perhaps partly due to the annual "tradition" that exam centers at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) are "famous" for their strict and rule-abiding supervision. However, Ms. Lien also noted that candidates were quite confused about filling out the information on the exam paper and submitting their papers.

According to preliminary statistics, 5677 candidates attended the exam this afternoon (a decrease of 10 compared to the morning), 2 were reprimanded, and 2 were suspended.

Update: According to the official report on the History exam held on the afternoon of July 9th, 5766 candidates participated (68.4%), 6 candidates received a reprimand, 2 received a warning, and 8 candidates were suspended.