How to choose a subject combination that fits your capacity and future studies and carreer orientation?

According to the recently promulgated General Education Program of 2018, the 2022-2023 academic year will be the first year 10th graders will choose career-oriented subjects. Selecting career-oriented subject combinations plays an important role in promoting the strengths and capacities of each student. A clear career choice from an early age contributes to inspiring students to learn about their fields of interest and to develop their independent thinking at the same time.

Since the 2019-2020 school year, Vinschool Education System has divided the overall education programme into two phases: comprehensive education for grades 1-10 and vocational education for grades 11 and 12. This education programme, which is followed by many countries around the world, is in line with the education and university admissions trend in Vietnam and all over the world. Find out more about the ‘roadmap’ for Vinsers to successfully apply to domestic and international universities at: HERE

In order to choose a subject combination effective and applicable to a student’s career-orientation, the academic counsellors at Vinschool suggest that parents should follow these steps:

1. Talk with your child 

To help your child take the initiative and make their own decisions, you can ask your child to answer the following questions:

– “Which career do you want to pursue- Administration, Education, Technology, Sciences, Communication, or Business?”

– “What’s your strengths?” “Which subject do you like?” “Which subject do you study well?”

– “Which majors are suitable for your career?”

• For example, pedagogy and psychology are good choices if your child wants to pursue education; or they can choose human resource management and business administration if they want to find a job related to administration work.

– “Which universities offer training in those fields? What is the training style of the university? What are the universitiesl’s admission requirements? What subject combinations are required?”

Based on their answers, you can recommend the subjects in the combination that meets the admission requirements of the university.

2. Select subjects from 3 subject combinations

After selecting the subjects which meet the admission requirements, parents and their child should carefully research and understand the subjects that the school offers. By choosing “personalised” subjects for each major and for university admission requirements, your child will stand out before the Admissions Committee.

At Vinschool, each student has their own personal learning path and has the chance to choose their favourite subjects from nearly 50 subjects offered by the school, following the model of a “miniature university”. Specifically, from grades 1 to 10, Vinsers study all subjects from six domains, including Languages, Social Sciences, Mathematics, Arts, Natural Sciences & ICT, and Personal Education. At grades 11 and 12, Vinsers can choose from 5 to 8 subjects divided in 3 groups:

• Compulsory subjects: Math, Literature, and English.
• High school graduation and university admission orientation subjects: Natural Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) or Social Sciences (History, Geography, Citizenship Education)
• Vocational Orientation and Personal Development subjects: Economics, Psychology, Computer Science, Critical Thinking, Philosophy, etc.

The advice is to prioritise “Quality” over quantity. It is better if your child chooses a small number of subjects and obtain good results, rather than choosing too many subjects and obtaining “average” results.

3. Do’s and Don’ts when choosing a subject

Parents and students should read the useful information in the College [University] Application and Career Planning Handbook on Vinschool’s Learning Management System (LMS), including occupation information and required knowledge and skills; university application requirements and enrollment regulations; and the requirements of each subject at school.

Talk to teachers, especially subject teachers or school academic counsellors

Vinsers should not choose a subject combination just because many of their friends are, or because they can learn with their friends. Neither should they choose the subjects contrary to the logic of subject selection (they should refer to the groups of majors – majors – universities – regulations and admission methods, and choose subjects from the three groups), or do it without any orientation.

As parents, support your child and give them suggestions, and let them make the final decisions.