Study in Turkey Requirements: TR-YÖS, SAT, School Grades and Documents
Three ways into a Turkish university, the English tests that count, and the paperwork to start now for the next intake.
You can get into a Turkish university in one of three ways: with your school grades, with a TR-YÖS score, or with an international exam such as SAT, IB or A-levels. Since 2024/25, state universities may admit international students on any of these routes, and each university's senate decides which ones it accepts. Private (foundation) universities may also use their own entrance exam.
The right route depends on the type of university and your budget. Turkey has 208 universities (according to YÖK), and admission rules differ from one to the next. Many state universities work with TR-YÖS, SAT or national exams. Private universities such as Medipol admit mainly on school grades.
For costs and cities, see our Study in Turkey guide.
Three ways to get admitted
| Route | What you submit | Who accepts it | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
School grades | School-leaving certificate and transcript | Private universities; state universities that accept school GPA | The minimum depends on your school system |
TR-YÖS | TR-YÖS score on a 100–500 scale | State universities | ÖSYM has not announced next year's exam dates yet |
SAT, IB, A-levels, ACT, national exams | Official score report or certificate | State and private universities that list them | Minimum scores differ by university |
ÖSYM, the national testing center that runs TR-YÖS, names TR-YÖS, SAT, IB and Abitur among the exams a university may approve. Each university publishes its own minimum scores, so check the program page before you pay for any exam.
Admission with school grades (private universities)
At private universities, your school-leaving certificate usually decides the outcome. Istanbul Medipol University is a typical example. Its admission table sets a 60% baseline for international high school graduates and does not list YÖS among the requirements.
| Country | Qualification (as listed by Medipol) | Minimum |
|---|---|---|
Pakistan | Certificate of Secondary Education | 60% |
India | AISSC / CBSE Class 12 / HSC | 60% |
Nigeria | WAEC | 60% |
Egypt | Thanaweya Amma | 60% |
GCC countries, Jordan, Iraq | School-leaving certificate |
Meeting the minimum makes you eligible. It does not guarantee a place.
You submit one application per semester online, ranking programs by priority, and Medipol reviews it within one week. Bachelor's programs admit students for the fall semester only.
If approved, you get a conditional acceptance letter and pay a non-refundable deposit that counts toward tuition. The university then issues an official acceptance letter for your student visa.
TR-YÖS exam: format, scores, dates and fees
TR-YÖS is ÖSYM's entrance exam for international applicants. It tests numerical reasoning and basic math, so you can prepare for it without knowing Turkish.
TR-YÖS at a glance
- 80 questions: 40 numerical ability (Sayısal Yetenek) and 40 basic math (Temel Matematik).
- 100 minutes for the whole test.
- Four wrong answers cancel one correct answer, so random guessing costs you points.
What YÖS exam score do you need?
There is no national pass mark. Each university sets and publishes its own minimum, so plan your preparation around the highest one on your shortlist.
Dates for the next cycle
ÖSYM holds two sessions a year: TR-YÖS/1 in April and TR-YÖS/2 in October. Registration for the October session closes in August. If you are registered for it, your score stays valid for two years and works for the next intake.
ÖSYM publishes the calendar for each cycle in advance. We expect a spring and a fall session, as in previous cycles, but don't plan around exact dates until they're announced.
Fees
The fee depends on the country where you sit the exam. For the fall session (TR-YÖS/2) it was:
TR-YÖS/2 fee by test country
- 1,150 TL: Nigeria, Bangladesh and most African countries.
- 1,650 TL: Pakistan, India and Central Asian countries, among others.
- 3,700 TL: Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and others.
Under current rules, your first-choice test centers must include at least one center in Turkey. TR-YÖS makes most sense for state universities such as METU or Istanbul University; check which exams your program lists first.
TR-YÖS dates: spring and fall sessions
ÖSYM exam calendar
April
TR-YÖS/1, spring session
The spring session. Results stay valid for two years from the exam date.
August
Registration for TR-YÖS/2 closes
Registration for the October session closes in August.
October
TR-YÖS/2, fall session
If you are registered, your score stays valid for two years and works for the next intake.
Next cycle
Spring and fall sessions expected
Check ÖSYM's calendar for the next cycle; don't plan around exact dates until they're announced.
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SAT, IB, A-levels and national exams
With an international exam result, you may not need TR-YÖS at all. State universities can also accept your home country's national exams if their senate approves them. Here is one private university's scale.
| Exam | Medipol minimum |
|---|---|
SAT | 1000/1600, result valid 2 years |
ACT | 22 for medicine and dentistry, 20 for other programs; valid 2 years |
IB | 60% of the diploma grade |
GCE A-levels | Grade D or higher in: 2 A-levels + 3 O-levels; or 2 A-levels + 1 AS + 2 O-levels (5 different subjects); or 3 A-levels + 1 O-level (4 subjects) |
State universities set their own SAT, IB and A-level minimums, so check each one separately.
A strong SAT score can also lower your tuition. Medipol currently gives 10% off medicine, dentistry and English-taught pharmacy for SAT 1400+. On other programs, the discount is 5% for 1100–1240, 10% for 1250–1400 and 15% for 1410–1600.
English requirements and how to study in Turkey without IELTS
In Turkey, which English test you take matters. Many state universities, for example METU, do not accept IELTS, so take TOEFL iBT or PTE Academic instead. Private universities often accept IELTS, but check the requirements of your specific university.
ÖSYM's equivalence table for language exams (in force since 14 March 2025) leaves IELTS out. It lists Cambridge C2 and C1, Linguaskill, TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic and the Oxford Test of English. METU does not accept IELTS taken on or after 24 December 2022. It accepts TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic and its own exam. Each university sets its own rules for exemption from the English prep year.
| Test | Medipol minimum | Note |
|---|---|---|
IELTS Academic | 6.5 | IELTS Online not accepted |
TOEFL iBT | 84 | Home Edition not accepted |
PTE Academic | 71 | Online version not accepted |
Cambridge C1 Advanced / C2 Proficiency | B / C | |
Linguaskill General | 160 | |
Three ways to study in Turkey without IELTS
Take TOEFL iBT or PTE Academic. Both are accepted at METU and at Medipol.
Sit the university's own English exam. Medipol's prep exemption exam has a pass mark of 75, and METU runs its own exam too.
Start with the English prep year (Hazırlık). If you don't pass the exemption exam, you join the preparatory program first. At Medipol, the prep year for most programs costs the same as one year of the degree, so it adds both time and fees.
Documents you need
You can apply with scans. You bring originals at registration.
Documents for your application
- Passport.
- School-leaving certificate (diploma).
- Transcript of grades.
At registration you bring the originals with Turkish translations, including the equivalence certificate (Denklik) for your diploma. First, your certificate needs an apostille or consular legalization, depending on whether the issuing country is in the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention.
| Country that issued the document | What you need |
|---|---|
Pakistan (member since 2023), India, Bangladesh (since 2025), Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain | Apostille |
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Tunisia | Apostille |
Nigeria, UAE, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan | Consular legalization |
Consular legalization runs through three offices: your education ministry, then your foreign ministry, then the Turkish consulate. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia joined the convention recently, so older advice to legalize their documents is out of date. If you finished school in a different country from your citizenship, as many GCC expats did, the route follows the country that issued the certificate.
Translations into Turkish must be notarized. If the translation is done abroad, the Turkish consulate certifies it.
Diploma equivalence (Denklik)
Denklik is the recognition of your school diploma by Turkey's Ministry of National Education (MEB). You apply through e-Denklik (edenklik.meb.gov.tr) to the recognition center in the province where you live or where your university is. From abroad, you apply through the Turkish education attaché or consulate.
Many universities enroll you conditionally and set their own deadline for Denklik. At Yıldız Technical University (YTÜ), for example, it's 90 days from enrollment, and enrollment is canceled if you miss it. You may read that you have "until the end of the first semester," but that is not true for every university.
The fix: start the apostille or legalization before you get an offer.
Master's admission: Tanıma instead of Denklik
International applicants to master's and PhD programs don't need Denklik, except for programs with clinical practice in medicine. Instead, you need a letter from the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) confirming that your university is recognized. It's called Yükseköğretim Kurumları Tanıma Yazısı, often shortened to Okul Tanıma.
The YÖK fee for a Denklik or Tanıma application is 1,250 TL. Private universities such as Medipol admit master's and PhD students in both fall and spring.
Application timeline for the next intake
Universities publish deadlines closer to each intake. This sequence is built on how the last cycle worked.
Your admission plan
Fall of the year before entry: choose your route, shortlist universities and check which exams each program accepts. Book TOEFL iBT or PTE Academic if state universities are on the list.
Fall–winter before entry: start the apostille or legalization of your school documents and order Turkish translations.
January–February: Türkiye Bursları scholarship applications. The main window has been 10 January to 20 February; confirm the current dates on the official site.
Early in the year of entry: private universities open applications. Medipol, for example, opened applications by February.
Spring: TR-YÖS spring session, if ÖSYM keeps the usual pattern.
After your offer: pay the deposit, receive the official acceptance letter and apply for a student visa at the Turkish consulate. Citizens of Pakistan, India, Nigeria and Egypt need a visa. The e-Visa is officially for tourism and business, and Turkey's foreign ministry recommends a student visa for study. See our .
What to know before you apply
- IELTS is not accepted everywhere. With a state university on your list, take TOEFL iBT or PTE Academic. We check test rules for your whole shortlist.
- TR-YÖS dates for the next cycle may not be announced yet. Keep a school-grades or SAT route in parallel.
- A missed Denklik deadline can cancel your enrollment. We help prepare the documents and track the deadline.
Motivation letter: template and a paragraph-by-paragraph guide
A ready skeleton in English with a note on what each paragraph has to do, plus the mistakes that make a letter useless.
- Where a letter is really required and where it is not
- A five-paragraph template with example wording
- How to strengthen it with specifics and numbers
- Seven mistakes and a checklist before you send
Send us your transcript and English test result, if you have one. We'll tell you which route fits (school grades, TR-YÖS or SAT), which universities in Turkey you're eligible for, and build your application plan for the next intake. The first consultation is free. Reach us through the contact form, WhatsApp or Telegram.
