With the announcement of the Higher Education Institutions Exam (YKS) results, the countdown has begun for the preference marathon, the most critical period in the lives of millions of candidates. Candidates will make their university and department choices, which will shape their future, between July 30 and August 11. Experts emphasize the importance of acting carefully and planned to prevent candidates from making mistakes during this stressful process.
Expert Psychological Counselor Özgür Akoğlan said, "A correct preference list is as valuable as a good exam result. Following the roadmap we have prepared for candidates to be placed in their dream university will enable them to manage the process more healthily."
Üsküdar University Preference Days, which started on July 19, will continue until August 11.
As the preference period, which will shape the future of millions of young people, approaches, Üsküdar University Educational Institutions and Guidance Services Manager, Expert Psychological Counselor Özgür Akoğlan, made vital warnings to guide candidates.
Emphasizing that candidates should focus on success ranking rather than scores during this process, Akoğlan said, "A correct preference list is as valuable as a good exam result. Following the roadmap we have prepared for candidates to be placed in their dream university will enable them to manage the process more healthily."
Stating that the most fundamental mistake in the preference process is focusing on scores, Expert Psychologist Counselor Özgür Akoğlan stated that the main determinant is the success ranking and that in this important step that will shape the candidates' future, scores can be misleading and they must act by basing their own rankings.
9-step roadmap for a correct preference list
Akoğlan listed the steps that candidates should follow as follows:
1. Analyze your ranking: First, clearly determine your success rankings in SAY, SÖZ, EA, DİL, and TYT score types on your YKS results document. You will make your preferences according to these rankings.
2. Make the guide your bedside book: Download the current "Higher Education Programs and Quotas Guide" published on ÖSYM's official website. Carefully examine the quotas of the departments, their special conditions, and most importantly, the base success rankings from last year.
3. Set your goals realistically: Make a list of the departments you want. Compare your own success ranking with the previous year's base rankings of your target departments. Be sure to add 3-5 "safe choices" that are below your ranking to your list.
4. Use your 24 preference rights strategically: Create a balanced distribution when forming your preference list. Allocate the first 5-6 spots of your list to "dream" departments above your ranking, the middle 10-12 spots to departments close to your ranking with a high probability of placement, and the last 5-6 spots to "guaranteed" departments below your ranking.
5. Scrutinize universities: Don't just focus on the department name. Research the academic staff, campus and dormitory facilities, scholarship opportunities, and employment rates of graduates on the universities' official websites.
6. Get professional support: Get support from guidance counselors at your school, or free preference counseling centers established by municipalities or universities. Attend promotional days organized by universities to get first-hand information about departments.
7. Enter the system carefully: You will make your preferences via the ÖSYM Candidate Transactions System (AIS) using your T.R. identity number and password. Double-check to avoid errors when entering the program codes from the guide into the system.
8. Final check before approval: After entering your preference list into the system as of July 30, take a printout and review it one last time. Complete your transaction without leaving it until the last day and make sure you click the "Approve" button.
9. Wait for the results: Follow the placement results, usually announced in the third week of August, through ÖSYM's official channels.
Don't make these mistakes!
Expert Psychologist Counselor Özgür Akoğlan made the following warnings against common mistakes made by candidates:
• Do not overlook special conditions: Some departments may require additional conditions such as a foreign language preparatory class, internship, health report, or special talent exam. Be sure to read these conditions.
• Monitor quota changes.
• Check official announcements from ÖSYM.
• Do not make coding errors: An incorrect code can lead to you being placed in a department you do not want. Enter the program codes from the guide exactly as they are.
• Compare the scholarships of foundation universities: Scholarship rates and conditions vary from university to university. Get detailed information.
• Let the final decision be yours: Make a choice that suits your own interests, abilities, and goals, not under family or peer pressure. Remember, this is your future. Preference robots can help, but support your final decision with your own research.
Preference days will continue until August 11
Meanwhile, Üsküdar University Preference Days, which started on July 19, will continue until August 11, 2025. Candidates will make their university and department choices, which will shape their future, between July 30 and August 11, 2025.
A test that guides the undecided!
Akoğlan also reminded that in order for a person to make the right decisions about academic and life success and to build their life on the right foundations from the very beginning, candidates can discover their vocational aptitudes by solving the career test at aday.uskudar.edu.tr and take the first step in choosing the right profession.