The students had to answer questions on social science, including history, geography and philosophy, in the LYS-4, which started at 10 a.m. and took 135 minutes in total. Students were asked questions on mathematics and geometry in the LYS-1, the first session of the LYS, held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, while students hoping to major in a foreign language were asked foreign language questions in the LYS-5 held at 2:30 p.m. on the same day.
Student Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM) head Ünal Yarımağan noted that there have not been any problems with the new university entrance system so far. “There have been some individual problems in the exam. However, these are problems with individuals. The exam took place and finished without incident throughout the country,” noted Yarımağan. Speaking to the Anatolian news agency, Yarımağan also noted that they will try to announce the results of the university entrance exam by July 15.
This is the first year that the new system had been tried in Turkey. The nationwide university entrance exam has been in place since 1974. Although the exam has been renamed several times, its purpose has remained the same: to reduce the number of university applicants because of the limited capacity at universities.
Under the new system, more than 1.5 million students, including high school pupils and graduates, took the Transition to Higher Education (YGS) examination on April 11, the first-round exam of the new university entrance system in place in Turkey and the KKTC. Those who pass the YGS are then entitled to take the LYS to gain admission to an undergraduate department. The LYS-3, including literature and geography questions, will be held on June 26 while the LYS-2, containing science questions, will be held on June 27. Students who only take the YGS, in which students have to answer 160 questions in 160 minutes, are able to apply for associate degree programs.
