Frequently Asked Questions

You can just visit our how to apply page to see each step one by one.

If you still have questions please write us at: iro-crm@sabanciuniv.edu

Yes, as of the 2021-2022 Fall semester application period, Sabanci University now has an application fee. The fee is 30 USD.

You can make your payment online through a credit card. Simply follow the link here to access the application portal, and follow the instructions. After you create an ID by entering the applicant's name and email, you will be provided with a unique, secure link from which you can make the payment for that specific applicant. You will also be mailed a unique application fee payment link, alongside a link to a unique application form. If for any reason you need to leave the application portal, you can use these links in your email to return to both the payment and the application pages at a later date.

If you have any problems with making your payment, please get in touch with us at iro-crm@sabanciuniv.edu

If you are not able to make your application fee payment online through a credit card, and want to make the payment in some other way, please send us an email at iro-crm@sabanciuniv.edu. We will try to assist you as best we can.

If for some reason you left the application portal while you were on the payment step, you can always access the page again through the link that you should receive in the email you provided initially. Simply check your email for the link, and click the link for the application fee payment to return to the payment step.

If for some reason you left the application portal while you were on the application step, you can always access the page again through the link that you should receive in the email you provided initially. Simply check your email for the link, and click the link for the application portal to return to where you were last. Please note that the information you entered previously, as well as documents you have uploaded, will need to be entered and uploaded again.

Please email the missing documents to us at: ug-admissions@sabanciuniv.edu and iro-crm@sabanciuniv.edu.

International student admission process has a rolling admission model, which means, received applications are evaluated once or twice a month. We have evaluation rounds once or twice a month, and these rounds occur more frequently as we approach the application deadline. Generally, application results reach candidates within a few weeks on average.

Yes, just email them on time. Our admission team will consider them. You can forward them to the admission officer who gets in touch with you via email.

Yes. Sabancı University offers an interdisciplinary education system, which offers freedom of choice. Students take common courses in their first year regardless of the faculty and program, and then they declare their major by the end of first year. Indeed, you are not in fact choosing a major during the application, but rather after your first year, which is called the Foundation Development Year. You can choose any major from any faculty without any limitation. Please check the flow below:

Please read the eligibility rules on our page. These rules are set by YOK (Council of Higher Education). You can always get in touch with us too if you still have any concerns or questions regarding your eligibility.

Please check the admission requirements list. You have to fulfill at least one of the exam\diploma scores from the list. Please note that meeting the minimum requirement does not mean that you will be accepted automatically. You have to submit your online application form with required documents for further evaluation.

SAT is not compulsory. However, it is still one of the academic exams that we accept for admissions.

No, we do not accept Super scores.

Yes, you can still apply. That said, if your high school grades are the only academic documents you are applying with (no SAT or any other international exam attached), then you can only be considered once you provide your final GPA which means each years’ transcript.

Yes, but we would need your final GPA to evaluate you further. Please check the admission requirements list and search for your country name.

While recommendation letters or statements of purpose are not compulsory, they nonetheless may strengthen your application.

Starting in 2023, Sabanci University will accept TR-YÖS exam results for admission. The exam is administered by ÖSYM (Measuring, Selection and Placement Center) and the minimum required score for admission to Sabanci University is 350 out of 500. TR-YÖS is not compulsory. However, it will be one of the academic exams that we accept for admissions.

Yes, please attach any such certificates to your application. If you are unable to upload them all due to file size limits, you can always email them later to the admission officers who will get in touch with you.

You do not have to provide a TOEFL score, yet, you have to provide an English Proficiency document to be exempt from the English Prep School. You can either bring one of the listed English exam scores or take the Sabancı
University English Language Exam (ELEA) during the registration week.

No, we do not accept Best Scores.

Yes, you can provide us your TOEFL until the registration week to be exempt from English Language School.

ELEA is an English proficiency exam organized by Sabancı University School of Languages. It has two stages. All the newly coming students, who have not provided internationally recognized English language certificates, must take the first stage. Students, who pass the first stage, sit for the second stage. Students, who pass the second stage, start their first year.

It takes place during the orientation week, which is one week before classes start.

Yes, please check our web page for practice tests and for more information about the exam.

Students, who do not acquire the necessary scores from ELAE Stage II, are placed in the English Language Preparatory Program according to their English level.

You will be registered automatically if you have not provided any other internationally recognized English language certificate during your application. You will be informed about the exam date and details via email before you arrive. Please follow and read your emails carefully and make sure you arrange your arrival dates accordingly.

No, IELTS is not accepted in Turkey. This is a decision taken by the YOK (Council of Higher Education), binding for all Turkish universities.

Equivalence Certificate (Denklik Belgesi) is the certificate verifying that your high school diploma/certificate obtained in your country is equivalent to those obtained in Turkey.

The High School Diploma Equivalency might be obtained before arrival in the countries where there is an Education Attaché at the Consulate/Embassy of the Republic of Turkey. It is better and easier for you to apply for the certificate of the equivalence while you are in your country. Please click here to see the list of education attachés worldwide. However, please bear in mind that not every Turkish consulate issues the Equivalency Certificate, so it is important to check with the consulate in each specific country.

If you are not able to receive your equivalency certificate in your country, you should apply for equivalency as soon as you arrive in Turkey. In Istanbul, you can obtain your equivalency certificate from the Provincial Director of National Education (İstanbul İl Milli Eğitim Müdürlüğü).

You will receive a guiding email regarding the Equivalence Certificate Application Process from the International Relations Office before your arrival. Please make sure that you bring all the necessary documents with necessary signatures and stamps with you for the Equivalency application. If you come with missing documents, you might have troubles during your registration, because acquiring the Equivalency Certificate takes some time, and the university will only be able to give you a limited time for this process. If you come with all the required documents (will be listed to you) then you can apply right away and get the certificate on time.

The equivalence certificate is the most important document required for your registration. Since it takes some time to receive the certificate, students canbe registered without the equivalence certificate, but your status will be
“conditionally registered” and you will be given a limited time to submit it to the university. Attention, your university registration is not completed until yousubmit your equivalency certificate to the University.

Please also bear in mind that students, whose equivalency certificate applications are rejected (due to fraud or missing documents), are not allowedto legally register to any university in Turkey.

Applying for the equivalency certificate is solely the students’ responsibility, but the International Relations Office will guide you for the process if you haveany questions.

The tuition fee for the 2023-2024 academic year is 21500 USD for all bachelor programs.

Yes, tuition fees might increase from year to year. This is usually done in the situation of exchange rate fluctuations or other similar cases. The tuition fees are not usually updated every year.

While we do not offer need-based scholarships directly, we do take into account each applicant’s unique circumstances when deciding their admission scholarship offers. The university also offers need-based scholarships to students after they have started their education at Sabancı University.

No, you do not. Every application is evaluated for scholarship automatically. However, you should still mention your scholarship needs in the application form by answering the relevant questions.

The scholarships are awarded by the Scholarship Committee. The scholarships are largely merit based, though we do try to support all candidates as best we can. In addition to the academic aspect of your application, we also strongly value your extracurricular activities and supporting documents.

All international students have the opportunity to gain admission scholarships at Sabancı University.

See details for available admission scholarship.

Your academic background, reference letters, exam results, transcripts, interview results and any document showing your academic success, prizes in the competitions, any Olympiad certificates will be considered by the Scholarship Committee. Therefore, you should make sure that you upload all of these types of documents. If you are unable to upload all your documents, you can always email them later to the admission officer who will get in touch with you.

Please note that we do not have any set score that guarantees a specific percentage of scholarship.

The scholarship offer is sent alongside the admission offer. If your applications meet our criteria, you will get both your admission and scholarship decision within several weeks in the same offer letter.

Scholarships are guaranteed to continue for one year in the Foundational Development Year (English Prep Year) and for four years in undergraduate programs within the framework of Sabancı University Scholarship and Financial Aid Instruction.

Please note that the scholarship status of students facing disciplinary punishment is subject to change.

The scholarship is a tuition waiver scholarship and it only covers tuition fees. If you have also received a dormitory scholarship, that particular scholarship only covers accommodation costs.

No, meals and personal expenses are not included in the dormitory scholarship. It offers a free 4-person room only.

While we do not offer sports scholarships, we do take into account any athletic accomplishments of applicants. If you have any certificates or documents that prove your accomplishments, please feel free to upload them in your application.

No, it does not. The scholarship evaluations are done independently by the Scholarship Committee, with regards of students’ academic merits and supporting documents. No other person/organization can interfere with this decision. For partners, it is forbidden to make scholarship promises to students when giving them education counselling, as the student earns a scholarship by her/his merits, not because they are applying through a certain agency/education consultant.

No, the conditional offer does not include a scholarship. You have to first fulfill the condition to get a final evaluation for your application for a full admission decision. After this, you will also be evaluated for a scholarship.

Do not worry, this is completely normal. Sabancı University offers an interdisciplinary education system, which offers freedom of choice. Students take common courses in their first year regardless of the faculty and program, and then they declare their major by the end of first year. To put it in a different way, you are not in fact choosing a major during the application, but rather after your first year, which is called the Foundation Development Year (FDY). Due to this education model, the acceptance letter does not have a department listed, but shows the faculty that you have been admitted to. After the FDY, you can choose any major from any faculty without any limitation. Please check the flow below:

Your offer letter email will also include an Admission Reply Form. If you decide to accept the offer:
1. You are expected to make a 1.500 USD pre-payment, which is subtracted from your first term tuition fee and is needed to secure your spot.
2. Fill the admission reply form and send both the form and the payment slip to us by email.

If you choose to reject the offer, please just email us with your reason.

Of course! There is always the option to apply for a re-evaluation of your initial scholarship offer. All you need to do is to get in touch with our colleagues who assisted you during your application process, and they will make sure that your requests are forwarded to the scholarship committee.

Please note that the scholarship re-evaluation does not guarantee a scholarship increase, and that it is most often used to re-evaluate students who receive extra scores or certificates after their initial admission offer.

Yes. While we are not able to give extensions on the deadlines in all cases, we do try to accommodate such requests from our candidates when they have a sufficient reason to request an extension.

Please note, however, that extensions are rare for scholarships in the higher brackets such as 75% or 100%. Those spots are reserved for candidates and then offered to others should the first offers not be accepted.

You can make the pre-payment through a bank transfer, using the information that is provided in the offer letter. The prepayment amount is 1500 USD.

Yes, the prepayment amount is subtracted from your first term tuition fee.

No, prepayments are non-refundable.

You will receive a confirmation email from us once your prepayment reaches our account. Final acceptance letters are sent usually towards the end of the application period, once a sizable amount of students have made their final decisions. They will be sent to you with ample time for you to apply for a visa, should you need it.

Check your emails! We will be getting in touch with you via email several times until the orientation week to inform you about all the steps you need to take.

If you come from countries that require a visa to enter Turkey, you can apply for the relevant visa with your acceptance letter. If you still have any difficulties, you can always contact us.

Please keep in mind that a student visa is not a requirement for your registration. You can come with a tourist or any other type of visa. If there is visa exemption between your country and Turkey, you do not need to get any kind of visa.

Dorm Fees are generally announced during spring semester for the upcoming fall term. So please contact us. See the Dorm Fees

We have 4-person room ensuite and 2-person ensuite rooms available on campus.

No, dormitory fees do not include meals.

Yes, all students who wish to stay on campus housing must complete their applications online during the application period. Applications are generally open during summer but students will be informed through an email about this process by the Student Resources department.

Applications are made online. You will be informed about the dates via email coming from the Student Resources department. Please make sure that you follow up the application period carefully and that you do not miss the date.

Placements are started to be managed after the online application period closes. They are announced on the website by Accommodation Services after a couple of days.

Generally, international students are allowed to move in a week before courses start, prior to the orientation week.

Yes, there is a deposit payment. The deposit amount is also subject to change every year. Click here to see dormitory fees and deposit amount.

While you are moving out of the dorm, you may request the refund of your deposit fee by providing your bank details to the housing officer. After the officer checks the room, you will receive your deposit fee back if there are no irregularities.

You will be informed via e-mail by the IRO (International Relations Office) and Student Resources, which will also include orientation week details.

A Letter of attorney is required for students under 18 years old, if they are unable to come together with their guardians / parents / legal representatives. If you have any contacts in Turkey, your family can give a letter of attorney to that person to register you. If you do not have any contacts in Turkey, please get in touch with the IRO (International Relations Office).

Yes, International Relations Officers will assist you in this process. You will be informed about the process via email before your arrival. Please read the emails carefully as you are supposed to bring documents from your country for this process too. Please do not come with missing documents.

Location: Istanbul Asian Side Address: Orta Mahallesi, Sabancı Universtiy No:27, 34956 Tuzla/İstanbul TURKEY

Click here to see the campus map.

Please check the link. You will also receive a guidelıne from IRO (International Relations Office) before your arrival for such matters.

Yes, there are shuttles to campus and from campus. Please check the link

Yes, IRO (International Relations Office) will send you an email regarding transportation. Please follow your emails.

Unfortunately, under current law, it is not possible for international students to work part-time in Turkey during their studies. That said, you may be able to find some assistantship positions at the university, either in lectures, or by assisting the day to day activities of some offices (such as the International Relations Office). Please note however that any such employment would earn you a very small fee, which would not be sufficient to cover for your living expenses or tuition, and is better thought of as nothing more than pocket money.