The preferences of top-1000 YKS scorers have been revealed: Medicine, engineering, and law stand out

The 2026 Higher Education Institutions Examination (YKS) placement results have revealed the program preferences of candidates with high achievement rankings. Medicine, engineering, and law stood out in the departments where candidates who ranked in the top 1000 in numerical, equally-weighted, and verbal score categories were placed.

Among the candidates who ranked in the top 1000 in the numerical score category, 490 were placed in medical schools, while 434 were placed in engineering programs. Among engineering fields, the most preferred area was Electrical-Electronics Engineering. While 194 candidates from the top 1000 were placed in this program, 135 were placed in Computer Engineering, 43 in Electronics and Communication Engineering, 38 in Industrial Engineering, and 24 in Aerospace Engineering.

In the equally-weighted score category, the program most preferred by candidates in the top 1000 was law. While 185 candidates were placed in law programs, business administration ranked second with 181 candidates, and economics ranked third with 171 candidates. In this score category, 60 candidates were placed in psychology, 51 in Management Information Systems, 37 in economics, 33 in Management Sciences Programs, 30 in International Relations, and 29 in Arts and Social Sciences Programs.

It was observed that some candidates who ranked in the top 1000 in the equally-weighted category also turned to numerical programs. Of the candidates in this group, 57 were placed in medicine, 14 in Electrical-Electronics Engineering, 12 in Computer Engineering, and 9 in Industrial Engineering programs.

In the verbal score category, the department most preferred by candidates in the top 1000 was history. 105 candidates were placed in history programs. This department was followed by Special Education Teaching with 83 candidates. It was noted that 83 candidates who ranked in the top 1000 in the verbal score category were placed in law programs, which accept students based on equally-weighted scores. 48 candidates were placed in Turkish Language and Literature, and 46 in theology.

INTEREST IN NEW PROGRAMS

New programs opened by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) within the scope of its employment-oriented higher education vision also attracted interest from candidates with high achievement rankings. Students from the top 1000 were placed in programs that combine different disciplines with artificial intelligence, which appeared in the 2026-YKS preference guide for the first time.

Among the candidates who ranked in the top 1000 in the equally-weighted score category, 10 won the Business Administration and Artificial Intelligence program. 7 of these students were in the top 500, and one was in the top 100. While 3 candidates from the top 1000 were placed in the Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence program, it was stated that 2 of these students were in the top 500.

Among the candidates who ranked in the top 1000 in the verbal score category, 3 were placed in Business Administration and Artificial Intelligence, 2 in Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence, and 2 in History and Artificial Intelligence programs. 9 candidates who ranked in the top 1000 in the numerical score category chose the previously opened Artificial Intelligence Engineering program.

Cyber Security Analysis and Operations, which is among the new programs focused on digital transformation and employment, also received students from high achievement rankings. A candidate who ranked in the top 1000 in the TYT score category and in the top 150 in the equally-weighted score category was placed in this program.

Council of Higher Education President Erol Özvar stated that the expansion of employment-oriented programs and the new programs opened for the professions of the future are reflected in student preferences. Özvar said, "It is extremely valuable that our programs, which are accepting students for the first time, have found a place in the preferences of our young people in the top 100, top 500, and top 1000 in their very first year."

Expressing that they aim to make university programs adapt more quickly to the changing world and employment market, Özvar noted that new programs with strong ties to employment and that capture technological transformation will continue to be brought into the higher education system.