University and college admission

The government is exploring changes to its university admission system, including holding national exams twice a year and allowing students with an International Baccalaureate (IB) to apply to public universities without taking the Greek exams.

The university admission system in Greece often traps young people into an academic subject that they have not consciously chosen.

The possibility for greater flexibility and mobility during one's academic studies, from one department to another, is an international trend that the Ministry of Education is now encouraging here as well. 

In a notable policy shift, the Ministry of Defense has announced that beginning with the 2026 nationwide examinations, students from all scientific disciplines will be able to apply for military academies. Previously, only candidates from the scientific field, which emphasizes positive and technological sciences, were eligible for admission.

Non-state universities will sideline colleges – A minimum admission threshold is established through Panhellenic exams in non-state universities as well

The Education Ministry on Wednesday announced the minimum grades high school graduates will need to score in their final exams to enter university at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. 

The minimum scores on the nationwide university entrance exams vary between departments.

Students who achieve the highest scores in the university entrance exam in Türkiye prefer to study medicine, psychology, and engineering the most, while once-popular fields like law are now less favored among the top students, local media has reported.

Following the high school entrance exams, millions of students are in a hurry to enroll in their desired schools while many of them are actively seeking scholarships from institutions.

The Education and Science Ministry has four priorities for the following three months until the caretaker government is replaced by a regular one after snap elections, Minister Nikolai Denkov told a news conference on Monday.

The decision was made because, as estimated by the Ministry of Education, high school students have been working on a reformed program since the 2018/19 school year. Therefore, it is best that they be the first generation to take the state graduation exam.

At the end of August each year Greek society after the June university entrance exams lives through a dramatic period of anxiety before the education ministry announces the minimum number of points required for admission to each university and tertiary technical school faculty.

One sees both celebrations and disappointments, both gladness and tears.