Record number of applicants expected in university exams

ISTANBUL

This year's Higher Education Institutions Exam (YKS) is expected to receive a record number of applications from high school seniors, with students who began school when the starting age for primary school was reduced to 5 years also graduating.

The academic year 2012-2013 saw the commencement of primary school at the age of 60 months, and those students are now graduating from high school. Consequently, there is expected to be a significant rise in the number of graduates compared to the previous year.

Education expert Salim Ünsal shared insights into this year's predictions, noting 2022 as a pivotal moment for YKS.

"The removal of the threshold score system led to a significant increase in the number of applicants, reaching 635,000 in 2022, with a total of 3,243,334 candidates applying for YKS," Ünsal said.

"Last year witnessed a record in YKS history, with 3,527,443 candidates applying. We observed that the exemption of exam fees for applicants from earthquake-affected regions played a role in this increase, with over a million free applications received from the region," he added.

This year anticipates a record number of applications from high school seniors.

In the 2011-2012 academic year, approximately 1.4 million children enrolled in primary school at the age of 72 months. In the 2012-2013 academic year, when the entry age was reduced to 60 months, the number rose to 1,756,618. This cohort of students is set to take the YKS this year.

After a decline to 881,000 last year, the final-year application count is expected to surpass 1.2 million this year, potentially pushing the total application count to 3.5 million.