The YKS preference marathon has ended. Between July 20 and August 8, candidates made their choices for the most suitable fields and universities for themselves. Üsküdar University also did not leave candidates alone during this period, with many one-on-one and online planning sessions. It shared the excitement of preference with approximately 50 thousand candidates. During this process, Preference and Career Consultant, Expert Psychological Counselor Ece Tözeniş, who guided the candidates, said, “We observed that some of the mistakes candidates made during the preference process continued, and the trend towards popular fields persisted this year as well.” Education Specialist Ertuğrul Tut shared his observations by saying, “The excitement of becoming a university student, stemming from the youth's pessimism about the future, seemed to be suppressed by their anxieties.”
The YKS preference marathon, which saw more than 3.5 million candidates participate this year, has ended. Between July 20 and August 8, candidates made their choices for the most suitable fields and universities for themselves.
Full support for candidates during the preference period
During the 2023 Preference Days, Üsküdar University guided candidates seeking information about departments and the university simultaneously across 5 campuses.
Academics, who met candidates in sections designated for faculties, supported their decision-making processes by answering prospective students' questions and explaining the intricacies of the profession. Üsküdar University students, the 'yellow t-shirts', also communicated one-on-one with candidates making preferences during this period, explaining what it means to be a university student from a student's perspective.
“The trend towards popular fields continued this year as well”
Expert Psychological Counselor Ece Tözeniş, along with 15 preference counselors led by Education Specialist Ertuğrul Tut, supported candidates in choosing the right fields during this process. Tözeniş shared her observations as follows:
“We observed that some of the mistakes students made during the preference process continued. They need to make their preferences by taking success rankings into account, but since desire is also important here, there is no mistake in listing departments with high success rankings lower if they do not match our preference order. Sometimes, such preference mistakes lead students to study in departments they do not want. During the preference period, we observed that candidates' inclination towards popular fields continued this year as well. Instead of getting stuck in popular fields, researching professions that might be suitable for their personality traits, interests, and abilities, and considering these alternatives, will enable them to do jobs they will be happier with in their professional lives.”
“Candidates' excitement seemed to be suppressed by their anxieties…”
Üsküdar University Education Institutions and Guidance Services Manager, Education Specialist Ertuğrul Tut stated that, unlike previous years, they observed a slightly higher anxiety level among this year's candidates. Tut commented on the preference marathon from the counselors' perspective, saying, “Due to the current sociological structure and the youth's pessimism about the future, their excitement about becoming a university student seemed to be suppressed by their anxieties. Families were more inquisitive about the future of professions, conducting more research than prospective students. Therefore, we can say that the preference process for us counselors was an intense period of interviews and information transfer to help candidates form a professional image in their minds.”
50 thousand candidates received counseling
Between July 20 and August 8, 2023, Üsküdar University reached approximately 50 thousand candidates by answering prospective students' questions live and instantly via the university website, providing information about the university and its departments through programs broadcast on ÜÜ TV, offering virtual tours for candidates who could not visit the campus, organizing online events with fair participations that also included academics, and through the Career Test.
The test has guided approximately 1.5 million candidates to date…
The Career Test, implemented since 2015, has served as an important guide for 1 million 417 thousand 670 people in their career choices to date. In the last month, 15 thousand 885 people took the Career Test, which identifies areas where an individual can be successful, to guide their future.
This year, candidates showed strong interest in medicine and dentistry, as well as software, computer engineering, and health sciences in the quantitative field; and in psychology and communication, among other departments and their sub-branches, in the equally weighted and verbal fields.